Missoula film festival is a documentary lover’s paradise
It’s like heaven, Valhalla and Elysium all rolled into one for movie buffs, and it’s happening for the 13th straight year in Missoula Feb. 19-28. The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is packed wall to wall with activities, workshops and enough movies to please film lovers and filmmakers alike.
BSDFF has become the largest cinema event in Montana, drawing upwards of 20,000 people and receiving more than 1,500 film entries from all over the world.
Offering a unique setting for audiences to enjoy both innovative new films and classics in the genre, BSDFF hosts over 100 visiting artists and screens more than 200 nonfiction films at the historic Wilma, Top Hat, Roxy and Crystal Theaters in downtown Missoula as well as a few intimate screenings at Shakespeare & Company.
Starting Friday, Feb. 19, the festival opens with a free screening of the upcoming HBO documentary “MAVIS!” This is the first feature documentary on gospel and soul music legend and civil rights icon Mavis Staples and her family group, The Staple Singers.
In addition to the lineup of new films, BSDFF welcomes, as retrospective artists, directors Lucy Walker and Ondi Timoner. Walker, a British director, has earned more than 80 awards and two Academy Award nominations. BSDFF screens her entire body of work as well as a new virtual reality project.
Timoner is the only two-time recipient of Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize. Seven of her films are included in the 10-day festival, including her 2015 film, “Brand: A Second Coming,” about the actor, comedian and activist Russell Brand. Walker and Timoner are among the many filmmakers in attendance offering festival goers the chance to engage in post-screening question-and-answer sessions.
From Feb. 22 to 26, Big Sky's filmmaking conference, DocShop, addresses the themes of “impact” and “change.” For five days, content creators from across the nation come together and share their stories of making media that is a catalyst for positive change.
In addition to helping visiting filmmakers hone their skills and develop their careers, DocShop offers the general public a fascinating look inside the business of documentary filmmaking. Filmmakers, activists, content creators and life-learners host panels, workshops and works-in-progress review sessions from accomplished media-makers and industry professionals.
Big Sky Pitch, where documentary filmmakers pitch their works-in-progress to some of the top commissioning editors and funders for documentary films in North America, takes place Feb. 25 at the University Center Theater, featuring a live audience of filmmakers, industry representatives and students. Selected projects have eight minutes to pitch their project and show a sample, if available, for the panel. Commissioning editors then critique and comment on each pitch.
As a special treat for music lovers, alternative-country queen Lydia Loveless performs live Thursday, Feb. 25. Loveless is featured in Gorman Bechard's new documentary, “Who is Lydia Loveless?,” which screens at 8 p.m. Feb. 24.
Teen filmmakers have a chance to participate as BSDFF partners with the University of Montana School of Journalism for Teen Mentor Days Feb. 27 and 28. A group of students selected from across the state participate in a two-day mentoring program that includes technical instruction in filming, editing and completing a short film and feedback from filmmakers and academics.
Festival winners are honored Friday, Feb. 26, with an awards party that is open to the public at The Loft in downtown Missoula.
All-screening passes for the festival are $149, and an all-access pass that includes all films, special events, VIP parties and the DocShop filmmaker's conference is available for $299.
For more information and to purchase passes, visit www.bigskyfilmfest.org.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Traci Rosenbaum at 791-1490. Follow her on Twitter @GFTrib_TRosenba.