For more than 45 years the Good Food Store has been Missoula’s home for locally-produced, organic and bulk foods.
1600 S. 3rd St. West | Missoula | www.goodfoodstore.com WELCOME 3 Welcome Dearest Missoula, filmmakers and documentary film fans,
On behalf of the staff and board of the Big Sky Film Institute, thank you for joining us at the 17th annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Here in the heart of winter we welcome you, curious, thoughtful, excited and driven audiences, to experience illuminating stories from around the world. For Big Sky it is a transformative year as we welcome a guest programmer, settle the Institute in an exciting new home, and encounter a profound shift taking place in the modern canon of documentary film.
As we enter a new decade we are thrilled to present nearly 150 extraordinary films that explore turning points, tipping points, colliding cultures, dubious power, human resilience, natural wonders and elder wisdom. This year we also welcome two teams of filmmakers for retrospective programs, place-based filmmaker duo Bill Ross and Turner Ross and celebrated documentary veterans Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert. These exciting programs capture a prodigious spectrum of American experience, rights for women and workers, and the remarkable 50-year career of Julia Reichert. We introduce a new event this year, the Big Sky Centerpiece, a mid-festival spotlight on a film at the heart of the festival, which this year will explore the great threat to our public lands. Big Sky artist programs continue to expand as we welcome eight talented artists in the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab and ten films from Indigenous directors and producers. The DocShop filmmaker’s forum will navigate Sustainability & Integrity, exploring paths for building a sustainable career as a documentary filmmaker while upholding integrity as an independent storyteller. Behind the scenes at Big Sky are youth filmmaking workshops, festival field trips and nearly 50 filmmaker visits to schools, bringing documentary storytelling into classrooms across Montana.
We are living in a time of immense change. Behind us are lessons from the past, ahead of us are choices about how we influence and impact our children, our cultures and our planet. As documentary enjoys a renaissance, nonfiction storytellers are capturing an important moment in history, lending retrospect to help us make sense of how we got here, and hope for moving forward, together.
Rachel Gregg Executive Director Big Sky Film Institute
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Box Office and Festival Information...... 5 Youth Programs and Artist Development...... 34-43 Staff & Sponsors...... 8-10 Film Strands...... 44-47 Festival Exhibitions...... 14-23 Schedule of Films ...... 48-56 Competitions & Festival Jury...... 24-26 Film Guide ...... 63-109 DocShop & Pitch...... 28-33 Festival Map...... 110 Get a Front Row Seat to Nature
nature.org/montana © Amy Pearson/TNC © Amy BOX OFFICE & FESTIVAL INFORMATION 5
Festival Headquarters Location & Hours Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC) 216 W Main Street Opens Friday, February 14th at 12:00 pm HOURS: 10am to 7pm daily Feb 15-23
Advance tickets: bigskyfilmfest.org (available for pick up at the door) Buy passes: Festival HQ* Will call for all passes (All Access, All Screening, 5-Punch): Festival HQ
Pass Prices: All-Access Pass...... $325 All-Screening Pass...... $175 Weekend Pass (3-day All Access)...... $150 5-Punch Pass...... $40 Student/Senior 5-Punch Pass...... $30 Schoolhouse Docs...... $5 DocShop Pass (Feb 18-22)...... $150 Single Screening Ticket...... $9 Student/Senior Single Screening Ticket...... $7
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Passes and Merchandise are available for sale at the Festival Headquarters.
Single Screening Tickets may be purchased at the door 30 minutes prior to the screening, pending availability. Will call tickets for individual screenings may be picked up at the door.
Arrive Early We recommend passholders arrive 15-20 minutes early for screenings. All seating is general admission, first come, first serve. Reserved seating for ticketed patrons and passholders is guaranteed until show time. If you do not arrive by show time your seat may be released to the wait line.
Please Note Most of the films at this event are not rated by the MPAA. If you are bringing children, please read film descriptions carefully as some films may have sensitive content. If you have questions, please contact the festival office at 406-541-FILM (3456). "Reality leaves a lot to the imagination" -John Lennon BIG SKY FILM INSTITUTE 7 BIG SKY FILM INSTITUTE H OME OF THE BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL
Rooted in the heart of the mountain west, the Big Sky Film Institute nurtures and elevates nonfiction films that have the power to transform our world, our culture, our youth and ourselves. A 501c3 non-profit artist development in- stitute, the mission of BSFI is to celebrate and promote the art of nonfiction filmmaking, and to encourage media literacy by fostering public understanding and appreciation of documentary film.
BSFI works year-round to bring stories from across the globe to our beautiful mountain town, support the people who create documentary film, create vibrant events that gather our engaged community, and expand knowledge and conversation around issues that matter. BSFI PROGRAMS Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Now in its 17th year, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival is Montana’s largest cinema event and the premiere documentary film festival in the American West.
Native Filmmaker Initiative Uniquely located to elevate Native voices, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has a long tradition of celebrating Indigenous documentary film, stories from Indian Country and expressions of Indigenous filmmakers. The Native Filmmaker Initiative includes festival programming by Indigenous filmmakers, youth outreach, a digital toolkit curated for Native filmmakers, and a fellowship program for emerging Indigenous artists.
Big Sky Film Series The Big Sky Film Series is a free screening series featuring traditional and innovative nonfiction films with local interest. Curated by the BSFI, the series brings world class documentary film to Missoula with filmmakers or pan- elists in attendance for Q&A and community conversation.
DocShop Filmmaker’s Forum An industry conference in the heart of BSDFF, DocShop gathers filmmakers, innovators, students and media industry leaders to explore cutting-edge ideas that are shaping the field of documentary film today.
Youth Education Programs Big Sky Film Institute offers 5 educational programs that promote media literacy, opportunities for students, filmmakers and families to access, evaluate, create, reflect and engage in discourse on documentary film. • Filmmakers in the Schools takes films and filmmakers to classrooms during the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival • Big Sky Documentary Youth Fellowship is a 5-month college level course in documentary history, theory and hands-on filmmaking • Teen Doc Intensive is a 2-day documentary filmmaking crash course for high school students • Schoolhouse Docs is a slate of kids and family-friendly programming at the festival including films rated for kids by Missoula area educators • NFI Film Club is an educational outreach program that takes a curated selection of Indigenous documentary films, made by Indigenous filmmakers, into classrooms across the state of Montana! 8 STAFF
BIG SKY FILM INSTITUTE STAFF Festival Interns Kali Cantrell, Brie White Programmers Executive Director Rachel Gregg Sarah Briggs Programming Director Joanne Feinberg Wendy Conner Education Programs Coordinator Julia Sherman Warren Etheredge Festival Coordinator Adam Miller Technical Director Ken Furrow Rachel Gregg Adam Miller FESTIVAL STAFF Ivan MacDonald Darrel Pearce Print Traffic Coordinators Marshall Granger, Ryan Seitz Daniel TC Molloy Julia Sherman Special Events Austin Wallis Whitney Skauge Projection Design Jason Wiener Ryan Weibush Media Director Nick Davis Michael Workman Operations Manager Brittany Palmer Venue Managers John Budge, Tyler Grutsch, Big Sky Film Institute Board of Directors Michael Higgs, Kyle Hollinger, Lauren Orozco, Ellen Buchanan Conrad Scheid Dru Carr Program Design Kou Moua/KM Creative Bob Homer Festival Artwork David Miles Lusk Sarah McMillan Volunteer Manager Karissa Drye Willy Miller Box Office Managers Mikel Robinson, Kim Skufka John Passuccio Webmaster Jim Coefield Ann Quirk DocShop Producer Laura Lovo Damon Ristau Pitch Producer Alana Waksman Jeremy Sauter Travel Coordinator Michael Higgs Jason Wiener Transportation Coordinator Drew Mozzer Adam York 4th World Fellows Liaison Ivan MacDonald Videographer Katrina Shull Big Sky Film Institute Advisory Board Social Media Bonfire Branding Denise Dowling Design & Animation Megan Toenyes Travis Morss Festival Trailer Marshall Granger Paige Williams Merchandise & Concessions Manager Dan Solmon Michael Workman Teen Doc Intensive Instructors Alyson Spery, Drew Xanthopoulos Ari Laskin, Dru Carr
Nearly 300 Missoulians and devoted visitors are the engine that runs the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival as our ticket takers, ushers, projectionists, drivers, recyclers, hospitality pros and so much more. Please share a big THANK YOU with the next volunteer you see! We couldn’t do it without them. Stockman Bank opened its doors over 65 years ago with a vision to help the people, businesses and communities of Montana realize their dreams. Today, we continue to fulfill this promise with products and services uniquely designed for Montanans and a local banking experience built on relationships, integrity, expertise and results.
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Member FDIC | Equal Housing Lender 10 SPONSORS SPONSORS MAJOR SUPPORT FOR THE BIG SKY FILM INSTITUTE IS PROVIDED BY Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences National Endowment for the Arts Montana Film Office Nia Tero Foundation FOUNDATION SUPPORT Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation Greater Montana Foundation The Llewellyn Foundation MEDIA SPONSORS ABC Fox Montana KCTS9 Farmers State Bank Missoula Broadcasting Company MAJOR FESTIVAL SPONSORS Clearwater Credit Union Montgomery Distillery D.A. Davidson & Co. The Nature Conservancy Destination Missoula Stockman Bank First Interstate Bank Tribeca Film Institute Holiday Inn Zootown Arts Community Center FESTIVAL SUPPORTERS Bravo Catering Jeannette Rankin Peace Center Comfort Inn LumenAd General Public Payne West George’s Distributing Montana Natural History Center Good Food Store Montana PBS Grizzly Liquor Montana Public Radio Harvest Home Care Montana State Parks Inspired Classroom UM Entertainment Management ITVS UM School of Journalism IN KIND SPONSORS Cabinet Mountain Brewing Le Petit Outre Caffe Dolce Missoula Art Museum Dana Gallery Missoula Brewing Company Dram Shop Missoula Compost Collection Dry Fly Apartments MissoulaEvents.net Eventive Missoula Parking Commission Flanagan Motors Missoula Wine Merchants Free Cycles Montana Pro Audio Garage Tees Plonk Gild Brewing Riversong Gourmet Headframe Spirits The Roxy Theater Hellgate Elks Lodge Waterloo Sparkling Seltzer Hunter Bay Western Cider International Documentary Association Whiskey Leatherworks Kettlehouse Brewing Co. Willie’s Distillery Marianne Forrest Wilma Studio 54 THE MOST LOCAL NEWS IN WESTERN MONTANA EVERY WEEKNIGHT 5:00 6:00 6:30 9:00 10:00 WWW.ABCFOXMONTANA.COM
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WASTE LESS | WATCH MORE | FEEL BETTER
Big Sky strives to be a leader in ecologically sustainable event production, reduce our carbon footprint and encourage eco-consciousness and sustainable practices. Every year powerful film programming addresses environmental issues on scientific and social levels, engaging our audience on serious environmental challenges facing commu- nities across the globe. We continue our Toward Zero Waste initiative this year with support from Clearwater Credit Union and the High Stakes Foundation to significantly reduce the waste produced during the ten day festival, increase awareness of environmen- tal issues, promote behavioral solutions in our local community, and provide a model for other other film festivals in the industry at large. SALVAGE (2019)
WHAT WE’RE DOING: • Taking the Zero by Fifty Pledge with the city of Missoula! Learn more at zerobyfiftymissoula.com • Banning single-use plastic at our VIP events, opting for reusable or PLA and BPA certified vessels wherever possible • Using post-consumer recycled paper for printed projects • Partnering with eco-conscious vendors wherever possible • Providing recycling and compost receptacles at all festival venues • Planning festival events within walking distance, and making shuttles available for events outside the downtown proper
WHAT YOU CAN DO: • Walk, bike or take the FREE Mountain Line downtown! • Take only one program or plan your festivities with our online resources • Recycle your program and any paper you collect at the festival • Recycle! Compost! You’ll find bins at all festival venues. • Learn more about Towards Zero Waste and the City of Missoula’s Zero by Fifty initiative at www.ci.missoula.mt.us
Big Sky’s TZW initiative is generously supported by: Banking can be this good.
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Proud to support For over 80 years, D.A. Davidson has invested in the Big Sky Country’s cultural, educational and natural resources BIG SKY by offering straightforward advice, personalized solutions, DOCUMENTARY and industry expertise — an approach rooted in the values FILM FESTIVAL of a company that is as independent as you are.
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OPENING NIGHT FILM
THE STORY OF PLASTIC Directed by Deia Schlosberg Saturday, February 15th, 6:00pm, The Wilma, Free Admission
Opening Night 2020 is a reflection of Big Sky Documentary Film Festival’s commitment to strive Towards Zero Waste, honoring the values of the community that supports the event and a vision for a healthy environment for future generations.
THE STORY OF PLASTIC brings into focus the alarming, human-made crisis of a world overflowing with toxic material. Striking footage, original animations and archival material all point to the disastrous impact of the manufacture and use of plastics, shedding new light on a challenge that threatens the life and health of ani- mals, humans and civilization on Earth.
Director Deia Schlosberg and producer Megan Ponder in attendance.
Free Opening Night screening generously sponsored by Stockman Bank. CLOSING NIGHT 15
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
RUNNER Directed by Bill Gallagher Sunday, February 23rd, 6:00pm, The Wilma
As a boy, Guor Maker ran from capture in war-torn Sudan to eventually seek safety in the US. In his new life, Maker began running again, eventually qualifying for the Olympics. But because the newly formed South Sudan was not recognized by the International Olympic Committee, Maker had to fight to compete inde- pendently, refusing to run for Sudan and taking a stand against its oppression. RUNNER depicts Maker’s journey from refugee to world-renowned athlete, told in intimate interviews with animated flashbacks and culminating in a reunion with his parents after a 20-year separation. His story is a distinctly inspirational one in which the indomitable human spirit emerges against all odds.
Director Bill Gallagher and film subject Guor Maker in attendance 16 BIG SKY CENTERPIECE
Public Trust The Fight for 640 Million Acres of America’s Public Lands
PRESENTING PUBLIC TRUST A FILM BY DAVID GARRETT BYARS PRODUCED BY JEREMY HUNTER RUBINGH EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS ROBERT REDFORD YVON CHOUINARD ALEX LOWTHER MONIKA MCCLURE JOSH NIELSEN DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID GARRETT BYARS CO-DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY DREW XANTHOPOULOS EDITOR LYMAN SMITH ORIGINAL SCORE BY STEPHANIE NICORA BILL REYNOLDS WRITER LYMAN SMITH
© 2020 Patagonia, Inc. BIG SKY CENTERPIECE 17
The Big Sky Centerpiece is a spotlight on a film at the heart of the festival, an exceptional film screening in the center of the ten day event and a notable title for the Big Sky audience.
PUBLIC TRUST Directed by David Garrett Byars Monday, February 17th, 6:00pm, The Wilma
In a time of growing income inequality in America, there is one asset that remains in the hands of the American people: 640 million acres of Public Lands.
This valuable resource is the last large-scale public asset on the planet. Powerful forces have aligned to rob the American people of this unique birthright by attempting the most massive land grab in modern history.
PUBLIC TRUST investigates this phenomenon, traveling to the northern reaches of Alaska, the red rock canyons of southern Utah, and the lush wetlands of northern Minnesota. Montana based outdoor journalist Hal Herring helps to put the pieces together in an astonishing exposé that documents this secretive transfer of wealth happening in plain sight.
Panel with director David Garrett Byars, Patagonia representatives and film subjects to follow this screening.
20 RETROSPECTIVES
ROSS BROTHERS
Bill Ross and Turner Ross are an American filmmaking team whose immersive, place-based films have played to audiences around the world, garnering numerous awards and accolades. Their first feature, 45365, was the winner of the 2009 SXSW Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary and the Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction prize. Their intimate and nostalgic portrait of place introduced the world to the brothers’ deeply humanistic filmmaking style that remains one of the most recognizable and influential in American documentary.
With their subsequent films TCHOUPITOULAS (2012), WESTERN (2015) and CONTEMPORARY COLOR (2016), the duo has expanded the idea of what it means to make movies about a place and its people. Their newest film, BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS, had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
SELECTIONS 45365 (2009) - 94 min TCHOUPITOULAS (2012) - 80 min WESTERN (2015) - 92 min CONTEMPORARY COLOR (2016) - 97 min BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS (2020) - 98 min RETROSPECTIVES 21
We asked Bill and Turner about their unique approach to making BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS and how it connects to their previous work.
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS represents an evolution of the ideas and styles we’ve engaged with in our previous films – including the mosaic qualities of 45365, the organic looseness of TCHOUPITOULAS, and the backdropping of bigger themes while embellishing genre notes in WESTERN. But it’s our curiosity about experimenting with new filmmaking techniques – pushing beyond the surreal ‘departures’, fictional framing elements,“ and time/space limitations that we utilized in CONTEMPORARY COLOR – that make BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS so unique.
CONTEMPORARY COLOR (2016) We’ve been trying to make [BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS] for at least ten years. Another one of those growing piles of notes and ideas, ever-shifting, changing, growing, evolving as we went along, through other movies, learning lessons, filtering experience. We first scouted the thing in 2009 in a rundown Vegas at the depths of the recession, saw a gritty world bottoming out in the shadow of manufactured splendor. The setting seemed like a grand metaphor for the American delusion, the visual manifestation of the successes and failures of promise. What we finally landed on was something quite different – far more intimate. One room, way off the beaten path, where a small group of people could speak to the zeitgeist of this bewildering time in America in a place where people go to commiserate and find commonality, or at least catharsis.”
Bill and Turner will present a DocShop Master Class on Monday, February 17th at the Hellgate Elks Lodge at 10:30am. 22 RETROSPECTIVES
STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT
Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert are Ohio based, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmakers whose exceptional body of award-winning work has screened at top film festivals and on HBO, PBS and Netflix. They are members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and their creative impact on the documentary filmmaking community is immeasurable.
Their most recent film, AMERICAN FACTORY , premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary. It was acquired by Netflix and President Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions. The film has screened in over 30 film festivals worldwide and received a 2020 Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary. Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert are the first directing team to receive Cinema Eye Honors for Outstanding Nonfiction Feature and Outstanding Direction for the film.
Julia is a four-time Academy Award nominee, for her films UNION MAIDS (1976) and SEEING RED: STORIES OF AMERICAN COMMUNISTS (1983), and for the films she and Steven have made collaboratively, THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT (2009) and AMERICAN FACTORY (2020). She is the recipient of the 2018 IDA Career Achievement Award, the 2019 Hot Docs Outstanding Achievement Award and a national touring retro- spective curated by the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which debuted RETROSPECTIVES 23
in May 2019. Julia is Professor Emerita at Wright State University. Steven’s solo films PERSONAL BELONGINGS, PICTURE DAY and GRAVEL premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. He has lectured at Harvard, Yale and Stan- ford Universities.
Steven and Julia shared their thoughts about the Big Sky program:
This retrospective means the world to us, and as Julia celebrates her 50th year as a documentary filmmaker, we’re excited to share our formative early work, some deep cuts, and some films that other folks now call classics. Julia’s first film, GROWING UP FEMALE (1972, made with Jim Klein), is the first feature film to come out of the modern Women’s Movement, and feels more relevant today than it has in years. It’s on the “National Film Registry. Our epic A LION IN THE HOUSE (2006) is the hardest, most intense film we’ve ever made, but in many ways it’s the film we are most proud of. There’s a bunch of our shorts that Big Sky has chosen to show, and it’s exciting to see them play with each other. We’ve heard so many great things about Big Sky audiences from filmmaker friends, and we so look forward to being there!”
Julia and Steven will present a DocShop Master Class on Friday, February 21st at 4:00pm.
SELECTIONS AMERICAN FACTORY (2019, 115 min) FOUNDRY NIGHT SHIFT (2014, 5 min) GROWING UP FEMALE (1971, 52 min) LAST REEL (2015, 8 min) THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT (2009, 42 min) A LION IN THE HOUSE (2006, 230 min) MAKING MORNING STAR (2015, 37 min) NO GUNS FOR CHRISTMAS (2014, 7 min) PERSONAL BELONGINGS (1996, 63 min) PICTURE DAY (1999, 7 min) SEEING RED: STORIES OF AMERICAN COMMUNISTS (1983, 100 min) SPARKLE (2012, 18 min) UNION MAIDS (1976, 52 min)
UNION MAIDS (1976) 24 FESTIVAL JURY
SUZAN BERAZA Suzan is a Hispana-Latina-American and was born and raised in the Caribbean. Suzan’s film URANIUM DRIVE-IN was a recipient of Sundance Institute and Chicken and Egg funding and was featured at Good Pitch and at Hot Docs Pitch Forum. The film was awarded the Big Sky Award, was honored for documentary excellence by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists, and was part of the American Film Showcase. Her most recent film, MASSACRE RIVER: The Wom- an Without a Country, is the recipient of ITVS funding, and was selected for the Points North Fel- lowship and IFP Spotlight on Documentaries. Suzan became Festival Director for Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado in 2017.
DAVID GARRETT BYARS David Byars made his directorial debut at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival with NO MAN’S LAND (Tri- beca Film Festival 2017, Independent Lens, Big Sky Award), a documentary about the 2016 militia occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Byars also produced and lensed MASSACRE RIVER (Hot Docs 2019, ITVS, PBS), Suzan Beraza’s film about statelessness in the Dominican Re- public. Byars’ latest film, PUBLIC TRUST, will world premiere at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
QUINN COSTELLO Quinn Costello introduced Missoula to giant 20 pound swamp rats via his directorial debut doc- umentary Rodents of Unusual Size. After ROUS played at the 2018 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival it went on to screen at over 100 festivals and racked up more than 20 awards before having its television debut on Independent Lens. He has directed and edited documentaries for PBS, Disney+ and many others. He grew up in several towns over in northern Idaho where his high school mascot was “the maniac.”
WARREN ETHEREDGE Warren Etheredge is a Storyfinder™, a successful producer, published author, staged play- wright and veteran festival programmer. In 2017 he launched a screenwriting program at the University of Washington and was appointed the VP of Curation & Acquisitions for Tom Skerritt’s start-up, Heyou Media. He is one of the founding faculty of TheFilmSchool and The Red Badge Project, helping combat veterans work through PTSD and other issues by teaching them the art of storytelling. He is the Co-founder and Curator for the Walla Walla Movie Crush, co-founder of the Rainier Independent Film Festival and shorts programmer for The Seattle Jewish Film Festival. Additionally, Warren is the founder of The Warren Report.
CLARE ANN HARF Clare Ann is the Executive Director of MAPS Media Institute, a nonprofit educational organiza- tion whose mission is “to empower, inspire and prepare Montana’s next generation for future success through professional media arts instruction, engaging community service and com- passionate mentoring.” Under her leadership, MAPS' free-of-charge media arts programming continues to expand to communities statewide and has won numerous regional and national production awards, as well as the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. She is a professional daydreamer whose preferred office is outside.
ANNE HUBBELL Anne Hubbell is a respected film industry veteran with 20 years of extensive corporate, not-for- profit and production experience. As VP of Motion Picture at Kodak she consults on studio and independent movies, episodic content, commercials and music videos. She co-founded Tangerine Entertainment, the first production company and community builder focused on media by women directors. Her producing credits include KEEP THE CHANGE (2017), THE LAST LAUGH (2016), PAINT IT BLACK (2016), GAYBY (2012), LIPSTICK & DYNAMITE (2004), seasons of IFC’s Independent Focus (2001) and iFilm@IFC (1999). She currently serves on the boards of NY Women in Film & Television, the NY Production Alliance and Rooftop Films, and is a member of the Producers Guild of America. FESTIVAL JURY 25
SARAH LASH Sarah Lash is the senior director of acquisitions at Condé Nast Entertainment (CNE). Lash is responsible for acquiring premium content for the company’s network of digital channels, in- cluding Glamour, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and WIRED. In 2009, Lash produced the No Borders co-production market, organized by the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP). Previous- ly she was the head of domestic sales for Cinetic Media where she was instrumental in the sales of various titles for the Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca and Toronto film festivals. Lash has a BA in English and Philosophy from Colgate University.
CAROLINE LIBRESCO Caroline Libresco is a leading film curator, producer, and program strategist. From 2001-2019 she was senior programmer for the Sundance Film Festival and founding director of Sundance’s Women's Initiative and its Catalyst Program, where she raised $30+ million for 89 projects. She was an executive at ITVS, SF Film Festival, and SF Jewish Film Festival. Creative producing cred- its include Peabody Award-winner AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY: THE EVOLUTION OF GRACE LEE BOGGS. Through her company Gabbert/Libresco Projects, she executive produced DISCLOSURE: TRANS LIVES ON SCREEN, premiering at Sundance 2020.
JUSTIN LUBKE Justin Lubke strives to live a curiosity driven life. Along the way he works as a director and cine- matographer on projects ranging from pumas in Patagonia to nomadic tribes in Kenya. Justin’s first documentary feature CLASS C: THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN won an EMMY award and took top prizes at Big Sky and Jackson Hole Film Festivals. He lensed the documentary NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT that Roger Ebert called one of the year’s best films. His short SO DAMN GLAD took top prize at the Austin Film Festival. Justin’s passion for storytelling that can make a difference has led to work with organizations like United Way, NASA and The Wilderness Society and helped raise millions of dollars to support conservation and educational causes.
SOHRAB MIRAB Sohrab is a filmmaker and translator in the field of cinema who currently lives in Tehran. He gradu- ated from San Francisco State University (SFSU) School of Cinema in 2016 with Master of Fine Arts degree. For the past three years, he has worked intensively with the international department at Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC) as a translator and as the international affairs coordinator and social media administrator for all content in English. He has also worked with CIC (Chronicle of Iranian Cinema), an online Iranian-based film database Iranian film information.
KIMBERLY REED Kimberly Reed’s most recent film, DARK MONEY, was an award-winning selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and promptly named one of Vogue’s “66 Best Documentaries of All Time,” nominated for Best Documentary of the Year by IDA, and nominated for four Critics’ Choice Awards. DARK MONEY was on the 2019 Oscar shortlist. She is a member of the Academy of Mo- tion Picture Arts & Sciences. Kim also directed/produced PRODIGAL SONS (Telluride Film Festival, First Run Features, Sundance Channel), produced/edited/wrote PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE (Zeitgeist Films), and produced THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON (Netflix).
JEFF STERRENBERG Jeff Sterrenberg is a nonfiction and experimental filmmaker based in Brooklyn. He is a founding member of the Meerkat Media Worker Cooperative and has been a member of Meerkat Media Collective since 2009. He is a strong believer in non-hierarchical, collaborative filmmaking and loves to discuss consensus based decision making processes as part of his work with Meerkat. His work has been screened at festivals around the world including CPH:DOX, The New Orleans Film Festival, IFFR in Rotterdam, The LA Film Festival and Rooftop Films. His professional work has been seen on National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Atlantic, TIME and PBS. 26 COMPETITIONS BSDFF COMPETITIONS
Four BSDFF competitions shine a spotlight on new and superior works in documentary filmmaking. One winner will be selected by the festival jury in each of the following categories.
Award recipients in each category receive a $500 cash prize, and will screen again on Sunday, February 23rd (see online schedule for show times). Winners in the Short and Mini-Doc categories automatically qualify for consideration by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for an Oscar in the documentary shorts competition in the following year. Awards will be presented Friday, February 21st at the GoodWorks Place in downtown Missoula, open to All Access Pass Holders!
FEATURE COMPETITION BAATO - Lucas Millard, Kate Stryker PERSONHOOD - Jo Ardinger CURRENT SEA - Christopher Smith SANKARA IS NOT DEAD - Lucie Viver FEELS GOOD MAN - Arthur Jones SOME KIND OF HEAVEN - Lance Oppenheim I AM NOT ALONE - Garin Hovannisian THE STORY OF PLASTIC - Deia Schlosberg MURGHAB - Martin Saxer, Marlen Elders, Daler Kaziev SUNLESS SHADOWS - Mehrdad Oskouei
BIG SKY AWARD COMPETITION Films that artistically honor the character, history, tradition and imagination of the American West.
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS - Bill Ross & Turner Ross THE HOUSE THAT ROB BUILT - Megan Harrington, Jonathan Cipiti PUBLIC TRUST - David Garrett Byars THE RACE TO ALASKA - Zach Carver SISTERS RISING - Willow O’Feral, Brad Peck
SHORT COMPETITION ASHO - Jafar Najafi BOBCATS ON THREE - Alison Taupier CHARACTER - Vera Brunner-Sung CHURCH AND THE FOURTH ESTATE - Brian Knappenberger COLETTE - Anthony Giacchino LA ROLL - Helki Frantzen MY NAME IS ANIK - Bircan Birol RECORDING KAWAIISU - Adam Loften STATUS PENDING - Priscilla González Sainz WELCOME STRANGERS - Dia Sokol Savage
MINI COMPETITION ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA - Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater ALL I HAVE TO OFFER YOU IS ME - Dillon M. Hayes A BOLD EXPERIMENT - Andrew Miller, Alexander Milan ¡CHAPORAZZI! - César Martínez Barba CONNECTION - Tracy Nguyen-Chung, Ciara Lacy EGG CUP REQUIEM - Prisca Bouchet, Nick Mayow IT’S COMING! - Nathan Truesdell, Jessica Kingdon TO KEEP AS ONE - Katie Basile ONE THOUSAND STORIES: THE MAKING OF A MURAL - Tasha Van Zandt TURF NATION - Jun Bae
28 DOCSHOP
SUSTAINABILITY & INTEGRITY IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING The workshops and panels for DocShop 2020 will focus on Sustainability and Integrity, exploring paths for building a sustainable career as a documentary filmmaker while maintaining integrity as an independent storyteller. The field of documentary filmmaking, while socially productive and personally fulfilling, is high- ly competitive, uniquely demanding and structurally inequitable. Through panels and workshops, DocShop 2020 will be a forum aimed at building capacity, elevating diverse voices and substantiating viable careers by leveraging and strengthening collaborative filmmaking models and expanding access to resources at each level of the filmmaking process.
DocShop is supported in part by an ArtWorks grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
DocShop Pass - $150 Includes admission to all DocShop sessions, a 5-punch film pass and VIP events. Single Session tickets available for $10 at the door.
Student Admission DocShop is FREE for University of Montana or Montana State University Students.
Location All DocShop sessions take place at the Residence Inn (125 N Pattee Street) unless otherwise noted*
DocShop is an ADA Accessible event. Accommodations available upon request. Please contact [email protected] or call the Big Sky office with your request (406) 541-3456
Thank you to our DocShop sponsors DOCSHOP 29 DocShop Schedule
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 17th - Building Sustainability: The Filmmaker Entrepreneur 10:30am Master Class with Bill Ross & Turner Ross A unique chat with Big Sky 2020 retrospective artists the Ross Brothers. *Elks Lodge Filmmaker Lounge 12:00pm The Producers Behind-the-scenes gurus demystify the oft-invisible role of the producer, pay equity in a ill-defined field, and discuss where lines blur between producer and director when wearing many hats. 2:00pm The Long Game: Seven Year Docs Some stories need time to tell. Hear from filmmakers who planned for multi-year projects or rolled with the punches as circumstances, subjects and opportunities shifted. 4:00pm The Grant Writers The International Documentary Association’s Toni Bell discusses the Documentary Core Application and how grant writing can help hone story and verbal pitching skills.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18th - Building Integrity: The Filmmaker Collective 10:30am Meerkat Media: A Collective and a Co-op Representatives from artistic community Meerkat Media talk about Meerkat’s unique, consensus-based process that values diverse experience and expertise, Meerkat supports the creation of thoughtful and provocative stories that reflect a complex world. 12:00pm Kartemquin Films - Empowering Truth Kartemquin co-founder Gordon Quinn ruminates with Big Sky Doc Fest founder Doug Hawes-Davis on the 40-year old collaborative community that is Kartemquin Films, empowering doucmentary makers who create stories that foster a more engaged and just society. 2:00pm Field of Vision: A Filmmaker-Driven Documentary Unit Field of Vision's Kristen Fitzpatrick and June Jennings discuss how making“filmmaker-driven” a guiding principle, elevates emerging artists and productively influences how projects are funded, developed and sent into the world.
Additional support provided by 30 DOCSHOP
4:00pm Case Study: PARADISE WITHOUT PEOPLE and TIME Studios From TIME Magazine's in-depth coverage of the refugee crisis came a film that combined the magazine’s authoritative journalism with the unique power of cinematic storytelling.
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19th - Integrity & Representation 10:30am Filmmaking as Community Filmmaking is a collaborative venture and the communities you surround yourself with matter. Hear from filmmakers who have built intentional networks, found critical support from their peers and found their voice through coalition. 12:00pm Indigenous Filmmakers and New Media Indigenous filmmakers discuss the appeal, challenges and potential of VR, AR, XR and other new media storytelling platforms. 2:00pm Legal Empowerment with Indie Law Clinic Whose story are you telling and how do you protect them? Best practices and advice from Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin of the Indie Law Clinic. 4:00pm The Art of the Pitch Mentors from Tribeca Film Institute and ESPN share sage advice on preparing your elevator pitch and longform presentations to funders, collaborators and influencers in the doc world at large.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20th - Big Sky Pitch & IF/Then Shorts Pitch *Zootown Arts Community Center - Free and open to the public 9:00am - 11:00am Tribeca Film Institute IF/Then Shorts Pitch 12:00pm - 5:00pm Big Sky Pitch
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21st - Integrity and Equity in Funding & Distribution 10:30am Pillars of Post Production Funding Planning, budgeting and creative solutions for funding post production! Hear from funding pros and filmmakers about reaching the funding finish line. 12:00pm The 7 Deadly Sins of Self Distribution Distribution strategist Jon Reiss covers basics of strategy, how distributors work, marketing fundamentals and how to leverage data for your release. 2:00pm New Day Films & Impact Distribution Award-winning filmmaker, Big Sky alum and New Day Films member/ owner Jonathan Skurnik shares his wisdom and experience around educational distribution and impact strategies. 4:00pm Master Class with Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar DOCSHOP 31 TRIBECA IF/THEN SHORTS PITCH Thursday, February 20th, 9am to 11am - ZACC Free and open to the public
The 2020 Tribeca IF/Then shorts pitch for the American West, in partnership with ESPN, welcomes storytellers living and working in the American West that are producing creative, story-driven films exploring issues around health through the lens of athleticism, sports and competition. Six projects will pitch for a chance at $25,000.
HEALTHY STRUGGLE Co-Director/Producer: Dania N. Cabello Co-Director: Yvan Iturriaga Two freestyle soccer players, one of the most expensive cities in the US, and physical expressions of freedom intertwined in the pursuit of health and reclamation of public space through play. BREAKING BOUNDARIES Director: Dina Burlis Producer: Melissa Azizi Nastasya, 19, is poised to become the first woman of color to ever compete in rhyth- mic gymnastics at the 2020 Olympic Games. Our film follows the physical, financial and emotional challenges she faces on her unprecedented journey against all odds. GIRL V. HORSE Director/Co-Producer: Nicole Teeny Co-Producer: Mariel Sarkis After recovering from a neurological disorder, I set out on a lifelong goal: to race a marathon against a horse. This whimsical and poetic documentary explains how humans evolved to be runners while exploring the competing relationship between body versus the mind and girl versus horse. ONE WORD SAWALMEM Director/Producer: Natasha Deganello Giraudie Director: Michael “Pom” Preston The son of the Winnemem Wintu tribal chief receives guidance from the spirits to organize a 300-mile athletic and prayerful journey by foot, bike, kayak, horseback to help California recognize the wisdom in native worldview and the clues it offers for untangling ourselves from the climate crisis. LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE Director: Kelly Bouma Lois is 83. Gettin’ old sucks, but she’s rolling with it. When age slows her down, what does she do in her spare time? She bowls. Satisfying Lois’ competitive spirit, bowling keeps her active and out of social isolation many older Montanans are facing at a rapid rate. THE LAST 500 Director/Producer: Nico Sandi Ellen Tomek and Meghan O’Leary have more than 30 years of combined rowing ex- perience. They’ve been rowing together in the double, a famously unforgiving boat, for more than 6 years. After falling short of a medal in the Rio Olympics they only have one more chance: Tokyo 2020. They know what they need to do to get there, but what comes next may be just as difficult. 32 YOUTHDOC PROGRAMS SHOP
The 2020 Big Sky Pitch will welcome ten filmmaking teams to pitch their documentary work-in-progress to a panel of top commissioning editors and funders for documentary film. The Big Sky Pitch is open to a live audience of filmmakers, industry representatives, festival attendees and students.
Thursday, February 20, 12pm to 5pm | ZACC This event is free and open to the public
NOMADS Across America, a growing community of people are living out of cars, vans and RVs: senior citizens who can’t afford to retire; fam- ilies escaping the rat race; millennials displaced by skyrocketing housing costs. In search of true freedom and meaning, they’ve embraced a radical revision of the American Dream. Pitch Participants: Vanessa Carr (director) and Josh Gleason (director)
MANZANAR, DIVERTED Manzanar, Diverted tells the story of intergenerational women fighting to preserve the land and water of Payahuunadü / the Owens Valley from the insatiable thirst of Los Angeles. Bound by the legacies of colonization and forced removal, Native Ameri- cans, Japanese Americans and local environmentalists form an unexpected alliance to fight for their dignity, their home and for future generations. Pitch Participants: Ann Kaneko (director/producer) and Jin Yoo-Kim (producer)
SNAPSHOTS OF ZEMBER Zember, Mu Phou and other Kayan women wearing traditional brass rings coiled around their necks were marketed as cam- era-friendly tourist attractions in admission-charging villages. After 18 years, Zember rebelled. Pitch Participant: Sara Joe Wolansky (director/producer)
YINT’AH Freda Huson (Chief Howilhkat), a Wet’suwet’en leader, faces down fossil fuel corporations, the government and police wield- ing assault rifles as she leads her nation in a high stakes struggle to protect their territory from gas and oil pipelines. Pitch Participants: Sam Vinal (co-director) and Franklin López (producer/editor) DOC SHOP 33
AMERICAN ESPIONAGE American ESPionage is a stranger-than-fiction documentary that reveals the rise and fall of the US Government’s top-secret, Cold War psychic espionage program through the story of my father, Paul Smith. It traces the program from its inception at the Stanford Research Center, funded by the CIA, through its evolution to an operational program within the US Department of Defense where it provided corroborating intelligence to US defense agencies. Pitch Participant: Christopher Smith (director/producer)
BREATH OF YI When three families of the Yi ethnic minority in Southwest China tried to ride the wave of the economic boom, they were caught up in drug abuse and AIDS, losing husbands and fathers. Now these HIV-infected widows endeavor to get back on their feet and give their children a chance at an education. Pitch Participant: Heying Chen (director/producer)
BEBA Set in New York City, and trapped in the mind of an Afro-Latina poet, activist and daughter of immigrants, “Beba” shares her emotional process of becoming a thriving young black woman in America. Pitch Participants: Sofia Geld (director), Rebeca Huntt (director) and Amanda Naseem (producer)
THE PROGRAM When a Facebook friend request unearths decades of male child sexual abuse at a rural Montana high school, survivors and their lawyers must fight decades of institutional failures to find justice in the courtroom and state legislature. Pitch Participant: Ann Rodgers (producer)
TAKEOVER! Bronx, 1970. To the NYPD, they were a street gang. To the FBI, they were a national threat. To their community, the Young Lords were their last hope. Pitch Participant: Emma Francis-Snyder (director)
XA-LYU K’YA (WORLD OF MOUNTAINS) What begins as a story of man’s relationship to the land quickly evolves into something much more... as mist, jaguars, carbon, hallu- cinogenic mushrooms and dreams announce themselves as crucial actors in an environmental and epistemic conflict. In “Xa-lyu K’ya” (World of Mountains), the Oaxacan Chatino people, international corporations and environmental NGOs become entangled in the debate over the fate of Mexico’s rapidly disappearing cloud forest. Pitch Participants: Carlo Nasisse (director) and Geronimo Barrera (director) 34 YOUTH PROGRAMS 2020 YOUTH PROGRAMS 16,542 STUDENTS reached in over 50 schools since 2015 through Big Sky’s Filmmakers in the Schools and the Native Filmmaker Initiative youth outreach program, starting conversations, engaging new topics and sharing global stories with Montana’s youth through documentary film!
8,466 VIRTUAL MILES TRAVELED taking filmmakers into rural schools across the state of Montana via video conferencing technology, connecting students in underserved areas with artists and nonfiction films that promote dialogue through active discussion. 50+ EDUCATORS collaborated with our programs! Big Sky works with partners and education specialists across the state to connect its documentary films to curricula being taught in Montana classrooms. 25 YOUTH FILMS created through the Big Sky Documentary Youth Fellowship and the Teen Doc Intensive artist development programs since 2015.
These programs train tomorrow’s documentary storytellers in the heart of Missoula.
Additional support for BSFI Youth Programs is provided by the Llewellyn Foundation. YOUTH PROGRAMS 35
SCHOOLHOUSE DOCS
Films for the whole Family! Schoolhouse Docs films have been rated for students by Missoula educators and offer a variety of age-appropriate and perspective-widening themes, bringing non-fiction film to the next generation. Schoolhouse Docs Screenings are $5 at the door.
TUESDAY, Feb. 18th, 4pm ZACC - 8th grade & up (mature themes; language warning) LOOKING FORWARD FROM YESTERDAY - 9 min, ONE THOUSAND STORIES: THE MAKING OF A MURAL - 14 min, A WORD AWAY - 19 min, IN THIS TOGETHER, WE ARE ONE: THE BUFFALO UNITY PROJECT - 21 min (TRT 63 min)
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19th, 4pm ZACC - 3rd grade & up (language warning) CONNECTION - 8 min, BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS - 9 min, DICK OGG: FISHERMAN - 10 min, RIVER QUEENS: HIGHLIGHT MY STRENGTHS - 15 min, L.A. ROLL - 17 min (TRT 59 min)
RIVER QUEENS: HIGHLIGHT MY STRENGTHS (2020) THURSDAY, Feb. 20th, 4pm ELKS - All Ages MY FAVOURITE FOOD IS INDIAN TACOS, MY FAVOURITE DRINK IS ICED TEA AND MY FAVOURITE THING IS DRUMMING - 4 min, DÍA DE LA MADRE - 6 min, A BOLD EXPERIMENT - 9 min, BOBCATS ON THREE - 39 min (TRT 58 min)
FRIDAY, Feb. 21st, 4pm ZACC - 6th grade & up (language warning) YOUTH FELLOWSHIP FILMS - 10 min, TEEN DOC INTENSIVE FILM - 5 min, NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US - 12 min, NEBULA - 13 min, THE LOVE BUGS - 34 min (TRT 74)
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In This Together, We Are One: Looking Forward The Buffalo Unity Project From Yesterday 40 ARTIST PROGRAMS 4th WORLD INDIGENOUS MEDIA LAB
In 2020 the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival and Camden International Film Festival forged a new partnership to expand the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab. The year-long fellowship supports emerging and mid-career Indigenous filmmakers with opportunities to develop filmmaking skills and networks through festival participation, hands-on training, masterclasses, work-in-progress development, pitching and meetings with funders and other industry decision-makers. Program partners also include Indigenous Media Arts organization Longhouse Media and major supporter the Nia Tero Foundation.
4TH WORLD INDIGENOUS MEDIA LAB FILMMAKERS
JUSTYN AH CHONG Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) Justyn Ah Chong is an award-winning Native Hawaiian filmmaker from O’ahu, Hawaiʻi. Upon graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2011 Justyn began working at ʻŌiwi Tele- vision, Hawai’i’s first Indigenous television broadcast station. Over the span of seven years, he filmed and edited a variety of projects including working as a Director of Photography on the feature documentary MELE MURALS, which won numerous awards including Best Documen- tary Feature at the Guam International Film Festival and the Special Jury Award at the Hawai’i International Film Fes- tival. In 2019, Justyn had his directorial debut with his acclaimed film DOWN ON THE SIDEWALK IN WAIKIKI, which premiered at the Maoriland Film Festival in New Zealand and won the People’s Choice Award for Best Short Drama.
CHAD CHARLIE Ahousaht First Nation From the village of Ahousaht First Nation, Chad Charlie is a Black and Indigenous filmmaker continuing the tradition of storytelling in a contemporary format. Beginning his career writ- ing as a stand-up comedian and spoken word artist, Chad is a filmmaker and storyteller that extends the same passion for power and poetry into the medium of film.
EMILY COHEN IBAÑEZ Latinx (Colombian-American) Emily Cohen Ibañez is a Latinx (Colombian-American) Director, Writer, Producer, and Cine- matographer, proud of the indigenous heritage that is a part of her Colombian identity. She earned her doctorate in Anthropology (2011) with a certificate in Culture and Media at NYU. Her film work pairs cinematic excellence with social activism. Her debut feature documentary BODIES AT WAR/MINA (2015) premiered at El Festival de Cine de Bogotá, screened in 22 Colombian municipalities most affected by landmines, and continues to be screened in universities in the United States and internationally.
ASHLEY SOLIS Nahua and Chicana Ashley Solis is a teenage farmworker, factory worker, and home-aid, born and raised on the central coast of California. She has spent five years working on food security and justice for her community with the Community Agroecology Network. A member of the River Park Video Collective, she helped make a short community film, CULTIVATING JUSTICE. She is currently a Co-Writer on the feature documentary, FRUITS OF LABOR, a coming of age story about her life, directed and co-written by Emily Cohen Ibañez. Ashley is Nahua and Chicana, proud of her Aztec heritage, her Nahua grandmothers’ healing traditions, and the Nahautl language some of her family members speak. ARTIST PROGRAMS 41
GEORGIANNA LEPPING Solomon Islander Georgianna “Jojo” Lepping (Solomon Islander) is a filmmaker, activist, writer, and freelance media maker based in the Solomon Islands. From 2011-2019, Jojo worked as a radio an- nouncer and journalist. She left this successful career to pursue filmmaking and festival pro- gramming full time beginning with a three-week documentary expedition which traveled to three rural provincial areas in the Solomons as part of a cohort film collective. Their first short SKY AELANS will premiere March 2020 at the Maoriland Film Festival in Aotearoa.
REGINA LEPPING Solomon Islander Regina Lepping (Solomon Islander) is an actor, youth advocate, filmmaker and activist. In 2016, Regina co-founded the Honiara Film Club, which was an initiative that brought to light issues of gender-based violence in the Solomon Islands. Her first breakout role was in the 2017 award-winning short film BLACKBIRD where she first became interested in scriptwrit- ing. Her recent film about the biodiversity of the Solomons, titled SKY AELANS, will premiere at the Maoriland Film Festival in Aotearoa this March 2020.
ALEXIS SALLEE Iñupiaq Alexis Anoruk Sallee grew up in Anchorage, Alaska of Iñupiaq descent. Her love of filmmaking and sound found its start in radio. After attending Full Sail University where she earned a Bach- elors of Science in Recording Arts, she took her skills to L.A. There she worked in audio post-pro- duction on various film and television projects including Oculus, Poltergeist, Birth of the Drag- on, NBC’s Allegiance, and Showtime documentary PLAY IT FORWARD. She served as Co-Director and Producer of the 2018 documentary DEFINITION OF RESILIENCE, which highlights the dynamic stories of Indigenous hip-hop MCs. In 2019, she wrote and directed her debut short film WHO WE ARE, a personal project dedicated to her Iñupiaq ancestors. Alexis continues to work on cultural visual projects that honors Indigenous stories and people.
ASIA YOUNGMAN Cree, Métis, and Haudenosaunee Asia Youngman is an award-winning film director from Vancouver, Canada. Her films have premiered at a variety of festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, the Van- couver International Film Festival and the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. Asia’s first film LELUM’ won the award for Best Documentary Short at imagineNATIVE in 2017 and her latest film THIS INK RUNS DEEP won Best Documentary Short at the 2019 Calgary In- ternational Film Festival. She has worked on numerous projects commissioned by CBC, Creative BC, TELUS, Human Rights Watch, History Channel and Corus Entertainment. Asia is currently in pre-production for her short drama/ comedy HATHA, which received support from Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund and Creative BC, and she is also in early development for her first feature-length documentary GAME 7. She is an alumna from the Canadian Academy Directors Program for Women and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Victoria.
Major support provided by:
Special thanks to the 4th World partners and sponsors:
INDIGENOUS VOICES 43
NATIVE FILMMAKER STRAND
The city of Missoula sits on Salish land, and Montana is home to twelve tribal nations and seven Indian reserva- tions, each with its own culture, language, identity and history. Uniquely located to elevate Native voices, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has a long tradition of celebrating Indigenous documentary film, stories from Indian Country and expressions of American Indian filmmakers. The Native Filmmaker Strand includes these ten official selections that are directed or produced by Indigenous filmmakers: ahkâmêyimo nitânis (KEEP GOING, MY DAUGHTER) - Candy Fox (Director) Sun. Feb. 16 - 5:30pm ZACC, Thurs. Feb. 20 - 11am ELKS
BLACKFEET BOXING - Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald (Producers) Wed. Feb. 19 - 1:30pm ZACC, Sun. Feb. 23 - 3:30pm WILMA
CONNECTION - Tracy Nguyen-Chung, Ciara Lacy (Directors) Wed. Feb. 19 - 4:00pm ZACC, Thurs. Feb. 20 6:00p WILMA, Sun. Feb. 23 - 6:30pm ELKS
ahkâmêyimo nitânis (KEEP GOING, MY DAUGHTER, 2019) DEAR GEORGINA - N. Bruce Duthu, Tracy Rector (Producers) Sun. Feb. 16 - 9:00pm ELKS, Sat. Feb. 22 - 6:30pm ELKS
IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS - Rachel Naninaaq Edwardson, Larissa Behrendt (Producers) Sun. Feb 16 - 3:00pm ZACC
LOOKING FORWARD FROM YESTERDAY - Alexis Bigby (Director) Tues. Feb. 18 - 4pm ZACC, Sun. Feb. 23 - 3:30pm WILMA
MY FAVOURITE FOOD IS INDIAN TACOS, MY FAVOURITE DRINK IS ICED TEA AND MY FAVOURITE THING IS DRUMMING - Derius Matchewan (Director) Thurs. Feb. 20 - 4pm ELKS, Fri. Feb. 21 - 6:30pm ZACC
SISTERS RISING - Tantoo Cardinal, Jaida Grey Eagle (Producers) Sun. Feb. 16 - 5:30pm ZACC, Thurs. Feb. 20 - 11am ELKS
THIS INK RUNS DEEP - Asia Youngman (Director) Sun. Feb. 16 - 8pm ZACC, Thurs. Feb. 20 - 1pm WILMA
WHEN THE CHILDREN LEFT - Charlene Moore (Director) Sun. Feb. 16 - 5:30pm ZACC, Thurs. Feb. 20 - 11am ELKS 44 FILM STRANDS
ACTIVISM & JUSTICE The fight for what is right Abortion Helpline, This is Lisa Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly No Gold For Kalsaka All That Remains No Guns for Christmas American Factory Objector Anas v. the Giant Paradise Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible Personhood By the River Public Trust Church and the Fourth Estate Push Common Ground: The Story of Bears Ears Salvage Current Sea Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists Dick Ogg: Fisherman The Seer and the Unseen Feels Good Man Sisters Rising Growing Up Female Spit on the Broom Haven Status Pending Healing From Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation The Story of Plastic I Am Not Alone Sustained Outrage In My Blood it Runs Union Maids The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Welcome Strangers The Leftovers When We Walk Massacre River
ARTS & CULTURE Celebrating the creative spirit Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly Made in Palestine All I Have to Offer You is Me Making Morning Star Asak Martha: A Picture Story Ashes to Ashes Moment to Moment Backbone A Month of Single Frames Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business Nebula Big Fur Now is the Time ¡Chaporazzi! Oliver Sacks: His Own Life Character One Thousand Stories: The Making of a Mural Coby and Stephen Are in Love Peter’s Painting Contemporary Color Picture Day Día de la Madre Riafn Feels Good Man Sankara Is Not Dead Foundry Night Shift The Sign Project Ganden: A Joyful Land Sparkle The Gender Line Spit on the Broom Happy Happy Joy Joy - The Ren & Stimpy Story Sustained Outrage Here, We Are This Ink Runs Deep Ignis Turf Nation In This Together, We Are One: The Buffalo Unity Project A Word Away L.A. Roll You Gave Me A Song: The Life and Music of Alice Gerrard Last Reel Yves & Variation Looking Forward from Yesterday FILM STRANDS 45
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
45365 After the Silence All I Have to Offer You is Me American Factory Asak Ashes to Ashes Asho Baato Backbone Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets Bobcats On Three A Bold Experiment Brewed in Palestine Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life) Coby and Stephen Are in Love BAATO (2020) Colette Personal Belongings Dear Georgina Picture Day Egg Cup Requiem Red, White & Wasted Empire & Eliza Rewind Feather and Pine Seeing Red: Stories of American Communists Foundry Night Shift Sell Me a Cow Growing Up Female Sparkle Jacket Spit on the Broom Keep Going, My Daughter Stan The Last Miner Status Pending The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant Sunless Shadows Last Week at Ed’s Take Me to Prom A Lion in the House Tchoupitoulas Lovemobil Then Comes the Evening Moment to Moment Union Maids Murghab Western No Guns for Christmas When We Walk Oliver Sacks: His Own Life A Word Away Paradise Without People Yves & Variation
INDIGENOUS STORIES From around the globe Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible My Favourite Food is Indian Tacos, My Favourite Drink Common Ground: The Story of Bears Ears is Iced Tea and My Favourite Thing is Drumming Connection Nahanni River of Forgiveness Dear Georgina No Distance Between Us In My Blood it Runs Now is the Time In This Together, We Are One: The Buffalo Unity Project Sisters Rising Keep Going, My Daughter This Ink Runs Deep Looking Forward from Yesterday To Keep as One When the Children Left 46 FILM STRANDS
STRANGER THAN FICTION You can’t make this stuff up Big Fur Jacket The Deepest Hole Murghab The Great Toilet Paper Scare The Seer and the Unseen It’s Coming! Some Kind of Heaven
YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY Aging is an art and these films prove it Asak The Love Bugs Backbone My Name is Anik Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business Oliver Sacks: His Own Life A Bold Experiment Personal Belongings Coby and Stephen Are in Love Recording Kawaiisu Colette Some Kind of Heaven Dear Georgina Then Comes the Evening Egg Cup Requiem You Gave Me a Song
The Younger Than Yesterday strand is sponsored by:
WORLD FOCUS International viewpoints After the Silence Motherland Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly Murghab Anas v. the Giant My Name is Anik Asak No Distance Between Us Asho No Gold For Kalsaka Baato Objector Backbone Paradise Without People Brewed in Palestine Personal Belongings Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life) Push Colette Riafn Current Sea River Queens: Highlight My Strengths Ganden: A Joyful Land Runner Here, We Are Sankara is Not Dead I Am Not Alone The Seer and the Unseen In My Blood it Runs Sunless Shadows The Last Miner A Syrian Woman | Human Stories From Jordan Lovemobil Then Comes the Evening Made in Palestine Yves & Variation Massacre River FILM STRANDS 47
MADE IN MONTANA Where the locals go 32 Below Looking Forward from Yesterday Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible Paradise The House That Rob Built Rewind In This Together, We Are One: The Buffalo Unity Project River Queens: Highlight My Strengths
NATURE & ENVIRONMENT Our precious planet, and the people on it 32 Below The Love Bugs A Bold Experiment Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man All That Remains No Gold For Kalsaka Bobcats On Three Paradise By the River Public Trust Common Ground: The Story of Bears Ears Riafn Current Sea The Seer and the Unseen Dick Ogg: Fisherman The Story of Plastic Ignis To Keep as One Jacket
The Nature & Environment strand is sponsored by:
PEACE & CONFLICT Films on the front lines Ai Weiwei: Yours Truly I Am Not Alone Brewed in Palestine Motherland Colette Objector Desert One Paradise Without People Healing From Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation Sankara is Not Dead Here, We Are A Syrian Woman | Human Stories From Jordan
SPORTS & ADVENTURE Visual adrenaline Blackfeet Boxing: Not Invisible Nahanni River of Forgiveness Bobcats On Three Nebula Connection The Race to Alaska Empire & Eliza River Queens: Highlight My Strengths The House That Rob Built Runner L.A. Roll Super Frenchie 48 FILM SCHEDULE Friday, February 14
Z 7:00 PM SHORT & SWEET: BROKEN: A SOCKUMENTARY - 7 min, MOMENT TO MOMENT - 13 min, TAKE ME TO PROM - 21 min, COBY AND STEPHEN ARE IN LOVE - 31 min, THE GENDER LINE - 13 min (TRT 85 min) Location: ZACC
Saturday, February 15
E 11:00 AM BILL & TURNER ROSS RETROSPECTIVE: 45365 - 94 min Location: ELKS
W 1:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #1: BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS - 9 min, PETER’S PAINTING - 11 min, SPIT ON THE BROOM - 11 min, NEBULA - 14 min, ALL I HAVE TO OFFER YOU IS ME - 14 min, A MONTH OF SINGLE FRAMES - 14 min, ONE THOUSAND STORIES: THE MAKING OF A MURAL - 15 min (TRT 88 min) Location: WILMA
E 1:30 PM BILL & TURNER ROSS RETROSPECTIVE: TCHOUPITOULAS - 80 min Location: ELKS
Z 3:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #2: ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA - 13 min, HAVEN - 19 min, ALL THAT REMAINS -21 min, TAKE ME TO PROM - 21 min, THE GENDER LINE - 12 min (TRT 86 min) Location: ZACC
W 3:30 PM TURF NATION - 14 min, MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY - 83 min (TRT 97 min) Location: WILMA
E 4:00 PM BILL & TURNER ROSS RETROSPECTIVE: WESTERN - 92 min Location: ELKS
R 5:00 PM CHÈCHE LAVI (LOOKING FOR LIFE) - 76 min Location: ROXY
Z 5:30 PM MURGHAB - 81 min Location: ZACC
W 6:00 PM OPENING NIGHT FILM: THE STORY OF PLASTIC - 95 min Location: WILMA
E 6:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #3: THE GREAT TOILET PAPER SCARE - 11 min, THE DEEPEST HOLE - 13 min, ¡CHAPORAZZI! - 15 min, CHARACTER - 17 min, CHURCH AND THE FOURTH ESTATE - 39 min (TRT 95 min) Location: ELKS
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA FILM SCHEDULE 49
R 7:30 PM I AM NOT ALONE - 93 min Location: Roxy
Z 8:00 PM SOME KIND OF HEAVEN - 82 min Location: ZACC
8:30 PM FEELS GOOD MAN - 93 min W Location: WILMA
E 9:00 PM HEALING FROM HATE: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION - 84 min Location: ELKS
Sunday, February 16
E 11:00 AM BILL & TURNER ROSS RETROSPECTIVE: CONTEMPORARY COLOR - 97 min Location: ELKS
Z 12:30 PM WHEN WE WALK - 78 min Location: ZACC
E 1:30 PM FEATHER AND PINE - 82 min Location: ELKS
Z 3:00 PM IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS - 85 min Location: ZACC
4:00 PM BAATO - 81 min E Location: ELKS
R 5:00 PM THE SEER AND THE UNSEEN - 88 min Location: ROXY
Z 5:30 PM WHEN THE CHILDREN LEFT - 12 min, KEEP GOING, MY DAUGHTER - 13 min, SISTERS RISING - 59 min (TRT 84 min) Location: ZACC
E 6:30 PM BILL & TURNER ROSS RETROSPECTIVE: BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS - 98 min Location: ELKS
R 7:30 PM PERSONHOOD - 80 min Location: ROXY
Z 8:00 PM NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US - 12 min, THIS INK RUNS DEEP - 17 min, COMMON GROUND: THE STORY OF BEARS EARS - 59 min (TRT 88 min) Location: ZACC
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA 50 FILM SCHEDULE
E 9:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #4: DEAR GEORGINA - 15 min, WELCOME STRANGERS - 21 min, AFTER THE SILENCE - 24 min, COLETTE - 25 min (TRT 85 min) Location: ELKS
Monday, February 17
W 1:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #5: THE LAST MINER - 7 min, STAN - 9 min, THE SIGN PROJECT - 10 min, THE LEFTOVERS - 16 min, YVES & VARIATION - 16 min, BREWED IN PALESTINE - 18 min, MOTHERLAND - 20 min (TRT 96 min) Location: WILMA
1:30 PM YOU GAVE ME A SONG: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF ALICE GERRARD - 77 min E Location: ELKS
3:00 PM HEALING FROM HATE: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION - 84 min Z Location: ZACC
W 3:30 PM MR. TOILET: THE WORLD’S #2 MAN - 88 min Location: Wilma
4:00 PM A SYRIAN WOMAN | HUMAN STORIES FROM JORDAN - 12 min, SUNLESS SHADOWS - E 74 min (TRT 86 min) Location: ELKS
Z 5:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #6: THEN COMES THE EVENING - 28 min, BACKBONE - 28 min, RIAFN - 29 min (TRT 85 min) Location: ZACC
W 6:00 PM CENTERPIECE SCREENING: PUBLIC TRUST - 96 min Location: WILMA
E 6:30 PM BY THE RIVER - 6 min, TO KEEP AS ONE - 13 min, SALVAGE - 58 min (TRT 77 min) Location: ELKS
Z 8:00 PM PUSH - 92 min Location: ZACC
W 8:30 PM A BOLD EXPERIMENT - 10 min, BIG FUR - 76 min (TRT 86 min) Location: WILMA
E 9:00 PM LOVEMOBIL - 106 min Location: ELKS
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA FILM SCHEDULE 51 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18
Z 1:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #7: EGG CUP REQUIEM - 12 min, A SYRIAN WOMAN | HUMAN STORIES FROM JORDAN - 12 min, ASHO - 30 min, THE LOVE BUGS - 34 min (TRT 88 min) Location: ZACC
E 2:45 PM SOME KIND OF HEAVEN - 82 min Location: ELKS
Z 4:00 PM SCHOOLHOUSE DOCS: LOOKING FORWARD FROM YESTERDAY - 10 min, ONE THOUSAND STORIES: THE MAKING OF A MURAL - 15 min, A WORD AWAY - 19 min, IN THIS TOGETHER, WE ARE ONE: THE BUFFALO UNITY PROJECT - 21 min (TRT 65 min) Location: ZACC
5:30 PM DICK OGG: FISHERMAN -10 min, MY NAME IS ANIK - 16 min, JACKET - 20 min, ASAK - E 40 min (TRT 86 min) Location: ELKS
Z 6:00 PM OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE - 114 min Location: ZACC
E 8:00 PM PUBLIC TRUST - 96 min Location: ELKS
Z 9:00 PM PERSONHOOD - 80 min Location: ZACC
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19
1:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #8: ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA - 13 min, ALL THAT REMAINS - Z 21 min, WELCOME STRANGERS - 21 min, BLACKFEET BOXING: NOT INVISIBLE - 29 min (TRT 84 min) Location: ZACC
E 2:45 PM CHÈCHE LAVI (LOOKING FOR LIFE) - 76 min Location: ELKS
Z 4:00 PM SCHOOLHOUSE DOCS: CONNECTION - 9 min, BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS - 9 min, DICK OGG: FISHERMAN - 10 min, RIVER QUEENS: HIGHLIGHT MY STRENGTHS - 15 min, L.A. ROLL - 18 min (TRT 61 min) Location: ZACC
E 5:30 PM PARADISE WITHOUT PEOPLE - 76 min Location: ELKS
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA 52 FILM SCHEDULE
Z 6:00 PM REWIND - 87 min Location: ZACC
E 8:00 PM CURRENT SEA - 87 min Location: ELKS
Z 8:30 PM TURF NATION - 14 min, MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY - 83 min (TRT 97 min) Location: ZACC
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20
9:00 AM DocShop - IF/Then Pitch Z Location: ZACC
E 11:00 AM WHEN THE CHILDREN LEFT - 12 min, KEEP GOING, MY DAUGHTER - 13 min, SISTERS RISING- 59 min (TRT 84 min) Location: ELKS
Z 12:00 PM DocShop - Big Sky Pitch Location: ZACC
W 1:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #9: MADE IN PALESTINE - 8 min, SELL ME A COW - 10 min, NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US - 12 min, RECORDING KAWAIISU - 16 min, THIS INK RUNS DEEP - 17 min, IN THIS TOGETHER, WE ARE ONE: THE BUFFALO UNITY PROJECT - 21 min (TRT 84 min) Location: WILMA
E 1:30 PM I AM NOT ALONE - 93 min Location: ELKS
3:30 PM NAHANNI RIVER OF FORGIVENESS - 94 min W Location: WILMA
4:00 PM SCHOOLHOUSE DOCS: MY FAVOURITE FOOD IS INDIAN TACOS, MY FAVOURITE DRINK E IS ICED TEA AND MY FAVOURITE THING IS DRUMMING - 4 min, DÍA DE LA MADRE - 6 min, A BOLD EXPERIMENT - 10 min, BOBCATS ON THREE - 39 min (TRT 59 min) Location: ELKS
R 5:00 PM MASSACRE RIVER - 81 min Location: ROXY
6:00 PM CONNECTION - 9 min, THE HOUSE THAT ROB BUILT - 59 min (TRT 68 min) W Location: WILMA
6:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #10: THE GREAT TOILET PAPER SCARE - 11 min, THE DEEPEST HOLE - E 13 min, ¡CHAPORAZZI! - 15 min, ANAS V. THE GIANT - 17 min, SUSTAINED OUTRAGE - 27 min (TRT 83 min) Location: ELKS
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA FILM SCHEDULE 53
Z 7:00 PM MOTHERLAND - 20 min, OBJECTOR - 75 min (TRT 95 min) Location: ZACC
7:30 PM BAATO - 81 min R Location: ROXY
8:00 PM THE RACE TO ALASKA - 99 min W Location: WILMA
E 9:00 PM IT’S COMING! - 9 min, RED, WHITE & WASTED - 89min (TRT 98 min) Location: ELKS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21
E 12:00 PM CURRENT SEA - 87 min Location: ELKS
Z 12:30 PM STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT RETROSPECTIVE: GROWING UP FEMALE - 52 min, PERSONAL BELONGINGS - 63 min (TRT 115 min) Location: ZACC
W 1:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #11: BROKEN: A SOCKUMENTARY - 7 min, MOMENT TO MOMENT - 13 min, MY NAME IS ANIK - 16 min, STATUS PENDING - 26 min, COBY AND STEPHEN ARE IN LOVE - 31 min, (TRT 93 min) Location: WILMA
2:45 PM A BOLD EXPERIMENT - 10 min, BIG FUR - 76 min (TRT 86 min) E Location: ELKS
W 3:15 PM DESERT ONE - 108 min Location: WILMA
Z 4:00 PM SCHOOLHOUSE DOCS: YOUTH FELLOWSHIP - LOST INNOCENCE - 10 min, TEEN DOC INTENSIVE FILM - 5 min, NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US - 12 min, NEBULA - 14 min, THE LOVE BUGS - 34 min (TRT 70 min) Location: ZACC
R 5:00 PM SHORTS BLOCK #12: EGG CUP REQUIEM - 12 min, YVES & VARIATION - 16 min, PARADISE - 21 min, LAST WEEK AT ED’S - 39 min (TRT 88 min) Location: ROXY
5:30 PM STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT RETROSPECTIVE: UNION MAIDS - 52 min, THE E LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT - 42 min (TRT 94 min) Location: ELKS
W 6:00 PM SUPER FRENCHIE - 77 min Location: WILMA
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA 54 FILM SCHEDULE
Z 6:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #13: MY FAVORITE FOOD IS INDIAN TACOS, MY FAVORITE DRINK IS ICED TEA AND MY FAVOURITE THING IS DRUMMING - 4 min, NOW IS THE TIME - 16 min, EMPIRE & ELIZA - 18 min, L.A. ROLL - 18 min, BOBCATS ON THREE - 39 min (TRT 95 min) Location: ZACC
R 7:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #14: CHARACTER - 17 min, SUSTAINED OUTRAGE - 27 min, CHURCH AND THE FOURTH ESTATE - 39 min (TRT 83 min) Location: ROXY
E 8:00 PM THE STORY OF PLASTIC - 95 min Location: ELKS
W 8:30 PM HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY: THE REN & STIMPY STORY - 107 MIN Location: WILMA
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22
E 11:00 AM STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT RETROSPECTIVE: SEEING RED: STORIES OF AMERICAN COMMUNISTS - 100 min Location: ELKS
Z 11:30 AM SANKARA IS NOT DEAD - 109 min Location: ZACC
1:45 PM D.A. PENNEBAKER TRIBUTE - CITY & SOUND (TRT 74 min) E Location: ELKS
2:30 PM STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT RETROSPECTIVE: A LION IN THE HOUSE - R 230 min (w/ intermission) Location: ROXY
Z 2:45 PM FEELS GOOD MAN - 93 min Location: ZACC
E 4:00 PM GANDEN: A JOYFUL LAND - 76 min Location: ELKS
Z 5:15 PM SHORTS BLOCK #15: IGNIS - 5 min, HERE, WE ARE - 13 min, A WORD AWAY - 19 min, ASHES TO ASHES - 25 min, STATUS PENDING - 26 min (TRT 88 min) Location: ZACC
E 6:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #16: SPIT ON THE BROOM - 11 min, PETER’S PAINTING - 11 min, DEAR GEORGINA - 15 min, BREWED IN PALESTINE - 18 min, COLETTE - 25 min (TRT 80 min) Location: ELKS
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA FILM SCHEDULE 55
R 7:30 PM STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT RETROSPECTIVE: FOUNDRY NIGHT SHIFT - 5 min, PICTURE DAY - 7 min, NO GUNS FOR CHRISTMAS - 7 min, LAST REEL - 9 min, SPARKLE - 18 min, MAKING MORNING STAR - 37 min (TRT 83 min) Location: ROXY
8:30 PM YOU GAVE ME A SONG: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF ALICE GERRARD - 77 min Z Location: ZACC
E 9:00 PM EMPIRE & ELIZA - 18 min, COMMON GROUND: THE STORY OF BEARS EARS - 59 min (TRT 77 min) Location: ELKS
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23
11:00 AM REWIND - 87 min E Location: ELKS
Z 11:30 AM STEVEN BOGNAR & JULIA REICHERT RETROSPECTIVE: AMERICAN FACTORY - 115 min Location: ZACC
1:00 PM AI WEIWEI: YOURS TRULY - 78 min W Location: WILMA
E 1:30 PM SUPER FRENCHIE - 77 min Location: ELKS
Z 2:30 PM SHORTS BLOCK #17: IGNIS - 5 min, ALL I HAVE TO OFFER YOU IS ME - 14 min, ASHES TO ASHES - 25 min, ASHO - 30 min (TRT 74 min) Location: ZACC
2:45 PM MR. TOILET: THE WORLD’S #2 MAN - 88 min R Location: ROXY
3:30 PM MADE IN MONTANA SHORTS BLOCK: LOOKING FORWARD FROM YESTERDAY - 10 min, W 32 BELOW - 13 min, RIVER QUEENS: HIGHLIGHT MY STRENGTHS - 15 min, PARADISE - 21 min, BLACKFEET BOXING: NOT INVISIBLE - 29 min (TRT 88 min) Location: WILMA
E 4:00 PM FILMS YOU MISSED - 90 min Location: ELKS
Z 5:00 PM AWARD SCREENING #1 Location: ZACC
R 5:15 PM NO GOLD FOR KALSAKA - 80 min Location: ROXY
ROXY ZACC ELKS WILMA 56 FILM SCHEDULE
W 6:00 PM CLOSING NIGHT FILM: RUNNER - 88 min Location: WILMA
E 6:30 PM CONNECTION - 9 min, THE HOUSE THAT ROB BUILT - 59 min (TRT 68 min) Location: ELKS
R 7:45 PM BILL & TURNER ROSS RETROSPECTIVE: BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS - 98 min Location: ROXY
Z 8:00 PM BY THE RIVER - 6 min, TO KEEP AS ONE - 13 min, SALVAGE - 58 min (TRT 77 min) Location: ZACC
W 8:30 PM AWARD SCREENING #2 Location: WILMA
E 9:00 PM IT’S COMING! - 9 min, RED, WHITE & WASTED - 89 min (TRT 98 min) Location: ELKS
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2020 BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL FILM GUIDE 63
DOCUMENTARY BIG SKY FILM FESTIVAL FILM GUIDE
32 BELOW Sun. Feb 23 - 3:30 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 13 min, World Premiere Director: Jiakai Lou
32 BELOW takes an intimate look into the hard work, dedication and passion of one ranching fam- ily as they tend to their herd in Helmville, Mon- tana. The Bignells persevere through the sleepless days and nights of calving season while enduring the frigid temperatures of one of Montana’s most intense winters on record.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
45365 Sat. Feb 15 - 11:00 am, Elks USA, 2009, 94 min, Retrospective Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
From the patrol car to the courtroom, the play- ground to the nursing home, the parade to the prayer service, 45365 explores relationships and interactions - with people and with their environ- ment. Stories of young love, cops and criminals, father and son, officials and electorate become a mosaic of faces, places and events. 45365 is a portrait of a city and its people. 64 FILM GUIDE
ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA Sat. Feb 15 - 3:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 13 min Wed. Feb 19 - 1:30 pm, ZACC Directors: Barbara Attie, Mike Attie, Janet Goldwater
Counselors arrive each morning at the Philadel- phia abortion helpline to a nonstop ring of calls from adults and teens who are seeking to end a pregnancy but can’t afford to do so. ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA illustrates how economic stigma and cruel legislation dictate who in Ameri- ca has access to abortion.
AFTER THE SILENCE Sun. Feb 16 - 9:00 pm, Elks Belgium, 2018, 24 min Director: Sonam Larcin
David had to leave behind the man he loves when he fled his country. In AFTER THE SILENCE, he recalls his past life and love, and the society that forced them to live in secret. Now, in order to obtain refugee status, David has to speak for the first time about the life he has kept hidden from the world outside.
AI WEIWEI: YOURS TRULY Sun. Feb 23 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, China, 2019, 78 min Directors: Cheryl Haines, Gina Leibrecht
Human rights become profoundly personal when dissident artist Ai Weiwei’s monumental exhibition on the former American prison island of Alcatraz encourages thousands of visitors to write to prisoners of conscience worldwide. AI WEIWEI: YOURS TRULY documents both the formerly imprisoned artist and his exhibition on the nature of political imprisonment. FILM GUIDE 65
ALL I HAVE TO OFFER YOU IS ME Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 14 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 2:30 pm, ZACC Director: Dillon M. Hayes
In 1990, Larry Callies was an aspiring coun- try-western singer on the verge of signing a record deal with MCA in Nashville. But when he developed a degenerative vocal cord disease that took his voice and ended his singing career, Larry had to start over. We follow Larry as he finds his voice again.
ALL THAT REMAINS Sat. Feb 15 - 3:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 21 min Wed. Feb 19 - 1:30 pm, ZACC Director: Eva Rendle
A year after deadly wildfires ravaged Northern California’s wine country, its vulnerable popula- tion of farmworkers, many undocumented, find themselves in a heightened state of insecurity and inequality. ALL THAT REMAINS follows the second responders and vineyard workers who are still dealing with the aftermath of the fires, long after the media has turned away.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
AMERICAN FACTORY Sun. Feb 23 - 11:30 am, ZACC USA, China, 2019, 115 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Rust Belt, Ohio. In the husk of a huge, abandoned General Motors plant, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory, hiring 2000 blue-collar Americans and hundreds of native Chinese. Early days of hope and optimism are truly tested by the enormi- ty of the project and by the cultural differences be- tween high-tech China and postindustrial Midwest America. The filmmakers take us deep inside the story, and the plant itself, examining this collision of cultures and the future of both American labor and Chinese economic dominance. 66 FILM GUIDE
ANAS V. THE GIANT Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, Germany, 2019, 17 min Director: Adrienne Collatos
Anas never thought of leaving Syria. But after the war started he was forced to flee, traveling through the Balkans to Germany, where he took a selfie with Chancellor Angela Merkel. ANAS V. THE GIANT is the story of what happened next.
ASAK Tues. Feb 18 - 5:30 pm, Elks Iran, 2019, 40 min, North American Premiere Director: Mahdi Zamanpour Kiasari
An 80-year-old blind man from Iran has a talent for making traditional pots, which he gives to neighbors in his small village. Guided by touch and by taste, he chooses rocks from the heart of the mountains, crafting the vessels with a hand saw and other simple tools.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
ASHES TO ASHES Sat. Feb. 22 - 5:15 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 25 min Sun. Feb 23 - 2:30 pm, ZACC Directors: Taylor Rees, Renan Ozturk
Winfred Rembert, a Star Wars fanatic, leather artist and the only living survivor of a lynching develops a friendship with Dr. Shirley Jackson Whitaker, who is on a mission to memorialize the forgotten 4,000 African Americans lynched during the Jim Crow era. Together, their journeys of healing intertwine. FILM GUIDE 67
ASHO Tues. Feb 18 - 1:30 pm, ZACC Iran, 2019, 30 min, North American Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 2:30 pm, ZACC Director: Jafar Najafi
Asho, a child shepherd, is busy with his herd but at the same time with his passion for acting and the Hollywood movies his cousin brings home. Meanwhile, he and a girl try their best to ignore each other despite, or perhaps because of, a village tradition calling for them to marry.
BAATO Sun. Feb 16 - 4:00 pm, Elks Nepal, USA, 2020, 81 min, World Premiere Thurs. Feb 20 - 7:30 pm, Roxy Directors: Lucas Millard, Kate Stryker
Every winter Mikma and her family travels by foot from their village deep in the Himalaya of Nepal to sell local medicinal plants in urban markets. This year, construction of a new highway to China has begun in their roadless valley, and things are never going to be the same.
BACKBONE Mon. Feb 17 - 5:30 pm, ZACC Norway, 2019, 28 min, North American Premiere Director: Eilif Bremer Landsend
BACKBONE is a poetic documentary about inner strength, darkness and hope, set in the exotic and wild landscape of arctic Norway. The film portrays four different women following their dreams, ac- cepting themselves, taking care of someone they love, and exploring their relationship to nature.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care 68 FILM GUIDE
BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 9 min Wed. Feb 19 - 4:00 pm, ZACC Director: Christine Turner
There’s no stopping the groundbreaking and legendary artist Betye Saar, even at age 93. BETYE SAAR: TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS captures her progression through her early formal training in design and her accretion of style, interests and subject matter, mimicking her chosen medium of collage and assemblage.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
BIG FUR Mon. Feb 17 - 8:30 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 76 min Fri. Feb 21 - 2:45 pm, Elks Director: Dan Wayne
BIG FUR is a wry portrait of an eccentric artist-hero, immersed in his defining project. Taxidermist Ken Walker has an unshakable belief that eventually he’ll find true love. Or the hairy, 800-pound vali- dation of his life’s quest. Can he find both while building a life-sized version of Bigfoot?
Screening sponsored by: River City Brews
BLACKFEET BOXING: NOT INVISIBLE Wed. Feb 19 - 1:30 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 29 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 3:30 pm, Wilma Directors: Kristen Lappas, Tom Rinaldi
Frank Kipp opened the Blackfeet Boxing Club in 2003. Since then, he’s trained more than 500 boxers on the reservation. Its most important fighters are the young women who come in search of more than a heavy bag. BLACKFEET BOXING is a film about fighting—for respect, identity and acknowledgment. There are no scorecards or knockouts. In a state where 73 indigenous women were missing or murdered in the previous two years, the prize at the Blackfeet Boxing Club is far Screening sponsored by: MTPR and Montana PBS more vital: survival. FILM GUIDE 69
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS Sun. Feb 16 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 98 min, Retrospective Sun. Feb 23 - 7:45 pm, Roxy Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
Beneath the bright lights of Vegas, it’s last call for a beloved dive bar known as the Roaring 20s. Its regulars form a community - tight-knit yet forged in happenstance, teetering between dignity and debauchery, reckoning with the past as they face an uncertain future. That’s the premise, at least; the reality is as unreal as the world they’re escaping from.
BOBCATS ON THREE Thurs. Feb 20 - 4:00 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 39 min, World Premiere Fri. Feb 21 - 6:30 pm, ZACC Director: Alison Taupier
BOBCATS ON THREE is the powerful story of the Paradise High School Girl’s basketball team and their perseverance in the aftermath of the most devastating wildfire in California history. It’s a story of female athletes refusing to give up on the sport that they love, and about showing up––for themselves, for their team and for their town.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
A BOLD EXPERIMENT Mon. Feb 17 - 8:30 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 10 min, World Premiere Thurs. Feb 20 - 4:00 pm, Elks Directors: Andrew Miller, Alexander Milan Fri. Feb 21 - 2:45 pm, Elks
In 1997 J. David Bamberger attempted to build the world’s first man-made bat cave, or in his words, chiroptorium. The idea was far-fetched and expensive, making headlines around the world. It stood empty for four years, but his “batty” idea would eventually house half a million bats.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 70 FILM GUIDE
BREWED IN PALESTINE Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Palestine, USA, 2019, 18 min Sat. Feb 22 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: Emma Schwartz
BREWED IN PALESTINE is an intimate portrait of the Taybeh Brewery in Palestine, the first craft beer company in the West Bank. The film reveals the daily realities that define life for one resourceful Palestinian family persevering under Israeli occupation.
BROKEN: A SOCKUMENTARY Fri. Feb 14 - 7:00 pm, ZACC Australia, 2019, 7 min, United States Premiere Fri. Feb 21 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Director: Hannah Dougherty
BROKEN: A SOCKUMENTARY is the first film of a series investigating the human experience. BRO- KEN explores the universal nature of heartbreak through interviews with real people and their stories, retold with the help of socks. This film is intended as a gift to all those who have had a broken heart.
BY THE RIVER Mon. Feb 17 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 6 min Sun. Feb 23 - 8:00 pm, ZACC Director: Keely Kernan
Harry Joseph, pastor of the Mount Triumph Baptist Church, takes us on a walk through his neighborhood, where the lives of his parishioners are affected by living in the chemical corridor region of the Mississippi River, in St. James Parish, Louisiana.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy FILM GUIDE 71
¡CHAPORAZZI! Sat. Feb 15 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 15 min, World Premiere Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: César Martínez Barba
On the sidewalks outside of El Chapo’s Brooklyn trial, manifestations of his mythology appear in sidewalk conversations, news-worthy spectacles and selfies. Courtroom sketch artists, high school students and everyone in between have their say regarding the man - or his legend.
CHARACTER Sat. Feb 15 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 17 min Fri. Feb 21 - 7:30 pm, Roxy Director: Vera Brunner-Sung
Actor Mark Metcalf made his reputation in Holly- wood playing aggrieved authority figures. Now in his seventies, he takes a look back on his career.
CHÈCHE LAVI (LOOKING FOR LIFE) Sat. Feb 15 - 5:00 pm, Roxy Mexico, Haiti, USA, 2019, 76 min Wed. Feb 19 - 2:45 pm, Elks Director: Sam Ellison
CHÈCHE LAVI is a lyrical portrait of two Haitian mi- grants, Robens and James, who find themselves stranded at the US-Mexico border with no way forward and no one to depend on but each other. As the two men drift towards drastically different futures, a picture of their unexpected friendship emerges against the backdrop of an incompre- hensible political situation and a new wall rising on the horizon. Screening sponsored by: Soft Landing Missoula 72 FILM GUIDE
CHURCH AND THE FOURTH ESTATE Sat. Feb 15 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 39 min Fri. Feb 21 - 7:30 pm, Roxy Director: Brian Knappenberger
A investigative team uncovers hidden files that re- veal shocking allegations of child abuse in Idaho’s Grand Teton Counsel of the Boy Scouts, driving Idaho’s richest resident to attack the reporters and their newspaper. The case they find would become one of the first to reveal widespread abuse in the Boy Scouts, leading to the release of internal documents detailing crimes that still threaten to bankrupt the organization.
COBY AND STEPHEN ARE IN LOVE Fri. Feb 14 - 7:00 pm, ZACC USA, China, 2019, 31 min Fri. Feb 21 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Directors: Carlo Nasisse, Luka Yuanyuan Yang
Through handmade outfits and dancing, Coby, a 93-year-old retired Chinatown nightclub performer, and Stephen, an artist twenty years her junior, find unlikely love despite dissimilarities in culture and age. As their last performance in Las Vegas approaches, Coby and Stephen prepare a final routine.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
COLETTE Sun. Feb 16 - 9:00 pm, Elks France, Germany, USA, 2020, 25 min, World Premiere Sat. Feb 22 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: Anthony Giacchino
Former French Resistance member Colette Marin-Catherine refused to step foot in Germany for 74 years. That changes when a young history student named Lucie enters her life and convinces her to visit the concentration camp where the Nazis killed her brother.
Screening sponsored by: Jeannette Rankin Peace Center FILM GUIDE 73
COMMON GROUND: THE STORY OF BEARS EARS Sun. Feb 16 - 8:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 59 min Sat. Feb 22 - 9:00 pm, Elks Director: Paige Sparks
President Obama declared Bears Ears a national monument in December, 2016. One year later, President Trump reduced the monument by 85 percent. While the political debate continues, COMMON GROUND: THE STORY OF BEARS EARS seeks to transcend the rhetoric, following the inhabitants of San Juan County, revealing the mutual ideals between opposing ideologies: love and awe of a beloved land. Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
CONNECTION Wed. Feb 19 - 4:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 9 min, World Premiere Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:00 pm, Wilma Directors: Tracy Nguyen-Chung, Ciara Lacy Sun. Feb 23 - 6:30 pm, Elks
A lifelong angler, Autumn Harry had never fished beyond the waters of her reservation — until she picked up a fly rod. On a trip to Washington to cast for steelhead, she unpacks what it means to overcome her own image of who is a fly fisher and uses the sport to fight for conservation.
CONTEMPORARY COLOR Sun. Feb 16 - 11:00 am, Elks USA, 2016, 97 min, Retrospective Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
In the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne and a host of renowned musical acts staged an event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to celebrate the creativity of color guard: synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles and sabers, collo- quially known as “the sport of the arts.” 74 FILM GUIDE
CURRENT SEA Wed. Feb 19 - 8:00 pm, Elks Cambodia, Malaysia, USA, 2020, 87 min, World Premiere Fri. Feb 21 - 12:00 pm, Elks Director: Christopher Smith
CURRENT SEA is an environmental thriller that follows investigative journalist Matt Blomberg and ocean activist Paul Ferber in their risky efforts to create a marine conservation area and combat the relentless tide of illegal fishing, inspiring a new generation of Cambodian environmentalists to create a better life for their people along the way.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
D.A. PENNEBAKER TRIBUTE: CITY & SOUND Sat. Feb 22 - 1:45 pm, Elks USA, 74 min Curated by Warren Etheredge
D.A. Pennebaker is widely regarded as a pioneer of cinéma vérité style of documentary filmmaking. When presenting Pennebaker with an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 2012, filmmaker Michael Moore noted that Pennebaker was one of the filmmakers who “invented nothing less than the modern documentary.” Penny, as he was fondly called, passed away in August 2019, at 94.
DON’T LOOK BACK (1967), MONTEREY POP (1968), and the Oscar-nominated THE WAR ROOM (1993), which he co-directed with his wife, Chris Hegedus, exemplify Pennebaker’s ability to chronicle defining moments in the history of performing arts and politics.
CITY & SOUND is our tribute to Pennebaker and his influence on successive generations. In this special program, we glimpse his predecessors’ efforts, offer reminders of Pennebaker’s iconic work, and witness the resonance of his artistry in contemporary short-form documentaries and music videos.
DAYBREAK EXPRESS, D.A. Pennebaker (1953, 5 min) OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CITY (A CITY SYMPHONY), Lucy Walker (2017, 5 min) AMONGST US, Nathalie Basoski (2015, 3 min) THE FORGOTTEN ONES, Mantai Chow (2017, 10 min) PARAÍSO, Nadav Kurtz (2013, 10 min) STILL NYC NO. 2, Ynon Lan (2016, 2 min) NYC TEXTURES, Ynon Lan (2018, 1 min) SCENE FROM “DON’T LOOK BACK”, D.A. Pennebaker (1967, 3 min) MEDIATE, Richard Lowenstein (2012, 3 min) HIGHER SELF, Ryosuke Tanzawa (2019, 3 min) I FOUND YOU/NILDA’S STORY, Jake Schreier (2019, 6 min) HIDE, Kyle Thrash (2018, 7 min) DÍA DE LA MADRE, Ashley Brandon, Dennis Hohne (2019, 6 min) FILM GUIDE 75
DEAR GEORGINA Sun. Feb 16 - 9:00 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 15 min Sat. Feb 22 - 6:30 pm, Elks Directors: Adam Mazo, Ben Pender-Cudlip
A Passamaquoddy elder, who was taken from her home and placed in the foster system at two years old, journeys into an unclear past to better understand herself and her cultural heritage. DEAR GEORGINA is a follow-up to the Emmy® award-winner DAWNLAND.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
THE DEEPEST HOLE Sat. Feb 15 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 13 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: Matt McCormick
While the Space Race, Arms Race and many other Cold War contests are common knowledge, few know that the United States and Soviet Union also competed to see which country could dig the deepest hole.
DESERT ONE Fri. Feb 21 - 3:15 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 108 min Director: Barbara Kopple
Using new archival sources and unprecedented access to key players on both sides, master documentarian Barbara Kopple (HARLAN COUNTY, USA) reveals the true story behind one of the most daring rescue attempts in modern US history: a secret mission to free hostages captured during the 1979 Iranian revolution. 76 FILM GUIDE
DÍA DE LA MADRE Thurs. Feb 20 - 4:00 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 6 min Sat. Feb 22 - 1:45 pm, Elks Directors: Ashley Brandon, Dennis Hohne
A musical band of young students embark on a 24-hour spree of “breaking” into houses and causing a delightful disturbance.
DICK OGG: FISHERMAN Tues. Feb 18 - 5:30 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 10 min Wed. Feb 19 - 4:00 pm, ZACC Director: Cynthia Abbott
For fisherman Dick Ogg, the ocean is his home and in his bones. Faced with a changing environ- ment, rising sea temperatures, derelict crab pots and increased regulations, many of his fellow fishermen are leaving the industry. Dick faces these challenges with solutions and actions that keep his craft alive.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
EGG CUP REQUIEM Tues. Feb 18 - 1:30 pm, ZACC New Zealand, 2019, 12 min, North American Premiere Fri. Feb 21 - 5:00 pm, Roxy Directors: Prisca Bouchet, Nick Mayow
With a lifetime’s collection of egg cups crammed in his Auckland home, 89-year-old Johnny reveals the story behind his obsession - a story of loss, memory and the past’s long shadow.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care FILM GUIDE 77
EMPIRE & ELIZA Fri. Feb 21 - 6:30 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 18 min Sat. Feb 22 - 9:00 pm, Elks Director: Brad Hinkle
The Empire Dragons are a powerful dragon boat racing team made up of cancer survivors. As they train in the ancient Chinese sport to compete in a high-stakes international tournament, one of their teammates, Eliza Adams, fights her own battle off the water.
FEATHER AND PINE Sun. Feb 16 - 1:30 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 82 min Directors: Star Rosencrans, Michael James Beck
FEATHER AND PINE is a vérité portrait of American industry that chronicles a Northern California logging community as it transitions to a new generation in the wake of the Great Recession.
FEELS GOOD MAN Sat. Feb 15 - 8:30 pm, Wilma USA, UK, Denmark, Canada, Hong Kong, 2020, 93 min Sat. Feb 22 - 2:45 pm, ZACC Director: Arthur Jones
FEELS GOOD MAN explores how Pepe the Frog’s unlikely transformation—from chill frog dude to far-right internet icon—parallels America’s own transformation and divisive narratives. It’s a wild journey into the heart of online life and cultural memeification, where the meanings of images change rapidly and cannot be controlled—even by their creators. 78 FILM GUIDE
FOUNDRY NIGHT SHIFT Sat. Feb 22 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2014, 5 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
A single factory in Ohio produces the steel frames that support Steinway pianos. In the wee hours, when electricity demand is down, two men move through a vast, darkened landscape of blinding sparks and molten ore, stoking immense furnaces and pouring red-hot liquid into molds that will cool and form the sturdy base.
GANDEN: A JOYFUL LAND Sat. Feb 22 - 4:00 pm, Elks India, USA, 2019, 76 min Director: Ngawang Choephel
Ganden is the most influential monastery of Tibet- an Buddhism, likened by Buddhists to the Vatican. It is here where the Dalai Lama’s lineage began. For more than 500 years, monks lived in Ganden in simplicity and contentment, before a brutal invasion drove them from their beloved home to start anew in India. Embodying the strength and joy their faith teaches, survivors of the exodus tell of their lives in the old and new Ganden in Ngawang Choephel’s moving film.
THE GENDER LINE Fri. Feb 14 - 7:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 13 min Sat. Feb 15 - 3:00 pm, ZACC Director: T.J. Parsell
Transgender rock star Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy) once sang in Elton John’s band and had recording contracts with three major labels. Cidny, who has been both a wife and husband within the same lifetime, reflects on his personal and profes- sional journey on both sides of the gender line. FILM GUIDE 79
THE GREAT TOILET PAPER SCARE Sat. Feb 15 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 11 min, World Premiere Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: Brian Gersten
THE GREAT TOILET PAPER SCARE is the untold story of a notorious incident in 1973 involving a Johnny Carson joke, lots of toilet paper, and millions of fearful Americans.
GROWING UP FEMALE Fri. Feb 21 - 12:30 pm, ZACC USA, 1971, 52 min, Retrospective Directors: Jim Klein, Julia Reichert
GROWING UP FEMALE examines female socialization through a look into the lives of six women, ages four to 35, and the forces that shape them. Widely used to help explain feminism to a skeptical society, it shows how much has changed––and how much remains the same. Selected for the National Film Registry in 2011.
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY - THE REN & STIMPY STORY Fri. Feb 21 - 8:30 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 107 min Directors: Ron Cicero, Kimo Easterwood
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY examines the rise and fall of the groundbreaking animated series Ren & Stimpy, and its controversial creator, John Kricfalusi, through interviews with the show’s artists, executives and celebrity admirers. It forces us to consider the role of media creators on and off the screen. 80 FILM GUIDE
HAVEN Sat. Feb 15 - 3:00 pm, ZACC Canada, 2019, 19 min Director: Colin Askey
Lynda, an Indigenous woman whose sons died tragically, and Max, the sole survivor of a horrific car accident, are both heroin users living in Van- couver. After years of desperation and suffering, a radical therapy program that provides patients with medical-grade heroin changes their lives in profound ways.
HEALING FROM HATE: Sat. Feb 15 - 9:00 pm, Elks BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION Mon. Feb 17 - 3:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 84 min Director: Peter Hutchison
Life After Hate, founded by former skinheads and neo-Nazis, supports white nationalists who are seeking to break away from radical movements. HEALING FROM HATE profiles the organization, exploring the root causes of radicalization, and considers what it might take to create a more tolerant world.
Screening sponsored by: Jeannette Rankin Peace Center
HERE, WE ARE Sat. Feb 22 - 5:15 pm, ZACC Mexico, 2018, 13 min, United States Premiere Director: Viviana Zuñiga
In Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz, Rafael and Joel play music that brings people together and lifts them up, despite living in a community besieged by drug wars. In a state where fear is permanent among its inhabitants, their music may be the only form of resistance they have. FILM GUIDE 81
THE HOUSE THAT ROB BUILT Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 59 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 6:30 pm, Elks Directors: Jonathan Cipiti, Megan Harrington
In 1978, at a time when women weren’t seen as serious athletes, Rob Selvig took the reins of an unknown women’s basketball program in Missou- la, Montana. Through passion and grit, he inspired greatness in Lady Griz basketball for generations, bringing young women from small towns, ranches and reservations to national prominence.
Screening sponsored by: MTPR and Montana PBS
I AM NOT ALONE Sat. Feb 15 - 7:30 pm, Roxy Armenia, USA, 2019, 93 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:30 pm, Elks Director: Garin Hovannisian
On Easter 2018, a man put on a backpack and announced on Facebook Live that he was going to walk across Armenia. His mission: to inspire a velvet revolution — and topple the corrupt regime controlling his post-Soviet nation. I AM NOT ALONE chronicles the miraculous story of what happened over the next 40 days.
IGNIS Sat. Feb 22 - 5:15 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 5 min Sun. Feb 23 - 2:30 pm, ZACC Director: Ashleigh McArthur
Following Northern California’s devastating wildfires, artist Gregory Roberts transforms ash from the remains of his community’s homes into ceramic works of art. IGNIS combines testimony from fire survivors along with imagery of Roberts’ art pieces to show how people rebuild in the wake of natural disasters.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 82 FILM GUIDE
IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS Sun. Feb 16 - 3:00 pm, ZACC Australia, 2019, 85 min Director: Maya Newell
IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS is a rare glimpse into the world of a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy, Dujuan, in Alice Springs, Australia. This observational film follows his struggle between indigenous tradition and the school-to-prison pipeline navigated by so many kids who have inherited both the trauma and resilience of their people.
IN THIS TOGETHER, WE ARE ONE: Tues. Feb 18 - 4:00 pm, ZACC THE BUFFALO UNITY PROJECT Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 21 min, World Premiere Directors: Michael Workman, Dan Molloy
American bison were pushed to the brink of extinction in the late 1800s and entire indigenous cultures were nearly destroyed. Now, the Dakota and Nakoda people are re-connecting their youth to the bison with the Buffalo Unity Project, a program created by Poplar Middle School on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.
Screening sponsored by: MTPR and Montana PBS
IT’S COMING! Thurs. Feb 20 - 9:00 pm, Elks China, USA, 2019, 9 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 9:00 pm, Elks Directors: Jessica Kingdon, Nathan Truesdell
The future is here! Well, almost. FILM GUIDE 83
JACKET Tues. Feb 18 - 5:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 20 min, United States Premiere Director: Yuri Chicovsky
Spend a day with sheep rancher and unsung Colo- rado hero Al Villard as he fights for the lives of four orphaned lambs, and shows what it really means to “give someone the shirt off your back.”
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
KEEP GOING, MY DAUGHTER Sun. Feb 16 - 5:30 pm, ZACC Canada, 2019, 13 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 11:00 am, Elks Director: Candy Fox
In KEEP GOING, MY DAUGHTER (ahkâmêyimo nitânis) a young couple narrates a poetic and hopeful love letter to their daughter from journals they’ve kept since she was born, reflecting the dreams of a new generation of indigenous par- ents still healing from the traumas of colonialism.
L.A. ROLL Wed. Feb 19 - 4:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 18 min, World Premiere Fri. Feb 21 - 6:30 pm, ZACC Director: Helki Frantzen
L.A. ROLL follows members of Sk8 Mafia, a crew of Los Angeles-based dance skaters who have found kinship on the rink. In the face of a changing Los Angeles, the crew reflects on the closure of their beloved hometown roller rink and seeks out a new space despite adversity and setbacks. 84 FILM GUIDE
THE LAST MINER Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Ireland, 2018, 7 min, North American Premiere Director: Luke Brabazon
Until the 1970s, when the tunnels were shut down, Castlecomer was a mining town. As the last man working in his father’s failing coal mine, Jim Power is now faced with a difficult decision: keep working the tunnels alone in the only job he knows, or move on to an uncertain future?
LAST REEL Sat. Feb 22 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2015, 9 min, Retrospective Director: Steven Bognar
The Little Art Theatre in Ohio faces a fundamental shift: convert to digital projection and relinquish its beloved 35mm projectors or risk closing. Letting go of celluloid is a painful transition for owner Jenny and head projectionist Andy, who have been at the theatre since the 1970s. 35mm projection is an art form––one that may, sadly, cease to exist.
THE LAST TRUCK: CLOSING OF A GM PLANT Fri. Feb 21 - 5:30 pm, Elks USA, 2009, 42 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Two days before Christmas in 2008, the General Motors assembly plant in Moraine, Ohio, shut its doors, resulting in thousands of displaced workers. The GM staff lost much more than their jobs, including the pride shared in their work and camaraderie built over years. Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short. FILM GUIDE 85
LAST WEEK AT ED’S Fri. Feb 21 - 5:00 pm, Roxy USA, 2019, 39 min Directors: Lawrence Kasdan, Meg Kasdan
In LAST WEEK AT ED’S, filmmakers Lawrence and Meg Kasdan document the emotional final week of beloved West Hollywood diner Ed’s Coffee Shop. As staff and longtime customers, including its eccentric characters, prepare to say goodbye, viewers get a peek into how the 60-year-old institution created a tight-knit community.
THE LEFTOVERS Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 16 min Director: Olivier Bernier
THE LEFTOVERS follows two New York City yellow cab drivers as they maneuver through the rubble of a once thriving and iconic industry: Nicholas, whose best friend and fellow cabbie took his own life due to economic stress, and John, who has spent 40 years behind the wheel.
A LION IN THE HOUSE Sat. Feb 22 - 2:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2006, 230 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Follows the unique stories of five children and their families as they battle pediatric cancer. From the trauma of diagnosis to the physical toll of treatment, the film documents the stresses that can tear a family apart, as well as the courage of children facing the possibility of death with honesty, dignity and humor.
There will be a 10-minute intermission between Part 1 and Part 2 at this screening. 86 FILM GUIDE
LOOKING FORWARD FROM YESTERDAY Tues. Feb 18 - 4:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 10 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 3:30 pm, Wilma Director: Alexis Bigby
People of the Aaniiih and Nakoda Tribes pay tribute to their enduring culture in this short film shot and edited by students from Harlem High School in northern Montana. This is a powerful and intimate story of the struggle to preserve a way of life many people thought was lost.
Screening sponsored by: MTPR and Montana PBS
THE LOVE BUGS Tues. Feb 18 - 1:30 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 34 min Fri. Feb 21 - 4:00 pm, ZACC Directors: Allison Otto, Maria Clinton
Over the course of 60 years, two married ento- mologists quietly amassed the world’s largest private collection of insects, featuring one million specimens from 67 countries. Now grappling with Parkinson’s, they decide to give the collection away in this humorous and poignant exploration of the love of nature and the nature of love.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
LOVEMOBIL Mon. Feb 17 - 9:00 pm, Elks Germany, 2019, 106 min Director: Elke Margarete Lehrenkauss
26 VW caravans line a dark section of Germany’s Autobahn, rented out to prostitutes mostly from Eastern Europe and Africa. Through a combination of sensitive observation and intimate interviews, the film tells a story about their pasts, their fears and their hopes for the future in the harsh context of globalized capitalism. FILM GUIDE 87
MADE IN PALESTINE Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Palestine, USA, 2019, 8 min Director: Mariam Dwedar
Hirbawi Textiles, located in the city of Hebron, is the last remaining factory in Palestine that produces the iconic scarf known as the Kuffiyeh. MADE IN PALESTINE is a charming profile of the unique factory that also explores the challenges and benefits of manufacturing in Palestine.
MAKING MORNING STAR Sat. Feb 22 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2015, 37 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
MAKING MORNING STAR presents a behind-the- scenes look at the joys and challenges of devel- oping a new American opera. Featuring composer Ricky Ian Gordon, librettist William M. Hoffman and director Ron Daniels, the film captures the delicate balance of personalities during an intense collaboration. Will the opera be ready on time?
MARTHA: A PICTURE STORY Sat. Feb 15 - 3:30 pm, Wilma Australia, USA, 2019, 83 min Wed. Feb 19 - 8:30 pm, ZACC Director: Selina Miles
In the 1970s, New York photographer Martha Coo- per captured some of the first images of graffiti appearing on the city’s subway cars. Decades later, she realizes she’s become an unexpected icon of the street art world. Now, at age 75, she navigates her way through this vastly changed culture.
Screening sponsored by: Portico Real Estate, Liz Dye 88 FILM GUIDE
MASSACRE RIVER Thurs. Feb 20 - 5:00 pm, Roxy Dominican Republic, Haiti, USA, 2019, 81 min Director: Suzan Beraza
When the Dominican Republic reversed its birthright citizenship, 250,000 people were left stateless, leading to racial and political violence across the country. MASSACRE RIVER follows Piki- lina, a Dominican-born woman of Haitian descent, on an epic journey during which she must either try to regain her citizenship or flee to Haiti.
MOMENT TO MOMENT Fri. Feb 14 - 7:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 13 min Fri. Feb 21 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Director: Mike Attie
Susan met Carl when they were teachers, and she was charmed by his generosity and agile mind. Now navigating the debilitating effects of Alzhei- mer’s, Carl finds purpose in removing the copper from televisions while Susan creates sculptures with the delicate coils--allowing her to continue a profound connection with her husband.
A MONTH OF SINGLE FRAMES Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 14 min Directors: Lynne Sachs, Barbara Hammer
In 1998, lesbian experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer took part in a one-month residency at a Cape Cod dune shack without running water or electricity, where she shot film, recorded sound and kept a journal. In 2018, she revisited the material from her residency with filmmaker Lynne Sachs. The result, A MONTH OF SINGLE FRAMES, was made for and with Barbara Hammer, who passed away in March of 2019. FILM GUIDE 89
MOTHERLAND Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Armenia, 2018, 20 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 7:00 pm, ZACC Directors: Emily Mkrtichian, Jesse Soursourian
Women in a disputed territory between Azerbaijan and Armenia courageously work to clear land mines leftover from an ethnic war and, in the process, form close bonds with each other. MOTH- ERLAND is about shaking tradition and combating gender roles, a lesson in the power of collective action.
MR. TOILET: THE WORLD’S #2 MAN Mon. Feb 17 - 3:30 pm, Wilma China, India, Singapore, USA, 2019, 88 min Sun. Feb 23 - 2:45 pm, Roxy Director: Lily Zepeda
Born in the Singapore slums, with firsthand knowledge of the horrors of improper toilets, en- trepreneur Jack Sim sacrifices his comfortable life for an endless battle against the world’s largest man-made crisis: shit. From the outside, he’s an eccentric jokester, but his goal to alleviate a global sanitation problem is serious work.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy
MURGHAB Sat. Feb 15 - 5:30 pm, ZACC Tajikistan, Germany, 2019, 81 min, North American Premiere Directors: Martin Saxer, Marlen Elders, Daler Kaziev
Murghab, in the former Soviet Union, has weathered many storms. But life goes on and, with wit and improvisational skill, residents of the town find a plethora of new and precarious ways to make do in the ruins of socialism. A film of hardship, work and hope. 90 FILM GUIDE
MY FAVOURITE FOOD IS INDIAN TACOS, Thurs. Feb 20 - 4:00 pm, Elks MY FAVOURITE DRINK IS ICED TEA Fri. Feb 21 - 6:30 pm, ZACC AND MY FAVOURITE THING IS DRUMMING Canada, 2019, 4 min Director: Derius Matchewan
MY FAVOURITE FOOD IS INDIAN TACOS... is about the passion for drumming and traditional singing that 11-year-old Derius learned from his father and shares with his friends. For Derius, drumming is a way to show pride for his First Nations heri- tage, and to show courage despite the fear of loss. This film is an affirmation of that courage.
MY NAME IS ANIK Tues. Feb 18 - 5:30 pm, Elks Scotland, UK, 2019, 16 min, North American Premiere Fri. Feb 21 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Director: Bircan Birol
Bircan desires to learn Kurdish, the mother tongue her grandmother left behind when she moved from her childhood village to Istanbul. The two attempt to find common ground in a language that holds both the promise of legacy and the memory of loss.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
NAHANNI RIVER OF FORGIVENESS Thurs. Feb 20 - 3:30 pm, Wilma Canada, 2019, 94 min Directors: Geoff Bowie, Michael Allder
NAHANNI RIVER OF FORGIVENESS is a journey through the wild Nahanni River in Canada’s North- west Territories in a traditional, handmade moose skin boat. It’s also a tribute to the power of nature to heal the soul from the wounds of colonialism and to the resilience and steadfastness of the Dene. FILM GUIDE 91
NEBULA Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Canada, 2019, 14 min Fri. Feb 21 - 4:00 pm, ZACC Director: Jay Trusler
Professional photographer Reuben Krabbe ven- tures into the Canadian backcountry in an attempt to capture an image of the Orion nebula with a skier in the foreground. Step inside Reuben’s creative process and his love for the mountains as he sets out to create what may be the most chal- lenging ski photograph ever made.
NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US Sun. Feb 16 - 8:00 pm, ZACC Australia, 2018, 12 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Director: Vera Hong Fri. Feb 21 - 4:00 pm, ZACC
How do contemporary First Nations people identi- fy with a 20,000-year-old collection of footprints? NO DISTANCE BETWEEN US reveals the Aboriginal spiritual connection to the largest human fossil trackway in the world, through the voices of the Barkandji, Mutthi Mutthi and Ngiyampaa people of the Willandra Lakes.
NO GOLD FOR KALSAKA Sun. Feb 23 - 5:15 pm, Roxy Burkina Faso, Germany, 2019, 80 min, United States Premiere Director: Michel K. Zongo
The people of Kalsaka have lived off the gold provided by their local mine for ages. This ended with the arrival of a multinational mining corpo- ration, which expropriated local landowners and exploited the natural resources, leaving the village with nothing. NO GOLD FOR KALSAKA follows Jean-Baptiste and his community’s fight to survive and reclaim their dignity.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 92 FILM GUIDE
NO GUNS FOR CHRISTMAS Sat. Feb 22 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2014, 7 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
If a young relative asked for an airsoft gun or pellet rifle for Christmas, would you think twice? What if black boys and young men in your community were shot dead just for holding such objects? Based on two police shootings in Ohio, this short documentary questions whether toy guns can really be innocent gifts.
NOW IS THE TIME Fri. Feb 21 - 6:30 pm, ZACC Canada, 2019, 16 min Director: Christopher Auchter
On the 50th anniversary of the first new totem pole raising on British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii in almost a century, Haida filmmaker Christopher Auchter steps through history to revisit the day that would signal the rebirth of the Haida spirit.
OBJECTOR Thurs. Feb 20 - 7:00 pm, ZACC Israel, Palestine, 2019, 75 min Director: Molly Stuart
Like all Israeli youth, Atalya is obligated to become a soldier. Unlike most, however, she questions the practices of her country’s military and decides to challenge her forced conscription. Despite her family’s wishes, she refuses military duty, knowing she will be imprisoned for her dissent.
Screening sponsored by: Jeannette Rankin Peace Center FILM GUIDE 93
OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE Tues. Feb 18 - 6:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 114 min Director: Ric Burns
OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE explores the story of the legendary neurologist and storyteller as he shares intimate details of his battles with addiction, homophobia and a medical establish- ment that refused to accept his work for decades. Sacks was a fearless explorer who helped redefine our understanding of the mind, the diversity of human experience and our shared humanity.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
ONE THOUSAND STORIES: THE MAKING OF A MURAL Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 15 min Tues. Feb 18 - 4:00 pm, ZACC Director: Tasha Van Zandt
ONE THOUSAND STORIES follows the artist JR in the creation of his first video mural project, The Chronicles of San Francisco. The mural reflects a city in which the individual spirt of thousands of residents cohere into a unique and ever-changing whole.
PARADISE Fri. Feb 21 - 5:00 pm, Roxy USA, 2019, 21 min, United States Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 3:30 pm, Wilma Directors: Erik Petersen, Kirk Rasmussen
An unlikely environmentalist, Bryan Wells, finds himself standing between Yellowstone National Park and an industrial-scale gold mine. The proposed mine sits just above his home, and not only threatens America’s most iconic national park but his community’s way of life.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 94 FILM GUIDE
PARADISE WITHOUT PEOPLE Wed. Feb 19 - 5:30 pm, Elks Greece, USA, 2019, 76 min Director: Francesca Trianni
Inside the delivery ward of a Greek hospital, two Syrian women share the same dream: to raise their newborn daughters far from war. Taimaa and Nour begin a journey navigating an inflexible European resettlement program that rarely takes their needs into account. A tender and at times infuriating view into a new mother’s choices at the height of Europe’s refugee crisis.
PERSONAL BELONGINGS Fri. Feb 21 - 12:30 pm, ZACC USA, Hungary, 1996, 63 min, Retrospective Director: Steven Bognar
In PERSONAL BELONGINGS, director Steven Bognar picks up the camera to follow his father Bela, who is returning to Hungary for the first time in over 30 years. Bela had fought in the streets of Budapest in the 1956 revolution before fleeing to Belgium and eventually immigrating with Steven’s mother to the United States. Steven sifts through the memories and experiences brought up by the trip to better understand his dad, a man who has lived without a country for so many years. Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
PERSONHOOD Sun. Feb 16 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2019, 80 min Tues. Feb 18 - 9:00 pm, ZACC Director: Jo Ardinger
PERSONHOOD tells a reproductive rights story that ripples far beyond the right to choose, into the lives of every pregnant person in America. Tammy Loertscher’s fetus was given an attorney, while Tammy was denied her constitutional rights and sent to jail. Through Tammy, PERSONHOOD reframes the abortion debate to encompass the growing system of laws that criminalize and police pregnant women. FILM GUIDE 95
PETER’S PAINTING Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 11 min Sat. Feb 22 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: Olivier Bernier
Peter Guppy, the owner of Prosperity Hardware in Brooklyn, believes he’s uncovered an authentic Kazimir Malevich painting, which could be worth millions of dollars - if it’s authenticated. As the story unfolds, it becomes unclear if Peter actually wants to learn the truth, or if he’d rather live with the possibilities enabled by keeping the question unanswered.
PICTURE DAY Sat. Feb 22 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 1999, 7 min, Retrospective Director: Steven Bognar
One school. 601 kids. 12 frames per kid. What do you get? In Steven Bognar’s hands, you get a playful, funny parade of images that celebrates the documentary urge and reveals the range of possibilities contained in half a second’s worth of pictures. Expressive and complex, these youthful reflections emphasize the significance of docu- menting our lives and holding on to moments from the past.
PUBLIC TRUST Mon. Feb 17 - 6:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 96 min, World Premiere Tues. Feb 18 - 8:00 pm, Elks Director: David Garrett Byars
In a time of growing income inequality in America, there is one asset that remains in the hands of the American people: the 640 million acres of Amer- ica’s public lands. PUBLIC TRUST investigates the powerful forces attempting to plunder this shared resource, traveling to the northern reaches of Alaska, the red rock canyons of southern Utah, and the lush wetlands of northern Minnesota, putting the pieces together in an astonishing exposé that documents this land war happening in plain site. Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 96 FILM GUIDE
PUSH Mon. Feb 17 - 8:00 pm, ZACC Sweden, Canada, 2019, 92 min Director: Fredrik Gertten
Housing prices are skyrocketing in cities around the world. Incomes are not. PUSH sheds light on a new kind of faceless landlord, our increasingly unlivable cities and an escalating crisis that affects us all. This is not gentrification; it’s a different kind of monster.
Screening sponsored by: Homeword
THE RACE TO ALASKA Thurs. Feb 20 - 8:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 99 min, World Premiere Director: Zach Carver
750 miles. Icy water. No motors. No support. Described as “the Iditarod on a boat with a chance of drowning or being eaten by a Grizzly bear,” this epic endurance race attracts the intrepid and unhinged who find their edge along a coastline that is as punishing as it is beautiful.
Screening sponsored by: Montana State Parks
RECORDING KAWAIISU Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 16 min, World Premiere Director: Adam Loften
Following a century of loss, the language of the Kawaiisu people of Central California is one of the few intact aspects of their culture. Julie Girado Turner has spent 16 years documenting the language that lives within her elderly father and aunt, the only two fluent speakers remaining, so that it may be passed on and learned by others.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care FILM GUIDE 97
RED, WHITE & WASTED Thurs. Feb 20 - 9:00 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 89 min Sun. Feb 23 - 9:00 pm, Elks Directors: Andrei Bowden-Schwartz, Sam B. Jones
RED, WHITE & WASTED follows a family of mud- ding enthusiasts as the last mudhole in Orlando, Florida goes up in flames and they are forced to reconsider their way of life in a city that doesn’t have room for them anymore. A unique portrait of a sub-culture, and of rural America.
REWIND Wed. Feb 19 - 6:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 87 min Sun. Feb 23 - 11:00 am, Elks Director: Sasha Joseph Neulinger
Digging through the vast collection of his father’s home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes a dark secret passed through generations.
Screening sponsored by: MTPR and Montana PBS
RIAFN Mon. Feb 17 - 5:30 pm, ZACC Germany, 2019, 29 min Director: Hannes Lang
RIAFN is a cinematic journey into the soundscape of the Alps. Idiom, song and the calls and com- mands of shepherds intertwine to create a film driven by local character and rhythm. Between artistic ideal and documentarian realism, this musical portrays a utopia detached from the com- pulsive speed and accessibility of communication technology that saturates modern life.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 98 FILM GUIDE
RIVER QUEENS: HIGHLIGHT MY STRENGTHS Wed. Feb 19 - 4:00 pm, ZACC New Zealand, USA, 2020, 15 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 3:30 pm, Wilma Director: Jeremy Lurgio
New Zealand national coach and paddler Howard Hyland, 76, returns to his roots to start a compet- itive waka ama club for youth on the Whanganui River – the first river in the world to be granted personhood. His team, the River Queens, learn as much about paddling as they do life.
Screening sponsored by: MTPR and Montana PBS
RUNNER Sun. Feb 23 - 6:00 pm, Wilma South Sudan, USA, 2019, 88 min Director: Bill Gallagher
RUNNER follows marathoner Guor Maker’s journey from refugee to becoming South Sudan’s first Olympian. In his quest we witness what it took to get Maker there, learning the stories of his family and compatriots that ultimately propel him forward in his pursuit.
SALVAGE Mon. Feb 17 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 58 min Sun. Feb 23 - 8:00 pm, ZACC Director: Amy C. Elliott
In Yellowknife, the remote capitol of the Northwest Territories of Canada, the town dump is the city’s most popular and notorious manmade attraction, mined by a colorful community of thrifty locals. But the new city administration is determined to see it tamed, and the battle for Yellowknife’s identity is on. FILM GUIDE 99
SANKARA IS NOT DEAD Sat. Feb 22 - 11:30 am, ZACC Burkina Faso, France, 2019, 109 min Director: Lucie Viver
After Burkina Faso’s October 2014 popular uprising, the young poet Bikontine decides to go meet his fellow citizens along the country’s only rail line. From South to North, through cities and villages, he learns about their dreams and disappointments, confronting his poetry with the realities of a rapidly shifting society. His journey ultimately reveals the enduring political legacy of one of Burkina Faso’s storied former presidents, Thomas Sankara.
SEEING RED: STORIES OF AMERICAN COMMUNISTS Sat. Feb 22 - 11:00 am, Elks USA, 1983, 100 min, Retrospective Directors: Jim Klein, Julia Reichert
SEEING RED tells the forgotten history and adventures of ordinary Americans who joined the Communist Party and the high price many of them paid during the Red Scare in the 1950s. An engag- ing, funny and human portrait of 50 years of Red activism and attack. Among the stories are personal accounts from iconic folk singer Pete Seeger and a dozen other rank-and-file members that have special resonance in today’s political climate. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
THE SEER AND THE UNSEEN Sun. Feb 16 - 5:00 pm, Roxy Iceland, USA, 2019, 88 min Director: Sara Dosa
A magic realist documentary about elves, financial collapse and the surprising power of belief. THE SEER AND THE UNSEEN playfully explores the invisible forces that shape our visible worlds and transform our natural landscapes. It follows an Icelandic grandmother who communicates with elves that urge her to protect a lava field set to be razed by road construction.
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 100 FILM GUIDE
SELL ME A COW Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 10 min Directors: Jacob Koestler, Michael McDermit
Each day at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, the hypnotic chants of cattle auctioneers fill the exchange floor from dawn into the night. Livestock buyers gather from all around the country to outbid each other in a time-honored ritual that is just as much spectacle as it is a monument to competitive commerce.
THE SIGN PROJECT Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 10 min Director: Sarah Ginsburg
THE SIGN PROJECT chronicles the explorations, meditations and connections of David Hebb as he traverses the neighborhoods of Greater Boston in search of a specific family of commercial signs manufactured by one California company.
SISTERS RISING Sun. Feb 16 - 5:30 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 59 min, World Premiere Thurs. Feb 20 - 11:00 am, Elks Directors: Willow O’Feral, Brad Heck
SISTERS RISING is the story of six Native American women fighting to restore personal and tribal sovereignty in the face of ongoing sexual violence against indigenous women in the United States. It’s an urgent call to action, a beautiful portrait of powerful women acting in solidarity, and a de- mand for self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Native women. FILM GUIDE 101
SOME KIND OF HEAVEN Sat. Feb 15 - 8:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 82 min Tues. Feb 18 - 2:45 pm, Elks Director: Lance Oppenheim
Behind the gates of a palm-tree-lined fantasyland, four residents of the United State’s largest retire- ment community, The Villages in Florida, strive to find happiness and meaning.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
SPARKLE Sat. Feb 22 - 7:30 pm, Roxy USA, 2012, 18 min, Retrospective Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
Sheri “Sparkle” Williams has been a star dancer with the legendary Dayton Contemporary Dance Company for nearly 40 years—a record unheard of in the professional dance community—and she is one of the few dancers outside of New York City to have been honored with the prestigious Bessie Award for Individual Performance. When this powerhouse dancer suffers her first serious injury, she’s forced to consider whether she has the will to return to the stage as her 50th birthday approaches.
SPIT ON THE BROOM Sat. Feb 15 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 11 min Sat. Feb 22 - 6:30 pm, Elks Director: Madeleine Hunt - Ehrlich
SPIT ON THE BROOM is a surrealist documen- tary exploring the African American women’s group the United Order of Tents, a clandestine organization formed during the height of the Underground Railroad. The film uses 100 years of newspaper clippings, public record and a visual tapestry of fable and myth to introduce a secret history. 102 FILM GUIDE
STAN Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2019, 9 min Directors: JP Olsen, Kristen Nutile
STAN is an experimental documentary that explores the remembrances of a man who began using heroin as a teenager in the 1940s and struggled with addiction much of his adult life. The film uses contemporary footage and archival audio as it recalls a time in the United States when drug treatment was virtually unavailable.
STATUS PENDING Fri. Feb 21 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 26 min, World Premiere Sat. Feb 22 - 5:15 pm, ZACC Director: Priscilla González Sainz
With Immigration law under attack, five first-generation Immigration lawyers strive to help immigrants obtain safety and status in the United States. Through a chronicle of their professional and personal lives, STATUS PENDING aims to present the effects of the current administration through the perspectives of active immigration lawyers in the Los Angeles area.
THE STORY OF PLASTIC Sat. Feb 15 - 6:00 pm, Wilma USA, China, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Belgium, 2019, 95 min Fri. Feb 21 - 8:00 pm, Elks Director: Deia Schlosberg
THE STORY OF PLASTIC brings into focus the alarm- ing, human-made crisis of a world overflowing with toxic material. Striking footage, original animation, and archival material all point to the disastrous impact of the manufacture and use of plastics, shedding new light on a challenge that threatens the life and health of animals, humans and civilization on Earth. FILM GUIDE 103
SUNLESS SHADOWS Mon. Feb 17 - 4:00 pm, Elks Iran, Norway, 2019, 74 min Director: Mehrdad Oskouei
In an Iranian juvenile detention center, adolescent girls serve sentences for the crime of murdering fathers, husbands or male family members. The all-female prison is also a shelter from an aggressively male-dominated society. Through frank conversations and playful interactions, the girls open up about the consequences of, and sometimes the reasons for, their action.
SUPER FRENCHIE Fri. Feb 21 - 6:00 pm, Wilma USA, France, Iceland, 2019, 77 min Sun. Feb 23 - 1:30 pm, Elks Director: Chase Ogden
SUPER FRENCHIE provides an intimate look at the life of professional ski-BASE jumper Matthias Gi- raud, who stops at nothing to pursue his passion for adventure. The film combines the thrills of some of the world’s most dangerous sports with Matthias’ personal experience to tell a heart-rac- ing and inspirational story.
Screening sponsored by: Montana State Parks
SUSTAINED OUTRAGE Thurs. Feb 20 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2019, 27 min Fri. Feb 21 - 7:30 pm, Roxy Director: Gabriela Cavanagh
For over 100 years, the family-owned Charleston Gazette-Mail has been a relentless watchdog over West Virginia’s most powerful, propelled by its unofficial mantra: “Sustained Outrage.” Just eight months after winning the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, the paper faces a painful reality: bankruptcy ahead of a sale. An intimate look inside the paper as its future is decided. 104 FILM GUIDE
A SYRIAN WOMAN | HUMAN STORIES FROM JORDAN Mon. Feb 17 - 4:00 pm, Elks Jordan, USA, 2019, 12 min Tues. Feb 18 - 1:30 pm, ZACC Directors: Louis Sayad DeCaprio, Khawla Al Hammouri
After nearly a decade of conflict, thousands of Syrian refugee women have lost their families and husbands, and now must provide for their children alone in an unfamiliar country. We follow their experiences of survival – from displacement, danger, child-marriage and trauma to their resilience and hope to rebuild a better future for their children. Hearing firsthand accounts of the refugee crisis in Jordan, we reflect on what it means to be a Syrian woman. Screening sponsored by: Jeannette Rankin Peace Center
TAKE ME TO PROM Fri. Feb 14 - 7:00 pm, ZACC Canada, 2019, 21 min Sat. Feb 15 - 3:00 pm, ZACC Director: Andrew Moir
Featuring intimate, charming interviews with queer people ranging in age from 17 to 88, TAKE ME TO PROM invites audiences to revisit an iconic adolescent milestone while telling a story of social change that spans more than 70 years.
TCHOUPITOULAS Sat. Feb 15 - 1:30 pm, Elks USA, 2012, 80 min, Retrospective Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
A visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in New Orleans. Three adolescent brothers journey through the lamplit streets encountering a kaleidoscope of dancers, musicians, hustlers and revelers. FILM GUIDE 105
THEN COMES THE EVENING Mon. Feb 17 - 5:30 pm, ZACC Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, 2019, 28 min, United States Premiere Director: Maja Novaković
A portrait of the bittersweet life of two grand- mothers living in the isolated hills of Eastern Bos- nia. Nature is the one companion with whom the women speaks and shows respect. THEN COMES THE EVENING reflects the simplicity and purity of their way of life, as well as their painstaking hard work and the caring and intimacy of their mutual relations and their relationship with nature.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
THIS INK RUNS DEEP Sun. Feb 16 - 8:00 pm, ZACC Canada, 2019, 17 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 1:00 pm, Wilma Director: Asia Youngman
All across Canada, Indigenous artists are reawak- ening both traditional and contemporary tattoo practices to reclaim their cultures and identities that were dissolved by the forces of colonization.
TO KEEP AS ONE Mon. Feb 17 - 6:30 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 13 min, World Premiere Sun. Feb 23 - 8:00 pm, ZACC Director: Katie Basile
Climate change has pushed erosion within a few feet of the remote Alaskan Native community of Newtok. Albertina Charles and the rest of the village residents know that relocating Newtok is the only option. Will federal funding arrive soon enough or will this community be separated forever?
Screening sponsored by: The Nature Conservancy 106 FILM GUIDE
TURF NATION Sat. Feb 15 - 3:30 pm, Wilma USA, 2020, 14 min, World Premiere Wed. Feb 19 - 8:30 pm, ZACC Director: Jun Bae
Turfing is a dance form born in Oakland, California that combines roots in gang culture with elements of tutting, gliding and “bone breaking.” TURF NATION follows the street dancers performing on BART trains as they pave their own paths toward freedom and independence.
UNION MAIDS Fri. Feb 21 - 5:30 pm, Elks USA, 1976, 52 min, Retrospective Directors: Jim Klein, Miles Mogulescu, Julia Reichert
UNION MAIDS recalls a great untold story in our history: the fight to form industrial unions in the first half of the 20th century. Stella, Sylvia and Kate—all humorous storytellers—leave their small farms for greater job opportunities in Chicago and join the battle for better conditions for factory workers. Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary.
WELCOME STRANGERS Sun. Feb 16 - 9:00 pm, Elks USA, 2020, 21 min, World Premiere Wed. Feb 19 - 1:30 pm, ZACC Director: Dia Sokol Savage
When asylum-seeking immigrants are released from an ICE detention facility onto unfamiliar streets near Denver, Colorado, where can they go for help? Since 2012, Sarah Jackson and her team of volunteers have welcomed them into her home and helped to reunite them with their families.
Screening sponsored by: Soft Landing Missoula FILM GUIDE 107
WESTERN Sat. Feb 15 - 4:00 pm, Elks USA, Mexico, 2015, 92 min, Retrospective Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life.
WHEN THE CHILDREN LEFT Sun. Feb 16 - 5:30 pm, ZACC Canada, 2019, 12 min Thurs. Feb 20 - 11:00 am, Elks Director: Charlene Moore
For generations, Angelina McLeod’s community of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation has been forced to send their children away for schooling. This intimate documentary follows Angelina as she travels back home to honor the spirit of her sister, Amelia. Coming back home prompts Angelina to reflect on her connection to culture and community.
WHEN WE WALK Sun. Feb 16 - 12:30 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 78 min Director: Jason DaSilva
Filmmaker Jason DaSilva is forced into living almost 2,000 miles apart from his son, Jace, when he discovers that differences in Medicaid admin- istration between states means he would have to live in a nursing home to be close to his child. WHEN WE WALK documents the pain caused by our ongoing national healthcare crisis through the touching lens of a father attempting to connect with his son. Screening sponsored by: Rural Institute - University of Montana 108 FILM GUIDE
A WORD AWAY Tues. Feb 18 - 4:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 19 min Sat. Feb 22 - 5:15 pm, ZACC Director: Mollie Moore
Cosmo, originally from South Sudan, seeks help from childhood friend Moon, a poet. After having to flee his home country, he attempts to tell his story for the first time through the medium of poetry after 18 years of silence.
Screening sponsored by: Soft Landing Missoula
YOU GAVE ME A SONG: Mon. Feb 17 - 1:30 pm, Elks THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF ALICE GERRARD Sat. Feb 22 - 8:30 pm, ZACC USA, 2019, 77 min Director: Kenny Dalsheimer
At 84, old-time music pioneer Alice Gerrard per- forms, teaches and inspires the next generation while safeguarding memories from her ground- breaking past. This is one woman’s story of being traditional but never conventional. This is a film about getting older, but never giving up.
Screening sponsored by: Harvest Home Care
YOUTH FELLOWSHIP FILM: LOST INNOCENCE Fri. Feb 21 - 4:00 pm, ZACC USA, 2020, 5 min, World Premiere Director: Marie Oderman
Generational trauma seeps into our everyday lives as both old and young explain how the most famous tragedies affected them.
This film was made as part of the Big Sky Doc- umentary Youth Fellowship, a five month long mentorship program giving up to 5 MCPS high school students the opportunity to make a short documentary film. A college level course, the Youth Fellowship covers the history and forms of documentary film as well as workshopping basic filmmaking techniques and hands-on training as they make their first documentary. FILM GUIDE 109
YVES & VARIATION Mon. Feb 17 - 1:00 pm, Wilma USA, Haiti, 2019, 16 min Fri. Feb 21 - 5:00 pm, Roxy Director: Lydia Cornett
Every day, concierge Yves Deshommes practices his violin behind the front desk of a Manhattan office building. But during the hours outside his shift, Yves’s life is revealed to be equal parts intrepid and inspiring, selling art and negotiating with fishermen to help revive a school far away.
Proud Sponsor & Host Hotel of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
200 S Pattee Missoula, MT 406.721.8550 110 FILMMAP GUIDE
FESTIVAL HEADQUARTERS (BOX OFFICE):
1 Zootown Arts Community Center - 216 W Main
THEATER VENUES 2 Hellgate Elks Lodge - 112 N Pattee 3 The Wilma - 131 S Higgins 4 The Roxy Theater - 718 Higgins 1 Zootown Arts Community Center - 216 W Main
DOCSHOP VENUE: 5 Residence Inn - 125 N Pattee
BIG SKY PITCH VENUE: 1 Zootown Arts Community Center - 216 W Main
FESTIVAL HOTEL: 6 Holiday Inn Downtown Missoula - 200 S Pattee
SPECIAL EVENT VENUES: 1 Zootown Arts Community Center - 216 W Main 7 Radius Gallery - 120 N Higgins 8 Caffe Dolce - 500 Brooks 9 Create Art Bar - 140 E Front 10 Gild Brewing - 515 S Higgins 11 Dana Gallery - 246 N Higgins 12 Le Petit Outre - 129 S 4th St W 13 GoodWorks Place - 129 W Alder 14 Free Cycles - 732 S 1st St W 15 Montgomery Distillery - 129 W Front 16 KettleHouse Southside - 602 Myrtle Plonk - 322 N Higgins MAP 111 112 NOTES Notes NOTES 113 114 NOTES