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Acting · Boulder, Colorado, USA
Timothy Bruns (aka Tim Bruns) is an American rock climber and documentary producer. A dream, combining Bruns' passion for climbing with his desire to make an impact in the Middle East, which has become a livelihood - and a mission - for this Colorado College graduate. Learning Arabic opened his eyes and those of his friend Will Harris, also 14, a Colorado College alumnus, to study abroad in Jordan. There, it was a trip to explore the West Bank that stopped Bruns and Harris in their tracks. “I was totally shocked by what I saw there. The military occupation that the Palestinians were subjected to for over 60 years disgusted me,” says Bruns.
“People, he found, had nothing to distract themselves from the gunfire and explosions that frequently occur in the area. “They are isolated there,” he adds. "They live in a society controlled by military occupation - where they can go, where they can study, even where they can enjoy outdoor recreation. They have been so stigmatized in the West, yet there are millions of human beings who live there and want the same things in life as we do. I was so curious about the situation and wanted to know more. I wanted to be involved in a solution."
Bruns realized that there was climbing potential in the West Bank but there were no climbers. He and Harris wanted to start a base operation in Ramallah, a West Bank city that serves as the administrative capital of the Palestinian state. That's when an entrepreneurship course that Colorado College business professor Jim Parco gave Bruns and Harris the impetus and green light to make it happen. Bruns applied for and received a Keller Adventure Fellowship to travel to Ramallah in 2014 in his senior year to do some market research to see if there was interest. “A month after graduating from CC, we moved to Ramallah with two suitcases full of second-hand rock climbing gear, looking for safe cliffs for Palestinians. Then we promoted it on Facebook and encouraged everyone to come. It wasn't easy, but Bruns found some cliffs in a small village five minutes north of Ramallah and got to work, first outfitting all the easy climbs, then laying out some climbing routes to start with. to teach people to climb. Bruns and Harris also opened Wadi Climbing, the first indoor climbing gym in Palestine.
“As we introduce more Palestinians to rock climbing, we found their stories incredibly moving and wanted to share those stories with the world,” says Bruns.
Bruns presented his story and the production team at Reel Rock spent the month of May 2022 filming and the last eight months producing and editing the film "Resistance Climbing".