A new documentary about two search and rescue teams and their mostly forgotten shared history is more than just a story of difficult rescues and the hard-working volunteers that perform them. Filmmaker Mark Weiner hopes it is a philosophical look at the ways in which mountain rescue teams might provide an example for community and civic meaning. “I think it can be a model for thinking of democratic life,” Weiner says. “SAR brings together people around a common cause.”
“The Volunteers” tells the story of Seattle Mountain Rescue and their unique connection to a mountain rescue team in Tyrol, Austria. A book about mountain rescue techniques that was written in 1948 by members of the Austrian search and rescue services was translated by two members of the Mountain Rescue Council of Seattle in the early 1960s. “Mountain Rescue Techniques” became an important handbook and resource for U.S. teams. The film’s late September premiere in Seattle coincided with the opening of SMR’s new physical headquarters and was attended by members of the Tyrolean team as well as Austrian dignitaries.
The film explores what Weiner considers to be two important, competing ideologies that come together in mountain rescue: a traditional, conservative orientation toward autonomy and self governance and a more liberal orientation toward universalism and solidarity. These are also the two philosophical impulses that underly many of the political conflicts of today, he says. “I am interested broadly in the ways in which mountain rescue organizations provide a framework for thinking of ways to make society better.”
It may seem like a big lift for a film about volunteers who help the lost and injured in the backcountry, but Sarah Stephan, a member of SMR featured in the film, says Weiner has lofty goals. “He wants this film to save America,” she says with a laugh.
Weiner, a former professor of constitutional law and legal history at Rutgers University, is also struck by the diversity of the people who do this work. He describes the members of search and rescue as reflecting a broad swath of the political spectrum: members with military backgrounds who may be more conservative, libertarians, and “crunchy, progressive, left-leaning” outdoors enthusiasts. The film explores themes of connection to home and the land, intergenerational teaching and development, as well as the role of women in these organizations.
The backdrop of SMR working on acquiring and remodeling its first physical building to serve as a headquarters provided a framework to show what it means to the community and how a team that is truly integrated into its community makes a bigger impact. Stephan said she has already seen how the building has improved connections and impacted fundraising for SMR.
Weiner has been working on this, his first film, for the past four years. “The Volunteers” will be featured in several upcoming film festivals, including headlining at the Salzburg Mountain Film Festival in November, and a screening at the Austrian embassy in Washington, D.C. Seattle Mountain Rescue members will travel to Salzburg for the film festival and spend time with their counterparts. Weiner is offering the film for free to SAR groups that are interested in screening it for their team. More information about the film, including trailers, can be found on the documentary’s website: thevolunteersdoc.com.
