Lone Peak Film Festival to promote inspiring stories, Montana culture, mentorship; grants to fund Indigenous filmmakers
By Jack Reaney SENIOR EDITOR
In late September, Big Sky will host a new event to celebrate established filmmakers’ work and cultivate the next generation of storytellers under mentorship and Indigenous scholarship programs.
From Sept. 19 to 21, the Lone Peak Film Festival will take place in Town Center at The Waypoint, The Wilson Hotel and the Arts Council of Big Sky’s new space. The festival plans to present eight screenings with six feature films and 10 to 12 short films, all spanning four categories to reflect Montana’s cultural landscape: rural or small-town stories; stories of the great outdoors; Indigenous stories; and human perseverance and achievement.
The feature films will be selected by scouting other film festivals and contacting regional and national networks—there will be no open submissions, according to festival plans.
“We’ve envisioned not your average mountain film festival, but a film festival that connects us with this land that we are all here for; that connects us with local filmmakers and indigenous stories; and inspiring stories of human resilience that can be a counter to what we’re seeing in the world and the news today,” founding board member Laynee Jones explained in a July 9 presentation to the Resort Tax board.
The nonprofit Lone Peak Film Institute, founded in December 2023 to oversee the film fest, requested $24,550 from the Resort Tax microgrant program. The board voted unanimously to approve the one-off microgrant on July 9.
Festival Director Daniel Glick described a commitment to bringing at least one filmmaker from each selected film to experience the new Big Sky event. Organizers estimate that up to 18 filmmakers will have their travel to the festival entirely covered with partial funding from Resort Tax, “to interact with the community, learn from the people here, offer educational opportunities for youth here if they want to come learn from the filmmakers,” he explained.
A Bozeman-based award-winning filmmaker, Glick said most film festivals require entrants to pay their way to festivals, which is often not sustainable for artists.
The Lone Peak Film Festival will also offer a mentorship program for young, Montana-based Indigenous filmmakers to help with project and career development. The program aims to introduce Indigenous recipients to established filmmakers and support their films to be featured in the Lone Peak Film Festival in years to follow.
The festival will also include a mentorship program to connect a handful of top-tier filmmakers with selected artists, attendees and local school-aged kids. Mentors’ airfares will be funded by the Resort Tax microgrant.
The inaugural festival is expected to cost $155,000. Before the July 9 approval of nearly $25,000 from Resort Tax, the Lone Peak Film Institute secured $87,500 from contributors including A&E Networks—parent company of various television networks—as well as “strong regional support” from Montana Department of Commerce, Yellowstone Club Community Foundation, Moonlight Community Foundation, Northwestern Energy, Langlas Construction, American Bank and Karst Stage.
“This is a big project, and… I’ve supported it from the beginning, and it’s great to see we’re kind of coming in strong,” said BSRAD board member John Zirkle, highlighting the impressive support from A&E Networks.
Jones said festival success will be measured by “butts in seats” and engaged audiences. Glick added the organization envisions careful, sustainable growth.
“We’ll get feedback from the community, too,” Glick said, adding that the festival is being designed with local residents in mind, but also with the goal of attracting visitors to Big Sky. “That’s really important to us. That’s been important from the beginning, that this is something the community wants.”
With respect to community members who may not want another crowd-rearing event, Jones said the vision is for “vibrancy without a lot of noise and traffic.”
Two months ahead of its debut festival, the Lone Peak Film Institute includes a five-member advisory board, an eight-member board of directors and three staff positions.
“The Lone Peak Film Festival will be a community-strengthening and family-friendly event that we hope will become a joyful, annual mainstay in the tapestry of Big Sky life,” the microgrant application stated. “Montana-based and Indigenous stories, in particular, can cultivate a sense of belonging and strengthen cultural fabric.”
