Since its World Premiere at Tribeca, the film has garnered more than twenty Audience Awards and Jury Prizes on the festival circuit, including Jury Prize for Best Documentary at SCAD Savannah Film Festival, Overall Audience Award at Heartland Film Festival, and the Grand Prize and Audience Choice Award at Banff Mountain Film Festival.

THE FILM

Champions of the Golden Valley is an award-winning documentary that captures the emergence of a homegrown ski culture in the snow-capped mountains of Afghanistan. The film reveals a breathtaking and seldom-seen side of the country — a remote region where joy, resilience, and community are forged on the slopes.

At the heart of this movement is Alishah Farhang, a former Winter Olympic hopeful whose dream of being the first to represent Afghanistan in alpine skiing transforms into a mission to bring his passion for the sport to his homeland. Equipped with handmade wooden skis and secondhand gear, young athletes from rival villages come together to compete in a ski mountaineering race like no other. The event becomes a powerful catalyst for unity and hope, showcasing the transformative power of sport to bridge deep divides. And when their world is suddenly upended, Alishah and the athletes must call upon those lessons learned on the slopes.

Riveting, uplifting and deeply human, this is a story about how champions can be made by more than medals. With the spirit of an underdog sports story, Champions of the Golden Valley is a visually stunning and utterly unique perspective on the Olympic dream – showing how competition can strengthen communities, unite cultures, and bring light to even the most unexpected corners of the world.

“THE ULTIMATE UNDERDOG STORY!”
— VARIETY

“A DEEPLY HUMAN, ROUSING AND FORWARD-THINKING, SENSITIVE SPORTS STORY.”
— TRIBECA FESTIVAL

“FOSTERS A SPARKLING FEELING OF HOPE.”
— BANFF MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL

“A POWERFUL REMINDER OF THE STRENGTH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT.”
— OVERLY HONEST MOVIE REVIEWS

“INVIGORATES AND INSPIRES HOPE.”
— THE INDEPENDENT CRITIC

“CAPTURES THE HUMOR, JOY, AND SENSE OF FREEDOM ON THE SLOPES”
— PORT TOWNSEND FILM FESTIVAL
(JURY PRIZE FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY)

“THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT THE AFGHANISTAN ANY OF US THOUGHT WE KNEW,
AND WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR SEEING IT ON FILM.”
— SCREEN COMMENT

SALES CONTACT

Josh Braun & Ben Schwartz
SUBMARINE ENTERTAINMENT
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212 625 1410
ben@submarine.com

PRESS CONTACT

Sylvia Desrochers
MPRM COMMUNICATIONS
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Phone: 323 933 3399
champions@mprm.com

GET INVOLVED

If you are interested in becoming an Executive Producer, sponsoring a private screening or educational event, or getting involved in our impact campaign, please get in touch.

IMPACT CAMPAIGN

OPTIMIST
LOS ANGELES, CA 90039
SAMANTHA@OPTIMIST.CO

FILM INQUIRIES

KATIE STJERNHOLM
BOULDER, CO 80302
PHONE: 719 369 8819
CHAMPIONSDOC@GMAIL.COM

Film Team

Ben Sturgulewski, Director, DP & Editor

Sturgefilm founder Ben ‘Sturge’ Sturgulewski grew up on a rugged and remote island in Alaska’s Aleutian Chain, inspiring a life dedicated to the exploration of the world’s wild side, and the people who call it home. Infused in all aspects of filmmaking as a director, cinematographer, editor, and writer, he’s worked in definitively rough and awe-inspiring conditions around the globe — bringing a unique cinematic perspective to a wide range of filmmaking mediums, be it documentary, narrative, action sports, or commercial production. Champions of the Golden Valley is Ben’s first documentary feature.
Katie Stjernholm, Producer

Katie Stjernholm is storyteller at heart, a strategist by trade, and a producer in action — motivated by stories worth telling. She has had the privilege of creating documentaries, commercials and impact campaigns for clients including the Smithsonian Institution, World Wildlife Fund, BBC, Patagonia, Arc’teryx, Samsung, Exposure Labs, BBC, Discovery Channel, and the Winter Olympics. Her work has been featured in the National Geographic Short Film Showcase and at over 75 film festivals worldwide. Katie holds a B.A. from Pepperdine University and an M.A. from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Born and raised in Colorado, she lives in the mountains outside of Boulder.
Baktash Ahadi, Producer

Baktash Ahadi is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, facilitator, and human rights activist. He was born in Kabul in 1981, and his family fled during the Soviet invasion in 1984, starting a new life in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His films, including 2022’s RETROGRADE, have screened at Telluride Film Festival, SXSW, BFI London Film Festival, AFI DOCS, and hundreds of other festivals. These films have won dozens of jury and audience awards, Cinema Eye Honors nominations, short-listed at the Oscars, and the Peabody Award.
Doug Blush, Executive Producer

Doug Blush is an award-winning editor, director, producer and writer whose filmography includes 2018 Oscar-winning ICARUS, 2013 Oscar-winning 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, and 2012 Oscar-nominated THE INVISIBLE WAR. He has also been a vital contributor to many Emmy, Grammy and Peabody award-winning films and television shows. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and has been invested in sharing stories about Afghanistan since 2015’s FRAME BY FRAME.