Ask Nature

Four Questions for Missoula’s Biomimicry 3.8 Institute, sponsor of YERT: Your Environmental Roadtrip. The Biomimicry 3.8 Institute is a non-profit that promotes the study and imitation of nature’s remarkably efficient designs, bringing people together to create sustainable technologies.

BSDFF: The work of the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute is awesomely innovative and exciting. How does the institute envision itself as a part of the Missoula community?

BIOMIMICRY INSTITUTE: Biomimicry is about looking to nature for inspiration, so we feel pretty lucky to call Missoula our hometown. We get an amazing dose of nature simply walking out our front door. Not only is it easy to access wilderness and experience Montana’s incredible biodiversity, the Missoula community itself is also filled with innovative and progressive businesses, organizations, and leaders that inspire us. In fact, we plan to begin a conversation this year with community leaders, conservationists, and educators around what we can learn from our local ecosystem, and how that information might make Missoula a more sustainable community. We definitely have hometown pride.

BSDFF: Are there any local or statewide examples of biomimicry utilization and success that you wouldn't mind mentioning?

BI: One Montana-made biomimetic product comes from Floating Island International (FII), based in Shepherd, Montana. Bruce Kania, founder and inventor, knew that wetlands contribute to healthy ecosystems, both above and below the water line, and that the destruction of these wetlands has adverse effects on plant and animal life. He decided to mimic how natural wetlands filter sediments and nutrients out of the water by creating floating islands using recycled plastic drink bottles. The concept has been implemented around the world.

BSDFF: Why does the Institute support the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and the film YERT?

BI: First off, it’s a world-class festival that showcases films on topics relevant to issues we care about, like conservation, sustainability, and environmental justice. Secondly, they have great taste! Last year, BSDFF selected our documentary Second Nature: The Biomimicry Evolution to screen, and this year, they chose to feature YERT, in which our co-founder, Janine Benyus, plays a role. We love YERT’s hopeful message about living lightly on the planet. It really resonates with our own view that sustainable solutions to environmental challenges exist.

BSDFF: What can we look forward to from the Biomimicry 3.8 Institute in 2012?

BI: Last year, we joined together with our sister company The Biomimicry Guild to form the social enterprise Biomimicry 3.8. We’re excited about the new opportunities to come out of this transition, including the first online course that Missoulians (and others around the globe) can take to learn the fundamentals of biomimicry. Missoulians can also take a road trip to Portland June 22-24 for our annual Biomimicry Education Summit. The Summit brings together biomimicry educators, practitioners, and students for three days of discussion, networking, and sharing of best practices. The best way to stay informed is to sign up for our monthly e-newsletter at www.biomimicryinstitute.org.

YERT screens Monday, February 20^th at the Wilma, 3:10 pm. Directors and Co-Producer in attendance.

Article by BSDFF Promo Team writer Cecile Berberat

Live Music from the Rappin' Cowboy

Chris "Sandman" Sand is a rappin' cowboy from Dunn Center, North Dakota. This is from the encore performance of the film Roll Out Cowboy at the Crystal Theater, one of the many featured films at this year's Documentary Film Festival, February 17th-26th.

Roll Out Cowboy from Big Sky Film Fest on Vimeo.
Documentary by BSDFF Promo Team filmmaker Katrina Shull

Working Together to Promote Culture in Missoula

Fact & Fiction—a Missoula independent local bookstore—celebrated their 25^th anniversary last year. They’ve been happy to be a part of the Missoula literary community for a quarter of a century. This year Fact & Fiction is sponsoring the film Ben Franklin Blowing Bubbles at a Sword: The Journeys of a Mental Athlete, directed by Jonathan Napolitano, about athletes training and competing in the 2011 USA Memory Championship. Ben Franklin will play with Tramping in Bohemia on Monday, Feb. 20 at 2:00 pm in the Crystal. Big Sky sat down with Eamon Fahey of Fact & Fiction to discuss the bookstore's involvement in this year's festival, what's exciting in literature today, and quiz him about US history.

BSDFF: How’d you first hear about the film, and why did this particular film interest Fact & Fiction?

EAMON FAHEY: The film was offered up to us as a possible sponsorship by Ingrid at the BSDFF—and there’s a good tie-in with a book called “Moonwalking with Einstein” by Joshua Foer, so that was sort of the hook for us, tying the film in with some good literature. We’ve talked with Penguin Publishing and they’re releasing it to us a week early so we can share the book with the film goers.

BSDFF: Why are you interested in film festivals like this?

EF: This has been the second year we’ve sponsored the BSDFF, and it’s one of our great cultural events in Missoula, and—being downtown for the most part—it's a great time for Fact & Fiction. We also see ourselves as a promoter of cultural things in Missoula, so it’s a good fit for us.

BSDFF: Who was the 23rd president of the United States of America?

EF: Wow. I’m going to guess: Garfield? [Ed: for inquiring minds, the 23rd president of the USA was Benjamin Harrison; James A. Garfield was the 20th.]

BSDFF: Over the years, Fact & Fiction has played a crucial role in the local community of Missoula, so how have you seen Missoula change over the years with film festivals like this, and what do you think we can look forward to in the coming years?

EF: I think further cultural events like the BSDFF are so crucial to who we are, and its one of the things that makes the city unique. So, I suspect and hope that things like the BSDFF continue to grow—continuing to be a part of who we are.

BSDFF: If there was a documentary about Fact and Fiction what would be the weirdest or most interesting thing viewers would see?

EF: This is interesting: Barbara—the original owner of Fact & Fiction—first worked at the University Bookstore, starting there, and then went on her own and began Fact & Fiction and, four years ago, she put Fact & Fiction up for sale. The UM bookstore—also independent—purchased Fact & Fiction and kept Barbara on board. She’s sort of come full circle.

BSDFF: What’s one book you’re raving about this month?

EF: I’m going to give you two: “Quiet” by Susan Gain just came out a couple weeks ago. It’s about introverts, and the view of the world from an introvert’s perspective. The subtitle is something like: “introverts and how the world shuts them up.” It was eye-opening for me—I guess I’m an introvert—so I got a lot of value from it. The second book is by Julian Barnes and came out this Fall, winning the Man Booker: “The Sense of An Ending.” It’s a small novel and was so intriguing. It’s about memory too—the memory of experiences.

BSDFF: By sponsoring a documentary, do you feel like you’re backstabbing books?

EF: No, not at all. We’re all in this together in terms of culture, so in no way do we think we’re in competition with films. We’ve got to work together to promote good stuff like this, good culture.

Ben Franklin Blowing Bubbles at a Sword: The Journeys of a Mental Athlete plays Monday, February 20 at 2:00 pm with Tramping In Bohemi.

Article by BSDFF Promo Team writer Carl Corder

Saturday Night with the Montana Film Office

Saturday night, the Montana Film Office sponsored a Big Sky Documentary Film Festival reception at the Dana Gallery, featuring live music by Cash for Junkers.

Photos by BSDFF Promo Team photographer Michelle Gustafson. Click here for more photos from the Montana Film Office reception.

Another Great Day at the Movies

Saturday marked another great day at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival! Check out these photos from Roll Out Cowboy, A Force of Nature, and other wonderful Saturday screenings.

Photos by BSDFF photographers Patrick Record and Tom Seiler. Click here for more great photos from Saturday, Feb. 18.