Table of Contents - Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Transcription

Dear Friends,
Welcome to the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival! Our 12th year promises
to be the biggest one yet, as we are screening over 150 films from around
the world that will inspire, educate and enrich our lives. We believe in the
power of stories and the power of watching them together on the big
screen. In addition to the films you will enjoy over the course of the festival,
we invite you to attend our special events off the big screen, too. Live
performances from filmmakers Sam Green and John Cohen, interactive
film installations, panels and workshops about the changing business of
film, and a ceremony honoring our competition films are all on the docket.
I came to the festival as a documentary filmmaker, and I’m honored to
be leading it as a member of the Missoula community. As an Oscarqualifying festival and one of the top documentary film festivals in the
nation, we attract filmmakers from all over the world. And as a
community supported organization, what we accomplish is all thanks to
the hundreds of volunteers who help us put the festival on, the altruistic
organizations that sponsor us, the thousands of patrons who attend, and
the national partners and filmmakers who value this extraordinary event.
Get ready to be transported to new worlds – near and far – through the
magic of the real stories these films tell. Enjoy the show.
Gita Saedi Kiely
Executive Director
Big Sky Film Institute
BSDFF is produced by the Big Sky Film Institute, a 501c3
whose mission is to celebrate and promote the art of
non-fiction filmmaking, to establish Missoula as a center
of documentary filmmaking, exhibition and criticism, and
to encourage media literacy by fostering public understanding and appreciation of documentary film.
Table of Contents
Cover Art by
Levi Hastings
Tickets and Passes
3
Special Features
4
Strands
11
Festival Jury
14
Big Sky DocShop
16
Film Descriptions (Alphabetical) 18
Schedule of Films
center insert
Awards & BSFI Membership
74
TAKING OFF 5,000 TIMES A DAY. TAKING ON
EVERYTHING
ELSE.
America’s most-awarded airline employees.
OFFICIAL AIRLINE
Box Office Information
•Online Option! Passes are available for purchase online at
bigskyfilmfest.org or at the Wilma Theatre any time during the festival.
•Passes purchased online will be held at the Wilma ticket window and
available for pick-up any time during the festival. Bring valid ID.
• Passes are non-transferable.
• All-Access Passes are good for all screenings, including Awards
Nights, and all filmmaker and VIP events/parties. Includes access to
balcony seating in the Wilma Theater. All-Access Pass holders have
access to parties and receptions EVERY NIGHT of the 10-day festival
as well as access to the Filmmaker Lounge.
• All-Screenings Passes are good for all screenings, including Awards
Night and the 2/14/15 performance of The Measure of All Things.
Does not include special events or parties. Includes access to
balcony.
• Five-Punch Passes and single screening tickets can be purchased in
advance online at bigskyfilmfest.org/bsdff/festival/tickets/(Online
single screening ticket sales will close at midnight prior to the day of
screening).
PRICES
All-Access Festival Pass......................................................$299.00
All-Screenings Pass.............................................................$149.00
Single Screening Ticket ....... $8.00 (Students and seniors $6.00)
Five-Punch Pass.....................................................................$35.00
Schoolhouse Docs Special (4 pm weekdays)...$2 (kids under 12)
After School Pass (One adult, one child all 4 screenings)......$25
PLEASE NOTE: Most of the films at the festival are not rated by
the MPAA. We've rated our Schoolhouse docs, but if you are
bringing children, please read film synopses carefully as some
films may have sensitive content. If you have questions, please
call the festival office, (406) 541-FILM (3456).
IMPORTANT! We recommend you arrive at least 10 minutes
early for daytime screenings and 20 minutes early for evening
screenings. Seats are first come, first served.
3
Opening Night Special Feature
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Director: Alex Gibney
In this sneak preview of the upcoming HBO
Documentary film, Oscar-winning
director Alex Gibney interviews Pulitzer-winning
journalist Lawrence Wright and eight former
members about the Church of Scientology. The
publication of Wright’s 2013 book of the same
name generated controversy and legal
challenges from the church, and the film is sure to do the same. And thanks once again
to HBO’s generous support, this opening night screening is FREE to the public!
FREE ADMISSION!
Fri. Feb 6, Wilma 1
7:30 PM Doors: 7:00
Big Sky Interactive at the MAM
Interactive Exhibit
While story will always be the heart
of non-fiction filmmaking, the rapid
evolution of content-delivery
technology is making its presence
known in new markets of the documentary film industry. BSDFF is excited to host its
first-ever interactive exhibit at the Missoula Art Museum, where visitors will participate
in shaping their own viewing experience. Viewers will have the opportunity to select
and sequence short clips, photos and thematic elements from three different films.
As reality continues to play itself, you now get the chance to play with reality!
Whale Hunt
An experiment in human storytelling, Whale Hunt depicts a multi-day excursion for
Bowhead whales by Inupiat Eskimos in northern Alaska. Director Jonathan Harris
snapped 3,214 photographs over the course of a week, establishing what he calls a
“photographic heartbeat” of the event. Each viewer will experience the whale hunt
narrative differently, and not necessarily in a linear fashion.
Hollow
Hollow is an interactive documentary that merges cinematic techniques with webbased storytelling. The project examines the lives of 30 individuals living in McDowell
County, W. VA. Hollow combines video portraits, data visualizations, photography,
soundscapes, community-generated content and grassroots mapping to bring
these stories to life. Directed by Elaine McMillion.
Highrise
An Emmy-winning, multi-year, many-media, collaborative documentary experiment
from the National Film Board of Canada, Highrise explores vertical living in the global
suburbs. Directed by Katerina Cizek.
4
Opening Reception at MAM February 10, 5-7 PM. Free & open to public.
JOHN
COHEN
Retrospective
We are honored to have musician,
filmmaker and photographer John
Cohen join us this year with his inspiring
breadth of work. John Cohen is best
known as a musician, who in 1959 cofounded the NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS,
but his artistic prowess expands many
mediums. Cohen shot a series of iconic
photographs documenting New York
culture, including seminal figures like
Bob Dylan and Jack Kerouac. Cohen’s
documentary filmmaking career began
with the 1963 film THAT HIGH LONESOME
SOUND. Cohen will present an exhibit of
his photographs, a lecture, and a musical
performance with the Montana band
BALLED IN BURLAP. Seven of Cohen’s films
will be screened at the festival as well,
featuring Q&As with Cohen.
Feb. 5: lecture at the Rocky
Mountain School of
Photography (7-9pm)
Films showing at BSDFF 2015
Feb. 6: photo exhibition at
the Brink Gallery (5-8pm)
Special Events
THAT HIGH LONESOME SOUND, 68 minutes (p.65)
END OF AN OLD SONG, 27 minutes (p.36)
GYPSIES SING LONG BALLADS, 28 minutes (p.41)
DANCING WITH THE INCAS, 58 minutes (p.32)
MOUNTAIN MUSIC OF PERU, 58 minutes (p.54)

VISIONS OF MARY FRANK, 58 minutes (p.69)
ROSCOE HOLCOMB FROM DAISY, KENTUCKY
29 minutes (p.60)
Feb. 8: live performance
with Balled in Burlap at the
Top Hat Lounge (6pm)
5
Sam Green
Bringing live documentaries to Missoula
Sam Green’s body of documentary work is
anchored by 2004’s Oscar-nominated The
Weather Underground, an exploration of the
titular radical movement of the 1970s. The film is
one of a dozen Green-directed films on the
festival docket, but two of those screenings
would be more accurately classified as live
performances. Both The Love Song of R.
Buckminster Fuller and The Measure of All Things
feature live soundtracks (from indie rock titans
Yo La Tengo and a trio led by Brendan Canty
of Fugazi fame, respectively) that accompany
Green’s narration and media projection. Don’t
miss these innovative performances!
Photos courtesy of http://dev.buckminsterfullerfilm.com/
The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller
With Yo La Tengo
Wed. Feb. 11
Wilma 1
8:00 PM
Missoula locals are still buzzing about the last time Yo
$25 in advance
La Tengo appeared at the Big Sky Documentary Film
$28 at door
Festival. It was 2011, when they performed The Sounds of $15 passholders
Science—a live soundtrack to a series of experimental
documentaries—to a packed house at the Wilma Theater. This time around,
the band will accompany director Sam Green for a live performance of his
documentary, The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller (p.52).
6
The Measure of All Things
with Brendan Canty, T. Griffin,
and Catherine McRae
Sat. Feb. 14, Dennison Theatre 8:00 PM
The Perfect Valentine's Day Date
With concert before film performance!
$12 in advance, $15 at door, free for passholders
Although he’s a highly accomplished documentary filmmaker (see pg
36 for more info on the world premiere of Every Other Summer: Solid
Sound Festival 2013, his latest film), Brendan Canty is best known as the
drummer for post-hardcore legend Fugazi. Canty, along with T.
Griffin and Catherine McRae, will perform the score to Sam Green’s live
documentary The Measure of All Things (p.53).
Demand for these shows will be high,get your tickets today at
bigskyfilmfest.org!
Showing at BSDFF 2015
THE LOVE SONG OF BUCKMINSTER FULLER, (w/Yo La Tengo 2/11/15) (p.52)
THE MEASURE OF ALL THINGS (with live performance) (p. 49)
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, 92 Minutes (p.64)
CLEAR GLASSES, 4 minutes (p.26)
A LOVE LETTER TO THE FOG, 10 minutes (p.25)
UTOPIA, PT. 3: THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHOPPING MALL, 13 minutes (p.64)
THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE, 28 minutes (p.64)
THE RAINBOW MAN/JOHN 3:16, 40 minutes (p.55)
THE FABULOUS STAINS: BEHIND THE MOVIE, 11 Minutes (p.33)
LOT 63, GRAVE C, 10 minutes (p.47)
Closing Night Special
And We Were Young
Mon. Feb 16, 6:00 PM, Wilma 1
Another official “first” for BSDFF this
year is our inaugural Closing Night film.
And what better first closing film than the gigantic labor of love that
is And We Were Young, from Missoula’s own Andy Smetanka? We’re
honored to present this epic, stop-motion animated feature about
American soldiers in World War I as the 2015 festival’s parting shot.
7
25
Americans with
Disabilities Act
th
Anniversary
Disability is a club most of us join eventually, whether by
age, incident, genetics or illness. But while most people
recognize the Women’s Rights and Civil Rights
movements, far fewer are aware of the Disability Rights
movement. In honor of the ADA, we will showcase films
celebrating disability and disability rights. As playwright
Neil Marcus says, "Disability is not a brave struggle or
'courage in the face of adversity.' Disability is an art. It's an
ingenious way to live."
This strand was made possible through the generous support of
Consumer Direct Online, Summit Independent Living Center & The
Montgomery Distillery.
**Our ADA focus this year challenges us at BSDFF to make sure all films are accessible to
all people. We are striving to achieve this, but please bear in mind some constraints we
are still working through. We invite any input and suggestions you may have.
Screenings and events at BSDFF 2015
BASHIR'S VISION, 15 Minutes, (p.22)
Monday Feb. 9 is
BLINDSIGHT, 17 Minutes, (p.25)
ADA Day at the Wilma
COACHING COLBURN,
16 minutes (p.30)
4pm DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR?
DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR?
Schoolhouse Docs Presentation
76 minutes (p.34)
6pm ADA Special Event
FOR ALL, 12 Minutes, (p.35)
Opening by comedian Michael
JORDANNE, 5 Minutes, (p.46)
Beers and a short presentation from
LITTLE HERO, 10 minutes (p.50)
local Joe Stone followed by THE POSLIVES WORTH LIVING, 60 Minutes, (p.51)
ON BEAUTY, 30 minutes (p.56)
SIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.
THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS, 83 minutes (p.58)
SILENT CONNECTION, 12 minutes
8
VietNam
War
Commemorated Through the Lens
The Vietnam War and its aftermath left an
indelible mark on American history and culture.
Now, 50 years after the deployment of U.S.
troops to Southeast Asia, the films of Vietnam:
Commemorated Through the Lens will examine
the lasting impact of America’s most infamous
war. Using Peter Davis’ 1974 Oscar-winning film
Hearts and Minds as a springboard,
Commemorated Through the Lens features
four films from 2014 that show how the war still
reverberates through American and world
culture to this day.
Showing at BSDFF 2015
1971, 80 minutes (p.18)
IN COUNTRY, 80 minutes (p.45)
HEARTS AND MINDS, 112 minutes (p.42)
GIAP'S LAST DAY AT THE IRONING BOARD FACTORY,
25 minutes (p.40)
WAR WITHIN THE WALLS, 28 minutes (p.69)
9
Children
and Youth
Film Series
T
hroughout the festival and at special After School blocks, enjoy
a selection of films that will appeal to children and parents alike,
with a variety of age-appropriate, perspective-widening themes.
Alongside our DocShop and Filmmakers in the Schools programs,
Schoolhouse Docs is another route BSDFF is taking to bring
non-fiction film to the next generation. Bring the whole family!
Mon. Feb. 9
Do you Dream
in Color? (p.34)
Tues. Feb. 10
Break Kids (p.26)
Omid (p.56)
Jordanne (p.46)
Slow Season (p. 64)
Growing Home (p.41)
Gnarly In Pink (p.40)
Santa Cruz Del Islote (p.61)
Thur. Feb. 12
Top Spin (p.66)
Fri. Feb. 13
Slow Season (p.64)
On Beauty (p.56)
Luchadora (p.52)
*Underlying theme of racial tension
Friday, February 13th 5pm at The Top Hat Lounge: FAMILY FRIENDLY FRIDAY - FREE
Parents and young children -- come join us for some BSDFF all-ages short films with
performances from Childbloom and The Childrens Museum. Special thanks to Sussex
School for Sponsoring.
Check out our Facebook events page or our website: bigskyfilmfest.org
10
Strands
Your BSDFF 2015 films
by interest categories
Stranger
than Fiction
Stuff you just can't make up.
Almost There (p.20)
Bugarach (p.24)
Controversies (p.27)
Hip Hop-Eration (p.43)
In Country (p.45)
Kung Fu Elliot (p.47)
The Immortalists (p.45)
Unplugged (p.68)
True
Crimes
The tangled webs of motive, action, and retribution.
1971 (p.18)
A Dog Named Gucci (p.35)
Rainbow Man (p.69)
David & Me (p.33)
Love and Terror on the
Howling Plains of Nowhere (p.52)
Natural Life (p.55)
Silenced (p.63)
There Will Be No Stay (p.65)
Younger than Yesterday
Cailleach (p.28)
Hip Hop-Eration (43)
Mr Fogg (p.55)
Oma en Opa (p.56)
Siblings are Forever (p.62)
Aging is an
art, and
these films
prove it.
The Age of Love (p.20)
Billy Mize and the Bakersfield Sound (p.24)w
The Last Smallholder (p.49)
11
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Sights and Sounds
Fill the hole in your cultural soul.
Belly of the Beast (p.23)
Bill Ohrmann - Looking for the Truth (p.24)
Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound (p.24)
Blacksun (p.25)
Break Kids (p.26)
Broken Song (p.27)
CJ Hendry (p.29)
David Hockney In the Now (p.33)
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten (p.35)
Hip Hop-Eration (p.43)
Junk Studio (p.47)
Lady Be Good (p.49)
Mr Fogg (p.55)
Salad Days (p.61)
The Alan Lane Story (p.20)
The Case of the Three Sided Dream (p.29)
The Hip-Hop Fellow (p.43)
The Orchestra (p.57)
The Possibilities Are Endless (p.58)
Tomorrow We Disappear (p.66)
Under the Bed (p.67)
Unplugged (p.68)
The American West
Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound (p.24)
Daugthers of Emmonak (p.32)
Fishtail (p.38)
Florence, Arizona (p.38)
Hungry Horse (p.45)
Junk Studio (p.47)
LA Miner (p.48)
The Last Season (p.49)
12
12
Stories from the heart
of the Wild Wild West.
Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere (p.52)
Silencing the Thunder (p.63)
The Orphan Girl (p.57)
The Whale Hunt (p.70)
Film Guide and Schedule
Home grown films.
20/Nothing (p.18)
And We Were Young (p.21)
Badger Creek (p.21)
Bard in the Backcountry (p.22)
Being Evel (p.23)
Bill Ohrmann - Looking for the Truth (p.24)
Fishtail (p.38)
For All (p.39)
Fungiphilia Rising (p.39)
Hungry Horse (p.45)
Junk Studio (p.47)
Silencing the Thunder (p.63)
The Alan Lane Story (p.20)
The Orphan Girl (p.57)
To Live Deliberately (p.65)
Exploring the confluence
of human and
non-human nature.
Above All Else (p.19)
Baja’s Secret Miracle (p.22)
Broken Landscape
Fishtail (p.38)
Fungiphilia Rising p (.39)
Last Stop in Santa Rosa (p.50)
Le Semeur (p.50)
Back on Board (p.21)
Being Evel (p.23)
Boys With Broken Ears (p.26)
Fighter By Nature (p.37)
Finding Traction (p. 37)
Gnarly in Pink (p.40)
Luchadora (p.53)
Mie Nishi (p.54)
Personal Gold (p.58)
Pouters (p.59)
To Live Deliberately (p.65)
Top Spin (p.66)
Siblings are Forever (p.62)
Slow Season (p.64)
The Disease (p.34)
The Last Season (p.49)
The Last Smallholder (p.49)
The Whale Hunt (p.70)
Treasure Island (p.67)
Sports and
Adventure
A mainline shot of
visual adrenaline.
Natural Facts
Made
in Montana
Festival Jury
Julie Campfield, ro*co films
Julie Campfield joined ro*co films in 2009 and helped launch ro*co films
digital in 2011. She is currently Managing Director of ro*co films digital,
and works on developing international multi-platform digital distribution
strategies for ro*co’s extraordinary collection of feature documentaries.
ro*co represents and distributes award-winning documentaries
including thirteen Oscar-nominated feature films. ro*co films digital is a
direct content provider for iTunes, Amazon, Google play, Vimeo and Netflix.
Mia Desroches, National Film Board of Canada
Mia Desroches has held numerous positions within the National Film
Board of Canada over the past 10 years, including most recently as
Head of Marketing and Acting Assistant Director General for English
Program. A graduate of the Université de Montréal, Mia began her
career in distribution at Remstar, then worked as a freelancer at several
film festivals before continuing her career at the NFB.
Christoph Green, Trixie
Director Christoph Green has been a major force in DC for over 16
years in the world of television design and filmmaking. He co-founded
Trixie Film in 2004 with Brendan Canty. He has co-produced and
directed a long list of music-related films for artists such as Pearl Jam,
Eddie Vedder, Death Cab for Cutie, The Decemberists, The Shins and
Wilco. He is currently in post production on The Liberation, a film about
the revolutionary culinary job training program at DC Central Kitchen.
Alexandra Hannibal, Tribeca Doc Fund
Alex received her undergraduate degree from NYU and worked for
Lincoln Center before pursuing a career in documentaries. She is a
recent graduate of the Media Studies/Documentary Master’s Program
at the New School for Public Engagement. Prior to joining TFI she
worked with Apograph Productions as part of their producing team.
Nikki Heyman, POV
14
Nikki is the Production Coordinator for POV. She manages all film
submissions, maintains relations with PBS station contacts, is responsible
for collecting deliverables, and contributes to the curation of the series.
Prior to joining the staff in early 2014, Nikki was the documentarian for
The Odyssey Initiative, a non-profit traveling education project. Nikki
holds a Bachelor's degree in Cinema Studies from Oberlin College, and
belongs to the Phi Beta Kappa society.
Sandra M. Itkoff, Independent Producer
For over 20 years Sandra Itkoff has produced award-winning documentaries. Her latest project, Love Free or Die, premiered at the 2012
Sundance Film Festival and garnered the U.S. Documentary Special
Jury Prize for An Agent of Change. Her career spans many seminal
projects that have moved documentary film forward. Ms. Itkoff won the
prestigious duPont-Columbia Award for her four-part PBS documentary
series Cadillac Desert (1997), which focused on the epic political and
environmental struggle for water in the modern American West.
Yarrow Kraner, HATCH Film Festival
Yarrow Kraner is a director at Virgin Produced, an Aspen Institute Fellow, photographer, and founder of HATCH. Yarrow’s creative ideas and
work have been recognized internationally. In 2004, Yarrow founded
CHISEL, a branded-entertainment production company and HATCH, a
non-profit. HATCH was founded to connect creative catalysts to HATCH
a Better World through mentorship in creativity and innovation. HATCH
is a global thought-leader network that cross-pollinates leaders in film,
music, design, technology, and numerous innovative industries.
Brian Newman, Sub-Genre Media
Brian Newman is the founder of Sub-Genre, a consulting company
focusing on developing and implementing new business models for film
and new media. Current clients include: Patagonia- building an
international distribution, marketing and social impact plan for the
feature documentary DamNation- and developing ongoing film/new
media strategy; Sundance Institute- on a film data project;
Indie Collect- a new nonprofit dedicated to preserving independent
films; and several filmmakers on fundraising, distribution and marketing.
Erik Augustin Palm, International Journalist
Journalist, critic and columnist, dividing his time between California and his
native Sweden - where he has written about cinema and television for the
country's biggest newspapers and magazines. Erik has also worked as a
program writer for Stockholm International Film Festival and San Francisco
International Film Festival, and has visited most film festivals from Sundance
to TIFF. He has a degree in Cinema Studies from Stockholm University, and
has completed cinema, television, art and photography studies at San
Francisco State University and San Francisco Art Institute.
Tracy Rector, Longhouse Media
Tracy Rector is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Longhouse
Media. She has worked from the ground level in organizing their success
in tandem with her passion for filmmaking. Tracy’s films have had national
broadcast and distribution with Independent Lens, National PBS, National
Geographic and on the world festival circuit. She is a recent Tribeca
Institute Grantee, Sundance Institute Lab Fellow and is the recipient of the
Horace Mann Award for her work in social justice. Currently Ms. Rector sits
as a City of Seattle Arts Commissioner.
Noland Walker, ITVS
Noland Walker was the Executive Editor of the groundbreaking
transmedia documentary project Localore. He is also an awardwinning documentary filmmaker with more than twenty years of
experience in the field. Among the films he has produced, written, or
directed include Africans in America, Citizen King, Jonestown: The Life
and Death of Peoples Temple, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, and
Sam Cooke: Crossing Over.
15
Big Sky Documentary
Film Festival
UM College of Visual and Performing Arts
UM Department of English - Film Studies
2015
Free for Passholders & University of Montana Students
$10 entrance fee for non pass holders FEB. 9th – 13th 2015
We want to extend a huge thank you to The University of Montana and Submittable
for sponsoring this year's DocShop. DocShop has grown from a single workshop to a
fully-realized, five-day feature of the festival. In a field where technology is
paramount, the need for continuing education is essential for all makers. DocShop is
an opportunity for Missoula's burgeoning creative community, and the documentary
community-at-large, to connect with new ideas and industry leaders. The 2015
DocShop focuses on new online options, and how technology is changing how we
watch and distribute films. Join us for one or all of our engaging and educational
panels and workshop. Or attend the Big Sky Pitch, where filmmakers present their
works-in-progress to a panel of industry giants for feedback and funding.
Monday, February 9
BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED,
ONE FILM’S APPROACH TO INDIE DISTRIBUTION
10am, 11:30am UC Theater
CANON WORKSHOP
12pm-2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room
DISTRIBUTING YOUR OWN FILM
3:30pm-5pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room
Tuesday, February 10th
DISTRIBUTION AND THE LAW
11–12:30pm UC Theater
THE MUSIC OF CHINA TOWN, A TALE OF TWO SCORES
1pm-3pm UC Theater
16
SECRETS FOR NEGOTIATING DISTRIBUTION DEALS
3:30–5pm UC Theater
Wednesday, February 11th
INTERNATIONAL AND ONLINE DISTRIBUTION
10am, 11:30am UC Theater
GRANTS THAT WORK
12pm-2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room
VOD AND REAL COSTS
1pm–2pm Holiday Inn, Glacier Room
SEE YOUR DISTRIBUTION FUTURE:
AN INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
2:10pm, 4:10pm UC Theater
Thursday, February 12th
BIG SKY PITCH SESSION
9am–5pm UC Theater
Friday, February 13th
SHORT FILM DISTRIBUTION
10am–11am Holiday Inn, Glacier Room
AARON WICKENDEN’S EDITING WORKSHOP
CROWDFUNDING TO BUILD INDEPENDENCE
VOD AND MAXIMIZING REVENUE
4pm–6pm UC Theater
Saturday, February 14
Panelists include:
Sue Arbuthnot, Filmmaker
Richard Wilhelm, Filmmaker
Genaro Arroyo, Canon
Hunter Weeks, Filmmaker
Tracy Rector, Longhouse Media
David Smallman, Smallman & Snyder
Kelly Kowalski, Filmmaker
BC Campbell, Composer
Peter Broderick, Paradigm Consulting
Mia Desroches, National Film Board of
Canada
TEEN MENTOR WORKSHOP
Tim Horsburgh, Kartemquin Films
Julie Campfield, ro*co films
Alexandra Hannibal, Tribeca Doc Fund
Roger Jackson, Kinonation
Brian Newman, Sub-genre
Noland Walker, ITVS
Nikki Heyman, POV
Paige Williams, Audience Awards
Deny Staggs, Montana Film Office
Aaron Wickenden, Filmmaker
Emily Best, Seed&Spark
17
BIG
SKY
DOCUMENTARY
FILM FESTIVAL
2015
Screening guide and schedule of films
1971
Sat. Feb 7 — 7:30 PM — Wilma 1
Mon. Feb 16 — 2:30 PM — Top Hat
Director: Johanna Hamilton
USA, 2014, 80 Minutes
Feature Competition
The FBI was unaccountable and
untouchable until 1971, when a group of
ordinary citizens uncovered its illegal domestic spying programs. On March 8, 1971,
The Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI, as they called themselves, broke into
a small FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, took every file, and shared them with the
American public.
20/Nothing
Director: Rachel Stevens
20/Nothing explores the world of Evan Smith,
a man who lost his left eye at a young age.
This experimental film gives us an in-depth
look at perception with no depth.
18
Abdulai
Sun. Feb 15 — 3:15 PM — Wilma 1
Director: Lane Brown, Aidan Avery
Ghana, 2014, 15 Minutes
Through the eyes of a village patriarch, this
poetic documentary short reveals the joy
and sense of community in a remote village
in Ghana, Africa. Exploring the people’s
strength and resilience, the film shines light on the source of happiness from an
unfamiliar perspective.
Above All Else
Mon. Feb 9 — 8:30 PM — Wilma 1
Director: John Fiege
Above All Else follows David Daniel, a retired
stunt man and high wire artist, as he rallies
neighbors and activists to join him in a final
act of brinkmanship: a tree-top blockade
of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.
What begins as a stand against corporate
encroachments on one man's land becomes
a rallying cry for climate protesters nationwide.
sponsored by
Above the Alley, Beneath the Sky
Director: Dominic Gill
From the heart of Rio's beaches, eclectic
culture, and sprawling favelas (slums) erupts
massive granite monoliths, home to some
of the world's best urban rock climbing. This
natural resource was the motivation for a climbing outreach program for youth in Rio's
favelas, the Centro de Escalada Urbana (C.E.U.) This film follows instructor Andrew Lenz
as he guides two youths, helping expand their horizons.
19
The Age of Love
Director: Steven Loring
An unprecedented speed-dating event for
70- to 90-year-olds serves as the backdrop
for this funny and poignant look at love among the senior set. Fearlessly candid
about their needs and desires, ten brave souls discover how hearts change—or
don't change—from first love to the far reaches of life.
The Alan Lane Story
Director: Tyler Pfiffner, Kimberly Kozub
An inspiring story about a talented musician
who lost his arm in a logging accident. This
film encompasses Alan and his wife Wendy's
life in the Montana Yaak wilderness.
Almost There
Fri. Feb 13 — 7:00 PM — Crystal
Director: Dan Rybicky, Aaron Wickenden
Almost There is a coming-of-(old)-age story
about Peter Anton, an elderly 'outsider' artist
living in at-risk conditions whose world
changes when he's discovered by two
filmmakers. Shot over eight years, Almost There documents Anton's first major art
exhibition and how the controversy it generates forces him to leave his childhood
home. By highlighting the people in Anton's community compelled to help him
survive, Almost There explores the intersections of social norms, elder care, and
artistic expression.
20
And We Were Young
Director: Andy Smetanka
Three years and over 250,000 individual
frames in the making, And We Were Young is
a stop-motion animated oral history of American soldiers in France in the last days of the Great War,
performed entirely by black-paper puppets and filmed
in Super 8 against translucent paper backgrounds. It is
not for the faint of heart.
sponsored by
Back on Board: Greg Louganis
Director: Cheryl Furjanic
UK, 2014, 86 Minutes
An intimate portrait of the public triumphs and
private struggles of trailblazing openly gay
athlete Greg Louganis. This film follows
Louganis over three years as he struggles with financial security and reunites with the sport
he once dominated. Back On Board is an inspiring story about an American legend.
Badger Creek
Director: Randy Vasquez, Jonathan Skurnik
Before Buzz and Glenda Momberg began
their family, they made the decision to
become sober and reconnect with their
Blackfeet traditions. As a result, their
children and grandchildren are sober, prosperous, educated, and reconnecting with
their culture and language. Now it is time for grandson Michael to decide his future.
21
Baja’s Secret Miracle
Sat. Feb 14 — 2:00 PM — Crystal
Director: Eliana Alvarez Martinez
Mexico, 2014, 13 Minutes
Mario Castro, a fisherman that decided to
change the destiny of his community, narrates this wonderful story that takes us on a
journey of decades, to understand how the
town of Cabo Pulmo created the world's
most robust marine reserve.
Bard in the Backcountry
Sun. Feb 8 — 5:30 PM — Crystal
Director: Cindy Stillwell, Tom Watson
Bard in the Backcountry is a documentary
chronicle of the summer tour with Montana
Shakespeare in the Parks cast of ten actors.
They travel to town, set up their stage,
sponsored by
perform their show, and tear it all down each evening
for over two months. Along the way they come to
know the people, the culture and the landscape of
the region while learning what it means to be a part of
a small company that must work together.
Bashir's Vision
Sun. Feb 15 — 2:00 PM — Top Hat
Director: Daniel Roher
Canada, Uganda, 2014, 15 Minutes
In a small flyblown gym, the boxers bob
and dance, throw shadow jabs and spar.
Naguru, in the Ugandan capital of
Kampala, is a community of fast hands where the love of boxing rules. It’s here
that Bashir Ramathan throws real head snappers. His routine is the same each day
- a jog around the slum, jumping rope, and then working with the bags. With each
punch, an explosion of dust indicates the strength of each jab. Unlike the other
fighters, however, Bashir is completely blind.
22
Bedevil
Tues. Feb 10 — 9:00 PM — Crystal
Director: Sam Carroll
High Priestess Darla Wynn lives as a heavilyarmed shut in, unable to leave her home for
fear that more of her pets or she herself will
be murdered. After 9 years, Darla decides to
take the law into her own hands by running
for city council. This is her resurrection.
Being Evel
Thur. Feb 12 — 8:00 PM — Wilma 1
Director: Daniel Junge
Millions know the man, but few know his
story. In Being Evel, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Daniel Junge (Saving Face)
and actor/producer Johnny Knoxville take
a candid look at American daredevil and icon Robert “Evel” Knievel, while also
reflecting on our voracious public appetite for heros and spectacle.
Belly of the Beast
Director: Rob Norton
Australia, 2014, 16 Minutes
Belly of the Beast follows Sydney based
photographer Markus Andersen. His pictures
come from pure instinct. Sometimes he
shoots from the hip without composing, the
camera acting as an extension of his arm. Markus observes a subject, looks where
the light works then attempts to capture the scene at its apogee.
23
Big Moccasin
Director: Chelsea & Andrew Moynehan
An intimate look into the lives of four people
who live on Big Moccasin Rd., a 20-mile
stretch of pavement in the Appalachian
Mountains of southwest Virginia. Realized with an astonishing intimacy, the film is a
slice of Americana that digs deep into a lost world whose memories and presences
still linger in the very fabric of American Culture.
Bill Ohrmann - Looking for Truth
Bill Ohrmann was a Sergeant in the army in
1941. After the war he continued to operate
a cattle ranch. At 80 he began making
incredible life-size steel sculptures of animals.
An elk, rhino, woolly mammoth, antelope, moose, donkey, bears, birds, and bees
are some of the metal pieces scattered on his property. Although he creates these
sculptures for fun; painting provides the real catharsis.
Billy Mize and The Bakersfield Sound
Sat. Feb 7 — 4:00 PM — Top Hat
Mon. Feb 9 — 9:00 PM — Crystal
Director: William J. Saunders
Big Sky Award Competition
Billy Mize is a Country musician who
changed the genre, but consistently
sacrificed his fame for his family. After tragedy took that family and a stroke took his
voice, he took on the daunting challenge of putting all the pieces back together.
24
Blacksun
Director: John Bougher, Kohl Threlkeld
Haiti, 2014, 7 Minutes
Blacksun is a young rapper in Cité Soleil,
Haiti - one of the largest slums in the Western
Hemisphere. During the course of one day,
he reflects on life in his community, and how
his music will help promote a non-violent
path forward for young men.
Blendher
Director: John Frank Freeman
Blendher is a documentary film centered on
Bettye Ann Freeman's personal experience
& struggle with Bipolar Disorder in her
everyday life. Bettye Ann's goal is to
introduce the unseen normality that exists along with the negative side effects that
accompany this disorder. With this film, Bettye Ann hopes to educate & take one
step closer to breaking the stigma of Bipolar Disorder.
BlindSight
Director: Bob Sacha
BlindSight examines the photographic
imagination of the members of the Seeing
With Photography Collective through their
photography. While the members were sighted at one time, they are all now blind
or visually impaired. Many came to photography after their blindness, and photography has given them a new voice, a way to express what they feel, what they see
inside their head. The results are transformative, for the members and for the viewer.
They are tangible proof of how creativity enhances life and gives power.
25
Big
Big Sky
Sky Documentary
Documentary Film
Film Festival
Festival
Boys With Broken Ears
Sat. Feb 7 — 10:15 AM — Crystal
Director: Nima Shayeghi
Iran, 2014, 78 Minutes
Feature Competition
Boy With Broken Ears is an intimate look at
the hopes and struggles of a handful of
young Iranian wrestlers as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives; the world
championship in Europe. It is a social tale set against the qualms of committing one's
life to a dream at a young age.
Brave New Wild
Director: Oakley Anderson-Moore
Stumbling upon her father's hi8 tapes, a
daughter discovers a world of delinquent
oddballs and wino nomad-poets who
dedicate their lives to an absurdist art form:
rock climbing.
Break Kids
Tues. Feb 10 — 4:00 PM — Wilma 1
Director: Emily Kassie
Mini Doc Competition
Nasir is a New York City street dancer whose
crew is cracked down on by the NYPD, as
they become tougher on street and
subway dancers. Nasir is also 5 years old. In this documentary short Nasir's family tries
to encourage Nasir's dance career while wary of his growing antagonism toward
the NYPD.
26
Broken City Poets
Director: Ariane Wu
Short Film Competition
Broken City Poets chronicles the lives of four
high school students who are challenged to
use journalism and poetry to make sense of
their bankrupt, gang-ridden California city.
Broken Landscape
Director: Michael T. Miller
India, 2014, 13 Minutes
An explosion in unregulated 'rat-hole' coal
mines turns a rural Indian community into the
Wild West. That is, until the environmental destruction prompts the government to
ban coal mining completely. Mine owners and villagers clash in this moving examination of the cost of unmonitored industrial development.
Broken Song
Director: Claire Dix
Ireland, 2013, 66 Minutes
Costello and Willa Lee are street poets,
hip-hop artists, rappers and song-writers from
North Dublin. Through their words they have
found a way to diffuse their frustration with
the chaos that surrounds them and to inspire
others to master forms of self-expression which
nurture creativity rather than anger.
27
Bugarach
Director: Sergi Cameron, Ventura Durall,
Salvador Sunyer
France, 2014, 90 Minutes
Bugarach is a tiny village in southern France
where everyone lives a quiet life, isolated
from the world; until the day that the
international media spreads the news that Bugarach is the only place that will
allegedly survive doomsday. The arrival of increasingly outlandish strangers soon
begins to disturb the local population. The mayor tries to take control of the situation,
but it's already too late; furthermore, he has helped to blow up the story himself.
By Blood
Sat. Feb 14 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1
Director: Sam Russell, Marcos Barbery
By Blood chronicles Native Americans of
African descent, or Freedmen, as they
battle to regain their tribal citizenship. The film explores the impact of this battle,
which has manifested into a broader conflict about race, identity, and the sovereign rights of indigenous people.
Cailleach
Director: Rosie Reed Hillman
Morag is nearly 86. She lives alone in a house
at the end of a track looking out to sea on the Outer Hebrides. She was born in this
house, life is simple and peaceful. This is a portrait of a woman as she contemplates
the next chapter in her life; Morag shares her unique sense of independence,
attitude to mortality and the connection she has to her wild, island home.
28
The Case of the Three Sided Dream
Director: Adam Kahan
Rahsaan Roland Kirk was a one of a kind
musician, personality, activist and windmillslayer who despite being blind, becoming
paralyzed, and facing America’s racial
injustices – did not relent.
Children of the Arctic
Thur. Feb 12 — 7:00 PM — Crystal
Director: Nick Brandestini
Children of the Arctic is a portrait of five
Native Alaskan teenagers growing up in
the northernmost community in the United States. As their climate and way of life
undergo profound changes, they strive to be both modern American kids and the
inheritors of an endangered whaling culture.
CJ Hendry: Pen On Paper
Australia, 2014, 4 Minutes
Australian artist CJ Hendry sketches largerthan-life photo-realistic luxury objects. Using
only pen on paper, this non-verbal short
shows CJ's process. She has featured in
Vogue and Belle and sold pieces to Kanye
West and Gwyneth Paltrow.
29
Big
Big Sky
Sky Documentary
Documentary Film
Film Festival
Festival
Clear Glasses
Director: Sam Green
Sam Green Retrospective
This film is a poem of sorts about a pair of
glasses that Mark Rudd, one of the former
members of the Weather Underground and
one of the main subjects of the film on the group, sent director Sam Green out of
the blue a few years ago. He had been wearing that specific pair of glasses when
he turned himself in in 1977. He sent Sam the glasses as a way to say thanks for
making the film.
Coaching Colburn
Director: Jeff Bemiss,
Trinity College Filmmakers
James Colburn was born with Fragile X
Syndrome. At 26, he is a child at heart who
finds joy in small things and uses his gift of
comedic timing to inspire those around him.
James is living proof there is love and
laughter in the face of autism.
Comic Book Heaven
Director: E.J. McLeavey-Fisher
Comic Book Heaven is a short documentary
that follows 81 year old Joe Leisner, owner of
Comic Book Heaven in Sunnyside, Queens,
NY as he cantankerously assesses the status
of his business, the comic book industry, and
his future.
30
Film
Film Guide
Guide and
and Schedule
Schedule
Controversies
Director: Ryan Mckenna
Canada, 2014, 17 Minutes
In the 1980s, the popular Action Line talk
show was a colorful record of Winnipeg caller
reactions to hot-button issues of the day. Using archival audio as a formal foundation
(with host Peter Warren’s voice removed), McKenna carefully composes monochromatic portraits of Winnipeggers as stark silent listeners, while voices from the past
illuminate how much and little has changed in Canada’s gateway to the West.
Counting the Dead
Director: Catharine Axley
One former city librarian's fifty-year-long
quest to account for the names of those
who died in the 1906 San Francisco
Earthquake and Fire.
Crazy Carl and His Man Boobs
Director: Mike Woolf
Street performer. Flower spinner. Soggy
sandwich seller. Foot fetishist. Perennial city
council candidate. Austin’s alter ego. Few
have kept Austin weird for as long as Crazy
Carl Hickerson, the Sixth Street institution known for selling and spinning flowers,
flashing his man boobs, and breaking into dance outside of Esther’s Follies.
31
Crooked Candy
Director: Andrew Rodgers
Kinder Surprise eggs are enormously popular all
around the world. From the foil wrapper to the
chocolate shell, the plastic yolk capsule to the
clever toy inside, Kinder eggs are
practically a global rite of childhood. That is, except in the United States, where they're
considered a choking hazard and are illegal. This is the story of a Kinder smuggler.
Dancing With the Incas
Director: John Cohen
John Cohen Retrospective
Three Huayno musicians in contemporary
Peru are torn between the military and the
Shining Path guerrillas. The film shows how
ancient Incan music passed down through the centuries has a contemporary life of
its own in the cities of Peru. Lima on Sundays is alive with Huayno music, in which one
hears authentic Inca melodies performed on every conceivable type of instrument.
In the moody lyrics, the musings of oppressed people assume an existential and
timeless quality even when a carnival atmosphere prevails.
Daugthers of Emmonak
Director: Graeme Aegerter, Bobby Moser,
Samantha Andre
Daugthers of Emmonak is a documentary
film about a Yup'ik Eskimo woman, Lenora "Lynn" Hootch, working to bring an end to
domestic abuse in her rural village of Emmonak, Alaska. In 1982, Lynn opened the
Emmonak Women's Shelter to provide a safe place for women and children from
surrounding villages. Lynn has dedicated her life to reclaiming her people's culture and
traditional values as alcohol, drugs, and violence have torn through her community.
32
David & Me
Director: Ray Klonsky, Marc Lamy
David & Me is a gritty, gut-wrenching doc
about two unlikely friends – a convicted
murderer and a young filmmaker. David
McCallum has served 29 years of a life
sentence and may never leave prison again. Despite a
mountain of evidence that should exonerate him, or at
least trigger a new trial, filmmaker Ray Klonsky and a
pro-bono team are stymied by a justice system that has
proven reluctant to exonerate the wrongly convicted.
sponsored by
David Hockney In the Now
Director: Lucy Walker
The sexy story of the iconic British artist David
Hockney, who is adamant about living life
in the now.
Desert Haze
Director: Sofie Benoot
The American West is a world where
human life seems impossible. An arid,
mythical landscape characterized by the absence of water. But then traces start to
appear and the film becomes a peculiar portrait of America, between present and
past, myth and reality. Astronauts preparing for future missions to Mars, Japanese
country singers, military archeologists, and many other forms of life.
33
The Disease
Director: Nathaniel Maddux
A veteran outdoors-man, Redbeard,
consumed by a passion for wild turkey
hunting, takes us on a trip from his turkey
call shop to his secluded hunting camp and
reflects on his life of outdoor adventure and
cigar smoking.
Divide in Concord
Director: Kris Kaczor
USA, 2014, 82 minutes
Jean Hill, a fiery octogenarian, is deeply
concerned about the environment. Since
2010, she’s spearheaded a crusade to ban
the sale of single-serve plastic bottled water
in her hometown. In the same town that incited the American Revolution can one
senior citizen make history? A tense nail-biter of a vote will decide.
Do you Dream in Color?
Director: Abigail Fuller, Sarah Ivy
Do You Dream in Color? is a poignant
coming of age story capturing the inspired
journeys of four teenagers who are blind.
Their stories shine a provocative light on the
social and institutional obstacles they face
in the sighted world and what it takes to
surmount these barriers.
34
A Dog Named Gucci
Director: Gorman Bechard
From survivor to rock star, A Dog Named
Gucci is the story of a puppy set on fire and
the brave man who came to his rescue. But
for Doug James saving Gucci was just the
beginning. Together they would forge a forever bond of devotion and perseverance and work to change the non-existent animal cruelty laws in their home state,
proving that justice is a dog’s best friend.
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten:
Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll
Director: John Pirozzi
Cambodia, 2014, 105 Minutes
Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost
Rock and Roll tracks the twists and turns of
Cambodian music as it morphs into rock
and roll, blossoms, and is nearly destroyed
along with the rest of the country. It provides
a new perspective on a country usually
associated with only war and genocide.
Dry Season
Director: Max Good, Tyler Trumbo
Willits, an eclectic town two hours north of
San Francisco, faces an uncertain future
during California’s worst drought in 500
years. With just a 100-day supply of water
left, cooperation, conservation, and
finger pointing all compete in a community
made up of ranchers, back-to-the-landers,
and marijuana growers.
35
Dryden: The Small Town
That Changed the Fracking Game
Director: Chris Jordan-Bloch
The industry kept saying: 'We have the
power; you have none. We are coming.
Get out of the way or leave,'' says Joanne
Cipolla-Dennis, recalling what happened
when the oil and gas industry came to her
town of Dryden, NY.
End of an Old Song
Filmed in the mountains of North Carolina,
this documentary revisits the region where
English folklorist Cecil Sharp collected British
ballads in the early 1900s. It contrasts the nature of the ballad singers with the
presence of the juke box: although the lyrical tradition has changed, the singing
style continues. Features Dillard Chandler, who sings with rare intensity and style.
Every Other Summer: Solid Sound Festival 2013
Fri. Feb 13 — 8:45 PM — Wilma 1
Director: Brendan Canty, Christoph Green
Every Other Summer is about the 2013 Solid
Sound Festival, Wilco's three day music and
arts gathering that takes place once every
two years at MASS MoCA. Every Other
Summer is more than a concert film. Incorporating performances by Wilco, Yo La
Tengo, The Dream Syndicate, Foxygen, The Relatives and more and featuring Reggie Watts, John Hodgman, Jen Kirkman and others, the film offers a peek into the
festival's utopian vibe, and the positive transformative impact it has had on the small
rust belt town of North Adams, MA.
36
The Fabulous Stains: Behind the Movie
Director: Sam Green, Sarah Jacobson
The Fabulous Stains explores the making of
one of the weirdest movies ever made; the
1981 cult film The Fabulous Stains.
Fighter By Nature
Sun. Feb 8 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1
Director: JP Keenan, Aryelle Cormier
Fighter By Nature is a portrait of the life of
Marvin McDowell, a Hall of Fame boxing
coach, as he tries to balance being a coach
to at-risk youth in Baltimore while being a
present father to his own family.
Finding Traction
Sat. Feb14 — 2:30 PM — Top Hat
Director: Jaime Jacobsen
Finding Traction presents the inspirational
story of ultra runner Nikki Kimball's quest to
become the fastest person in history to run
America’s oldest hiking trail, the 273-mile Long
Trail. Through Nikki’s incredible journey, racing
towards a dream and against time, we gain
a new perspective on what we all share in
terms of endurance and the human spirit.
sponsored by
37
Fishtail
Director: Andrew Renzi
Fishtail revolves around the life of two
cowboys living on a 2,000-acre ranch in
sponsored by
Montana. The property is a fully functioning cattle ranch where
Western American art specialist ‘Tylee’ Abbott spent his youth.
The film takes place during calving season, the month when
the cows on the ranch give birth, mirroring the life-cycle of the
cattle with that of the modern cowboys and their families.
F-Line
Director: Silvia Turchin
F-Line is a poetic documentary that explores
an ethereal past and romance aboard San
Francisco's historic streetcars.
Florence, Arizona
Sun. Feb 15 — 10:15 AM — Crystal
Director: Andrea B. Scott
Florence, Arizona is a cowboy town with a
prison problem. Founded in 1866, this
bastion of the Wild West is home to 8,500
civilians and 17,000 inmates spread over nine prisons. Through an unconventional
lens, the documentary film Florence, Arizona weaves together the stories of four key
residents of Florence, whose lives have all been shadowed in some way by the surrounding prison industrial complex.
38
For All
Director: Rachel Stevens
Twenty-four years after the Americans with
Disabilities Act became law, the first
all-abilities playground in Missoula is being
built with the help of a community. For All follows seven children with disabilities as
they contribute to the design and experience a playground built with them in mind
for the first time.
Fungiphilia Rising
Director: Madison McClintock
Fungiphilia Rising is an invitation to explore
the fascinating world of mushrooms
throughout the American West. In addition
to revealing the multifaceted role
mushrooms play in our culture, the film aims
to bring awareness to the important
ecological functions they perform in our
world's ecosystems and built environments.
Gardeners of Eden
Director: Austin Peck,
Anneliese Vandenberg
Kenya, USA, 2013, 70 Minutes
Africa’s elephants are hurtling towards
extinction to fuel the worldwide ivory trade.
Gardeners of Eden is a gripping, first-person
experience inside the operations of Kenya’s David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in their
heroic efforts to rescue the orphans of slaughtered elephants, raise them by hand
and reintroduce them into the wild.
39
Gaucho Del Norte
Director: Sofian Khan, Andres Caballero
Chile, USA, 2014, 58 Minutes
Gaucho del Norte tells the story of a
Patagonian sheepherder from Chile recruited
to work in Idaho. The nomadic two-year journey follows Eraldo Pacheco and his herd of
more than a thousand sheep across a lonely, rugged landscape --- from the harsh
beauty of wintry high desert, to the lush summer mountains. Living in isolation, Eraldo
faces the ups and downs of a psychologically demanding job far away from his home
and family.
Giap’s Last Day at the Ironing Board Factory
Director: Tony Nguyen
In 1975, a seven-months pregnant
Vietnamese refugee, Giap, escapes Saigon in
a boat and, within weeks, finds herself working
on an assembly line in Seymour, Indiana. 35
years later, her aspiring filmmaker son, Tony,
decides to document her final day of work
at the last ironing board factory in America. It
turns into a painful, but loving journey.
Gnarly in Pink
Director: Ben Mullinkosson, Kristelle Laroche
Meet Bella, Rella and Sierra, a trio of
skateboarding six-year-olds who form the
Gnarly in Pink. This fantastical short follows the
girls as they pop ollies and shred through
gender stereotypes—all while dressed in tutus.
40
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
Director: Alex Gibney
Going Clear profiles eight former members
of the Church of Scientology, showing how
they attract believers and the things they do
in the name of religion.
Godka Cirka
Director: Alex Lora, Antonio Tibaldi
Somalia, 2014, 10 Minutes
Young Alifa looks up at the Somali Sky. She
thinks about her daily life as a shepherdess.
She knows that the day that will change her
life forever is about to come.
Growing Home
Director: Faisal Attrache
Jordan, 2014, 22 Minutes
Samer, a displaced Syrian barber, has taken refuge along with his young family in
the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan. Despite filling his time with meaningful work,
caring for his family and improving his living conditions, such daily distractions
cannot diminish his desire to return home.
41
Gypsies Sing Long Ballads
Scotland, 1982, 28 Minutes
Scotland's Gypsies have lived outside
mainstream society for more than 500 years.
Although some of the "Travelling People" still live by the sides of roads, most live today
in houses and are under pressure to abandon their culture. This film celebrates their
traditional music, especially the long unaccompanied British ballads that date back
hundreds of years and have been handed down by memory through the generations.
Hearts and Minds
Director: Peter Davis
Many times during his presidency, Lyndon
B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the
Vietnam War depended upon the U.S.
military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter
Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed
and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with
military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking
scenes of violence and brutality.
Highrise
Tues. Feb 10-20 — Missoula Art Museum
Director: Katerina Cizek
Canada, 2010
An Emmy-winning, multi-year, many-media,
collaborative documentary experiment
at the National Film Board of Canada,
Highrise explores vertical living in the global
suburbs. Directed by Katerina Cizek.
42
Hinoki Farm
Director: Akiro Hellgardt
Japan, 2013, 29 Minutes
After their retirement from company
employment about 15 years ago Mrs and Mr Kikuchi left Tokyo and started a new
life in the rural and mountainous region of the island of Kyushu in Japan. They built
up the hinoki farm (buildings, garden and the fields) with their own hands. A study of
daily work and the simple things in life. A way of life in old age.
Hip Hop-Eration
Director: Bryn Evans
New Zealand, 2014, 93 Minutes
Feature Competition
Who said your grandmother couldn't be a
Hip Hop star? These hip-hoppers may each
be almost a century young, but for Kara (94), Maynie (95) and Terri (93), the journey
to the Las Vegas World Hip Hop Dance Championships is just the beginning of a
life's journey. Along with twenty-seven other nonagenarians, they defy the odds
and hip-hop their way into the hearts and minds of thousands of young fans from
around the world.
The Hip-Hop Fellow
Director: Kenneth Price
The Hip-Hop Fellow follows Grammy Award
winning producer 9th Wonder’s tenure at
Harvard University as he teaches ‘The Standards of Hip-Hop’ course, conducts research
for his thesis and explores hip-hop’s
history, culture and role in academia. The film centers on the emerging significance
of incorporating hip-hop studies into academic curriculum and spotlights the
scholars and musicians at the forefront of preserving 40 years of hip-hop culture.
43
Hollow - An Interactive Documentary
Director: Elaine McMillion
USA, 2013
Hollow is an interactive documentary that
merges cinematic techniques with
web-based storytelling to encourage a
dialogue about the issues facing small-town
America. The project examines the lives of 30 individuals living in McDowell County,
W. VA. Hollow combines video portraits, data visualizations, photography,
soundscapes, community-generated content and grassroots mapping to bring
these stories to life. Directed by Elaine McMillion.
An Honest Liar
Director: Justin Weinstein, Tyler Measom
USA, Canada, Spain, Italy, 2014, 92 Minutes
Honest Liar is a feature documentary about
the world-famous magician, escape artist,
and world-renowned enemy of
deception, James ‘The Amazing’ Randi. The
film brings to life Randi’s intricate investigations
that publicly exposed psychics, faith healers,
and con-artists with quasi-religious fervor.
Hotel 22
Director: Elizabeth Lo
Each night in Silicon Valley, the Line 22
transforms from a public bus into an
unofficial shelter for the homeless.
Commonly referred to as "Hotel 22," the bus
has become a mobile testament to the
challenges of finding housing in one of the
richest areas in the world.
44
Hungry Horse: Legends of the Everyday
Director: Pieter ten Hoopen,
Tim McLaughlin, Brian Storm
Legends of the Everyday is a film and
photography project created by acclaimed
photographer Pieter ten Hoopen in
collaboration with MediaStorm. In the films, Pieter captures the spirit of renewal,
peace and serenity in the lives of the people he documents through stunning landscapes and intimate oral histories.
The Immortalists
Director: David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg
Two eccentric scientists struggle to create
eternal youth through medical research. Bill
Andrews is a lab biologist and famed longdistance runner racing against the ultimate clock. Aubrey sponsored by
de Grey is a genius theoretical biologist who conducts his
research with a beer in hand. They publicly brawl with the
titans of biology who argue that curing aging is neither
possible nor desirable.
In Country
Director: Mike Attie, Meghan O’Hara
To many of us, the idea of Civil War
reenactment is a familiar concept. But the
men of Delta 2/5(R) recreate the battles of a
far more charged conflict: The Vietnam War. For one weekend a year, the woods of
Oregon transform as a mix of combat enthusiasts, Iraq veterans, and even a former
South Vietnamese Army officer, revive — by choice — a war that a whole generation
would much rather forget. Disquieting and provocative, In Country blurs fantasy with
trauma, deftly tugging at the imposing question: what compels these men to don the
vintage uniforms and meticulously bring this controversial war back to life?
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Isle De Jean Charles
Director: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
A portrait of Isle de Jean Charles, a tiny island
deep in the bayous of Southern Louisiana. The
film explores the changes taking place on the
island through the lives of two residents whose
families are facing a future where rising seas,
coastal erosion and storms are threatening to
wash their home away.
Jalanan
Director: Daniel Ziv
Indonesia, 2013, 107 Minutes
Jalanan ('Streetside') tells the
captivating story of Boni, Ho & Titi, three
gifted, charismatic street musicians in
Jakarta over a tumultuous 5-year period in
their own lives and that of Indonesia. The film follows the young marginalized musicians and their never before seen sub-culture, while also painting a striking, moody
and intimate portrait of Indonesia’s frenzied capital city.
Jordanne
Director: Zak Razvi
UK, 2014, 5 Minutes
A portrait film about British Paralympic athlete,
Jordanne Whiley. Jordanne was born with
brittle bone disease. Narrated by Jordanne
during the lead up to the US Open 2014. If she
wins, she will become the first British athlete to
win all four grand slams in one year.
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Junk Studio
Director: Kier Atherton
Portrait of Northwest Montana artist Abe
Quilling whose Junk Studio series is inspired
by local history and made with discarded
objects. Overcoming the skepticism of
friends and family he begins incorporating
the unlikeliest of models in his work.
Kosma
Director: Sonja Blagojević
Serbia, 2013, 75 Minutes
For ten years now, the KOSMA radio network
is the only thing connecting isolated Serbian
communities in Kosovo. Life transformed into
FM frequency sounds, capturing voices of
those who are voiceless and non-existing in official media. From simple everyday life
to sights of living tradition that springs out of the deepest layers of time and human
experience.
Kung Fu Elliot
Director: Matthew Bauckman,
Jaret Belliveau
Elliot “White Lightning Scott” an eccentric
martial artist from New Brunswick, dreams of
becoming Canada’s first action hero with his
low-budget karate epic, Blood Fight. Kung Fu Elliot captures two years in the lives of
a passionate amateur filmmaker, his supportive partner Linda, and their outrageous
cast, all trying to realize their dreams.
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La Alfombra Roja
Director: Iosu López
158 million people live in Indian slums in
extreme squalor. Millions of children play
surrounded by rubbish, cows, rats and
excrement. Garib Nagar slum, in Bandra
district (Bombay, India) is home to Rubina, a 12-year old girl who aims to become
an actress and change the slum into a cleaner and more habitable place.
LA Miner
Director: Thomas R. Wood
There is gold mining happening right now,
as you read this, forty-five minutes from
Downtown Los Angeles. Patrick, a chemistryloving, gut-toting, redneck-savant is headed
up into the mountains to find gold and
answer a few hard questions about his own,
reckless life.
La Reina
Director: Manuel Abramovich
Argentina, 2014, 19 Minutes
Memi prepares to become queen of the
carnival. Lost in a world of grown-ups and
trapped in her routine, she is torn between
the glamour of pageant and the social
pressure to become a winner.
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Lady Be Good: Instrumental Women In Jazz
Director: Kay D. Ray
Lady Be Good traces the musical
contributions, the journeys and the obstacles
of American women instrumentalists in jazz
from the early part of this century to the
1970’s and the development and extent of
the all-woman groups.
The Last Season
Director: Sara Dosa
Amid the bustling world of Oregon’s
matsutake mushroom hunting camps, the
lives of two former soldiers intersect. Roger, a US Army sniper in Vietnam and Kouy,
a Cambodian platoon leader who battled the Khmer Rouge, form an unexpected
bond – and, a means to slowly heal the scarring wounds of war.
The Last Smallholder
Director: Francis Lee
This short documentary meditates on the last
remaining farmer from a once thriving agricultural hillside in Yorkshire. With none of his three children wanting to take over the
business, Carson Lee ruminates on his commitment to his working life during difficult
times and the fast-changing landscape around him.
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Last Stop in Santa Rosa
Director: Elizabeth Lo
A hospice for dying animals raises difficult
questions about the ethics of pet euthanasia
through the struggles of two elderly dogs.
Le Semeur (The Sower)
Director: Julie Perron
A portrait of artist and seed producer
Patrice Fortier, who dedicates his passion
and expertise to preserving plant
biodiversity. Patrice likes beets, especially
hardy varieties which can stand up to a strong wind. He admires independence in a
plant. He tends his carrots with the same patience and meticulousness he dedicates
to harvesting seeds from his squash. Sometimes, he dreams about a certain cherry
tree whose genetic legacy he wants to preserve and spread. Le Semeur gives us a
fascinating taste of Fortier’s intensely lived days.
A Line in the Sand
Director: Justin Clifton, Chris Cresci
As the western land grab continues to
gobble up our public lands, the question
remains - what do we want our legacy to
be once all of the resources have been
extracted, and what are we willing to do to
ensure this future?
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Little Hero
Director: Marcus A. McDouglad, Jennifer
Medvin
Little Hero is a film that centers on the relationship between six-year-old twins, Avery
and Xander. At 18-months-old, Xander was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Avery, however, does not view her brother as being a special needs child. Instead, she sees him as a superhero. In this documentary, Avery explains their unique
and beautiful relationship from her perspective.
Lives Worth Living
Director: Eric Neudel
Lives Worth Living is both an historical
documentary about the Disability Rights
Movement and a biography about one
man’s struggle to survive. This hour-long program targets a national audience of
54,000,000 people with disabilities, students at all levels, and eventually, with global
outreach, more than 650,000,000 worldwide. Charismatic leaders of the movement
narrate the story of a long, hard, and successful drive for civil rights.
Lot 63, Grave C
Director: Sam Green
Lot 63, Grave C is a short documentary film
about Meredith Hunter, the teenager who
was killed by Hell’s Angels at the Rolling
Stones’ notorious Altamont concert in 1969.
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Love and Terror on the Howling Plains of Nowhere
Director: Dave Jannetta
In an isolated Nebraska town a brilliant
mathematics professor disappears
without a trace. Three months later his corpse is discovered tied to a tree and
burned beyond recognition in the hills south of campus. Iconoclastic author Poe
Ballantine searches for clues while reflecting on his life of wanderlust.
Love Letter to the Fog
(A Cinematic Study of Fog in San Francisco)
Director: Andy Black, Sam Green
An investigation of fog, a remarkable
weather phenomenon that profoundly
characterizes the San Francisco Bay.
The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller
Wed. Feb 11 — 8:00 PM — Wilma 1
Director: Sam Green
The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller is a
new live documentary by Academy Awardnominated director Sam Green (The
Weather Underground) featuring a live score by the legendary indie rock band
Yo La Tengo. The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller traces the career of twentiethcentury futurist, architect, engineer, inventor, and author R. Buckminster Fuller
(1895–1983).
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Luchadora
Director: River Finlay
Luna Magica, a professional Lucha Libre
wrestling star in Mexico, dreams of
becoming a world wrestling champion while fighting to make ends meet as a single
mom in Mexico City.
The Measure of All Things
Sat. Feb 14 — 8:00 PM — Dennison
Director: Sam Green
The film is a meditation on fate, time, and
the outer contours of the human
experience. Inspired very loosely by the Guinness Book of Records, The Measure of
All Things weaves together a series of portraits of record-holding people, places,
and things, including the tallest man (7 feet 9 inches), the oldest living thing (a 5,000
year old Bristlecone Pine in Southern California), among others. The Measure of All
Things is screened with in-person narration and a live soundtrack.
Meet the Hitlers
Director: Matt Ogens
Ecuador, Germany, USA, 2014, 84 Minutes
Feature Competition
Meet the Hitlers is a feature documentary
that examines the relationship between
names and identity, by exploring the lives of people who are linked by the name
"Hitler,” offering an intimate portrait of its subjects, whose reactions to their name
span the spectrum of human experience.
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Mie Nishi
Director: Bruno Caticha
Brazil, 2014, 19 Minutes
A portrait of the only sports complex in
Sao Paulo dedicated to Japanese culture.
Gateball, sumo and baseball: the daily life
of Mie Nishi.
Miners Shot Down
Director: Rehad Desai
South Africa, 2014, 86 Minutes
In August 2012, mine workers in one of South
Africa’s biggest platinum mines began a
wildcat strike for better wages. Six days into
the strike, the police used live ammunition to
brutally suppress it, killing 34 and injuring many more. The police insisted that they shot
in self-defense. Miners Shot Down tells a different story, one that unfolds in real time
over seven days, like a ticking time bomb.
Mountain Music of Peru
This classic documentary portrait of the
centuries-old music of the Andes
demonstrates its importance in preserving
the cultural identity of the impoverished native peoples. The musical thread that
runs through the Andes extends back past the ancient culture of the Incas, and it
is strong enough to have successfully resisted both the Spanish conquest and the
forces of modern Western culture.
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Mr Fogg
Wed. Feb 11 — 9:00 PM — Crystal
Director: Joe Dixon
In a funny, heart warming and ultimately
moving portrait, Mr Fogg offers us an
intimate look at a man looking back at his
life. Through the idiosyncrasy's of Eric Fogg's
daily routine we gain a very personal insight
into his life, its glories as well as losses.
Natural Life
Director: Tritza Even
Natural Life challenges inequities in the U.S.
juvenile justice system by depicting, through
documentation and reenactment the stories
of five individuals who were sentenced to
Life Without Parole (Natural Life) for crimes they committed as youth. The youthful
status and/or lesser culpability of these youth, their background and their potential
for rehabilitation, were not taken into account at any point in the charging and
sentencing process. They will remain in prison till they die.
Now En Español
Director: Andrea Meller
Feature Competition
Pulling back the curtain on one of
Hollywood’s lesser-known communities, Now
En Español follows the lives and careers of the five dynamic Latina voice actresses
who dub “Desperate Housewives” into Spanish for American audiences – redefining
our idea of what American culture looks and sounds like.
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Oma en Opa
Director: Charlotte de Bekker
Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, 2014
8 Minutes
“What was it like when you saw Grandma
for the first time?” What starts off as a simple
question quickly develops into a powerful glimpse of a family’s history as filmmaker
Charlotte de Bekker interviews her grandparents, Kees and Riki. In an exchange
revealing what it is like to be at the end of one’s life, vibrant anecdotes, insightful
stories, and honest conversations form a portrait of two remarkable, love-filled lives.
Omid
Director: Jawad Wahabzada
Afghanistan, USA, 2014, 9 Minutes
Omid is the story of a young boy
washing cars next to the US Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, reflecting on the US military
withdrawal while providing rare access to
the war-torn streets of Kabul.
On Beauty
Director: Joanna Rudnick
From Emmy-nominated filmmaker Joanna
Rudnick (In the Family), On Beauty follows
former fashion photographer Rick Guidotti
as he uses his lens to challenge convention
and redefine beauty with the help of two
extraordinary women.
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One Year Lease
Director: Brian Bolster
Told almost entirely through voicemail
messages, One Year Lease documents the
travails of Brian, Thomas, and Casper as they
endure a year-long sentence with Rita, the
cat-loving landlady.
The Orphan Girl
Director: Yarrow Kraner
The story of a frontier city & the mavericks
that sacrificed to create a brighter future &
fuel America’s Industrial Revolution. A "day
in the life" of a miner who leaves the love of
his life each morning, not knowing if that day might be his last. Half-documentary/
half -fiction, Orphan Girl is sponsored and produced by Headframe Spirits.
The Orchestra
Director: Francesco Merini, Helmut Failoni
Italy, 2014, 59 Minutes
The Orchestra Mozart has been founded by
Maestro Claudio Abbado in 2004 in Bologna, Italy. This orchestra brings together the
best classical music performers in the world
by mixing young promises and well established solo artists. The documentary offers a
unique glance on Abbado’s work and on the day to day lives of classical musicians
of our times by following the orchestra’s European tour in 2012-2013.
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Out of Deepwood
Director: Craig Weflen
Today, the Trinity River Audubon Center is a
secluded place of tranquility. Yet this
location has not always been so peaceful.
For 25 years, the City of Dallas ignored over
two million cubic-yards of illegal dumping. This is the story of precedent-setting environmental law, the reclamation of land, and a neighborhood’s fight for justice.
Personal Gold
Mon. Feb 16 — 10:00 AM — Wilma 1
Director: Tamara Christopherson
Feature Competition
The underdog story of four women cyclists
who become America’s medal hope at
the London Olympics when the men’s team is banned during the Lance Armstrong
drug scandal. The underfunded women turn to support from a volunteer team
including their husbands and a quantified self experiment using ‘Data not Drugs’ to
attempt the impossible; win the first women’s track cycling medal in 20 years.
The Possibilities Are Endless
Director: Edward Lovelace, James Hall
Placed inside Edwyn’s mind, we embark
on a remarkable journey from the brink of
death back to language, music, life and
love. With the help of his wife Grace, Edwyn
submerges himself in a landscape of memories, as he tries to unlock the story of his
past. More than a story of determination against all odds; it is an intimate and lifeaffirming tale of rediscovery.
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Quiet Riot: Well Now You're here, There's No Way Back
Thur. Feb 12 — 6:30 PM — Top Hat
Director: Regina Russell
Germany, USA, 2014, 109 Minutes
An unlikely and surprisingly personal
narrative to conquer the loss of a friend
emerges from an odyssey about the rise,
fall and resurrection of an 80's metal band. The career of Frankie Banali, drummer
of Quiet Riot, took a major sideswipe when his singer and best friend Kevin DuBrow
died in 2007. In 2010 and at a cross roads in his life, Banali has to forge ahead and
make a new life for himself and his daughter.
Pouters
Director: Paul Fegan
A modern day story of undying
commitment, rivalry, family and friendship
interwoven by an underground and idiosyncratic Scottish sport. Rab and Danny,
rivals for over 25 years with huge pride at stake, battle it out on the wing to become
the reigning Doo Fleein champion.
The Rainbow Man/John 3:16
Director: Sam Green
Remember that man in the rainbow-colored
Afro wig who carried the "John 3:16" sign?
During the 70s and 80s he seemed to be
everywhere: at televised baseball and football games, shuttle launches, and
hundreds of other events. So who was he,
and what ever happened to him?
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Return of the River
Director: Jessica Plumb, John Gussman
A film infused with hope, Return of the River
follows a group of strong-minded people as
they attempt the impossible: changing the
opinion of a town and eventually the nation
to bring two dams down. Their campaign
launches the world’s largest dam removal,
an unlikely victory for restoration and justice.
Reunions
Director: Naomi Wise
Canada, Poland, 2014, 11 Minutes
The Zoltak family survived WWII with the help
of a sympathetic Christian Polish family.
Reunions tells the story of Sydney Zoltak’s
return to Poland with the March of the Living
and his emotional reunion with the Polish
rescuer who saved his life.
Roscoe Holcomb From Daisy, Kentucky
John Cohen explores the life, philosophy
and music of Eastern Kentucky banjo player,
coal miner and construction worker Roscoe
Holcomb. Holcomb has been injured on the job and forced into early retirement.
He discusses his life and music and plays a number of traditional songs from his
region. Using intimate footage of Holcomb at home as well as footage of his family,
community and region, Cohen presents a remarkable and visually beautiful portrait
of Roscoe Holcomb.
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Ruhr Record
Director: Rainer Komers
Germany, 2014, 45 Minutes
The Ruhr region - an urban and industrial
agglomerate of traffic arteries, shopping malls,
labor and research centers and recreational
facilities of all kinds - is the subject of the fourth
film of the tetralogy "Four Elements". A leitmotif of the image-and-sound-composition is
the element "fire / light". Choreography of a metropolis' post-industrial change.
Salad Days
Director: Scott Crawford
Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in
Washington, DC (1980-90) examines the early
DIY punk scene in the Nation’s Capital. It
was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue,
Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their
own records and booked their own shows—without major record label constraints or
mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated
the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry’s subsequent implosion).
Santa Cruz Del Islote
Director: Luke Lorentzen
Colombia, 2014, 19 Minutes
Santa Cruz del Islote is just three acres large. It's also one of the world's most densely
populated islands. A fisherman and ten-year-old boy live peacefully within this
Colombian community, but struggle with isolation.
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Shield and Spear
Director: Petter Ringborn
South Africa, USA, 2014, 89 Minutes
An artist paints a caricature of South African
president Jacob Zuma that provokes a
lawsuit, death threats and a massive street
protest. Around this incident, Shield and
Spear explores a constellation of stories about identity, art, race, and freedom of
expression in South Africa, twenty years into democracy.
Showfolk
Director: Ned McNeilage
For seven Hollywood Golden Age veterans,
the show goes on. A Vaudeville comedian
still working at 100, a stunning siren who
dated Ronald Reagan when he was a Democrat, a kid just out of college who sold
The Ten Commandments around the world – these showbiz vets share wisdom and
inspiration garnered over seven lifetimes in the business. Residing together at the
Motion Picture & Television Fund home in the San Fernando Valley, these entertainment lifers are “bonded by the show.”
Siblings are Forever
Director: Frode Fimland
Norway, 2013, 75 Minutes
Feature Competition
Siblings are Forever is a warm and poetic
documentary about a brother-and-sister
couple, Magnar (73) and Oddny (70) who live like many Norwegians did 50 years
ago. Far from wealthy but close to the nature surrounding them.
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Sightlines
Director: Genevieve Bicknell
Kenya, UK, 2014, 16 Minutes
In the mid-Twentieth Century, Britain sent
surveyors out to map the world. Using their
aerial photographs and the super 8 film they
took of their expeditions, we explore
colonialism and its consequences, as they
are being played out today, in a hillside
village in Kenya.
Silenced
Director: James Spione
Three National Security whistleblowers fight
to reveal the darkest corners of America's
war on terror, challenging a government
that is increasingly determined to maintain
secrecy.
Silencing the Thunder
Director: Eddie Roqueta
Silencing the Thunder exposes the
controversy surrounding the disease
brucellosis within the greater Yellowstone
ecosystem. Should Yellowstone National
Park’s bison population be lethally
managed due to the risk of a possible disease transmission to cattle?
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Slow Season
Director: John Fiege
As the effects of the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill linger in Louisiana's bayou country, a way of life begins to slip away for a crab fisherman and his sons.
Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs & the New South Africa
Sat. Feb 14 — 10:15 AM — Crystal
Director: Abby Ginzberg
Targeted by South African military
intelligence while in exile, anti-apartheid
activist, Albie Sachs lost his right arm in a car
bomb attack, yet remained steadfast in his
belief that his ‘soft vengeance’ would be the creation of freedom and democracy
in South Africa, which he helped bring about as one of the country’s first
Constitutional Court judges.
Terrance
Director: Joris Debeij
Terrance's life experience has led him
through trauma and hardship that most
adults haven't had to contend with. He's
lost multiple caretakers, and while he's been
fortunate to stay out of the foster care system, he grapples with deep depression and
post-traumatic stress disorder due to grief and an overwhelming sense of loss. His story
so far has been dominated with the need to cope with past and present, though he
looks forward to a day when he can comprehend what he wants for his future.
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That High Lonesome Sound
Songs of church-goers, miners, and farmers of
eastern Kentucky express the joys and
sorrows of life among the rural poor. This classic film evocatively illustrates how music and
religion help Appalachians maintain their
dignity and traditions in the face of change
and hardship.
There Will Be No Stay
Director: Patty Dillon
Feature Competition
A journey of compassion and consequence
through a process shrouded in secrecy.
Executioners' lives intersect on a path to
discovering freedom from their own personal
prisons.
To Live Deliberately
Director: Marshall Granger
It is winter, and 19-year old Justin Willis
camps out alone in his van in Hyalite
Canyon where he is close to the mountains
he lives to climb. To Live Deliberately offers a
portrait of a young person figuring out what
it means to explore, with a comfortable
acceptance in the unknown ahead.
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Tomorrow We Disappear
Director: Adam Weber, Jimmy Goldblum
At first glance, the Kathputli colony looks
like any other Indian slum. But Kathputli is a
place of fading traditions. For half a century,
2,800 artist families have called its narrow
alleyways home; there are jugglers and acrobats, puppeteers and painters, folk
singers and magicians, many of whom are well-respected artists in India and
abroad. In 2009 the New Delhi government sold Kathputli to developers for a fraction of its worth. The land is to be bulldozed to make room for the city’s first-ever
skyscraper, The Raheja Phoenix.
Tongue River Home
Director: Eliza Goode
In Eastern Montana, a family ranch sits on
the banks of the Tongue River. This quiet
and beautiful corner of our state has been
both home and livelihood to Nancy's family
for decades, but she, her neighbors, and
the river they love all face pressure from the
energy industry.
Top Spin
Director: Sara Newens, Mina T. Son
Feature Competition
Set against the backdrop of one of the most
under-appreciated sports in America, three teenagers battle their way through the
world of competitive ping pong. These young athletes face unusual challenges
coming of age in a niche sport, and reveal the passion it takes to pursue their
Olympic-sized dreams.
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Treasure Island
Director: Elizabeth Lo, Melissa Langer
Children living on a former naval base
contemplate the threat of radioactive waste
buried beneath their homes.
True Son
Director: Kevin Gordon
Feature Competition
True Son follows 22 year old AfricanAmerican Stanford graduate Michael Tubbs
as he campaigns for a seat on Stockton, CA's city council during a year of record
homicides and impending bankruptcy. Born to a teenage mother and incarcerated
father, Michael galvanizes youth to join him to #ReinventStockton.
Under the Bed
Director: Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley
Letha Rodman Melchior is an artist who
has made work for over 40 years but rarely
showed it. As she faces her mortality, she
arranges a show of her work.
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The Universal Language
Director: Sam Green
The Universal Language traces the history of
Esperanto, an artificial language that was
created in the late 1800s by a Polish eye
doctor who believed that if everyone in the world spoke a common tongue, we
could overcome racism and war.
Unplugged
Director: Mladen Kovacevic
Finland, Serbia, 2014, 52 Minutes
Vera, a private detective retired to the
village where she grew up as shepherdess, and Pera, the know-it-all peasant of
many esoteric skills, are the last remaining
leaf-players - both in the autumns of their lives, still strongly blowing into leaves.
Josip is an amateur inventor set out to decode the obscure artistry of leaf-playing.
Unplugged is an existential allegory about music played on tree leaves, humorously
rattling between the most primitive of instruments and the most universal escapism
of music. Music has rarely been so offbeat.
Utopia, Part 3: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall
Director: Sam Green, Carrie Lozano
Is nothing American sacred anymore? The
largest mall in the world turns out not to be
the famous Mall of America in Bloomington,
MN—it’s the South China Mall outside of Guangzhou, China. Outdoing the
techniques of American consumerism, South China Mall is Disneyland, Las Vegas,
and Mall of America rolled into one. There are carnival rides, mini-parks, canals and
lakes amid classic Western-style buildings housing space for hundreds of shops.
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Visions of Mary Frank
When Mary Frank began her artwork in the
1950s, she was known in the New York City
arts community as a beautiful, young woman.
Photographed by Walker Evans, Edward Steichen, Ralph Gibson and her then-husband
Robert Frank, the pictures
captured their vision of her. They did not present her as an artist. Filmmaker John Cohen
has known Frank and her work for over 50 years. This film is a window into her vision.
The Vow
Director: Cameron Zohoori
Short Competition
When 21-year-old Riqie won a green card
lottery in his home country of Kenya, he
thought it was a ticket to the American dream. The reality of life when he arrived
was more complicated. His dark history and uncertain future come to light as he
works to become a leader in his adopted community of Lowell, Massachusetts.
War Within the Walls
Director: Courtney Marsh
Vietnam, 2014, 29 Minutes
Chau, a 16-year-old boy living in a
Vietnamese peace camp that cares for kids
disabled by Agent Orange, battles with the
reality of his dream to one day become a
professional artist and clothing designer.
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The Weather Underground
Director: Sam Green, Bill Siegel
More than forty years ago, a group of
young American radicals announced their
intention to overthrow the U.S. government. In The Weather Underground, former
Underground members, including Bernardine Dohrn, Bill Ayers, Mark Rudd, David
Gilbert and Brian Flanagan, speak publicly about the idealistic passion that drove
them to "bring the war home" and the trajectory that placed them on the FBI's most
wanted list.
We Are the Ones
Director: Jon Michael Shink, Michael Skinner
South Sudan, 2014, 61 Minutes
When tribal feuds erupt into violent raids that
threaten their clinics, three surgeons embark
on a journey to protect their patients. We Are
the Ones blends vérité techniques with cinematic visuals to bring the audience a
front line account of the constant war between life and death in South Sudan.
The Whale Hunt
Director: Jonathan Harris
USA, 2007
An experiment in human storytelling, Whale
Hunt depicts a multi-day excursion for
Bowhead whales by Inupiat Eskimos in
northern Alaska. Director Jonathan Harris
snapped 3,214 photographs over the course of a week, establishing what he calls a
“photographic heartbeat” of the event. Each viewer will experience the whale hunt
narrative differently, and not necessarily in a linear fashion.
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Where I Can’t Be Found
Director: Arjun Talwar
A day in the life of an ascetic as he wanders
leisurely through a valley in southern India.
Along the way, he meets numerous residents
of the region and is curious about their lives. This popular philosopher enjoys
considerable authority, is sometimes a teacher, and accepts events as the gifts of
fate. At the end of the day, he returns to his shelter, where he contemplates life.
The Year We Thought About Love
Director: Ellen Brodsky
With grace, wit, and attitude, members of a
LGBT youth theater rise to the challenge of
creating a play about love, while re-writing
the scripts of their own lives. Learning the
power of honesty, together they face family rejection, church condemnation, and
bombs outside their rehearsal space in Boston, Massachusetts.
A Big Thank You to Our Volunteers!
Every year well over 100 volunteers donate
their precious time to help us make the
Festival happen. They are the people selling
you tickets, ushering you to your seats,
operating the projection systems and
merchandise tables. They transport visiting
filmmakers around town and provide support
for our parties and events. Please treat them
with the respect they deserve.
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509 South Higgins
Mon-Sat 10-7
Sun: 11-5
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Become A Member
Join the BSFI Family and enjoy special screenings and festival
discounts! Go to Bigskyfilmfest.org to become a member!
Associate Producer: $50
Membership Levels
As a BSFI AP, you will enjoy two free movie tickets, a 10% discount on AllScreenings or All-Access Passes and our annual Membership Party with
dinner, drinks & sneak peeks to the upcoming festival.
Producer: $150-499
As a BSFI Producer, enjoy the parties and screenings listed above plus one AllScreenings Pass to the next BSDFF.
Director: $500
As a BSFI Director, enjoy one All-Access Pass to the next BSDFF.
Executive Producer: $1000
As a BSFI Executive Producer, enjoy TWO ALL ACCESS PASSES to the next BSDFF.
Our public programs include Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Filmmakers in the
Schools, Big Sky Film Series, and Big Sky DocShop. Your membership helps make these
programs possible. Your dollars help us bring filmmakers, films, journalists and industry
leaders from all over the world to Missoula; create FREE Events throughout the year; and
strengthen our growing documentary film community, bringing people and stories to
our doorsteps, and widening our vision of the world.
Thank you for supporting BIG SKY FILM INSTITUTE!
2015 BIG SKY DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL COMPETITIONS
The festival includes four juried competitions - Best Feature Documentary, Best Short
Documentary, Best Mini-Doc, and The Big Sky Award. Competition films are chosen prior
to the festival. Jurors chose the winners during the festival. Read more about our distinguished jurors on pages 14-15.
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CASH AWARDS TO WINNERS
Thanks to our sponsors Fusion TV, Montana Film Office and
Missoula Federal Credit Union, this year we are able to offer
cash prizes to all competition winners!
Winners are announced at an Awards Party at the Top Hat Lounge,
Friday, February 13, at 8 pm. The event is FREE and open to the
public. Clips from all competition films will be featured at the event.
Festival Director
Gita Saedi Kiely
Festival Staff
Artwork/Design
Levi Hastings
Michael Workman
Whitney Skauge
Volunteer Coordinator
Karissa Drye
Programming Associates
Jona Gerlach
Vera Brunner-Sung
Brooke Swaney
Jenny Rohrer
Marshall Granger
Erin Hale
Corina Bogart Pile
Jason Masset
Reilly Curran
BoxOffice Manager
Ann Quirk
Merchandising Manager
Henry Hawkins
Webmaster
Jim Coefield
Program Design
James Alan Rolph
DocShop Manager
Eva Cloud
Program Copy
Conrad Scheid
Marketing
Jim Parker
Sofia Beneventi
Travel & Filmmaker
Coordinated
Carol Bellin
Live/Interactive Events
Jona Gerlach
Filmmaker Liaisons
Aaron Roos
Carol Bellin
Marianne Zugel
Interns
Zoe Contreras
Logan Anderson
Chelsey Haines
Director of Programming
Doug Hawes-Davis
Festival Coordinator/
Associate Programmer
Michael Workman
Technical Director
Ken Furrow
Media Director
Nick Davis
Social Media Direction
Bonfire Branding &
Communications
Venue Managers
Jeri Rafter
Erin Hale
Andrew Dziadosz
Domenico Cianciotto
Events/Sponsorship
Sarah Nasby
Education Coordinator
Niki Vanek
Festival Trailer &
Mentor Days Director
Tom Stagg
Projection Hardware
Jason Wiener
Big Sky Film
Institute Board
Jason Wiener
Damon Ristau
Doug Hawes-Davis
Dru Carr
Rita Pastore
Jenny Rohrer
Bob Homer
Travis Morss
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Major Sponsors
Media Sponsors
The Audience Awards
Big Sky Brewing
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Consumer Direct, Inc
The Good Food Store
Montgomery Distillery
Plonk
Black Coffee
Bernice's Bakery
Wildwood Brewery
The Dana Gallery
Monte Dolack Gallery &
Framing
Supporting Sponsors
UM School of Journalism
Submittable
UM Dept. of Business
TopHat
UMEM
WGM
Missoula Federal Credit Union
First Interstate Bank
University of Montana
Summit Independent Living Center
In-Kind Sponsors
Lolo Brewery
ZooCity Apparel
Garage Tees
Kettlehouse Brewery
Anderson Zurmuehlen
Accountants
SPECIAL THANKS
Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation
Montana Office of Tourism (SEGP Grant)
Destination Missoula (TBID Grant)
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Draughtworks Brewery
Bravo Catering
Le Petit Outre
Good Food Store
The Loft
Tagliare Delicatessen
Humanities Montana
Montana Arts Council
Thank You!