Dear Friends, Welcome to the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival! Our 12th year promises to be the biggest one yet, as we are screening over 150 films from around the world that will inspire, educate and enrich our lives. We believe in the power of stories and the power of watching them together on the big screen. In addition to the films you will enjoy over the course of the festival, we invite you to attend our special events off the big screen, too. Live performances from filmmakers Sam Green and John Cohen, interactive film installations, panels and workshops about the changing business of film, and a ceremony honoring our competition films are all on the docket.

I came to the festival as a documentary filmmaker, and I’m honored to be leading it as a member of the Missoula community. As an Oscar- qualifying festival and one of the top documentary film festivals in the nation, we attract filmmakers from all over the world. And as a community supported organization, what we accomplish is all thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who help us put the festival on, the altruistic organizations that sponsor us, the thousands of patrons who attend, and the national partners and filmmakers who value this extraordinary event.

Get ready to be transported to new worlds – near and far – through the magic of the real stories these films tell. Enjoy the show. Gita Saedi Kiely Executive Director Big Sky Film Institute

BSDFF is produced by the Big Sky Film Institute, a 501c3 whose mission is to celebrate and promote the art of non-fiction filmmaking, to establish Missoula as a center of documentary filmmaking, exhibition and criticism, and to encourage media literacy by fostering public under- standing and appreciation of documentary film.

Table of Contents Tickets and Passes 3 Special Features 4 Strands 11 Festival Jury 14 Big Sky DocShop 16 Film Descriptions (Alphabetical) 18 Schedule of Films center insert Awards & BSFI Membership 74 Cover Art by Levi Hastings TAKING OFF 5,000 TIMES A DAY. TAKING ON EVERYTHING ELSE. America’s most-awarded airline employees.

OFFICIAL AIRLINE Box Office Information • Online Option! Passes are available for purchase online at bigskyfilmfest.org or at the Wilma Theatre any time during the festival.

• Passes purchased online will be held at the Wilma ticket window and available for pick-up any time during the festival. Bring valid ID.

• Passes are non-transferable.

• All-Access Passes are good for all screenings, including Awards Nights, and all filmmaker and VIP events/parties. Includes access to balcony seating in the Wilma Theater. All-Access Pass holders have access to parties and receptions EVERY NIGHT of the 10-day festival as well as access to the Filmmaker Lounge.

• All-Screenings Passes are good for all screenings, including Awards Night and the 2/14/15 performance of The Measure of All Things. Does not include special events or parties. Includes access to balcony.

• Five-Punch Passes and single screening tickets can be purchased in advance online at bigskyfilmfest.org/bsdff/festival/tickets/(Online single screening ticket sales will close at midnight prior to the day of screening).

PRICES All-Access Festival Pass...... $299.00 All-Screenings Pass...... $149.00 Single Screening Ticket ...... $8.00 (Students and seniors $6.00) Five-Punch Pass...... $35.00 Schoolhouse Docs Special (4 pm weekdays)...$2 (kids under 12) After School Pass (One adult, one child all 4 screenings)...... $25

PLEASE NOTE: Most of the films at the festival are not rated by the MPAA. We've rated our Schoolhouse docs, but if you are bringing children, please read film synopses carefully as some films may have sensitive content. If you have questions, please call the festival office, (406) 541-FILM (3456).

IMPORTANT! We recommend you arrive at least 10 minutes early for daytime screenings and 20 minutes early for evening screenings. Seats are first come, first served. 3 Opening Night Special Feature Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief Director: Alex Gibney In this sneak preview of the upcoming HBO Documentary film, Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney interviews Pulitzer-winning journalist Lawrence Wright and eight former members about the Church of Scientology. The publication of Wright’s 2013 book of the same name generated controversy and legal challenges from the church, and the film is sure to do the same. And thanks once again to HBO’s generous support, this opening night screening is FREE to the public! Fri. Feb 6, Wilma 1 FREE ADMISSION! 7:30 PM Doors: 7:00 Big Sky Interactive at the MAM Interactive Exhibit While story will always be the heart of non-fiction filmmaking, the rapid evolution of content-delivery technology is making its presence known in new markets of the documentary film industry. BSDFF is excited to host its first-ever interactive exhibit at the Missoula Art Museum, where visitors will participate in shaping their own viewing experience. Viewers will have the opportunity to select and sequence short clips, photos and thematic elements from three different films. As reality continues to play itself, you now get the chance to play with reality! Whale Hunt An experiment in human storytelling, Whale Hunt depicts a multi-day excursion for Bowhead whales by Inupiat Eskimos in northern Alaska. Director Jonathan Harris snapped 3,214 photographs over the course of a week, establishing what he calls a “photographic heartbeat” of the event. Each viewer will experience the whale hunt narrative differently, and not necessarily in a linear fashion. Hollow Hollow is an interactive documentary that merges cinematic techniques with web- based storytelling. The project examines the lives of 30 individuals living in McDowell County, W. VA. Hollow combines video portraits, data visualizations, photography, soundscapes, community-generated content and grassroots mapping to bring these stories to life. Directed by Elaine McMillion. Highrise An Emmy-winning, multi-year, many-media, collaborative documentary experiment from the National Film Board of Canada, Highrise explores vertical living in the global suburbs. Directed by Katerina Cizek.

Opening Reception at MAM February 10, 5-7 PM. Free & open to public. 4 Opening Night Special Feature JOHN COHEN Retrospective

We are honored to have musician, filmmaker and photographer John Cohen join us this year with his inspiring breadth of work. John Cohen is best known as a musician, who in 1959 co- founded the NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS, but his artistic prowess expands many mediums. Cohen shot a series of iconic photographs documenting New York culture, including seminal figures like Bob Dylan and Jack Kerouac. Cohen’s documentary filmmaking career began with the 1963 film THAT HIGH LONESOME SOUND. Cohen will present an exhibit of his photographs, a lecture, and a musical performance with the Montana band BALLED IN BURLAP. Seven of Cohen’s films Special Events Feb. 5: lecture at the Rocky will be screened at the festival as well, Mountain School of featuring Q&As with Cohen. Photography (7-9pm)

Feb. 6: photo exhibition at Films showing at BSDFF 2015 the Brink Gallery (5-8pm) THAT HIGH LONESOME SOUND, 68 minutes (p.65) END OF AN OLD SONG, 27 minutes (p.36) GYPSIES SING LONG BALLADS, 28 minutes (p.41) DANCING WITH THE INCAS, 58 minutes (p.32) MOUNTAIN MUSIC OF PERU, 58 minutes (p.54) ­ VISIONS OF MARY FRANK, 58 minutes (p.69) Feb. 8: live performance Opening Reception at MAM February 10, 5-7 PM. Free & open to public. with Balled in Burlap at the ROSCOE HOLCOMB FROM DAISY, KENTUCKY Top Hat Lounge (6pm) 29 minutes (p.60) 5 BringingSam live Green documentaries to Missoula Sam Green’s body of documentary work is anchored by 2004’s Oscar-nominated The Weather Underground, an exploration of the titular radical movement of the 1970s. The film is one of a dozen Green-directed films on the festival docket, but two of those screenings would be more accurately classified as live performances. Both The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller and The Measure of All Things feature live soundtracks (from indie rock titans Yo La Tengo and a trio led by Brendan Canty of Fugazi fame, respectively) that accompany Green’s narration and media projection. Don’t miss these innovative performances!

Photos courtesy of http://dev.buckminsterfullerfilm.com/ The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller Wed. Feb. 11 Wilma 1 With Yo La Tengo 8:00 PM Missoula locals are still buzzing about the last time Yo $25 in advance La Tengo appeared at the Big Sky Documentary Film $28 at door Festival. It was 2011, when they performed The Sounds of $15 passholders Science—a live soundtrack to a series of experimental documentaries—to a packed house at the Wilma Theater. This time around, the band will accompany director Sam Green for a live performance of his documentary, The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller (p.52).

6 The Measure of All Things with Brendan Canty, T. Griffin, and Catherine McRae Sat. Feb. 14, Dennison Theatre 8:00 PM The Perfect Valentine's Day Date With concert before film performance! $12 in advance, $15 at door, free for passholders Although he’s a highly accomplished documentary filmmaker (see pg 36 for more info on the world premiere of Every Other Summer: Solid Sound Festival 2013, his latest film), Brendan Canty is best known as the drummer for post-hardcore legend Fugazi. Canty, along with T. Griffin and Catherine McRae, will perform the score to Sam Green’s live documentary The Measure of All Things (p.53). Demand for these shows will be high,get your tickets today at bigskyfilmfest.org! Showing at BSDFF 2015 THE LOVE SONG OF BUCKMINSTER FULLER, (w/Yo La Tengo 2/11/15) (p.52) THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS (with live performance) (p. 49) THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, 92 Minutes (p.64) CLEAR GLASSES, 4 minutes (p.26) A LOVE LETTER TO THE FOG, 10 minutes (p.25) UTOPIA, PT. 3: THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHOPPING MALL, 13 minutes (p.64) THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, 28 minutes (p.64) THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16, 40 minutes (p.55) THE FABULOUS STAINS: BEHIND THE MOVIE, 11 Minutes (p.33) LOT 63, GRAVE C, 10 minutes (p.47)

Wed. Feb. 11 Wilma 1 Closing Night Special 8:00 PM $25 in advance And We Were Young $28 at door Mon. Feb 16, 6:00 PM, Wilma 1 $15 passholders Another official “first” for BSDFF this year is our inaugural Closing Night film. And what better first closing film than the gigantic labor of love that is And We Were Young, from Missoula’s own Andy Smetanka? We’re honored to present this epic, stop-motion animated feature about American soldiers in World War I as the 2015 festival’s parting shot. 7 th Americans with 25Anniversary Disabilities Act Disability is a club most of us join eventually, whether by age, incident, genetics or illness. But while most people recognize the Women’s Rights and Civil Rights movements, far fewer are aware of the Disability Rights movement. In honor of the ADA, we will showcase films celebrating disability and disability rights. As playwright Neil Marcus says, "Disability is not a brave struggle or 'courage in the face of adversity.' Disability is an art. It's an ingenious way to live."

This strand was made possible through the generous support of Consumer Direct Online, Summit Independent Living Center & The Montgomery Distillery.

**Our ADA focus this year challenges us at BSDFF to make sure all films are accessible to all people. We are striving to achieve this, but please bear in mind some constraints we are still working through. We invite any input and suggestions you may have. Screenings and events at BSDFF 2015 BASHIR'S VISION, 15 Minutes, (p.22) Monday Feb. 9 is BLINDSIGHT, 17 Minutes, (p.25) COACHING COLBURN, ADA Day at the Wilma 16 minutes (p.30) 4pm DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR? DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR? Schoolhouse Docs Presentation 76 minutes (p.34) 6pm ADA Special Event FOR ALL, 12 Minutes, (p.35) JORDANNE, 5 Minutes, (p.46) Opening by comedian Michael LITTLE HERO, 10 minutes (p.50) Beers and a short presentation from LIVES WORTH LIVING, 60 Minutes, (p.51) local Joe Stone followed by THE POS- ON BEAUTY, 30 minutes (p.56) SIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS, 83 minutes (p.58) SILENT CONNECTION, 12 minutes 8 VietNam War Commemorated Through the Lens

The Vietnam War and its aftermath left an indelible mark on American history and culture. Now, 50 years after the deployment of U.S. troops to Southeast Asia, the films of Vietnam: Commemorated Through the Lens will examine the lasting impact of America’s most infamous war. Using Peter Davis’ 1974 Oscar-winning film Hearts and Minds as a springboard, Commemorated Through the Lens features four films from 2014 that show how the war still reverberates through American and world culture to this day.

Showing at BSDFF 2015 1971, 80 minutes (p.18) IN COUNTRY, 80 minutes (p.45) HEARTS AND MINDS, 112 minutes (p.42) GIAP'S LAST DAY AT THE IRONING BOARD FACTORY, 25 minutes (p.40) WAR WITHIN THE WALLS, 28 minutes (p.69)

9 Children and Youth Film Series

hroughout the festival and at special After School blocks, enjoy Ta selection of films that will appeal to children and parents alike, with a variety of age-appropriate, perspective-widening themes. Alongside our DocShop and Filmmakers in the Schools programs, Schoolhouse Docs is another route BSDFF is taking to bring non-fiction film to the next generation. Bring the whole family!

Mon. Feb. 9 Do you Dream in Color? (p.34) Tues. Feb. 10 Break Kids (p.26) Omid (p.56) Jordanne (p.46) Slow Season (p. 64) Growing Home (p.41) Gnarly In Pink (p.40) Santa Cruz Del Islote (p.61) Thur. Feb. 12 Top Spin (p.66) Fri. Feb. 13 Slow Season (p.64) On Beauty (p.56) Luchadora (p.52)

*Underlying theme of racial tension Friday, February 13th 5pm at The Top Hat Lounge: FAMILY FRIENDLY FRIDAY - FREE Parents and young children -- come join us for some BSDFF all-ages short films with performances from Childbloom and The Childrens Museum. Special thanks to Sussex School for Sponsoring. Check out our Facebook events page or our website: bigskyfilmfest.org

10 Your BSDFF 2015 films Strands by interest categories Stranger than Fiction Stuff you just can't make up.

Almost There (p.20) Hip Hop-Eration (p.43) The Immortalists (p.45) Bugarach (p.24) In Country (p.45) Unplugged (p.68) Controversies (p.27) Kung Fu Elliot (p.47)

True Crimes The tangled webs of motive, action, and retribution. 1971 (p.18) Love and Terror on the A Dog Named Gucci (p.35) Howling Plains of Nowhere (p.52) Rainbow Man (p.69) Natural Life (p.55) David & Me (p.33) Silenced (p.63) There Will Be No Stay (p.65) Younger than Yesterday Aging is an art, and these films prove it. Cailleach (p.28) The Age of Love (p.20) Hip Hop-Eration (43) Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound (p.24)w Mr Fogg (p.55) The Last Smallholder (p.49) Oma en Opa (p.56) Siblings are Forever (p.62) 11 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule Sights and Sounds Fill the hole in your cultural soul. Belly of the Beast (p.23) Bill Ohrmann - Looking for the Truth (p.24) Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound (p.24) Blacksun (p.25) Break Kids (p.26) Broken Song (p.27) CJ Hendry (p.29) David Hockney In the Now (p.33) Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten (p.35) Hip Hop-Eration (p.43) Junk Studio (p.47) Lady Be Good (p.49) Mr Fogg (p.55) Salad Days (p.61) The Alan Lane Story (p.20) The Case of the Three Sided Dream (p.29) The Hip-Hop Fellow (p.43) The Orchestra (p.57) The Possibilities Are Endless (p.58) Tomorrow We Disappear (p.66) Under the Bed (p.67) Unplugged (p.68)

Stories from the heart The American West of the Wild Wild West. Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound (p.24) Love and Terror on the Howling Plains Daugthers of Emmonak (p.32) of Nowhere (p.52) Fishtail (p.38) Silencing the Thunder (p.63) Florence, Arizona (p.38) The Orphan Girl (p.57) Hungry Horse (p.45) The Whale Hunt (p.70) Junk Studio (p.47) LA Miner (p.48) The Last Season (p.49) 12 12 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Made in Montana Home grown films. For All (p.39) 20/Nothing (p.18) Fungiphilia Rising (p.39) And We Were Young (p.21) Hungry Horse (p.45) Badger Creek (p.21) Junk Studio (p.47) Bard in the Backcountry (p.22) Silencing the Thunder (p.63) Being Evel (p.23) The Alan Lane Story (p.20) Bill Ohrmann - Looking for the Truth (p.24) The Orphan Girl (p.57) Fishtail (p.38) To Live Deliberately (p.65)

Exploring the confluence of human and non-human nature. Above All Else (p.19) Siblings are Forever (p.62) Baja’s Secret Miracle (p.22) Slow Season (p.64) Broken Landscape The Disease (p.34) Fishtail (p.38) The Last Season (p.49) Fungiphilia Rising p (.39) The Last Smallholder (p.49) Last Stop in Santa Rosa (p.50) The Whale Hunt (p.70) Le Semeur (p.50) Treasure Island (p.67) Facts Natural

Back on Board (p.21) Being Evel (p.23) Sports and Boys With Broken Ears (p.26) Fighter By Nature (p.37) Finding Traction (p. 37) Adventure Gnarly in Pink (p.40) A mainline shot of Luchadora (p.53) visual adrenaline. Mie Nishi (p.54) Personal Gold (p.58) Pouters (p.59) To Live Deliberately (p.65) Top Spin (p.66) Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule Festival Jury

Julie Campfield, ro*co films Julie Campfield joined ro*co films in 2009 and helped launch ro*co films digital in 2011. She is currently Managing Director of ro*co films digital, and works on developing international multi-platform digital distribution strategies for ro*co’s extraordinary collection of feature documentaries. ro*co represents and distributes award-winning documentaries including thirteen Oscar-nominated feature films. ro*co films digital is a direct content provider for iTunes, Amazon, Google play, Vimeo and Netflix. Mia Desroches, National Film Board of Canada Mia Desroches has held numerous positions within the National Film Board of Canada over the past 10 years, including most recently as Head of Marketing and Acting Assistant Director General for English Program. A graduate of the Université de Montréal, Mia began her career in distribution at Remstar, then worked as a freelancer at several film festivals before continuing her career at the NFB.

Christoph Green, Trixie Director Christoph Green has been a major force in DC for over 16 years in the world of television design and filmmaking. He co-founded Trixie Film in 2004 with Brendan Canty. He has co-produced and directed a long list of music-related films for artists such as Pearl Jam, Eddie Vedder, Death Cab for Cutie, The Decemberists, The Shins and Wilco. He is currently in post production on The Liberation, a film about the revolutionary culinary job training program at DC Central Kitchen. Alexandra Hannibal, Tribeca Doc Fund Alex received her undergraduate degree from NYU and worked for Lincoln Center before pursuing a career in documentaries. She is a recent graduate of the Media Studies/Documentary Master’s Program at the New School for Public Engagement. Prior to joining TFI she worked with Apograph Productions as part of their producing team.

Nikki Heyman, POV Nikki is the Production Coordinator for POV. She manages all film submissions, maintains relations with PBS station contacts, is responsible for collecting deliverables, and contributes to the curation of the series. Prior to joining the staff in early 2014, Nikki was the documentarian for The Odyssey Initiative, a non-profit traveling education project. Nikki holds a Bachelor's degree in Cinema Studies from Oberlin College, and belongs to the Phi Beta Kappa society. 14 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule Sandra M. Itkoff, Independent Producer For over 20 years Sandra Itkoff has produced award-winning docu- mentaries. Her latest project, Love Free or Die, premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and garnered the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for An Agent of Change. Her career spans many seminal projects that have moved documentary film forward. Ms. Itkoff won the prestigious duPont-Columbia Award for her four-part PBS documentary series Cadillac Desert (1997), which focused on the epic political and environmental struggle for water in the modern American West. Yarrow Kraner, HATCH Film Festival Yarrow Kraner is a director at Virgin Produced, an Aspen Institute Fel- low, photographer, and founder of HATCH. Yarrow’s creative ideas and work have been recognized internationally. In 2004, Yarrow founded CHISEL, a branded-entertainment production company and HATCH, a non-profit. HATCH was founded to connect creative catalysts to HATCH a Better World through mentorship in creativity and innovation. HATCH is a global thought-leader network that cross-pollinates leaders in film, music, design, technology, and numerous innovative industries. Mia Desroches, National Film Board of Canada Brian Newman, Sub-Genre Media Brian Newman is the founder of Sub-Genre, a consulting company focusing on developing and implementing new business models for film and new media. Current clients include: Patagonia- building an international distribution, marketing and social impact plan for the feature documentary DamNation- and developing ongoing film/new media strategy; Sundance Institute- on a film data project; Indie Collect- a new nonprofit dedicated to preserving independent films; and several filmmakers on fundraising, distribution and marketing. Erik Augustin Palm, International Journalist Journalist, critic and columnist, dividing his time between California and his native Sweden - where he has written about cinema and television for the country's biggest newspapers and magazines. Erik has also worked as a program writer for Stockholm International Film Festival and San Francisco International Film Festival, and has visited most film festivals from Sundance to TIFF. He has a degree in Cinema Studies from Stockholm University, and has completed cinema, television, art and photography studies at San Francisco State University and San Francisco Art Institute. Tracy Rector, Longhouse Media Tracy Rector is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Longhouse Media. She has worked from the ground level in organizing their success in tandem with her passion for filmmaking. Tracy’s films have had national broadcast and distribution with Independent Lens, National PBS, National Geographic and on the world festival circuit. She is a recent Tribeca Institute Grantee, Sundance Institute Lab Fellow and is the recipient of the Horace Mann Award for her work in social justice. Currently Ms. Rector sits as a City of Seattle Arts Commissioner. Noland Walker, ITVS Noland Walker was the Executive Editor of the groundbreaking transmedia documentary project Localore. He is also an award- winning documentary filmmaker with more than twenty years of experience in the field. Among the films he has produced, written, or directed include Africans in America, Citizen King, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, and Sam Cooke: Crossing Over. 15 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Big Sky Documentary UM College of Visual and Performing Arts Film Festival UM Department of English - Film Studies 2015 Free for Passholders & University of Montana Students $10 entrance fee for non pass holders FEB. 9th – 13th 2015 We want to extend a huge thank you to The University of Montana and Submittable for sponsoring this year's DocShop. DocShop has grown from a single workshop to a fully-realized, five-day feature of the festival. In a field where technology is paramount, the need for continuing education is essential for all makers. DocShop is an opportunity for Missoula's burgeoning creative community, and the documentary community-at-large, to connect with new ideas and industry leaders. The 2015 DocShop focuses on new online options, and how technology is changing how we watch and distribute films. Join us for one or all of our engaging and educational panels and workshop. Or attend the Big Sky Pitch, where filmmakers present their works-in-progress to a panel of industry giants for feedback and funding. Monday, February 9 BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED, ONE FILM’S APPROACH TO INDIE DISTRIBUTION 10am, 11:30am UC Theater CANON WORKSHOP 12pm-2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room DISTRIBUTING YOUR OWN FILM 3:30pm-5pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room

Tuesday, February 10th DISTRIBUTION AND THE LAW 11–12:30pm UC Theater THE MUSIC OF CHINA TOWN, A TALE OF TWO SCORES 1pm-3pm UC Theater SECRETS FOR NEGOTIATING DISTRIBUTION DEALS 16 3:30–5pm UC Theater Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule Wednesday, February 11th INTERNATIONAL AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION 10am, 11:30am UC Theater GRANTS THAT WORK 12pm-2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room VOD AND REAL COSTS 1pm–2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room SEE YOUR DISTRIBUTION FUTURE: AN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP Free for Passholders & University of Montana Students 2:10pm, 4:10pm UC Theater Thursday, February 12th BIG SKY PITCH SESSION 9am–5pm UC Theater

Friday, February 13th SHORT FILM DISTRIBUTION 10am–11am Holiday Inn, Glacier Room AARON WICKENDEN’S EDITING WORKSHOP 12pm–2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room CROWDFUNDING TO BUILD INDEPENDENCE 2pm–4pm Holiday Inn­, Glacier Room VOD AND MAXIMIZING REVENUE 4pm–6pm UC Theater

Saturday, February 14 TEEN MENTOR WORKSHOP Panelists include: Sue Arbuthnot, Filmmaker Tim Horsburgh, Kartemquin Films Richard Wilhelm, Filmmaker Julie Campfield, ro*co films Genaro Arroyo, Canon Alexandra Hannibal, Tribeca Doc Fund Hunter Weeks, Filmmaker Roger Jackson, Kinonation Tracy Rector, Longhouse Media Brian Newman, Sub-genre David Smallman, Smallman & Snyder Noland Walker, ITVS Kelly Kowalski, Filmmaker Nikki Heyman, POV BC Campbell, Composer Paige Williams, Audience Awards Peter Broderick, Paradigm Consulting Deny Staggs, Montana Film Office Mia Desroches, National Film Board of Aaron Wickenden, Filmmaker Canada Emily Best, Seed&Spark 17 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL2015 Screening guide and schedule of films

1971 Sat. Feb 7 — 7:30 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 2:30 PM — Top Hat Director: Johanna Hamilton USA, 2014, 80 Minutes Feature Competition

The FBI was unaccountable and untouchable until 1971, when a group of ordinary citizens uncovered its illegal domestic spying programs. On March 8, 1971, The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, as they called themselves, broke into a small FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, took every file, and shared them with the American public.

20/Nothing Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Rachel Stevens USA, 2014, 6 Minutes

20/Nothing explores the world of Evan Smith, a man who lost his left eye at a young age. This experimental film gives us an in-depth look at perception with no depth.

18 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Abdulai Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Lane Brown, Aidan Avery Ghana, 2014, 15 Minutes

Through the eyes of a village patriarch, this poetic documentary short reveals the joy and sense of community in a remote village in Ghana, Africa. Exploring the people’s strength and resilience, the film shines light on the source of happiness from an unfamiliar perspective. Screening guide and schedule of films

Above All Else Mon. Feb 9 — 8:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: John Fiege USA, 2014, 95 Minutes

Above All Else follows David Daniel, a retired stunt man and high wire artist, as he rallies neighbors and activists to join him in a final act of brinkmanship: a tree-top blockade sponsored by of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. What begins as a stand against corporate encroachments on one man's land becomes a rallying cry for climate protesters nationwide.

Above the Alley, Beneath the Sky Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Dominic Gill USA, 2014, 24 Minutes

From the heart of Rio's beaches, eclectic culture, and sprawling favelas (slums) erupts massive granite monoliths, home to some of the world's best urban rock climbing. This natural resource was the motivation for a climbing outreach program for youth in Rio's favelas, the Centro de Escalada Urbana (C.E.U.) This film follows instructor Andrew Lenz as he guides two youths, helping expand their horizons. 19 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

The Age of Love Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Sun. Feb 15 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Steven Loring USA, 2014, 78 Minutes

An unprecedented speed-dating event for 70- to 90-year-olds serves as the backdrop for this funny and poignant look at love among the senior set. Fearlessly candid about their needs and desires, ten brave souls discover how hearts change—or don't change—from first love to the far reaches of life.

The Alan Lane Story Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Tyler Pfiffner, Kimberly Kozub USA, 2014, 15 Minutes

An inspiring story about a talented musician who lost his arm in a logging accident. This film encompasses Alan and his wife Wendy's life in the Montana Yaak wilderness.

Almost There Fri. Feb 13 — 7:00 PM — Crystal Director: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden USA, 2014, 93 Minutes

Almost There is a coming-of-(old)-age story about Peter Anton, an elderly 'outsider' artist living in at-risk conditions whose world changes when he's discovered by two filmmakers. Shot over eight years, Almost There documents Anton's first major art exhibition and how the controversy it generates forces him to leave his childhood home. By highlighting the people in Anton's community compelled to help him survive, Almost There explores the intersections of social norms, elder care, and artistic expression. 20 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

And We Were Young Mon. Feb 16 — 6:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Andy Smetanka USA, 2015, 115 Minutes

Three years and over 250,000 individual frames in the making, And We Were Young is a stop-motion animated oral history of Amer- ican soldiers in France in the last days of the Great War, sponsored by performed entirely by black-paper puppets and filmed in Super 8 against translucent paper backgrounds. It is not for the faint of heart.

Back on Board: Greg Louganis Sun. Feb 8 — 5:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Cheryl Furjanic UK, 2014, 86 Minutes

An intimate portrait of the public triumphs and private struggles of trailblazing openly gay athlete Greg Louganis. This film follows Louganis over three years as he struggles with financial security and reunites with the sport he once dominated. Back On Board is an inspiring story about an American legend.

Almost There Badger Creek Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Randy Vasquez, Jonathan Skurnik USA, 2014, 8 Minutes

Before Buzz and Glenda Momberg began their family, they made the decision to become sober and reconnect with their Blackfeet traditions. As a result, their children and grandchildren are sober, prosperous, educated, and reconnecting with their culture and language. Now it is time for grandson Michael to decide his future.

21 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Baja’s Secret Miracle Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal Director: Eliana Alvarez Martinez Mexico, 2014, 13 Minutes

Mario Castro, a fisherman that decided to change the destiny of his community, nar- rates this wonderful story that takes us on a journey of decades, to understand how the town of Cabo Pulmo created the world's most robust marine reserve.

Bard in the Backcountry Sun. Feb 8 — 5:30 PM — Crystal Director: Cindy Stillwell, Tom Watson USA, 2014, 57 Minutes

Bard in the Backcountry is a documentary chronicle of the summer tour with Montana Shakespeare in the Parks cast of ten actors. They travel to town, set up their stage, sponsored by perform their show, and tear it all down each evening for over two months. Along the way they come to know the people, the culture and the landscape of the region while learning what it means to be a part of a small company that must work together.

Bashir's Vision Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Daniel Roher Canada, Uganda, 2014, 15 Minutes

In a small flyblown gym, the boxers bob and dance, throw shadow jabs and spar. Naguru, in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, is a community of fast hands where the love of boxing rules. It’s here that Bashir Ramathan throws real head snappers. His routine is the same each day - a jog around the slum, jumping rope, and then working with the bags. With each punch, an explosion of dust indicates the strength of each jab. Unlike the other fighters, however, Bashir is completely blind. 22 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Bedevil Tues. Feb 10 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Carroll USA, 2014, 66 Minutes

High Priestess Darla Wynn lives as a heavily- armed shut in, unable to leave her home for fear that more of her pets or she herself will be murdered. After 9 years, Darla decides to take the law into her own hands by running for city council. This is her resurrection.

Being Evel Thur. Feb 12 — 8:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Daniel Junge USA, 2015, 100 Minutes

Millions know the man, but few know his story. In Being Evel, Academy Award-win- ning filmmaker Daniel Junge (Saving Face) and actor/producer Johnny Knoxville take a candid look at American daredevil and icon Robert “Evel” Knievel, while also reflecting on our voracious public appetite for heros and spectacle.

Belly of the Beast Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Rob Norton Australia, 2014, 16 Minutes

Belly of the Beast follows Sydney based photographer Markus Andersen. His pictures come from pure instinct. Sometimes he shoots from the hip without composing, the camera acting as an extension of his arm. Markus observes a subject, looks where the light works then attempts to capture the scene at its apogee.

23 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Big Moccasin Mon. Feb 16 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Chelsea & Andrew Moynehan USA, 2014, 65 Minutes

An intimate look into the lives of four people who live on Big Moccasin Rd., a 20-mile stretch of pavement in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia. Realized with an astonishing intimacy, the film is a slice of Americana that digs deep into a lost world whose memories and presences still linger in the very fabric of American Culture.

Bill Ohrmann - Looking for Truth Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Rob Norton USA, 2012, 9 Minutes

Bill Ohrmann was a Sergeant in the army in 1941. After the war he continued to operate a cattle ranch. At 80 he began making incredible life-size steel sculptures of animals. An elk, rhino, woolly mammoth, antelope, moose, donkey, bears, birds, and bees are some of the metal pieces scattered on his property. Although he creates these sculptures for fun; painting provides the real catharsis.

Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound Sat. Feb 7 — 4:00 PM — Top Hat Mon. Feb 9 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: William J. Saunders USA, 2014, 100 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

Billy Mize is a Country musician who changed the genre, but consistently sacrificed his fame for his family. After tragedy took that family and a stroke took his voice, he took on the daunting challenge of putting all the pieces back together.

24 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Blacksun Sun. Feb 8 — 12:00 PM — Crystal Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: John Bougher, Kohl Threlkeld Haiti, 2014, 7 Minutes

Blacksun is a young rapper in Cité Soleil, Haiti - one of the largest slums in the Western Hemisphere. During the course of one day, he reflects on life in his community, and how his music will help promote a non-violent path forward for young men.

Blendher Sun. Feb 15 — 1:30 PM — Crystal Director: John Frank Freeman USA, 2014, 11 Minutes

Blendher is a documentary film centered on Bettye Ann Freeman's personal experience & struggle with Bipolar Disorder in her everyday life. Bettye Ann's goal is to introduce the unseen normality that exists along with the negative side effects that accompany this disorder. With this film, Bettye Ann hopes to educate & take one step closer to breaking the stigma of Bipolar Disorder.

BlindSight Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Bob Sacha USA, 2014, 17 Minutes

BlindSight examines the photographic imagination of the members of the Seeing With Photography Collective through their photography. While the members were sighted at one time, they are all now blind or visually impaired. Many came to photography after their blindness, and photog- raphy has given them a new voice, a way to express what they feel, what they see inside their head. The results are transformative, for the members and for the viewer. They are tangible proof of how creativity enhances life and gives power. 25 BigBig SkySky DocumentaryDocumentary FilmFilm FestivalFestival Film Guide and Schedule

Boys With Broken Ears Sat. Feb 7 — 10:15 AM — Crystal Sun. Feb 8 — 7:00 PM — Crystal Director: Nima Shayeghi Iran, 2014, 78 Minutes Feature Competition

Boy With Broken Ears is an intimate look at the hopes and struggles of a handful of young Iranian wrestlers as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives; the world championship in Europe. It is a social tale set against the qualms of committing one's life to a dream at a young age.

Brave New Wild Sun. Feb 15 — 12:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Oakley Anderson-Moore USA, 2014, 76 Minutes

Stumbling upon her father's hi8 tapes, a daughter discovers a world of delinquent oddballs and wino nomad-poets who dedicate their lives to an absurdist art form: rock climbing.

Break Kids Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Emily Kassie USA, 2014, 8 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Nasir is a New York City street dancer whose crew is cracked down on by the NYPD, as they become tougher on street and subway dancers. Nasir is also 5 years old. In this documentary short Nasir's family tries to encourage Nasir's dance career while wary of his growing antagonism toward the NYPD. 26 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival FilmFilm GuideGuide andand ScheduleSchedule

Broken City Poets Sun. Feb 8 — 3:30 PM — Crystal Sat. Feb 14 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Ariane Wu USA, 2014, 30 Minutes Short Film Competition

Broken City Poets chronicles the lives of four high school students who are challenged to use journalism and poetry to make sense of their bankrupt, gang-ridden California city.

Broken Landscape Sat. Feb 7 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 3:00 PM — Crystal Director: Michael T. Miller India, 2014, 13 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

An explosion in unregulated 'rat-hole' coal mines turns a rural Indian community into the Wild West. That is, until the environmental destruction prompts the government to ban coal mining completely. Mine owners and villagers clash in this moving examina- tion of the cost of unmonitored industrial development.

Broken Song Sat. Feb 14 — 12:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Claire Dix Ireland, 2013, 66 Minutes

Costello and Willa Lee are street poets, hip-hop artists, rappers and song-writers from North Dublin. Through their words they have found a way to diffuse their frustration with the chaos that surrounds them and to inspire others to master forms of self-expression which nurture creativity rather than anger.

27 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Bugarach Sun. Feb 15 — 9:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Sergi Cameron, Ventura Durall, Salvador Sunyer France, 2014, 90 Minutes

Bugarach is a tiny village in southern France where everyone lives a quiet life, isolated from the world; until the day that the international media spreads the news that Bugarach is the only place that will allegedly survive doomsday. The arrival of increasingly outlandish strangers soon begins to disturb the local population. The mayor tries to take control of the situation, but it's already too late; furthermore, he has helped to blow up the story himself.

By Blood Sun. Feb 8 — 9:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sat. Feb 14 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Director: Sam Russell, Marcos Barbery USA, 2014, 64 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

By Blood chronicles Native Americans of African descent, or Freedmen, as they battle to regain their tribal citizenship. The film explores the impact of this battle, which has manifested into a broader conflict about race, identity, and the sover- eign rights of indigenous people.

Cailleach Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 1:30 PM — Crystal Director: Rosie Reed Hillman UK, 2014, 14 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Morag is nearly 86. She lives alone in a house at the end of a track looking out to sea on the Outer Hebrides. She was born in this house, life is simple and peaceful. This is a portrait of a woman as she contemplates the next chapter in her life; Morag shares her unique sense of independence, attitude to mortality and the connection she has to her wild, island home.

28 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

The Case of the Three Sided Dream Sun. Feb 8 — 12:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Adam Kahan USA, 2014, 87 Minutes

Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a one of a kind musician, personality, activist and windmill- slayer who despite being blind, becoming paralyzed, and facing America’s racial injustices – did not relent.

Children of the Arctic Tues. Feb 10 — 7:00 PM — Crystal Thur. Feb 12 — 7:00 PM — Crystal Director: Nick Brandestini USA, 2014, 93 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

Children of the Arctic is a portrait of five Native Alaskan teenagers growing up in the northernmost community in the United States. As their climate and way of life undergo profound changes, they strive to be both modern American kids and the inheritors of an endangered whaling culture.

CJ Hendry: Pen On Paper Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Rob Norton Australia, 2014, 4 Minutes

Australian artist CJ Hendry sketches larger- than-life photo-realistic luxury objects. Using only pen on paper, this non-verbal short shows CJ's process. She has featured in Vogue and Belle and sold pieces to Kanye West and Gwyneth Paltrow.

29 BigBig SkySky DocumentaryDocumentary FilmFilm FestivalFestival Film Guide and Schedule

Clear Glasses Thur. Feb 12 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Green USA, 2009, 4 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

This film is a poem of sorts about a pair of glasses that Mark Rudd, one of the former members of the Weather Underground and one of the main subjects of the film on the group, sent director Sam Green out of the blue a few years ago. He had been wearing that specific pair of glasses when he turned himself in in 1977. He sent Sam the glasses as a way to say thanks for making the film. Coaching Colburn Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Jeff Bemiss, Trinity College Filmmakers USA, 2014, 16 Minutes

James Colburn was born with Fragile X Syndrome. At 26, he is a child at heart who finds joy in small things and uses his gift of comedic timing to inspire those around him. James is living proof there is love and laughter in the face of autism.

Comic Book Heaven Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: E.J. McLeavey-Fisher USA, 2014, 12 Minutes

Comic Book Heaven is a short documentary that follows 81 year old Joe Leisner, owner of Comic Book Heaven in Sunnyside, Queens, NY as he cantankerously assesses the status of his business, the comic book industry, and his future.

30 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival FilmFilm GuideGuide andand ScheduleSchedule

Controversies Sat. Feb 7 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Ryan Mckenna Canada, 2014, 17 Minutes Short Film Competition

In the 1980s, the popular Action Line talk show was a colorful record of Winnipeg caller reactions to hot-button issues of the day. Using archival audio as a formal foundation (with host Peter Warren’s voice removed), McKenna carefully composes monochro- matic portraits of Winnipeggers as stark silent listeners, while voices from the past illuminate how much and little has changed in Canada’s gateway to the West.

Counting the Dead Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Catharine Axley Canada, 2014, 7 Minutes

One former city librarian's fifty-year-long quest to account for the names of those who died in the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

Crazy Carl and His Man Boobs Fri. Feb 13 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: Mike Woolf USA, 2014, 49 Minutes

Street performer. Flower spinner. Soggy sandwich seller. Foot fetishist. Perennial city council candidate. Austin’s alter ego. Few have kept Austin weird for as long as Crazy Carl Hickerson, the Sixth Street institution known for selling and spinning flowers, flashing his man boobs, and breaking into dance outside of Esther’s Follies.

31 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Crooked Candy Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Andrew Rodgers USA, 2014, 6 Minutes

Kinder Surprise eggs are enormously popular all around the world. From the foil wrapper to the chocolate shell, the plastic yolk capsule to the clever toy inside, Kinder eggs are practically a global rite of childhood. That is, except in the United States, where they're considered a choking hazard and are illegal. This is the story of a Kinder smuggler.

Dancing With the Incas Sat. Feb 7 — 12:15 PM — Crystal Director: John Cohen USA, 1991, 58 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

Three Huayno musicians in contemporary Peru are torn between the military and the Shining Path guerrillas. The film shows how ancient Incan music passed down through the centuries has a contemporary life of its own in the cities of Peru. Lima on Sundays is alive with Huayno music, in which one hears authentic Inca melodies performed on every conceivable type of instrument. In the moody lyrics, the musings of oppressed people assume an existential and timeless quality even when a carnival atmosphere prevails.

Daugthers of Emmonak Sun. Feb 15 — 1:30 PM — Crystal Mon. Feb 16 — 3:00 PM — Crystal Director: Graeme Aegerter, Bobby Moser, Samantha Andre USA, 2014, 17 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

Daugthers of Emmonak is a documentary film about a Yup'ik Eskimo woman, Lenora "Lynn" Hootch, working to bring an end to domestic abuse in her rural village of Emmonak, Alaska. In 1982, Lynn opened the Emmonak Women's Shelter to provide a safe place for women and children from surrounding villages. Lynn has dedicated her life to reclaiming her people's culture and traditional values as alcohol, drugs, and violence have torn through her community. 32 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival FilmFilm GuideGuide andand ScheduleSchedule

David & Me Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Ray Klonsky, Marc Lamy Canada, 2014, 69 Minutes

David & Me is a gritty, gut-wrenching doc about two unlikely friends – a convicted murderer and a young filmmaker. David McCallum has served 29 years of a life sentence and may never leave prison again. Despite a sponsored by mountain of evidence that should exonerate him, or at least trigger a new trial, filmmaker Ray Klonsky and a pro-bono team are stymied by a justice system that has proven reluctant to exonerate the wrongly convicted. David Hockney In the Now Sun. Feb 15 — 3:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Lucy Walker USA, 2014, 7 Minutes

The sexy story of the iconic British artist David Hockney, who is adamant about living life in the now.

Desert Haze Sun. Feb 8 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 2 Sat. Feb 14 — 8:00 PM — Crystal Director: Sofie Benoot USA, 2014, 109 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

The American West is a world where human life seems impossible. An arid, mythical landscape characterized by the absence of water. But then traces start to appear and the film becomes a peculiar portrait of America, between present and past, myth and reality. Astronauts preparing for future missions to Mars, Japanese country singers, military archeologists, and many other forms of life.

33 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

The Disease Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Nathaniel Maddux USA, 2014, 15 Minutes

A veteran outdoors-man, Redbeard, consumed by a passion for wild turkey hunting, takes us on a trip from his turkey call shop to his secluded hunting camp and reflects on his life of outdoor adventure and cigar smoking.

Divide in Concord Sat. Feb 14 — 6:00 PM — Crystal Director: Kris Kaczor USA, 2014, 82 minutes

Jean Hill, a fiery octogenarian, is deeply concerned about the environment. Since 2010, she’s spearheaded a crusade to ban the sale of single-serve plastic bottled water in her hometown. In the same town that incited the American Revolution can one senior citizen make history? A tense nail-biter of a vote will decide.

Do you Dream in Color? Mon. Feb 9 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Abigail Fuller, Sarah Ivy USA, 2014, 76 minutes

Do You Dream in Color? is a poignant coming of age story capturing the inspired journeys of four teenagers who are blind. Their stories shine a provocative light on the social and institutional obstacles they face in the sighted world and what it takes to surmount these barriers.

34 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

A Dog Named Gucci Sat. Feb 14 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Gorman Bechard USA, 2014, 84 minutes

From survivor to rock star, A Dog Named Gucci is the story of a puppy set on fire and the brave man who came to his rescue. But for Doug James saving Gucci was just the beginning. Together they would forge a forever bond of devotion and persever- ance and work to change the non-existent animal cruelty laws in their home state, proving that justice is a dog’s best friend.

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll Sun. Feb 8 — 8:30 PM — Top Hat Director: John Pirozzi Cambodia, 2014, 105 Minutes

Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll tracks the twists and turns of Cambodian music as it morphs into rock and roll, blossoms, and is nearly destroyed along with the rest of the country. It provides a new perspective on a country usually associated with only war and genocide.

Dry Season Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal Director: Max Good, Tyler Trumbo USA, 2014, 9 minutes

Willits, an eclectic town two hours north of San Francisco, faces an uncertain future during California’s worst drought in 500 years. With just a 100-day supply of water left, cooperation, conservation, and finger pointing all compete in a community made up of ranchers, back-to-the-landers, and marijuana growers. 35 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Dryden: The Small Town That Changed the Fracking Game Sun. Feb 15 — 12:00 PM — Crystal Director: Chris Jordan-Bloch USA, 2014, 12 minutes

The industry kept saying: 'We have the power; you have none. We are coming. Get out of the way or leave,'' says Joanne Cipolla-Dennis, recalling what happened when the oil and gas industry came to her town of Dryden, NY.

End of an Old Song Sun. Feb 8 — 6:00 PM — Top Hat Director: John Cohen USA, 1972, 27 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

Filmed in the mountains of North Carolina, this documentary revisits the region where English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected British ballads in the early 1900s. It contrasts the nature of the ballad singers with the presence of the juke box: although the lyrical tradition has changed, the singing style continues. Features Dillard Chandler, who sings with rare intensity and style.

Every Other Summer: Solid Sound Festival 2013 Fri. Feb 13 — 8:45 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Brendan Canty, Christoph Green USA, 2015, 88 Minutes

Every Other Summer is about the 2013 Solid Sound Festival, Wilco's three day music and arts gathering that takes place once every two years at MASS MoCA. Every Other Summer is more than a concert film. Incorporating performances by Wilco, Yo La Tengo, The Dream Syndicate, Foxygen, The Relatives and more and featuring Reg- gie Watts, John Hodgman, Jen Kirkman and others, the film offers a peek into the festival's utopian vibe, and the positive transformative impact it has had on the small rust belt town of North Adams, MA. 36 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

The Fabulous Stains: Behind the Movie Thur. Feb 12 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Green, Sarah Jacobson USA, 1999, 11 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

The Fabulous Stains explores the making of one of the weirdest movies ever made; the 1981 cult film The Fabulous Stains.

Fighter By Nature Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: JP Keenan, Aryelle Cormier USA, 2014, 28 Minutes Short Film Competition

Fighter By Nature is a portrait of the life of Marvin McDowell, a Hall of Fame boxing coach, as he tries to balance being a coach to at-risk youth in Baltimore while being a present father to his own family.

Finding Traction Sun. Feb 8 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sat. Feb14 — 2:30 PM — Top Hat Director: Jaime Jacobsen USA, 2014, 57 Minutes

Finding Traction presents the inspirational story of ultra runner Nikki Kimball's quest to become the fastest person in history to run America’s oldest hiking trail, the 273-mile Long sponsored by Trail. Through Nikki’s incredible journey, racing towards a dream and against time, we gain a new perspective on what we all share in terms of endurance and the human spirit. 37 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Fishtail Fri. Feb 13 — 7:15 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 12:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Andrew Renzi USA, 2014, 58 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

Fishtail revolves around the life of two cowboys living on a 2,000-acre ranch in sponsored by Montana. The property is a fully functioning cattle ranch where Western American art specialist ‘Tylee’ Abbott spent his youth. The film takes place during calving season, the month when the cows on the ranch give birth, mirroring the life-cycle of the cattle with that of the modern cowboys and their families. F-Line Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Silvia Turchin USA, 2013, 9 Minutes

F-Line is a poetic documentary that explores an ethereal past and romance aboard San Francisco's historic streetcars.

Florence, Arizona Sat. Feb 14 — 12:00 PM — Crystal Sun. Feb 15 — 10:15 AM — Crystal Director: Andrea B. Scott USA, 2014, 79 Minutes

Florence, Arizona is a cowboy town with a prison problem. Founded in 1866, this bastion of the Wild West is home to 8,500 civilians and 17,000 inmates spread over nine prisons. Through an unconventional lens, the documentary film Florence, Arizona weaves together the stories of four key residents of Florence, whose lives have all been shadowed in some way by the sur- rounding prison industrial complex. 38 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival FilmFilm GuideGuide andand ScheduleSchedule

For All Sun. Feb 8 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Rachel Stevens USA, 2015, 12 Minutes

Twenty-four years after the Americans with Disabilities Act became law, the first all-abilities playground in Missoula is being built with the help of a community. For All follows seven children with disabilities as they contribute to the design and experience a playground built with them in mind for the first time.

Fungiphilia Rising Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Madison McClintock USA, 2014, 13 Minutes

Fungiphilia Rising is an invitation to explore the fascinating world of mushrooms throughout the American West. In addition to revealing the multifaceted role mushrooms play in our culture, the film aims to bring awareness to the important ecological functions they perform in our world's ecosystems and built environments.

Gardeners of Eden Sat. Feb 14 — 5:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Austin Peck, Anneliese Vandenberg Kenya, USA, 2013, 70 Minutes

Africa’s elephants are hurtling towards extinction to fuel the worldwide ivory trade. Gardeners of Eden is a gripping, first-person experience inside the operations of Kenya’s David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in their heroic efforts to rescue the orphans of slaughtered elephants, raise them by hand and reintroduce them into the wild.

39 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Gaucho Del Norte Sat. Feb 7 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 12:00 PM — Crystal Director: Sofian Khan, Andres Caballero Chile, USA, 2014, 58 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

Gaucho del Norte tells the story of a Patagonian sheepherder from Chile recruited to work in Idaho. The nomadic two-year journey follows Eraldo Pacheco and his herd of more than a thousand sheep across a lonely, rugged landscape --- from the harsh beauty of wintry high desert, to the lush summer mountains. Living in isolation, Eraldo faces the ups and downs of a psychologically demanding job far away from his home and family. Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory Sat. Feb 14 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 2 Director: Tony Nguyen USA, 2014, 26 Minutes

In 1975, a seven-months pregnant Vietnamese refugee, Giap, escapes Saigon in a boat and, within weeks, finds herself working on an assembly line in Seymour, Indiana. 35 years later, her aspiring filmmaker son, Tony, decides to document her final day of work at the last ironing board factory in America. It turns into a painful, but loving journey.

Gnarly in Pink Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Ben Mullinkosson, Kristelle Laroche USA, 2014, 9 Minutes

Meet Bella, Rella and Sierra, a trio of skateboarding six-year-olds who form the Gnarly in Pink. This fantastical short follows the girls as they pop ollies and shred through gender stereotypes—all while dressed in tutus.

40 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief Fri. Feb 6 — 7:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Alex Gibney USA, 2014, 120 Minutes

Going Clear profiles eight former members of the Church of Scientology, showing how they attract believers and the things they do in the name of religion.

Godka Cirka Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal Director: Alex Lora, Antonio Tibaldi Somalia, 2014, 10 Minutes

Young Alifa looks up at the Somali Sky. She thinks about her daily life as a shepherdess. She knows that the day that will change her life forever is about to come.

Growing Home Sat. Feb 7 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 3:00 PM — Crystal Director: Faisal Attrache Jordan, 2014, 22 Minutes Short Film Competition

Samer, a displaced Syrian barber, has taken refuge along with his young family in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan. Despite filling his time with meaningful work, caring for his family and improving his living conditions, such daily distractions cannot diminish his desire to return home.

41 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Gypsies Sing Long Ballads Sat. Feb 7 — 12:15 PM — Crystal Director: John Cohen Scotland, 1982, 28 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

Scotland's Gypsies have lived outside mainstream society for more than 500 years. Although some of the "Travelling People" still live by the sides of roads, most live today in houses and are under pressure to abandon their culture. This film celebrates their traditional music, especially the long unaccompanied British ballads that date back hundreds of years and have been handed down by memory through the generations.

Hearts and Minds Sat. Feb 7 — 11:30 AM — Wilma 2 Director: Peter Davis USA, 1974, 112 Minutes

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

Highrise Tues. Feb 10-20 — Missoula Art Museum Director: Katerina Cizek Canada, 2010

An Emmy-winning, multi-year, many-media, collaborative documentary experiment at the National Film Board of Canada, Highrise explores vertical living in the global suburbs. Directed by Katerina Cizek.

42 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Hinoki Farm Sun. Feb 8 — 4:15 PM — Wilma 2 Mon. Feb 16 — 3:00 PM — Crystal Director: Akiro Hellgardt Japan, 2013, 29 Minutes Short Film Competition

After their retirement from company employment about 15 years ago Mrs and Mr Kikuchi left Tokyo and started a new life in the rural and mountainous region of the island of Kyushu in Japan. They built up the hinoki farm (buildings, garden and the fields) with their own hands. A study of daily work and the simple things in life. A way of life in old age.

Hip Hop-Eration Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 2 Sun. Feb 15 — 7:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Bryn Evans New Zealand, 2014, 93 Minutes Feature Competition

Who said your grandmother couldn't be a Hip Hop star? These hip-hoppers may each be almost a century young, but for Kara (94), Maynie (95) and Terri (93), the journey to the Las Vegas World Hip Hop Dance Championships is just the beginning of a life's journey. Along with twenty-seven other nonagenarians, they defy the odds and hip-hop their way into the hearts and minds of thousands of young fans from around the world.

The Hip-Hop Fellow Sat. Feb 7 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Kenneth Price USA, 2014, 78 Minutes

The Hip-Hop Fellow follows Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder’s tenure at Harvard University as he teaches ‘The Stan- dards of Hip-Hop’ course, conducts research for his thesis and explores hip-hop’s history, culture and role in academia. The film centers on the emerging significance of incorporating hip-hop studies into academic curriculum and spotlights the scholars and musicians at the forefront of preserving 40 years of hip-hop culture. 43 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Hollow - An Interactive Documentary Tues. Feb 10-20 — Missoula Art Museum Director: Elaine McMillion USA, 2013

Hollow is an interactive documentary that merges cinematic techniques with web-based storytelling to encourage a dialogue about the issues facing small-town America. The project examines the lives of 30 individuals living in McDowell County, W. VA. Hollow combines video portraits, data visualizations, photography, soundscapes, community-generated content and grassroots mapping to bring these stories to life. Directed by Elaine McMillion. An Honest Liar Sun. Feb 15 — 7:00 PM — Crystal Director: Justin Weinstein, Tyler Measom USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, 2014, 92 Minutes

Honest Liar is a feature documentary about the world-famous magician, escape artist, and world-renowned enemy of deception, James ‘The Amazing’ Randi. The film brings to life Randi’s intricate investigations that publicly exposed psychics, faith healers, and con-artists with quasi-religious fervor.

Hotel 22 Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Elizabeth Lo USA, 2014, 9 Minutes

Each night in Silicon Valley, the Line 22 transforms from a public bus into an unofficial shelter for the homeless. Commonly referred to as "Hotel 22," the bus has become a mobile testament to the challenges of finding housing in one of the richest areas in the world.

44 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Hungry Horse: Legends of the Everyday Sun. Feb 8 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Pieter ten Hoopen, Tim McLaughlin, Brian Storm USA, 2014, 43 Minutes

Legends of the Everyday is a film and photography project created by acclaimed photographer Pieter ten Hoopen in collaboration with MediaStorm. In the films, Pieter captures the spirit of renewal, peace and serenity in the lives of the people he documents through stunning land- scapes and intimate oral histories.

The Immortalists Sun. Feb 8 — 7:15 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 5:00 PM — Crystal Director: David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg USA, 2014, 80 Minutes

Two eccentric scientists struggle to create eternal youth through medical research. Bill Andrews is a lab biologist and famed long- distance runner racing against the ultimate clock. Aubrey sponsored by de Grey is a genius theoretical biologist who conducts his research with a beer in hand. They publicly brawl with the titans of biology who argue that curing aging is neither possible nor desirable.

In Country Sun. Feb 8 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 9 — 7:15 PM — Crystal Director: Mike Attie, Meghan O’Hara USA, 2014, 80 Minutes

To many of us, the idea of Civil War reenactment is a familiar concept. But the men of Delta 2/5(R) recreate the battles of a far more charged conflict: The Vietnam War. For one weekend a year, the woods of Oregon transform as a mix of combat enthusiasts, Iraq veterans, and even a former South Vietnamese Army officer, revive — by choice — a war that a whole generation would much rather forget. Disquieting and provocative, In Country blurs fantasy with trauma, deftly tugging at the imposing question: what compels these men to don the vintage uniforms and meticulously bring this controversial war back to life? 45 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Isle De Jean Charles Sat. Feb 7 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee USA, 2014, 9 Minutes

A portrait of Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny island deep in the bayous of Southern Louisiana. The film explores the changes taking place on the island through the lives of two residents whose families are facing a future where rising seas, coastal erosion and storms are threatening to wash their home away.

Jalanan Sat. Feb 7 — 8:15 PM — Crystal Director: Daniel Ziv Indonesia, 2013, 107 Minutes

Jalanan ('Streetside') tells the captivating story of Boni, Ho & Titi, three gifted, charismatic street musicians in Jakarta over a tumultuous 5-year period in their own lives and that of Indonesia. The film follows the young marginalized musi- cians and their never before seen sub-culture, while also painting a striking, moody and intimate portrait of Indonesia’s frenzied capital city.

Jordanne Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat

Director: Zak Razvi UK, 2014, 5 Minutes

A portrait film about British Paralympic athlete, Jordanne Whiley. Jordanne was born with brittle bone disease. Narrated by Jordanne during the lead up to the US Open 2014. If she wins, she will become the first British athlete to win all four grand slams in one year.

46 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Junk Studio Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Kier Atherton USA, 2014, 7 Minutes

Portrait of Northwest Montana artist Abe Quilling whose Junk Studio series is inspired by local history and made with discarded objects. Overcoming the skepticism of friends and family he begins incorporating the unlikeliest of models in his work.

Kosma Sat. Feb 7 — 4:30 PM — Crystal Director: Sonja Blagojević Serbia, 2013, 75 Minutes

For ten years now, the KOSMA radio network is the only thing connecting isolated Serbian communities in Kosovo. Life transformed into FM frequency sounds, capturing voices of those who are voiceless and non-existing in official media. From simple everyday life to sights of living tradition that springs out of the deepest layers of time and human experience.

Kung Fu Elliot Sat. Feb 7 — 9:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Matthew Bauckman, Jaret Belliveau Canada, 2014, 88 Minutes

Elliot “White Lightning Scott” an eccentric martial artist from New Brunswick, dreams of becoming Canada’s first action hero with his low-budget karate epic, Blood Fight. Kung Fu Elliot captures two years in the lives of a passionate amateur filmmaker, his supportive partner Linda, and their outrageous cast, all trying to realize their dreams.

47 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

La Alfombra Roja Sun. Feb 15 — 1:45 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Iosu López India, 2014, 12 Minutes

158 million people live in Indian slums in extreme squalor. Millions of children play surrounded by rubbish, cows, rats and excrement. Garib Nagar slum, in Bandra district (Bombay, India) is home to Rubina, a 12-year old girl who aims to become an actress and change the slum into a cleaner and more habitable place.

LA Miner Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Thomas R. Wood USA, 2014, 25 Minutes

There is gold mining happening right now, as you read this, forty-five minutes from Downtown Los Angeles. Patrick, a chemistry- loving, gut-toting, redneck-savant is headed up into the mountains to find gold and answer a few hard questions about his own, reckless life.

La Reina Sun. Feb 8 — 4:15 PM — Wilma 2 Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal Director: Manuel Abramovich Argentina, 2014, 19 Minutes Short Film Competition

Memi prepares to become queen of the carnival. Lost in a world of grown-ups and trapped in her routine, she is torn between the glamour of pageant and the social pressure to become a winner.

48 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Lady Be Good: Instrumental Women In Jazz Sat. Feb 7 — 12:00 PM — Top Hat Sun. Feb 8 — 1:45 PM — Crystal Director: Kay D. Ray USA, 2014, 80 Minutes

Lady Be Good traces the musical contributions, the journeys and the obstacles of American women instrumentalists in jazz from the early part of this century to the 1970’s and the development and extent of the all-woman groups.

The Last Season Fri. Feb 13 — 5:30 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 3:00 PM — Crystal Director: Sara Dosa USA, 2014, 78 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

Amid the bustling world of Oregon’s matsutake mushroom hunting camps, the lives of two former soldiers intersect. Roger, a US Army sniper in Vietnam and Kouy, a Cambodian platoon leader who battled the Khmer Rouge, form an unexpected bond – and, a means to slowly heal the scarring wounds of war.

The Last Smallholder Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 1:30 AM — Crystal Director: Francis Lee USA, 2014, 9 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

This short documentary meditates on the last remaining farmer from a once thriving agri- cultural hillside in Yorkshire. With none of his three children wanting to take over the business, Carson Lee ruminates on his commitment to his working life during difficult times and the fast-changing landscape around him.

49 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Last Stop in Santa Rosa Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Elizabeth Lo USA, 2014, 5 Minutes

A hospice for dying animals raises difficult questions about the ethics of pet euthanasia through the struggles of two elderly dogs.

Le Semeur (The Sower) Sat. Feb 7 — 11:30 AM — Wilma 1 Director: Julie Perron Canada, 2013, 77 Minutes

A portrait of artist and seed producer Patrice Fortier, who dedicates his passion and expertise to preserving plant biodiversity. Patrice likes beets, especially hardy varieties which can stand up to a strong wind. He admires independence in a plant. He tends his carrots with the same patience and meticulousness he dedicates to harvesting seeds from his squash. Sometimes, he dreams about a certain cherry tree whose genetic legacy he wants to preserve and spread. Le Semeur gives us a fascinating taste of Fortier’s intensely lived days.

A Line in the Sand Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Justin Clifton, Chris Cresci USA, 2014, 3 Minutes

As the western land grab continues to gobble up our public lands, the question remains - what do we want our legacy to be once all of the resources have been extracted, and what are we willing to do to ensure this future?

50 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Little Hero Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Marcus A. McDouglad, Jennifer Medvin USA, 2014, 10 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Little Hero is a film that centers on the relationship between six-year-old twins, Avery and Xander. At 18-months-old, Xander was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disor- der. Avery, however, does not view her brother as being a special needs child. In- stead, she sees him as a superhero. In this documentary, Avery explains their unique and beautiful relationship from her perspective. Lives Worth Living Sat. Feb 7 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Eric Neudel USA, 2011, 60 Minutes

Lives Worth Living is both an historical documentary about the Disability Rights Movement and a biography about one man’s struggle to survive. This hour-long program targets a national audience of 54,000,000 people with disabilities, students at all levels, and eventually, with global outreach, more than 650,000,000 worldwide. Charismatic leaders of the movement narrate the story of a long, hard, and successful drive for civil rights.

Lot 63, Grave C Thur. Feb 12 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Green USA, 2006, 10 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

Lot 63, Grave C is a short documentary film about Meredith Hunter, the teenager who was killed by Hell’s Angels at the Rolling Stones’ notorious Altamont concert in 1969.

51 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere Fri. Feb 6 — 9:30 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 8 — 2:15 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Dave Jannetta USA, 2014, 103 Minutes Big Sky Award Competition

In an isolated Nebraska town a brilliant mathematics professor disappears without a trace. Three months later his corpse is discovered tied to a tree and burned beyond recognition in the hills south of campus. Iconoclastic author Poe Ballantine searches for clues while reflecting on his life of wanderlust.

Love Letter to the Fog (A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco) Thur. Feb 12 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Andy Black, Sam Green USA, 2014, 10 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

An investigation of fog, a remarkable weather phenomenon that profoundly characterizes the San Francisco Bay.

The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller Wed. Feb 11 — 8:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Sam Green USA, 2012, 60 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller is a new live documentary by Academy Award- nominated director Sam Green (The Weather Underground) featuring a live score by the legendary indie rock band Yo La Tengo. The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller traces the career of twentieth- century futurist, architect, engineer, inventor, and author R. Buckminster Fuller (1895–1983). 52 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Luchadora Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Fri. Feb 13 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: River Finlay USA, 2014, 12 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Luna Magica, a professional Lucha Libre wrestling star in Mexico, dreams of becoming a world wrestling champion while fighting to make ends meet as a single mom in Mexico City.

The Measure of All Things Sat. Feb 14 — 8:00 PM — Dennison Director: Sam Green USA, 2014, 65 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

The film is a meditation on fate, time, and the outer contours of the human experience. Inspired very loosely by the Guinness Book of Records, The Measure of All Things weaves together a series of portraits of record-holding people, places, and things, including the tallest man (7 feet 9 inches), the oldest living thing (a 5,000 year old Bristlecone Pine in Southern California), among others. The Measure of All Things is screened with in-person narration and a live soundtrack.

Meet the Hitlers Sat. Feb 14 — 11:30 AM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 5:00 PM — Crystal Director: Matt Ogens Ecuador, Germany, USA, 2014, 84 Minutes Feature Competition

Meet the Hitlers is a feature documentary that examines the relationship between names and identity, by exploring the lives of people who are linked by the name "Hitler,” offering an intimate portrait of its subjects, whose reactions to their name span the spectrum of human experience.

53 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Mie Nishi Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal Director: Bruno Caticha Brazil, 2014, 19 Minutes Short Film Competition

A portrait of the only sports complex in Sao Paulo dedicated to Japanese culture. Gateball, sumo and baseball: the daily life of Mie Nishi.

Miners Shot Down Mon. Feb 9 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Rehad Desai South Africa, 2014, 86 Minutes

In August 2012, mine workers in one of South Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a wildcat strike for better wages. Six days into the strike, the police used live ammunition to brutally suppress it, killing 34 and injuring many more. The police insisted that they shot in self-defense. Miners Shot Down tells a different story, one that unfolds in real time over seven days, like a ticking time bomb.

Mountain Music of Peru Sat. Feb 7 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 2 Director: John Cohen USA, 1984, 60 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

This classic documentary portrait of the centuries-old music of the Andes demonstrates its importance in preserving the cultural identity of the impoverished native peoples. The musical thread that runs through the Andes extends back past the ancient culture of the Incas, and it is strong enough to have successfully resisted both the Spanish conquest and the forces of modern Western culture. 54 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Mr Fogg Wed. Feb 11 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: Joe Dixon UK, 2014, 17 Minutes

In a funny, heart warming and ultimately moving portrait, Mr Fogg offers us an intimate look at a man looking back at his life. Through the idiosyncrasy's of Eric Fogg's daily routine we gain a very personal insight into his life, its glories as well as losses.

Natural Life Thur. Feb 12 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: Tritza Even USA, 2014, 77 Minutes

Natural Life challenges inequities in the U.S. juvenile justice system by depicting, through documentation and reenactment the stories of five individuals who were sentenced to Life Without Parole (Natural Life) for crimes they committed as youth. The youthful status and/or lesser culpability of these youth, their background and their potential for rehabilitation, were not taken into account at any point in the charging and sentencing process. They will remain in prison till they die.

Now En Español Wed. Feb 11 — 7:30 PM — Crystal Sun. Feb 15 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Andrea Meller USA, 2015, 63 Minutes Feature Competition

Pulling back the curtain on one of Hollywood’s lesser-known communities, Now En Español follows the lives and careers of the five dynamic Latina voice actresses who dub “Desperate Housewives” into Spanish for American audiences – redefining our idea of what American culture looks and sounds like.

55 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Oma en Opa Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Charlotte de Bekker Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, 2014 8 Minutes

“What was it like when you saw Grandma for the first time?” What starts off as a simple question quickly develops into a powerful glimpse of a family’s history as filmmaker Charlotte de Bekker interviews her grandparents, Kees and Riki. In an exchange revealing what it is like to be at the end of one’s life, vibrant anecdotes, insightful stories, and honest conversations form a portrait of two remarkable, love-filled lives.

Omid Sat. Feb 7 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Jawad Wahabzada Afghanistan, USA, 2014, 9 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Omid is the story of a young boy washing cars next to the US Embassy in Ka- bul, Afghanistan, reflecting on the US military withdrawal while providing rare access to the war-torn streets of Kabul.

On Beauty Fri. Feb 13 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: Joanna Rudnick USA, 2014, 31 Minutes

From Emmy-nominated filmmaker Joanna Rudnick (In the Family), On Beauty follows former fashion photographer Rick Guidotti as he uses his lens to challenge convention and redefine beauty with the help of two extraordinary women. 56 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

One Year Lease Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Brian Bolster USA, 2014, 11 Minutes

Told almost entirely through voicemail messages, One Year Lease documents the travails of Brian, Thomas, and Casper as they endure a year-long sentence with Rita, the cat-loving landlady.

The Orphan Girl Sun. Feb 8 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Yarrow Kraner USA, 2014, 20 Minutes

The story of a frontier city & the mavericks that sacrificed to create a brighter future & fuel America’s Industrial Revolution. A "day in the life" of a miner who leaves the love of his life each morning, not knowing if that day might be his last. Half-documentary/ half -fiction, Orphan Girl is sponsored and produced by Headframe Spirits.

The Orchestra Tues. Feb 10 — 5:30 PM — Crystal Director: Francesco Merini, Helmut Failoni Italy, 2014, 59 Minutes

The Orchestra Mozart has been founded by Maestro Claudio Abbado in 2004 in Bolo- gna, Italy. This orchestra brings together the best classical music performers in the world by mixing young promises and well established solo artists. The documentary offers a unique glance on Abbado’s work and on the day to day lives of classical musicians of our times by following the orchestra’s European tour in 2012-2013.

57 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Out of Deepwood Sat. Feb 7 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Craig Weflen USA, 2014, 23 Minutes

Today, the Trinity River Audubon Center is a secluded place of tranquility. Yet this location has not always been so peaceful. For 25 years, the City of Dallas ignored over two million cubic-yards of illegal dumping. This is the story of precedent-setting envi- ronmental law, the reclamation of land, and a neighborhood’s fight for justice.

Personal Gold Wed. Feb 11 — 5:30 PM — Crystal Mon. Feb 16 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Director: Tamara Christopherson USA, 2014, 88 Minutes Feature Competition

The underdog story of four women cyclists who become America’s medal hope at the London Olympics when the men’s team is banned during the Lance Armstrong drug scandal. The underfunded women turn to support from a volunteer team including their husbands and a quantified self experiment using ‘Data not Drugs’ to attempt the impossible; win the first women’s track cycling medal in 20 years.

The Possibilities Are Endless Mon. Feb 9 — 6:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Edward Lovelace, James Hall UK, 2014, 83 Minutes

Placed inside Edwyn’s mind, we embark on a remarkable journey from the brink of death back to language, music, life and love. With the help of his wife Grace, Edwyn submerges himself in a landscape of memories, as he tries to unlock the story of his past. More than a story of determination against all odds; it is an intimate and life- affirming tale of rediscovery.

58 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Quiet Riot: Well Now You're here, There's No Way Back Thur. Feb 12 — 6:30 PM — Top Hat Director: Regina Russell Germany, USA, 2014, 109 Minutes

An unlikely and surprisingly personal narrative to conquer the loss of a friend emerges from an odyssey about the rise, fall and resurrection of an 80's metal band. The career of Frankie Banali, drummer of Quiet Riot, took a major sideswipe when his singer and best friend Kevin DuBrow died in 2007. In 2010 and at a cross roads in his life, Banali has to forge ahead and make a new life for himself and his daughter.

Pouters Sat. Feb 7 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Sat. Feb 14 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Paul Fegan UK, 2014, 15 Minutes Short Film Competition

A modern day story of undying commitment, rivalry, family and friendship interwoven by an underground and idiosyncratic Scottish sport. Rab and Danny, rivals for over 25 years with huge pride at stake, battle it out on the wing to become the reigning Doo Fleein champion.

The Rainbow Man/John 3:16 Sat. Feb 14 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Sam Green USA, 1997, 41 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

Remember that man in the rainbow-colored Afro wig who carried the "John 3:16" sign? During the 70s and 80s he seemed to be everywhere: at televised baseball and foot- ball games, shuttle launches, and hundreds of other events. So who was he, and what ever happened to him? 59 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Return of the River Sun. Feb 8 — 10:15 AM — Crystal Director: Jessica Plumb, John Gussman USA, 2014, 72 Minutes

A film infused with hope, Return of the River follows a group of strong-minded people as they attempt the impossible: changing the opinion of a town and eventually the nation to bring two dams down. Their campaign launches the world’s largest dam removal, an unlikely victory for restoration and justice.

Reunions Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal Director: Naomi Wise Canada, Poland, 2014, 11 Minutes

The Zoltak family survived WWII with the help of a sympathetic Christian Polish family. Reunions tells the story of Sydney Zoltak’s return to Poland with the March of the Living and his emotional reunion with the Polish rescuer who saved his life.

Roscoe Holcomb From Daisy, Kentucky Sat. Feb 7 — 5:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: John Cohen USA, 2009, 30 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

John Cohen explores the life, philosophy and music of Eastern Kentucky banjo player, coal miner and construction worker Roscoe Holcomb. Holcomb has been injured on the job and forced into early retirement. He discusses his life and music and plays a number of traditional songs from his region. Using intimate footage of Holcomb at home as well as footage of his family, community and region, Cohen presents a remarkable and visually beautiful portrait of Roscoe Holcomb. 60 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Ruhr Record Sun. Feb 15 — 1:45 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Rainer Komers Germany, 2014, 45 Minutes

The Ruhr region - an urban and industrial agglomerate of traffic arteries, shopping malls, labor and research centers and recreational facilities of all kinds - is the subject of the fourth film of the tetralogy "Four Elements". A leitmotif of the image-and-sound-composition is the element "fire / light". Choreography of a metropolis' post-industrial change.

Salad Days Sat. Feb 14 — 4:15 PM — Top Hat Director: Scott Crawford USA, 2014, 102 Minutes

Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation’s Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows—without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry’s subsequent implosion).

Santa Cruz Del Islote Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 1:30 PM — Crystal Director: Luke Lorentzen Colombia, 2014, 19 Minutes Short Film Competition

Santa Cruz del Islote is just three acres large. It's also one of the world's most densely populated islands. A fisherman and ten-year-old boy live peacefully within this Colombian community, but struggle with isolation.

61 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Shield and Spear Mon. Feb 16 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Petter Ringborn South Africa, USA, 2014, 89 Minutes

An artist paints a caricature of South African president Jacob Zuma that provokes a lawsuit, death threats and a massive street protest. Around this incident, Shield and Spear explores a constellation of stories about identity, art, race, and freedom of expression in South Africa, twenty years into democracy.

Showfolk Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Ned McNeilage USA, 2014, 23 Minutes

For seven Hollywood Golden Age veterans, the show goes on. A Vaudeville comedian still working at 100, a stunning siren who dated Ronald Reagan when he was a Democrat, a kid just out of college who sold The Ten Commandments around the world – these showbiz vets share wisdom and inspiration garnered over seven lifetimes in the business. Residing together at the Motion Picture & Television Fund home in the San Fernando Valley, these entertain- ment lifers are “bonded by the show.”

Siblings are Forever Sat. Feb 7 — 2:30 PM — Crystal Sun. Feb 15 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1 Director: Frode Fimland Norway, 2013, 75 Minutes Feature Competition

Siblings are Forever is a warm and poetic documentary about a brother-and-sister couple, Magnar (73) and Oddny (70) who live like many Norwegians did 50 years ago. Far from wealthy but close to the nature surrounding them.

62 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Sightlines Wed. Feb 11 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: Genevieve Bicknell Kenya, UK, 2014, 16 Minutes

In the mid-Twentieth Century, Britain sent surveyors out to map the world. Using their aerial photographs and the super 8 film they took of their expeditions, we explore colonialism and its consequences, as they are being played out today, in a hillside village in Kenya.

Silenced Tues. Feb 10 — 6:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 8:45 PM — Crystal Director: James Spione USA, 2014, 104 Minutes

Three National Security whistleblowers fight to reveal the darkest corners of America's war on terror, challenging a government that is increasingly determined to maintain secrecy.

Silencing the Thunder Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Eddie Roqueta USA, 2014, 27 Minutes

Silencing the Thunder exposes the controversy surrounding the disease brucellosis within the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Should Yellowstone National Park’s bison population be lethally managed due to the risk of a possible disease transmission to cattle?

63 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Slow Season Sat. Feb 7 — 1:30 PM — Wilma 1 Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Fri. Feb 13 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Mon. Feb 16 — 3:00 PM — Crystal Director: John Fiege USA, 2014, 6 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

As the effects of the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill linger in Louisiana's bayou coun- try, a way of life begins to slip away for a crab fisherman and his sons.

Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs & the New South Africa Sat. Feb 14 — 10:15 AM — Crystal Director: Abby Ginzberg USA, 2014, 84 Minutes

Targeted by South African military intelligence while in exile, anti-apartheid activist, Albie Sachs lost his right arm in a car bomb attack, yet remained steadfast in his belief that his ‘soft vengeance’ would be the creation of freedom and democracy in South Africa, which he helped bring about as one of the country’s first Constitutional Court judges.

Terrance Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Joris Debeij USA, 2014, 7 Minutes

Terrance's life experience has led him through trauma and hardship that most adults haven't had to contend with. He's lost multiple caretakers, and while he's been fortunate to stay out of the foster care system, he grapples with deep depression and post-traumatic stress disorder due to grief and an overwhelming sense of loss. His story so far has been dominated with the need to cope with past and present, though he looks forward to a day when he can comprehend what he wants for his future.

64 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

That High Lonesome Sound Sun. Feb 8 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat Director: John Cohen USA, 1963, 30 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

Songs of church-goers, miners, and farmers of eastern Kentucky express the joys and sorrows of life among the rural poor. This clas- sic film evocatively illustrates how music and religion help Appalachians maintain their dignity and traditions in the face of change and hardship.

There Will Be No Stay Thur. Feb 12 — 6:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 2 Director: Patty Dillon USA, 2014, 71 Minutes Feature Competition

A journey of compassion and consequence through a process shrouded in secrecy. Executioners' lives intersect on a path to discovering freedom from their own personal prisons.

To Live Deliberately Sun. Feb 8 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Marshall Granger USA, 2014, 11 Minutes

It is winter, and 19-year old Justin Willis camps out alone in his van in Hyalite Canyon where he is close to the mountains he lives to climb. To Live Deliberately offers a portrait of a young person figuring out what it means to explore, with a comfortable acceptance in the unknown ahead.

65 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Tomorrow We Disappear Tues. Feb 10 — 8:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Adam Weber, Jimmy Goldblum India, 2014, 83 Minutes

At first glance, the Kathputli colony looks like any other Indian slum. But Kathputli is a place of fading traditions. For half a century, 2,800 artist families have called its narrow alleyways home; there are jugglers and acrobats, puppeteers and painters, folk singers and magicians, many of whom are well-respected artists in India and abroad. In 2009 the New Delhi government sold Kathputli to developers for a frac- tion of its worth. The land is to be bulldozed to make room for the city’s first-ever skyscraper, The Raheja Phoenix. Tongue River Home Sat. Feb 7 — 3:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Eliza Goode USA, 2014, 5 Minutes

In Eastern Montana, a family ranch sits on the banks of the Tongue River. This quiet and beautiful corner of our state has been both home and livelihood to Nancy's family for decades, but she, her neighbors, and the river they love all face pressure from the energy industry.

Top Spin Thur. Feb 12 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1 Sun. Feb 15 — 5:15 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Sara Newens, Mina T. Son USA, 2014, 80 Minutes Feature Competition

Set against the backdrop of one of the most under-appreciated sports in America, three teenagers battle their way through the world of competitive ping pong. These young athletes face unusual challenges coming of age in a niche sport, and reveal the passion it takes to pursue their Olympic-sized dreams. 66 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Treasure Island Sun. Feb 8 — 3:30 PM — Crystal Sat. Feb 14 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Elizabeth Lo, Melissa Langer USA, 2014, 7 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Children living on a former naval base contemplate the threat of radioactive waste buried beneath their homes.

True Son Sat. Feb 7 — 6:15 PM — Crystal Sun. Feb 15 — 12:00 PM — Wilma 1 Director: Kevin Gordon USA, 2014, 70 Minutes Feature Competition

True Son follows 22 year old African- American Stanford graduate Michael Tubbs as he campaigns for a seat on Stockton, CA's city council during a year of record homicides and impending bankruptcy. Born to a teenage mother and incarcerated father, Michael galvanizes youth to join him to #ReinventStockton.

Under the Bed Sun. Feb 8 — 3:30 PM — Crystal Sat. Feb 14 — 4:00 PM — Crystal Director: Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley USA, 2014, 11 Minutes Mini Doc Competition

Letha Rodman Melchior is an artist who has made work for over 40 years but rarely showed it. As she faces her mortality, she arranges a show of her work.

67 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

The Universal Language Thur. Feb 12 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Green USA, 2011, 29 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

The Universal Language traces the history of Esperanto, an artificial language that was created in the late 1800s by a Polish eye doctor who believed that if everyone in the world spoke a common tongue, we could overcome racism and war.

Unplugged Wed. Feb 11 — 9:00 PM — Crystal Director: Mladen Kovacevic Finland, Serbia, 2014, 52 Minutes

Vera, a private detective retired to the village where she grew up as shepherd- ess, and Pera, the know-it-all peasant of many esoteric skills, are the last remaining leaf-players - both in the autumns of their lives, still strongly blowing into leaves. Josip is an amateur inventor set out to decode the obscure artistry of leaf-playing. Unplugged is an existential allegory about music played on tree leaves, humorously rattling between the most primitive of instruments and the most universal escapism of music. Music has rarely been so offbeat.

Utopia, Part 3: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall Thur. Feb 12 — 5:15 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Green, Carrie Lozano USA, 2009, 13 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

Is nothing American sacred anymore? The largest mall in the world turns out not to be the famous Mall of America in Bloomington, MN—it’s the South China Mall outside of Guangzhou, China. Outdoing the techniques of American consumerism, South China Mall is Disneyland, Las Vegas, and Mall of America rolled into one. There are carnival rides, mini-parks, canals and lakes amid classic Western-style buildings housing space for hundreds of shops. 68 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Visions of Mary Frank Sat. Feb 7 — 5:30 PM — Wilma 1 Director: John Cohen USA, 2013, 55 Minutes John Cohen Retrospective

When Mary Frank began her artwork in the 1950s, she was known in the New York City arts community as a beautiful, young woman. Photographed by Walker Evans, Edward Steichen, Ralph Gibson and her then-husband Robert Frank, the pictures captured their vision of her. They did not present her as an artist. Filmmaker John Cohen has known Frank and her work for over 50 years. This film is a window into her vision.

The Vow Sat. Feb 7 — 2:00 PM — Wilma 2 Sun. Feb 8 — 4:15 PM — Wilma 2 Director: Cameron Zohoori USA, 2014, 40 Minutes Short Competition

When 21-year-old Riqie won a green card lottery in his home country of Kenya, he thought it was a ticket to the American dream. The reality of life when he arrived was more complicated. His dark history and uncertain future come to light as he works to become a leader in his adopted community of Lowell, Massachusetts.

War Within the Walls Sun. Feb 8 — 3:30 PM — Crystal Sat. Feb 14 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 2 Director: Courtney Marsh Vietnam, 2014, 29 Minutes

Chau, a 16-year-old boy living in a Vietnamese peace camp that cares for kids disabled by Agent Orange, battles with the reality of his dream to one day become a professional artist and clothing designer.

69 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

The Weather Underground Fri. Feb 13 — 5:00 PM — Crystal Director: Sam Green, Bill Siegel USA, 2002, 92 Minutes Sam Green Retrospective

More than forty years ago, a group of young American radicals announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. In The Weather Underground, former Underground members, including Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, David Gilbert and Brian Flanagan, speak publicly about the idealistic passion that drove them to "bring the war home" and the trajectory that placed them on the FBI's most wanted list.

We Are the Ones Sun. Feb 8 — 12:00 PM — Crystal Director: Jon Michael Shink, Michael Skinner South Sudan, 2014, 61 Minutes

When tribal feuds erupt into violent raids that threaten their clinics, three surgeons embark on a journey to protect their patients. We Are the Ones blends vérité techniques with cinematic visuals to bring the audience a front line account of the constant war between life and death in South Sudan.

The Whale Hunt Tues. Feb 10-20 — Missoula Art Museum Director: Jonathan Harris USA, 2007

An experiment in human storytelling, Whale Hunt depicts a multi-day excursion for Bowhead whales by Inupiat Eskimos in northern Alaska. Director Jonathan Harris snapped 3,214 photographs over the course of a week, establishing what he calls a “photographic heartbeat” of the event. Each viewer will experience the whale hunt narrative differently, and not necessarily in a linear fashion.

70 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Where I Can’t Be Found Sat. Feb 14 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 2 Director: Arjun Talwar USA, 2014, 16 Minutes

A day in the life of an ascetic as he wanders leisurely through a valley in southern India. Along the way, he meets numerous residents of the region and is curious about their lives. This popular philosopher enjoys considerable authority, is sometimes a teacher, and accepts events as the gifts of fate. At the end of the day, he returns to his shelter, where he contemplates life.

The Year We Thought About Love Mon. Feb 16 — 1:15 PM — Crystal Director: Ellen Brodsky USA, 2014, 68 Minutes

With grace, wit, and attitude, members of a LGBT youth theater rise to the challenge of creating a play about love, while re-writing the scripts of their own lives. Learning the power of honesty, together they face family rejection, church condemnation, and bombs outside their rehearsal space in Boston, Massachusetts.

A Big Thank You to Our Volunteers! Every year well over 100 volunteers donate their precious time to help us make the Festival happen. They are the people selling you tickets, ushering you to your seats, operating the projection systems and merchandise tables. They transport visiting filmmakers around town and provide support for our parties and events. Please treat them with the respect they deserve.

71 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

72 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

509 South Higgins Mon-Sat 10-7 Sun: 11-5 73 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule

Become A Member Join the BSFI Family and enjoy special screenings and festival discounts! Go to Bigskyfilmfest.org to become a member! Membership Levels Associate Producer: $50 As a BSFI AP, you will enjoy two free movie tickets, a 10% discount on All- Screenings or All-Access Passes and our annual Membership Party with dinner, drinks & sneak peeks to the upcoming festival. Producer: $150-499 As a BSFI Producer, enjoy the parties and screenings listed above plus one All- Screenings Pass to the next BSDFF. Director: $500 As a BSFI Director, enjoy one All-Access Pass to the next BSDFF. Executive Producer: $1000 As a BSFI Executive Producer, enjoy TWO ALL ACCESS PASSES to the next BSDFF. Our public programs include Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Filmmakers in the Schools, Big Sky Film Series, and Big Sky DocShop. Your membership helps make these programs possible. Your dollars help us bring filmmakers, films, journalists and industry leaders from all over the world to Missoula; create FREE Events throughout the year; and strengthen our growing documentary film community, bringing people and stories to our doorsteps, and widening our vision of the world. Thank you for supporting BIG SKY FILM INSTITUTE! 2015 BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS The festival includes four juried competitions - Best Feature Documentary, Best Short Documentary, Best Mini-Doc, and The Big Sky Award. Competition films are chosen prior to the festival. Jurors chose the winners during the festival. Read more about our distin- guished jurors on pages 14-15. 7474 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Film Guide and Schedule CASH AWARDS TO WINNERS Thanks to our sponsors Fusion TV, Montana Film Office and Missoula Federal Credit Union, this year we are able to offer cash prizes to all competition winners! Winners are announced at an Awards Party at the Top Hat Lounge, Friday, February 13, at 8 pm. The event is FREE and open to the public. Clips from all competition films will be featured at the event.

Festival Staff Membership Levels Festival Director Artwork/Design Programming Associates Gita Saedi Kiely Levi Hastings Jona Gerlach Michael Workman Vera Brunner-Sung Director of Programming Whitney Skauge Brooke Swaney Doug Hawes-Davis Jenny Rohrer Education Coordinator Marshall Granger Festival Coordinator/ Niki Vanek Erin Hale Associate Programmer Corina Bogart Pile Michael Workman Volunteer Coordinator Jason Masset Karissa Drye Reilly Curran Technical Director Ken Furrow BoxOffice Manager Merchandising Manager Ann Quirk Henry Hawkins Media Director Nick Davis Webmaster Program Design Executive Producer: $1000 Jim Coefield James Alan Rolph Social Media Direction Bonfire Branding & DocShop Manager Program Copy Communications Eva Cloud Conrad Scheid Marketing Travel & Filmmaker Interns Jim Parker Coordinated Zoe Contreras Sofia Beneventi Carol Bellin Logan Anderson Chelsey Haines Live/Interactive Events Filmmaker Liaisons Jona Gerlach Aaron Roos Big Sky Film Carol Bellin Institute Board Venue Managers Marianne Zugel Jason Wiener Jeri Rafter Erin Hale Festival Trailer & Damon Ristau Andrew Dziadosz Mentor Days Director Doug Hawes-Davis Domenico Cianciotto Tom Stagg Dru Carr Rita Pastore Events/Sponsorship Projection Hardware Jenny Rohrer Sarah Nasby Jason Wiener Bob Homer Travis Morss 75 It’s bigger than banking.

It’s you and together. PROUD TO SUPPORT THE BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL

firstinterstate.com Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. As your life unfolds, change is waiting around every corner. That’s why it’s comforting to know, for nearly 75 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana has been As your life unfolds, change is waiting around every with you every step of the way. So when life calls, and corner. That’s why it’s comforting to know, for nearly 75 you need us most, we’re here for you…through it all. years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana has been Aswith your you life every unfolds, step changeof the way. is waiting So when around life calls, every and corner.you need That’s us most, why it’swe’re comforting here for you…throughto know, for nearly it all. 75 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana has been with you every step of the way. So when life calls, and you need us most, we’re here for you…through it all.

Through it All

Through it All

Through it All

A division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Learn more or Enroll Today at bcbsmt.com I 855.765.1222 A division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Learn more or Enroll Today at bcbsmt.com I 855.765.1222

A division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Learn more or Enroll Today at bcbsmt.com I 855.765.1222 Proud Sponsor & Host Hotel of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

200 S Pattee Missoula, MT 406.721.8550 Beer with as much Character As the People who Drink It.

3-7-77 Checkout our visitor center in the MSO Hub, 140 North Higgins, corner of Higgins and EAT Main. SHOP PLAY RELAX DestinationMissoula.org EXPLORE Like A Locl 800.526.3465 BurnsStBistro_1-10_130377_Layout 1 8/6/14 10:51 AM Page 1

Proud Sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Film Strand

We provide quality services to individuals and families so they can remain in their homes and communities.

www.ConsumerDirectCare.com Issue:8/7/14 Size: 1/10 Color: 4-color Banking that actually gives back.

Free local rewards

Federally insured by NCUA. All loans subject to approval. Marianne Forrest Culinary Events Marianne Forrest Culinary Events Make your own story...

forrestmarianne.com Major Sponsors

Media Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors The Audience Awards Submittable UM School of Journalism Big Sky Brewing TopHat UM Dept. of Business Blue Cross Blue Shield WGM UMEM Consumer Direct, Inc Missoula Federal Credit Union The Good Food Store First Interstate Bank Montgomery Distillery University of Montana Plonk Summit Independent Living Center In-Kind Sponsors Black Coffee Lolo Brewery Draughtworks Brewery Bernice's Bakery ZooCity Apparel Bravo Catering Wildwood Brewery Garage Tees Le Petit Outre The Dana Gallery Kettlehouse Brewery Good Food Store Monte Dolack Gallery & Anderson Zurmuehlen The Loft Framing Accountants Tagliare Delicatessen SPECIAL THANKS Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation Humanities Montana Montana Office of Tourism (SEGP Grant) Montana Arts Council Destination Missoula (TBID Grant) 84 Thank You!