MISSOULA — Filmmakers from around the world come to Missoula every February for one of the most prestigious documentary film festivals in the United States.
The Big Sky Film Festival gives people a chance to hear stories from outside their community. The event also presents a unique opportunity to highlight Black stories and Black filmmakers as part of Black History Month.
The Big Sky Film Festival is celebrating its 21st year in Montana. Between February 16 and February 25, over 100 films are being screened, including a few global premiers. Films are screened online, as well as in person at the Zootown Arts Community Center, Wilma Theatre, Roxy Theater and the Missoula Community Theater.
Many of the films touch on topics surrounding social and political justice and community issues. For directors, producers and subjects of the films, the Big Sky Festival is a great time to increase visibility for Black creatives and activists.
“The Body Politic” is a film directed by Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough, and tells a story about his community in Maryland.
“It's a film about Baltimore City and the journey of healing, specifically healing from gun violence,” Goodenough says.
The film highlights those in Baltimore who work every day to end violence and spread love within their community, including Erricka Bridgefold, a well-known anti-violence activist in the area. For Bridgefold, Goodenough was giving Baltimore an opportunity to present a new side of itself to the world.
“I trusted his vision, you know, to tell a story about Baltimore that's very different from a lot of narratives we see sold about our city,” Bridgefold says. “People were constantly saying what Baltimore is not capable of and what Baltimore can't do. And so to hear somebody wanting to tell a story about Baltimore's beauty, Baltimore’s power, that Baltimore actually loves itself…. I wanted to be a part of telling that story on the screen, the way I do it in my everyday life.”
Goodenough's film also follows Brandon Scott through his mayoral campaign. Scott was elected in 2020 and is currently serving as the youngest mayor in Baltimore’s history. One of the biggest goals of his time as Mayor is to address gun violence in the city. His attention to anti-violence activism led him to build a relationship with Bridgefold.
While Baltimore is a predominantly Black city, the film is not meant to highlight race but rather a different perspective on living in a crime-heavy community.
“I love that this film can be shown to people who would misunderstand why so much gun violence would happen in a place like Baltimore,” Bridgefold says. “To see white people, in particular, around the world, have light bulbs go off while they're watching this film and go, ‘oh,’ and really understand it and humanize our experience; instead of pointing a finger at what's wrong with us, understanding what's so good about us and how powerful we are. It's a beautiful thing to be a part of.”
Both Bridgefold and Goodenough are excited to show the film in Montana, especially in the context of Black History Month. They’ve already shown "The Body Politic" in Africa, Asia, Europe and England. Goodenough sees how his film can inspire human connection across states, countries and even continents.
“What we've seen is that people are just like people in Baltimore– we're all the same, right?” he says. “We all want to sleep peacefully at night, we all want to live in peaceful places. That's been the greatest part is having real people– when I say real people, I mean people not part of the film or people in the film industry– having real people watch this film, and really be emotionally affected and also learn from them about their process and their stories.”
Similar to “The Body Politic” and the new perspectives the film can bring to Montana, “4DWN” is a short documentary that tells of a lived South Dallas experience.
The film is a partnership with two film production companies — EarthxFilm and Gnarly Bay. Producer Lauren Todd and director Danny Schmidt worked with their team to tell the story of not only the non-profit organization, 4DWN, but of the kids the organization affects.
“I think it was really inspiring and just really gorgeous to see an organization focus again on bringing in folks who were usually on the margins, involving them in their community,” Todd says.
4DWN was established in 2015 by professional skateboarders Mike Crum and Rob Cahill. Their mission is “fostering the sustainable health and well-being of our kids, families and environment through programs emphasizing recreation, education, cultivation and conservation,” according to the 4DWN website.
Todd and Schmidt’s film showcases the growth of 4DWN from a skateboarding non-profit, to an organization that is addressing food insecurity and conservation within the South Dallas neighborhood.
“So I think the film has been like a really cool tool, you know, for them to use to, like tell their story, which is really cool to be a part of,” Todd says.
One of the kids focused on in the film is 11-year-old Zion, whose aunt, Atatiana Jefferson, was shot and killed by a police officer in 2019. Zion was in the room when his aunt was shot. The officer who shot Jefferson was found guilty of murder in 2022.
During the filming of 4DWN, Zion was in the middle of going to court, which added another level of emotional intimacy for the filmmakers.
“I mean, emotionally, it was like a really tough project,” Todd says. “You're in somebody's real actual life. And so their lives don't stop, you know, for you to film something. So, that was something that I think was really extra potent during that week that we filmed.”
Similar to “The Body Politic,” “4DWN” is not a film about race, but rather an exposition of how different youth experiences can be within the United States. While Goodenough was highlighting Baltimore, Todd and Schmidt were highlighting the skateboard culture in Dallas.
“One of the beautiful things and kind of like under or overlooked things about skate culture is that they are really communal and really familial in ways that I think people don't often like, give that culture kind of credit for, so hopefully, that might be something that will kind of open people's eyes to a little bit as well,” Todd says.
Todd has worked in film for only about four years but has been a part of two projects that have screened during the Big Sky Film Festival. As a producer, she finds herself in a position to help fellow Black creatives in the filmmaking space.
“What small parts can I play in the role that I have to like, try to give us more visibility and not just Black people, but People of Color in general, you know, because we really are out there and a lot of us have been pioneers in some of these spaces,” she says. “I just realized the role that I have as a Black producer to make choices and really even do research and find people who are in those spaces.
Krystal Tingle is another Black filmmaker with a piece at Big Sky; she directed “Over the Wall,” a story about Brehanna Daniels, the first Black woman pit crew member in NASCAR.
“For me, it's a human story about a beautiful woman who is, you know, giving it all that she has and going after her dreams,” Tingle says.
For Tingle, telling Daniels’ story is congruent with her own. She hopes that the film will show that there is more to Daniels than just her race or accomplishment as the first Black woman in NASCAR.
“It's important that, again, to demonstrate that Black people in America, we're not a monolith,” she says. “We're not, you know, one personality type or one career type. And a lot of times we even get pigeonholed when you're the first of something, right? It's like the first black woman in NASCAR. And it's like, that's great that she's the first, that she made history. But that alone is not the totality of who she is.”
Still, visibility for Black creatives is important to Tingle. She says there can never be enough stories of Black trailblazers.
“Because the truth of the matter is we're always breaking ground and we're always innovating and we're always creating new pathways and opportunities,” she says.
Overall, the directors, producers and subjects of the films– those offering a new perspective to Montanans — are excited to share their stories and open the eyes of the people in the Northwestern United States.
“I was so thrilled to hear that we got into Big Sky, such a prestigious documentary film festival that wants you to go to Montana and to screen the film– obviously, like adventure land, right? Outdoors land and a place where one might assume that there's a NASCAR audience,” Tingle says of “Over the Wall.”
More information on where to find these films, and others showing at Big Sky, can be found on the festival’s website.
