RURAL RUNNERS follows a progressive climate activist as she becomes the youngest representative elected to both the Maine House of Representatives and Senate, winning two consecutive campaigns in deep-red rural districts. The film follows Chloe Maxmin and her campaign manager, Canyon Woodward, as they throw away the traditional Democratic playbook (which lost roughly 90% of the vote to Trump in rural counties in the 2020 election) to unseat Republicans, one in a district that had never voted Democrat before. They reached across the aisle, knocked on 13,000 doors, and actually listened to people. Chloe and Canyon are gaining national attention as they shake up the Democratic Party and rehumanize our deeply divided political system. The film is an intimate portrait that offers hope, healing, and a path toward a healthier democracy.

Forest Woodward is an internationally published and awarded photographer and filmmaker. His photographs have been published in National Geographic, Esquire and The Atlantic. Based in Asheville, North Carolina, Woodward is the director of Food Chains (2014) and The Important Places (Mountainfilm 2015), in which he takes his father down the Grand Canyon. Returning to the ditch, Woodward follows the U.S. Men's Rafting team as they attempt to break the speed record through the canyon in The Time Travelers (Mountainfilm 2017). He co-directed the shorts Ace and the Desert Dog (Mountainfilm 2016) and Sky Migrations (Mountainfilm 2018). He went on to direct (people) of water, and Sacred Strides (both Mountainfilm 2019), Matagi Mālohi: Strong Winds (Mountainfilm 2020), The Mystery (Mountainfilm 2021) and Rural Runners (Mountainfilm 2022).