Film premiering in Boulder features Palestinian rock climbers

In 2014, Timothy Bruns was living in Jordan with a friend. He wanted to continue rock climbing in the Middle East, but there was a problem.

"There were not climbers in the West Bank before will and I moved there," he said.

So, they decided to start a rock-climbing club. Interest grew fast.

"I think in the three years that I lived there, we had over 4,000 people join rock climbing trips," he said.

It was that burgeoning community that caught the eye of Palestinian-American Andrew Bisharat. A climber himself, he connected with the Palestinian climbing community to learn about his culture.

"I wanted to go connect with my heritage," Bisharat said.

They are both part of a new movie that explores the struggles Palestinians face on a daily basis through the lives of Palestinian climbers.

"Having to travel on segregated roads, dealing with military checkpoints and settlements that can be dangerous to Palestinians," Bruns said.

"If you have an Israeli license, you can drive through a settlement and walk 5 minutes to get to the climbing area, but for Palestinians, they park outside the settlement and it's an hour-long hike," Bishara said.

The film also reveals how we all have a lot more in common than we may think.

"The things that I love about climbing like here in The Flatirons are the same things that people love about climbing in Palestine," he said.

"To feel freedom. To be free," Bisharat said.

"The story is going to tell a story about Palestine about Palestinians that you don't see in U.S. media landscape and one that we that really needs to be shown you know a human story," he said. 

Reel Rock 17 film is premiering in Boulder on Saturday. Tickets for the evening show or sold out but there are still plenty available for the daytime matinee.