BSDFF is thrilled to release this year’s schedule and announce the competition films in our four award categories: Feature (40+ minutes), Short (15-40 mins), Mini-Doc (under 15mins) and Big Sky Award (films about the American West).
On Friday, February 19th the festival will open with a FREE opening-night screening of an upcoming HBO Documentary film. MAVIS! is the first feature documentary on gospel/soul music legend and civil rights icon Mavis Staples and her family group, The Staple Singers. The 13th Annual Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will be packed with enough films, events, performances, panels and parties to satisfy even the hardiest of filmgoers, families and fun-seekers. The full BSDFF schedule can be found HERE.
To help find what you are looking for, the programming staff at BSDFF has created “strands” of thematically-linked films. These strands cover topics as diverse as Made in Montana, Sports & Adventure, and Peace & Conflict. You can find all 2016 BSDFF strands HERE.
And on the docket for this year’s festival is an impactful DOCSHOP conference – for filmmakers, content creators, and anyone interested in how films can be catalysts for positive change in the world. For more information on our 2016 DocShop, click HERE.
Congratulations to all of the competition filmmakers.
MINI DOC AWARD FINALISTS
A CEREBRAL GAME/ USA (Director: Reid Davenport)
BOB SWANN/ USA (Director: Anton du Preez)
DOBLE 9/ USA (Director: Aisha Schliessler)
HAZZARD’S CURE/ USA (Director: C.S. Ward)
MADE OF CLAY/ United Arab Emirates (Director: Fayssal Bin Sahli)
MINING, POEMS, OR ODES/ Scotland/UK (Director: Callum Rice)
OPERATION ALLIE/ USA/Aghanistan (Director: Manny Marquez)
SOUNDS OF NO TIME/ USA (Director: Adam Bedient)
VISIONS OF CHRISTINA/ USA (Director: Alexandra Swati Guild)
A WAY OF LIFE/ UK (Director: Ben Spilling)
SHORT AWARD FINALISTS
THE BAD BOY OF BOWLING/ USA (Director: Bryan Storkel)
A CERTAIN KIND OF LIGHT/ USA (Director: Brandon Vedder)
DAUGAVA DELTA/ Germany/Latvia (Director: Rainer Komers)
HEAVY FOG TONIGHT/USA (Director: Nathan Reich)
LIVING LIKE KINGS/USA (Director: Benjamin Kaplan)
NUESTRO MAR/ Cuba/Switzerland (Director: Eileen Hofer)
PICKLE/ USA (Director: Amy Nicholson)
THE RAT SLAYER OF HILLSIDE NJ/ USA (Director: Andrew Keogh Ruotolo)
THE RIVER MAN/ Netherlands/Ireland (Director: Richard Gorodecky)
ZONE BLANCHE/ France (Director: Gaëlle Cintré)
FEATURE AWARD FINALISTS
ALL THE DIFFERENCE/ USA (Director: Tod Lending)
EL CHIVO/ USA (Director: Rod Murphy)
FOLLOWING KINA/ Peru (Director: Sonia Goldenberg)
GOD KNOWS WHERE I AM/ USA (Directors: Jedd Wider, Todd Wider)
LAST OF THE ELEPHANT MEN/ Cambodia (Directors: Daniel Ferguson, Arnaud Bouquet)
THE LEGEND OF SWEE’ PEA / USA (Director: Benjamin May)
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM / China/USA (Director: Jason Burlage)
MOMENTS OF CAMPAIGN/ Ecuador (Director: Tomás Astudillo)
SYL JOHNSON: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS/ USA(Director: Rob Hatch-Miller)
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE/ USA (Director: Tom Donahue)
BIG SKY AWARD FINALISTS
BISONHEAD/ USA (Director: Elizabeth Lo)
HUNTING IN WARTIME/ USA/Vietnam (Director: Samantha Farinella)
I AM AYOTZINAPA/ USA (Directors: Daniel Chávez Ontiveros, Kadri Koop)
LAPS/ USA (Director: R.J. Lozada)
MAIDEN OF DECEPTION PASS/USA (Director: Tracy Rector, Lou Karsen)
NEVER TOO LATE/ USA (Director: Devon Riter)
THE SUN IS HEAVY/ USA (Director: Jared Jakins)
WALT/ USA (Director: Justin W Clifton)
WHERE WE STAND/ USA (Director: Kristine Stolakis)
WHAT WAS OURS/ USA (Director: Mat Hames)
The BSDFF is a qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Best Short Documentary award, winners in the Short and Mini-Doc categories will be eligible for Oscar consideration. Winners will be revealed at an open-to-the-public Awards Party at The Loft in downtonw Missoula, Montana on Friday, Feb 26th at 6pm.
MANY THANKS TO OUR KEY 2016 SPONSORS:
HBO Documentary Films
Montana Film Office
NBC Montana
Missoula Broadcasting Company
Broadcasting Media Center (MTPR & MTPBS)
SundanceNow Doc Club
University of Montana
Canon
The Top Hat Lounge
Holiday Inn Downtown Missoula
Missoula Federal Credit Union
First Interstate Bank
Montgomery Distillery
Plonk
The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation
High Stakes Foundation
The Merlin Foundation