Film Screening: 'Mission Mt. Mangart,’ The Mighty story of the 10th Mountain Division

Description

Warren Station presents: Summit County’s Film Screening of ‘Mission Mt. Mangart,’ The mighty story of the 10^th
Mountain Division & QA session with filmmaker Chris Anthony. Proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Chris Anthony’s organization, The Chris Anthony Youth Project. Drink specials and snacks will be available for purchase at the Warren Station bar. For the screening we are offering GA stadium seating to all guests or an upgraded VIP ticket which reserves a table seat for you and your guests.
 
About the film:
Written, directed, edited, and produced by a professional skier, documentary filmmaker, and Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame inductee, Chris Anthony, with an original film score by composer Carlo Nicolau and supervisor Chris Anthony. ‘Mission Mt. Mangart’ follows the 10^th Mountain Division’s trailblazing efforts by this experimental infantry unit made up of world-class athletes, mountain men, and Cowboys during WWII. The 10^th Mountain Division left behind an indelible legacy equally matched by their legendary Heroism during wartime.
 
While many stories have been created about the 10th’s history, this documentary delves into those untold tales from a unique perspective by professional skier Chris Anthony who serendipitously stumbled upon the division’s exploits during his own skiing career. Taking six years to complete, this story found Anthony and would not let him go. Anthony's life journey was designed to be the person that would stumble across the ingredients needed to put this documentary together in a timeline only he could do.
 
Anthony tells the story as a flashback from present-day while jumping back in time to follow the 10^th from 1939 – June 3^rd 1945 with in-depth narration as well as interviews of original 10^th Mountain Division soldiers. 
 
The film chronicles the efforts of a few characters including pioneers Deborah Bankart and Cruz Rios. Bankart’s involvement in the recruiting of the first wave of soldiers for the new experimental unit and her volunteer involvement on the front lines in Italy with the American Red Cross is brought to life by Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion Coloradan Mikaela Shiffrin. Cruz Rios, a motorman and one of 300 Mexican Americans who served in this internationally diverse 10^th made up of European immigrants never had never skied. Cruz became a lifelong skier after learning basic training and surviving the war.  During wartime, he captured moments on a color camera that contributed to the documentary. 
 
The documentary also touches on the twenty-five men who went missing in Lake Garda, Italy April 29^th, 1945, during the Battle for Torbole and Riva Del Garda – a sacrifice that until recently, went relatively unnoticed. Portions of the documentary are filled with the voices and firsthand accounts of veterans of the 10^th, Many of who have passed on.   One of those soldiers is still with us today and played an important role in Chris Anthony’s research. Bruce Campbell was part of the 87^th.  He left home when at the age of 17, signed up for the War Effort, and ended up in Camp Hale, Colorado with the 10^th because of his athletic skills.     
 
The story leads up to Germany’s surrender of Italy to the 10^th May 2, 1945. Then explains how they ended up on the Yugoslavian border in the Julian Alps from May to July 1945 as peacekeepers when the Dictator Tito pushed his Army into Italy.  
 
During previous combat, the 10^th captured a supply of German ski gear with hopes it would prove useful. That
opportunity arose after successfully pushing the Yugoslavian Army out of Italy and then holding the line in the Julian Alps.  It was at that moment they gazed upon the massive snowfield on Mt. Mangart and remembered they were skiers long before they were soldiers.  So, on June 3, 1945, on a majestic mountain in the Julian Alps, Mt. Mangart, the 10^th hosted their first divisional ski race since the onset of war. 
 
The story of the 10^th Mountain Division is intertwined with that of Anthony and his six-year journey of discovery into this period of history. To complete this massive undertaking, Anthony received aid from the Slovenian Association of Mountain Soldiers, NATO, The Slovenian Mountain Troops, the Slovenian Ministry of Defense, and the United States Embassy in Slovenia as well as assistance from retired Slovenian Brigadier General, Janez Kavar – now a historian of mountain troops.
 
‘Mission Mt. Mangart’ was produced as educational programming under the umbrella of the Chris Anthony Youth Project whose mission is to build engaging educational tools, juxtaposing the innocence of the 10th’s ski race in the midst of wartime with the context of international instability at the time. Much like his previous documentary effort in partnership with Warren Miller Entertainment and the Colorado Snowsports Museum, “Climb to Glory,” Anthony aims to keep alive the legacy and sacrifices made by American troops.
 
Proceeds raised screening ‘Mission Mt. Mangart’ support the mission the
the mission of the Chris Anthony Youth Project. 
 
 
 
“The mission of the Chris Anthony Youth Initiative Project is to improve quality of life through introducing youth to educational enrichment opportunities. We do this by putting mentors in the classroom, bridging students to experiential opportunities beyond the classroom, providing financial support, and building educational tools that enhance the classroom experience.”