We'd Like to Thank the Academy...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


November 11, 2009


Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has received a generous $10,000 grant from The Academy Foundation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The grant will be used to support special programs at the 2010 Festival (February 12-21 in Missoula, MT), including filmmaker retrospectives and a special sidebar entitled “Indigenous Visions: Films by and about Native Americans”.

The Academy Foundation awarded $450,000 to 24 U.S. film festivals for the 2010 calendar year. “We are extremely grateful to The Academy for their support,” said Big Sky Festival Director Mike Steinberg. “Without their generosity this sort of programming would simply not be possible.”

“Indigenous Visions” will feature new and historic work that conveys the depth and beauty of Native American life. The program will include guest artists and panel discussions throughout the ten day event. The program is being currated by Steinberg, filmmaker Gita Saedi Kiely, and Angelica Lawson, a professor in Native American Studies at the University of Montana.

The full slate of films and events, along with the Official Selections of the 7th Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will be available in early January at http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/

Passes for the ten-day event are available now on line at http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/tickets.html

For more information:

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
131 South Higgins Ave. Suite 3-6
Missoula, Montana 59802
(406) 541-3456
info@bigskyfilmfest.org

2010 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Submission Deadlines

Final Entry Postmark Deadlines Approaching for the 2010 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival:

Final Deadline - October 20, 2009
Rough Cuts and Works In Progress are accepted ONLY for this Final Deadline

Special Extended Entry Deadline- October 31, 2009
This Special Deadline is for WITHOUTABOX ENTRIES ONLY

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West, is seeking submissions for its seventh annual event. From February 12-21, 2010 the festival will screen 100 films, including world and U.S. premieres, classics, rare and experimental works on Montana's largest screen at the historic Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula, Montana. In addition to ten days of screenings, the event will feature many public and VIP events including panel discussions, galas, receptions and networking round-tables.

The competitive event is open to non-fiction films and videos of all genres, subject matter, lengths and production dates. Awards and cash prizes will be given for Best Documentary Feature (over 50 minutes), Best Documentary Short (15-50 minutes), Best Mini-Doc (under 15 minutes) and best documentary about the American West (the "Big Sky Award").

VHS (NTSC/PAL), DVD (NTSC/PAL), DVCAM (NTSC/PAL), HDV (NTSC), and miniDV (NTSC/PAL) accepted for preview.

Enter via Withoutabox.com http://www.withoutabox.com/login/3969

or download entry form in pdf format http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/entries.htm

If you would like an entry form emailed to you in pdf format, send a request to callforentries@bigskyfilmfest.org

For more information visit http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org

We look forward to viewing your films!
BSDFF

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Announces Call For Entries

May 11, 2009

Missoula, Montana - The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West, is seeking submissions for its seventh annual event. From February 12-21, 2010 the festival will screen 100 films, including world and U.S. premieres, classics, rare and experimental works on Montana’s largest screen at the historic Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula, Montana. In addition to ten days of screenings, the event will feature many public and VIP events including panel discussions, galas, receptions and networking round-tables.

The competitive event is open to non-fiction films and videos of all genres, subject matter, lengths and production dates. Awards and cash prizes will be given for Best Documentary Feature (over 50 minutes), Best Documentary Short (15-50 minutes), Best Mini-Doc (under 15
minutes) and best documentary about the American West (the “Big Sky Award”).

DVD (NTSC/PAL), VHS (NTSC/PAL), DVCAM (NTSC/PAL), HDV (NTSC), and miniDV (NTSC/PAL) accepted for preview.

Enter via Withoutabox.com Here

Download entry form in pdf format Here

If you would like an entry form emailed to you in pdf format, send a request Send Email


For more information visit bigskyfilmfest.org

Big Sky Announces 2010 Festival Dates

The 7th Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will be held February 12 - 21, 2010 in Missoula , MT. Open call for entries begins later this spring. Keep an eye on the website for further details.

Thanks again to all the amazing filmmakers and volunteers that made BSDFF 2009 such a tremendous sucess.

Closing Statement

With an estimated 10,000 filmgoers this year, attendance at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival has noticeably increased within the past five years. But the fest is over, and out-of-town volunteers, visitors and filmmakers have all returned to their respective homes, only to prepare for next year's 10-day doc binge.

Final Word: While I had the ability to watch as many as 100 documentary films in their entirety, I didn't because, as I've stated before, I suffer from some sort of weird distraction thing. And, of course, because I was blogging half the time. But, that said, I did see one film (a short) in full that I will say was very, very good.
I Love Alaska is much like a slideshow in that it showed stills of the state's scenery while a woman's AOL searches were read outloud. The woman is introduced as a case number--one of thousands whose search histories were exposed and posted publicly online after a glitch in the AOL server--and referred to as that case number throughout the story. If one were to read the transcript of this film, it would be bullet points, though all structured in a narrative manner, describing this woman's life as represented by these phrases and words entered into the internet search engine.
While the entire idea is conveyed within the first 15 minutes (runtime is about 40), the concept is so novel and concise and heartbreaking (she has hypochondriac tendancies and researches divorce, lesbianism, social stigmas and the effects of extramarital affairs) that it pulls you in, leaving you wanting more of this obsessive web-browsing. And it makes you think about tracking your own Google searches and how much they reveal about your own state of mind.
Highly recommended.

See you next year! Thanks for reading and thanks for rocking, Missoula, MT.

I talk with Doug Hawes-Davis, founder of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, about this year's turn-out, the state of documentary, and his position as programming director.

______

T: How many submissions did you receive this year?

DHD: About 1000 from over 30 different countries


T: Is that more or less compared to last year?

DHD: Perhaps a couple of hundred more than 2008.


T: What about the turn-out? How does that compare to last year's and in years past?

DHD: Total numbers are not in yet, but it's looking like about a 25% increase over last year.


T: What is your association this year compared to last year? 

DHD: I'm still very involved, but Mike is handling a large chunk of the programming - both the open call and the retrospectives. I was significantly involved in programming and will continue to be, but it'll be more of a team effort from here on out I reckon. We've now got a festival director with major programming experience, so it only makes sense to take advantage of that.


T: How many people do you work with who help choose which films get in the festival?

DHD: There are six of us:

Mike Steinberg
Dru Carr
Gita Saedi
Doug Whyte
Jenny Rohrer
and yours truly


T: What do you think about the future state of documentaries? Where is this genre going?

DHD: Anybody's guess, but I don't see it being replaced by so-called "reality TV" or social issue video games. Nevertheless, the marketing, production, and funding of non-fiction film is a rapidly changing landscape.

Oscar-Nominated Film Screens Today at Big Sky

From the ashes of the 1992 L.A. riots, the South Central Farmers have nurtured the nations largest urban farm. They have created a miracle in one of the country's most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. But now bulldozers are poised to level their 14 acre oasis. THE GARDEN is an unflinching look at the struggle between these Latino farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful developer who want to evict them and build warehouses. Leaving the farmers to ask 'Where is our 'Justice for all'?'

The Garden is nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category and screens this afternoon at 2.45pm in Wilma 1.