Bitterroot

Special Jury Mention for Cinematography, 2024 Tribeca Film Festival

Certain morel mushrooms lie dormant in the soil for years, emerging only after a forest fire. Lue (Wa Yang), a middle-aged Hmong American in Montana’s Bitterroot Valley, forages for these coveted mushrooms to make ends meet. Like the morel, Lue’s emotions often simmer beneath the surface, whether it’s his frustration with his mother’s pressure to start a family or his irritation with his white brother-in-law’s constant changes to their farming practices.

Or is it his life that’s dormant? Laid off from his university janitorial job and unmoored by his ex-wife’s miscarriage and their subsequent divorce, Lue spends his days drinking and singing “Everytime You Go Away” at the local karaoke bar. While his mother (Qu Kue) fears spiritual forces at work, a different kind of spirit — kindred, perhaps — may hold the key to Lue’s freedom.

BITTERROOT is an assured second feature from writer, director, and editor Vera Brunner-Sung (Fallen Star: Finding Home, SDAFF ’16 and George C. Lin Emerging Filmmaker Award winner for Bella Vista, SDAFF ’14). This work, both simultaneously quiet and loud, offers a window into the Hmong experience within Western Montana’s raw and rugged landscapes.

– Wilda Wong