The Last Mountain follows the filmmaker's quest to uncover the mystery behind her father's death in a hiking accident. Nine years after his disappearance, she and her family return to the chilly site of his death to find out more about how and why he died. On the road to reviving a topic that has long been closed in her family, what the filmmaker ultimately finds is an entirely unexpected set of answers.

The Last Mountain is in distribution through Fanlight Productions.

FESTIVALS AND SCREENINGS:

Finalist, Angelus Awards, 2004

Best Student Documentary, Fargo Film Festival, 2006

Mill Valley Film Festival, 2004

Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival, 2005

GirlFest Film Festival, Honolulu, HI, 2005

Boulder Adventure Film Festival, 2005

Pratt Museum, Homer, AK, 2005

Stanford Alumni Film Festival, CA, 2006

Bay Area Women in Film Birthday Film Festival, CA, 2006

New Space Gallery, Los Angeles, CA , June-July 2005

Aired on NCTV (Nevada County, CA), Spring 2005

Alive at 9th Street, Film Arts/Frameline, CA 2005

"Straight Outta Grrrlville," CA, 2005

Presented at Tufts University, Department of Psychology, 2004

Presented at Harvard University, Department of International Relations, 2004

QUOTES

"Sally Rubin’s The Last Mountain seeks to uncover the mystery of her father’s death. Utilizing family home movies, voice-over narration, and hand-held camerawork, Rubin’s quiet and persistent vision explores more than her father’s death, revealing both the psychology of family dynamics and her role as daughter and image-maker. The Last Mountain is a quietly courageous film that resonates inside the hearts of sons and daughters everywhere."

-Stephen Parr,  Director, San Francisco Media Archive

"I loved The Last Mountain, especially the editing, the pacing, the sensitivity to the power of the outline, the visual and verbal rhythms."

-Bill Jersey, Academy and Emmy award-nominated filmmaker

"A moving experience...after watching the film, its images kept flashing into my mind for days."

-Jeswald W. Salacuse,  Dean, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

"A great joy...I had so many emotions running through my mind after [watching the film] that I truly could not even talk. I knew if I opened my mouth I'd start crying, not out of sadness, exactly. The film reminded me in so many ways of my own childhood, and [represents] a profound type of love. The story is so well told. I found myself...counting down the time, thinking, `oh no, it's over in ten minutes...five minutes. I wanted it to keep going. This film made me think about living and dying."

-Doug Stone, Director, Harvard Negotiation Project, Harvard University

"I just had to let it wash over me--I wasn't able to focus on the excellence of the filmmaking, complemented by the astonishing music. So many emotions.  Sadness, of course. Love. [The filmmaker’s father] lived fairly close to the edge.  He took one too many chances. He had cheated death before and he thought he could do it again."

-Walter Swap, Professor of Psychology, Tufts University

"Excellent...I popped the tape in the deck without knowing anything about the subject matter.  When it became clear what the film was about, it hit me like a Mack truck without brakes on a downhill grade.  It's amazing that this footage exists.  It's amazing that [the filmmaker] had the courage to tackle this.  It's amazing that [the filmmaker] was able to detach herself enough to weave together the narrative so beautifully.  A trip to Maine with the family is the narrative engine that drives this story, and it’s an excellent decision from a filmmaking standpoint. Although dealing with intense subject matter, the filmmaker doesn't succumb to the maudlin; she is able to distinguish true sentiment from sentimentality."

-Marc Fields, Professor, Concord Academy/ Emerson University

"My son, [my wife], and I just finished watching The Last Mountain. We loved it. It was wonderfully done, quite apart from the emotional impact.  We had a lot to talk about...Things are so often different from what they seem.  The Last Mountain demonstrates the ways in which adults until we grow up, which if we are lucky, we do, at some point."

-Stephen Rosenfeld,  Partner, Rosenfeld & Rafik