Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Missoula Wows Filmmakers

By Dylan Tucker, 2-24-06

	Photo by Mark Maher Big Sky Documentary Film Festival programmer Doug Hawes-Davis introduces this year's winners at a special screening.

Montana's premier documentary film festival wrapped up Wednesday night with record attendance numbers and praise from visiting directors. Festival organizers were encouraged by the high turnout of Missoulians that came to see the more than 90 films that screened over the course of a week at the Wilma Theatre in downtown Missoula.

"Every year this just gets better and better," said Doug Hawes-Davis, festival programmer.

The festival has come a long way since this was just a hobby for the organizers, he said. This year, the festival saw a 50 percent increase in ticket sales from last year. More than 7,500 people made it out to the historic Wilma theatre over the week, despite a cold snap that slowed attendance for a few days.

Festival director Damon Ristau spoke highly of the filmmakers and volunteers that made the festival possible. "Our staff is incredible," Ristau said. "Without them it wouldn't be possible to run this event."

The festival received more than 800 entries, each hand-screened by the event's coordinators. Event organizers were thrilled to have 40 films represented by their directors that attended the festival.

"We started getting entries in May," Hawes-Davis said. "Back then is was just a tape -- a movie without a face. It is so great to be able to connect that with the people behind the films."

Ristau attributed the festival's success to Missoula's allure and intimacy, and a vibrant culture that readily supports the arts.

"We see it every day, so it is easy to take for granted," Ristau said. "Missoula has a dynamic population with the university here and an incredible arts community that is vital for this kind of festival."

The Big Sky Film Festival closed with an awards ceremony and screenings of the winning films. Among the winners was first-time filmmaker Kevin Henry, whose movie "Last Words" documented Kevin's journey following the travels his grandfather made as a depression-era drifter. It was Henry's first film festival, and his first visit to Montana. He came to Missoula Wednesday and spent the week making friends with other filmmakers, festival volunteers and even the staff at his hotel.

"I'm the first one here and the last to leave," he joked.

After the screenings, the panel discussions, the awards ceremony; it was Missoula itself that charmed Henry. The Austin, Texas native was surprised with the high turnout for the screening of his film, an unexpected treat he attributed to the open-mindedness of the festival's audience.

"This was the first time I've shown the film, so it was nerve-wracking. But everyone was supportive. I have a very high impression of the film-goers in Missoula," Henry said. "They and the festival itself are great testaments to Missoula."

Filmmakers Eva Weber and Sam Zarosa, whose "The Intimacy of Strangers," won in the short film category, traveled from London to attend the festival, and were impressed with the Montana setting. Despite having screened their film at film festivals around the globe, Missoula stood out for the filmmakers. Weber even gave skiing at Snowbowl a try, she said.

Andrew Smith, a writer, filmmaker and professor of Media Arts at the University of Montana served as a judge in the competition. He and his fellow judges were impressed by so many quality entries, he said.

"As a fiction filmmaker, I don't have a lot of experience with documentaries, but they are a great place to steal ideas, so I did a lot of stealing," he joked at the awards ceremony.

Smith said the experience of being a judge at this film festival was fantastic. "It is such a good thing to see so many films, meet so many of the directors," Smith said.

Valerie Krex, whose entry "Emma" focused on a year in the life of a Missoula teen, had more than 400 people attend her film's screening. She served as the volunteer coordinator at this year's festival, and hopes to be as involved with the event next year.

"It is such a great venue," she said. "Such a positive experience to have so many people in Missoula who will come and support this kind of film. "

Event coordinators were already looking forward to next year's festival, and have tentative plans to expand the categories to draw more entries from international filmmakers.

"We want to keep it a local event and keep the community involved, and be able to show people that their films have a place here," Ristau said. "We want the best documentaries in the world here in Missoula."

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