Local filmmaker's award-winning documentary screens in Whitefish

Local filmmaker Guthrie Quist will premiere his internationally-acclaimed documentary film, “Body Slammed: Folk Hero vs Billionaire” at the O’Shaughnessy Center in downtown Whitefish on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.

"Bodyslammed: Folk Hero vs. Billionaire" is a hard-hitting documentary that looks behind the scenes of Montana's epic congressional special election of 2017 that pitted Montana music legend Rob Quist against now Governor Greg Gianforte as the state briefly became the nexus of the political universe.

The race drew national attention and culminated in an infamous altercation between Gianforte and a journalist at his campaign headquarters that sparked an international discussion about the vitriolic nature of our modern politics and the state of our democracy.

The film features never-before-seen interviews with major players in the campaign and reaction from national personalities and analysts. It recounts Montana visits from the likes of former President Donald Trump and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and appearances and commentaries by Steve Bullock, Stephen Colbert, Tom Perez, Shepard Smith, Anderson Cooper and Chuck Todd.

The documentary addresses the issues of prolonged, negative national campaigns and the reasons why many qualified candidates are no longer running for office.

The documentary won Best Documentary Awards at the Mannheim Film Festival in Germany, the Nice International Film Festival in Nice, France, and the Mykonos International Film Festival in Greece.

It was also nominated for Best Documentary at the London Independent Film Awards, Boden International Film Awards and the Los Angeles Film Awards. It was also an official Selection at the well-known Cannes Cinema Festival in France.

Guthrie Quist and Summer Quist, co-producer, traveled to the invite-only Festival De Cannes on the French Riviera and took part in the networking event for film industry professionals known as Marche Du Film as their film was honored at Cannes Cinemafest.

During his victory speech, Guthrie, a 2000 graduate of Flathead High School, described his stint as an usher at the now defunct Gateway West Cinemas in Kalispell, Montana.

"My first job, when I was 14 years old, I was the usher at our local movie theater and I used to sweep up all the popcorn after the showings,” he said. “I'd look up at the credits and it was always my dream to be one of the names on those credits. We're so honored to be here tonight with all these wonderful filmmakers from all over the world."

Tickets are available online at Enigmaticfeatures.com or the Bodyslammed facebook page and will also be sold at the door the evening of the show.