Browse films

Riding the Highline

Kai Carlson-Wee
Anders Carlson-Wee
United States, 2015, 16 min.

In English.
Includes adult language.

AIFF Award Winner:
Jury Award for Creative Achievement

Riding the Highline follows poet brothers Kai and Anders Carlson-Wee on a train hopping trip across the northernmost railroad line in the country, from Minneapolis, Minnesota to the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. The film begins with the brothers waiting for trains in the Northtown Yard in Minneapolis, and follows their journey across the American West, using narrative cut scenes, poetry written by the brothers, and still photographs taken along the way. Over the course of four days, the brothers pass through a number of train yards and small towns before reaching the Columbia River Basin in Wenatchee, WA.

Director's Statement

I want to make films that are built on the narrative impulses of poetry.

Category: Documentary.
Themes: Poetry, Family, Road Trip.

More in Documentary

  • Land of Canaan

    Land of Canaan

    Maggie Lemere
    United States, 2025, 84 min.

    As Palestinian life and land are threatened with systematic destruction, this documentary presents a rare and intimate view of Palestinian farmers and their... more ›

  • The Last Picture Shows

    The Last Picture Shows

    Rustin Thompson
    United States, 2026, 78 min.

    Filmmaker Rustin Thompson journeys into the American West on a search for traces of what was once a center of small-town life: the movie theater. On the trip,... more ›

  • Fears of a Clown

    Fears of a Clown

    Bart Vandever
    United States, 2026, 90 min.

    Meet Steve: a fast talking, foul mouthed entertainer with East Coast grit and a brilliant, unique mind. After a lifetime of battling severe OCD, Steve poured... more ›