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It’s a stretch to imagine autumn in Breck as sleepy. Today, the ski town hosts half a dozen festivals and welcomes leaf peepers by the thousands come September. But in 1981, the town of Breckenridge was scrambling to boost shoulder-season tourism, so longtime locals Mary Rianoshek and Meg Lass were tasked with creating a film festival that would plump up visitation.
Forty-four fests later, the Breckenridge Film Festival has earned a reputation as the “filmmaker’s festival,” showcasing more than 90 films and hosting more than 60 visiting filmmakers and industry creatives from around the world. This year’s (September 18–21, 2025) includes four days of independent film screenings, interactive panels, and champagne-soaked parties. Oscar-nominated actor Judd Hirsch (you know him from Taxi and Independence Day) has promised to make an appearance.
5 Films To Watch at the Breckenridge Film Festival
1. The Best You Can
- When: Thursday, September 18 at 7 p.m. at the Riverwalk Center
- Director: Michael Weithorn
From the Breckenridge Film Festival program: “Cynthia Rand is a buttoned-up New Yorker married to a brilliant professor 25 years her senior. She begins feeling the effects of her husband’s advancing age on their relationship, just as her world is turned upside down by the arrival of sharp but chronically underachieving security guard Stan Olszewski in this smart rom-com that reunites Bacon and Sedgwick on screen for the first time in 20 years.”
2. Big Mountain Soul: Ski Africa
- When: Friday, September 19 at 12:30 p.m. at the Riverwalk Center
- Directors: Brendan Russo and Cam Sale
From the Breckenridge Film Festival program: “Join the Big Mountain Soul group on an extraordinary journey through the breathtaking landscapes of Morocco, carving new trails in the world of ski mountaineering. On a mission to spread the message that the mountains are for everyone, the Big Mountain Soul group takes the emotional journey to motherland Africa. Challenging perceptions, redefining the spirit of adventure and cultural connection.”
Editor’s note: 5280 recently caught up with film producer John O’Connor.
3. Rebuilding
- When: Friday, September 19 at 7 p.m. at the Riverwalk Center
- Director: Max Walker-Silverman
From the Breckenridge Film Festival program: “After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward.”
4. La Gloria
- When: Saturday, September 20 at 10:30 a.m. at the Eclipse Theater
- Director: JT Walker
From the Breckenridge Film Festival program: “An embittered Texas border rancher mistakenly shoots a young migrant woman as she crosses his property and must decide whether to help her, risking discovery by his estranged son, a Border Patrol Agent.”
5. Moving Line
- When: Saturday, September 20 at 7 p.m. at the Riverwalk Center
- Director: Cameron Wyatt
From the Breckenridge Film Festival program: “Moving Line is the story of the first ski-crossing of Colorado, and mountains as creative inspiration. Three amateur skiers from Boulder set out to find a historic path across the snow. Their route helped map the Colorado Trail, but along the way they discovered something much bigger. They discovered their passion for art.”
Meet Big Mountain Soul: Ski Africa Producer John O’Connor
Recently, 5280 caught up with Breckenridge’s own O’Connor to chat about his filmmaking path and what it’s like to come full circle.
Editor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
5280: We’ve heard your interest in film was sparked as a kid attending the Breckenridge Film Festival. How does it feel to be back here as a filmmaker?
John O’Connor: It’s true. My first experience was a special pop-up panel at the Breck Film Festival. I met the VFX legends behind Star Wars Episodes V and VI. My dad was a huge fan and said, “You have to come, Son.” I was 11. From that moment on, I fell in love with the industry.
It inspired a career that led me to do the Entertainment Weekly Star Wars celebration coverage. I had that full-circle moment: completely designing a set that Jon Favreau sat down in and said “this looks good.” After 10 years of working in LA, I came back to Breck a year ago with my wife to start a family.
How did you break into the industry?
As a sophomore in college at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, my good buddy Paul had gotten on set. I asked him to help me find an internship. I grew up in the restaurant industry, so I showed up where film crews were having drinks, bought them a couple of rounds, and next thing you knew, I had a 4:30 a.m. call to be on set. I worked as a set intern on True Grit and a camera intern on Thor.
I was 23 when I moved to LA. I didn’t know anyone. I just started knocking on doors at production companies. I kept showing up and doing a good job. I started out camera assisting, moved into camera operation, built a steady-cam rig from scratch, and started getting jobs as a steady-cam operator. I moved into cinematography and lighting.
This is your first time showing at the Breckenridge Film Festival and the world premiere of your documentary Big Mountain Soul: Ski Africa. What do you hope audiences take away?
Last year, when I moved back to town, I was asked to do a commercial for Breckenridge Film Fest. I said, “Absolutely, yes. My hometown film festival? I’m in.” It was pretty fortuitous timing. We’d just spent a year and a half planning, exploring, filming and editing in the Atlas Mountains. The expedition itself was two weeks long.
Cameron Sale with Breckenridge Film Festival brought the project to Sorcery Cinema. We all believed in the message. Looking at the history of the national brotherhood in snow sports. The history of Black skiing collectives. We want to tell the story that the mountains are for everyone. The mission at the end of the day is to expand representation in winter sports and to inspire mountain adventurers.
We asked ourselves, “Do we want to try and premiere at Sundance or another festival? Hell no, let’s premiere at Breck.” It’s the mountains, it’s the perfect place and audience.
How does it feel to be called the “next-gen filmmaker to watch?”
It’s both exciting and terrifying to hear that. For any high school kid dreaming about telling stories through video or blogs or however you want to express yourself, know that you can make a living telling those stories. The work is just one step in front of the other, day by day.
What’s next for you? Can you share anything about your upcoming projects?
We currently have a documentary series on the verge of network signatures. It’s an exciting time. And there are two massive snowsports projects we’re undertaking. Big Mountain Soul: Ski Antarctica is one. Antarctica is the final frontier for some of these athletes in their 50s and 60s. It’s a well-documented, well-filmed exploration of Black skiers skiing the seven continents.
Our other project is on the Jamaican ski team’s triplets. For the first time in Winter Olympics history, triplets have qualified on one team and will be going for the gold in the next Winter Olympics.
Find Breckenridge Film Festival passes and the full event schedule at BreckFilm.org.
