CHAMPIONS OF THE GOLDEN VALLEY
 USES DAVINCI RESOLVE STUDIO

  Oscar contender edited and graded in   DaVinci Resolve Studio and used Pocket Cinema Camera 4K in filming.

Manchester, United Kingdom - Monday, October 27, 2025 - Blackmagic Design today announced that the feature length documentary “Champions of the Golden Valley,” executive produced by Malala Yousafzai and Arian Moayed (Succession), was edited and graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software. The film also used a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K digital film camera during production.

Directed and photographed by Ben Sturgulewski, “Champions of the Golden Valley” captures the emergence of a homegrown ski culture in the snow capped mountains of Afghanistan. At the heart of this movement is Alishah Farhang, a former Winter Olympic hopeful whose dream of being the first to represent Afghanistan in alpine skiing transforms into a mission to bring his passion for the sport to his homeland. The film was produced by Katie Stjernholm and Baktash Ahadi.

An avid skier, snowboarder, and adventure filmmaker, Sturgulewski happened to come across the story of the Afghan Ski Challenge in 2019, and decided to make a short film about it. “I figured it would take a few months at most from shoot to completed edit,” said Sturgulewski. “It turned out to be infinitely more than I bargained for, and a much larger and more meaningful story than I could've possibly imagined.” The short film blossomed into a seven year journey that followed characters as they became refugees after the collapse of Afghanistan. The film also challenged the technical skills Sturgulewski had developed in his early days of ski films for Patagonia and other outdoor brands.

Back in 2019, when the project was first conceived, Sturgulewski decided to use DaVinci Resolve Studio for the first time, having edited short and long form on other packages up until then. “I thought it was going to be a small film, maybe a couple of months of editing,” added Sturgulewski. “I was planning to use it as an excuse to lightly get my feet wet in Resolve and learn the basics of the program with a short. Of course, the project just kept going and going, eventually evolving into a feature. Five years down the road, I had a massive project, and I found I knew Resolve pretty well, and appreciated how stable it was even with a feature length project.”

Sturgulewski edited the film himself, applying his own “first light” look to make sure shots somewhat matched and evoked the right tone, then sent the project to his colorist, Jonnie Sirotek in Denver, who applied the final grade in his DaVinci Resolve Studio bay. “All in all, it was fantastic not having to do any kind of conform process. Given the evolving nature of the film, having that flexibility on my end was crucial,” said Sturgulewski.

In production, Sturgulewski knew he needed to bring a small crew and equally small cameras to capture the unique footage he was hoping to get. One of the critical components of the shoot was the use of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K. “Getting the camera in really close to your subject, inside their personal envelope, is a thrill. It allows you to see the world through their eyes, and just brings an intimacy and immediacy to the audience's perspective,” he said. “We used the Pocket 4K as a low profile camera that we hoped wouldn't bring any attention to itself when filming in sensitive locations in Afghanistan. A bulky cinema camera might feel too intimidating. It was fantastic to be able to fit the Cinema Camera 4K into more discrete places and get angles that we wouldn't otherwise have been able to. There were also a few days where we did larger missions into the mountains and just didn't have the manpower to carry a large camera kit. The Pocket was a lifesaver when needing to move really fast and light.”

“Champions of the Golden Valley” premiered at Tribeca Festival and has screened at over 60 festivals and received over 30 grand prize, jury and audience awards, including Best Documentary at both SCAD Savannah Film Festival and Berkshire International Film Festival, Overall Audience Choice at Heartland International Film Festival, and Best Documentary and Audience Choice at Crested Butte Film Festival. The film is produced in association with XTR and Optimist. In addition to Malala Yousfazai and Arian Moayed, Oscar winning Doug Blush (20 Feet from Stardom, Icarus, The Elephant Whisperers), Emmy nominated Justin Lacob (Diane Warren: Relentless, The Lionheart), Tiger Tales Media’s Janet Tittiger, Gottfried Tittiger, Peter Tittiger (Crip Camp, The Social Dilemma), Optimist’s Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci (Living on One Dollar, This is Not Financial Advice), Liz Stiff, Nadia Samadani, and William LaBahn serve as Executive Producers on the film. For more information on “Champions of the Golden Valley,” please visit www.championsdoc.com [www.championsdoc.com] and follow film updates at @championsdoc.6

“Champions of the Golden Valley” is playing in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Royal, from October 31 through November 6. It is also available for Academy members on the Academy Screening Room.

PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Product photos of Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, DaVinci Resolve Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/media/images

ABOUT BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk

