The 2015 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival will be held from February 6—16 in Montana. The BSDFF has become the largest cinema event in Montana and the premiere venue for non-fiction film in the American West.

In 2012, the festival drew an audience of 20,000 and received nearly 1000 film entries from every corner of the globe. The BSDFF offers a unique setting for filmmakers to premiere new work and for audiences to see innovative new films, as well as classics in the genre. The festival hosts over seventy-five visiting artists, and presents an average of 125 non-fiction films annually at the historic Wilma Theater, The Top Hat, andCrystal Theater in downtown Missoula.

 

In addition to screenings, public events include panel discussions, workshops, pitch sessions, parties and receptions. Special retrospective programs have included the films of The Maysles Brothers, Kartemquin Films, Frederick Wiseman, Joe Berlinger, Doug Pray, and Les Blank. Special guests have included Indy Rock legends Yo La Tengo, Academy Award winning director Steve James (Hoop Dreams), Les Blank (Burden of Dreams), Greg Barker (Sergio) Joe Berlinger (Crude), Ron Mann (Grass), Brendan Canty Christoph Green (the Burn To Shine series) Chuck Workman (The Life Times of Andy Warhol) Hart Dana Heinz Perry (Sex: The Revolution).

Recent Award winners at the festival have included This Way Of Life (Thomas Burstyn) Steam of Life (Joonas Berghll Mika Hotakainen) Last Train Home (Lixin Fan), Sweetgrass (Ilisa Barbash Lucien Castaing-Taylor), Gasland (Josh Fox), Rough Aunties (Kim Longinotto), Ashes of American Flags (Brendan Canty Christoph Green) In A Dream (Jeremiah Zagar), and Bronx Princess (Yoni Brook Musa Syeed).

The mission of the Big Sky Film Institute is to celebrate and promote the art of non-fiction filmmaking, and to encourage media literacy by fostering public understanding and appreciation of documentary film. The Big Sky Film Institute, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  Major programs include the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Big Sky Film Series, and Big Sky Doc Shop.

Link:http://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/bsdff/submissions/