Award-winning documentary film looks back at famed 10th Mountain Division
Director and Producer Chris Anthony and crew filming on location in Slovenia for the documentary film “Mission: Mt. Mangart”. (Provided photo)
Filming of the ski documentary film called “Mission: Mt. Mangart" which the Ski Museum is presenting on March 19 at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. (Courtesy photo)
Mission: Mt. Mangart
The Ski Heritage Center Museum will present an encore screening of the award-winning documentary film “Mission: Mt Mangart” at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish on March 17, and in Missoula at the MCT Center for the Performing Arts on March 15.
The initial screening on March 19, 2022, garnered excellent reviews from the local audience and numerous requests for this encore showing. The film — written, produced and directed by champion extreme skier Chris Anthony — was voted Cannes World Film Festival’s Best Historical Film for the April 2021 Edition.
“Mission: Mt. Mangart” follows the legendary 10th Mountain Division’s trailblazing efforts as an experimental infantry unit made up of world-class athletes, mountain men and cowboys during WWII. It takes us from the initial cold-weather training in the mountains between Vail and Leadville to the fierce WWII battles in the mountains of northern Italy, and finally to the improbable giant slalom ski race at Mount Mangart on June 3, 1945. The 10th Mountain Division left behind an indelible legacy equally matched by their legendary heroism during wartime.
The film has earned several awards, some including, Best Documentary Castellabate Film Festival 2021, Best Feature Length Documentary Florence Film Awards 2021, Silver Medal Milan Gold Awards 2021, Best Original Score Florence Film Awards 2021 and Silver for Original Score Milan Gold Awards 2021, among others.
Anthony’s skiing history includes appearing in 28 Warren Miller ski movies, competing in nine World Extreme Skiing Championships, winning the Alaska Extreme Skiing title and working as an Alaska Heli-Ski Guide. Chris is a 2018 Colorado Snow Sports Hall of Fame Inductee and Executive Director & Founder of the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project.
“Mission: Mt. Mangart” will play at 7 p.m. on March 17 at the O’Shaughnessy Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. followed by selected short films running from 6:15 to 7 p.m. Tickets are available online at whitefishskimuseum.org. Ticket prices are $20 for adults, and $15 for students, military, veterans and seniors. Tickets at the event are $25 and $20, respectively.
Limited VIP tickets are available for $50, including a 7 p.m. reception and the opportunity to meet and visit with film producer/director Chris Anthony. Beer, wine and light hors d’oeuvres will be served.
The Ski Heritage Center Museum is located at 705 Wisconsin Avenue in the historic Saddle Club Cabin adjacent to the Stumptown Ice Den in Whitefish. The museum features the new 10th Mountain Division “Ski Troops in WWII” exhibit along with a photographic exhibition portraying the history of skiing in the Flathead Valley and on Big Mountain, a Hall of Fame honoring the ski pioneers and local skiing legends, a life-size cutaway reproduction of the interior of the Hellroaring Ski Cabin circa 1935, and a video library featuring rare footage of skiing in the Valley and around Montana in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s Work is currently underway to add an oral history exhibit presenting the personal recollections of local skiing pioneers, and an outdoor exhibit featuring a collection of the historic ski lifts that have operated on Big Mountain.
The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday through April 9. Other times can be arranged for group tours or private events. For more information, to volunteer or schedule a private tour, please contact Tim Hinderman at 406-885-2730 or tim.hinderman@whitefishskimuseum.org.
