Missoula News

Beat That Hollywood

3rd Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Offers Reality from 28 Countries

By PJ DelHomme, 1-12-06

For the most part, Hollywood movies serve up a whole load of crap. From ex-Jackass front-man Johnny Knoxville crashing the Special Olympics to a couple of wedding crashers who deceive and sleep their way into a world of true love. Everybody loves a happy ending because that's reality. Right? Try again.

	All photos courtesy of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

For a good slap back into the realm of the real, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has a backhand cocked and ready to swing February 16-22 here in Missoula.

Now in its third year, the festival attracts documentary filmmakers from all over the world. This year, the festival will feature films from 28 countries covering issues ranging from the violence of the G8 in Scotland to documenting two guys who row across the Atlantic Ocean together. Did I mention they don't speak the same language? Beat that Hollywood.

For a movie that hits closer to home, the festival will host the world premiere of Emma, the story of a 14 year old Hellgate high school student who deals with school, love, drugs, alcohol, and parents. "I wanted to make the film in response to the two types of teenage films out there today," says filmmaker Valerie Krex. On one extreme, says Krex, there are movies like Kids that are depressing and offer no real sense of hope. On the other, there are movies like American Pie where everyone has a beautiful house and their biggest problem is who they are going to go with to the prom.

	Filmmaker Valerie Krex says of Emma, "Her honesty really struck me."

For Emma, the film "destroys the perfect myth, but does offer a glimmer of hope," Krex says. As an MFA student at the University of Montana, Krex began her thesis project by interviewing teens in Missoula who were willing to be filmed. Rather than stuff all of the interviews into one film, Krex settled on Emma because she was so open. "Her honesty is what really struck me," Krex says. The issues became even more honest when Krex gave Emma a camera of her own so she could film whatever she wanted. The result: 59 minutes of true reality TV.

	Attendance to the festival rose 100 percent last year from 2004, the fest's first year.

Emma is only one of 96 films at this year's festival. Out of more than 800 entries, deciding which films will make the cut is no easy task. Newly minted Festival Director Damon Ristau says that there are no specific criteria for the films, only that they must be of exceptional quality. "We pride ourselves on a vast array of films," he says.

Himself a filmmaker, Ristau says that the festival is a great way to see a tremendous body of work, which for a filmmaker can't hurt. This is his first year as the Festival Director, yet he's been working with the festival since its inception three years ago and is amazed at both its popularity and growth.

"The first year we didn't know what we were doing," he says. "We were flying by the seat of our pants." He admits that they didn't even have a venue planned for the first festival, but over time they have perfected the art of putting on what could be considered one of Missoula's best parties. Attendance rose 100 percent between the first and second years and it can only go higher as people from all over the country are flocking to the festival. The goal, Ristau says, is to turn the festival into a destination event and make it the premier venue for nonfiction films.

	Still from Cowboy Del Amor, a documentary comedy in the competition for the Big Sky Award at the festival.

The festival began in the Roxy but quickly got too big for its britches and had to be moved to the Wilma, which holds 1,100 people. "If we ever have to turn people away from the Wilma, we know we're doing something right."

If you can't skip out of work and see all of the films, Ristau suggests a few of his favorites such as Cowboy Del Amor, El Immigrante, Emma, and any films of the retrospective series featuring Les Blank, a filmmaker who according to his website, "Featur[es] 16mm and video on Real Food, Roots Music and People Full of Passion for what they do!"

Full screening schedules and advanced multiple tickets are available at the festival's Web site.

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