Documentary Film Festival Winners Screen Wednesday Night

Documentaries Honored at Big Sky Film Fest

By Courtney Lowery, 2-20-07

The Cats of Mirikitani, A Revolving Door, Ha Ha Ha America, The Colour of Olives, Seeds and Salvation Mountain all took home awards from the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival at the Wilma Theater in Missoula Tuesday.

Director Linda Hattendorf’s The Cats of Mirikitani, won the Best Feature award at the festival. The jury for the feature competition, comprised of Doug Whyte (KDHX/St. Louis), Sky Sitney (SILVERDOCS) and Mike Steinberg (Webster Film Series) , said they recognized the film because it showcased, “the ability of cinema to transform not only the lives of the viewers who witness it, but also the transformation of the lives of the filmmaker and the subject - an impact that is often understated or denied in the documentary filmmaking process, but in this case is embraced when the events of life surpass the conventions and expectations of filmmaking itself.”

Salvation Mountain, an artful look at a 74-year-old man with a mission of building a mountain to God in the middle of a desert, won the coveted Big Sky Award after its world premiere Tuesday night.  The jury acknowledged the wide spectrum of important issues dissected in this category, but said they chose Salvation Mountain because, “It is a beautifully shot film that does not judge the artistry or convictions of its subject whose work in scale and execution could only belong to the American West.”

The award for “Best Short” went to HBO Films’ A Revolving Door, a story of addiction and mental illness directed by Marilyn Braverman and produced by Chuck Braverman.  JD Ligon’s Ha Ha Ha America, an examination of US/China relations, won the “Best MiniDoc” competition.  Seeds, of which the jury said, “If Chekov and Rembrandt had collaborated on a documentary film, it might have the visual richness and dramatic insight of SEEDS” won an “Artistic Vision Award” at the festival. The Colour of Olives, a touching film about a family struggling with racial segregation in Palestine, was honored with an “Artistic Vision” award as well. The jury said of The Colour of Olives,: “The film artfully conveys the truth and poignancy of this situation without the limits of more conventional filmmaking techniques.”

All winning films will screen on Wednesday night at the Wilma in this order:

6:15 p.m.:
A Revolving Door
Ha Ha Ha America
Seeds

7:45:
Salvation Mountain
The Cats of Mirikitani

10 p.m.:
The Color of Olives

Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.