Film School with Mark Vargo, ASC: A Tale of Two Meters ReelWestMontana 2026-09-25 | Film School with Mark Vargo, ASC: A Tale of Two Meters
Abdulai: Directors Interview & Favorite Deleted Scene ReelWestMontana 2015-06-12 | How is community, teamwork and sweat essential in filmmaking? Directors Aidan Avery and Lane Brown discuss the work, and joys, of making a film in Ghana.Abdulai is a poetic and observational documentary short exploring the basis of joy and sense of community in a remote West African village.
Beyond The Divide: Science Woman ReelWestMontana 2015-06-05 | Where might you find the largest concentration of “peace-atrinos” in Montana?Leslie Van Stavern Millar, the science teacher you wish you had in high school, was among the many who were saddened when the Missoula Peace sign was removed from Waterworks Hill overlooking the town in 2001. The Missoula performance artist had observed the sign and its changing appearance during it's life span from her studio window. As“Science Woman” Leslie created a performance to memorialize the Peace Sign that had been permeating the community since 1983.
Abdulai: Behind-The-Lens Episode 4 ReelWestMontana 2015-05-29 | How do you know you've found your story when there is no script to follow? Co-directors Aidan Avery and Lane Brown discuss creating story in the editing room and how coverage and production notes are crucial in giving the story room to grow.Abdulai is a poetic and observational documentary short exploring the basis of joy and sense of community in a remote West African village.
Beyond The Divide: Charlo Montana ReelWestMontana 2015-05-22 | In Charlo, Montana the world spins at a different speed.Vietnam veteran Dan Gallagher visits his childhood home in the stunningly beautiful in the Mission Valley, there is a slower pace of life, affording Dan the time to reflect on peace, war and all the places in between. To learn more about the film, Beyond the Divide, visit: www.BeyondTheDivideFilm.com
Missoula Midsummer - Premonition music video ReelWestMontana 2015-05-15 | What do you get when you cross favorite local actors, locations, and jokes with 13 years and a fresh grant from the Montana Film Office? Missoula Midsummer!This musical sneak peak, with actress Amber Felker at the mic, dips into the world of "Missoula Midsummer," a film written and directed by Missoula playwright and screenwriter Roger Hedden. This "video valentine to Missoula," as Hedden calls it, is a classic love triangle (actually more of a love-polygon) filmed with a shabby chic style. The film stars some favorite local talent; David Ackroyd, Jillian Campana, James Crumley, Greg Johnson, Michael Knight, Kendra Mylnechuk, Andrew Rizzo, Jesse Robinson, and Larke Schuldberg.
Beyond The Divide: Piece Keepers ReelWestMontana 2015-04-30 | Keeping a piece of peace? In 2001, the iconic Missoula Peace Sign was dismantled into nine 10 ft. x 10 ft. pieces. These pieces continue to inspire peace with the help of local volunteers known as “Piece Keepers.” Meet these Missoulians who stepped up to preserve a beloved piece of Missoula, Montana history.
Bella Vista: A Sneak Peak ReelWestMontana 2015-04-24 | Bella Vista is a poetic film about place and belonging. In this quiet sneak peak Doris and her students meet for the first time, showing the awkward and hesitant world of strangers.Award-winning director Vera Brunner-Sung uses place, authentic international students, and an honest approach to illuminate the displacement and adaptation of "outsiders." See the complete RWM "Inside Bella Vista" series for a behind-the-scenes look into filming in Montana.
Beyond The Divide: Welcome to Missoula ReelWestMontana 2015-04-17 | What makes Missoula such a special place? What was that huge peace symbol on the mountainside about? In BTD: Welcome to Missoula local residents share why they call Missoula home.Minnesota filmmaker Jan Selby didn't know what to expect the first time she visited for the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. She quickly became enamored with Missoula, its residents, and the peace sign on the hill enough to tell just one of the town's intimate stories. To learn more about the film, Beyond the Divide, visit: www.BeyondTheDivideFilm.com
Bella Vista Behind-The-Scenes: Montana Team, Montana Story ReelWestMontana 2015-04-10 | Shooting "family-style" is a great way to describe Montana filming technique. Meet the dedicated crew and production team behind Bella Vista, and find out why they choose to work on films in Montana.
Beyond The Divide: Theme song and soundtrack by Chris Koza ReelWestMontana 2015-04-03 | "Way up there you can see it,standing in the mountain air looking down on everywhere dividing a town in two and somewhere on the road less traveled where we met I saw something in you despite the differences – Beyond the Divide we’re the same kind."Chris Koza's Beyond The Divide Film Soundtrack album features meditative guitar melodies that blossom through a hybrid of woodsy and synthetic textures in the same spirit of Brad Barr, Explosions in the Sky, Helios, and other pop-instrumentalists.Set in the vast, mountainous beauty of Montana, BEYOND THE DIVIDE is a feature-length documentary film about war, peace, and the courage to find common ground.You can purchase the Beyond The Divide soundtrack via iTunes and through http://beyondthedividefilm.com/#shop.
Beyond the Divide: Official Trailer ReelWestMontana 2015-03-27 | Fifty years ago, an enduring divide began between those who served in Vietnam and those who fought a different war at home. Through the courageous acts of a Vietnam veteran and a peace advocate in Missoula, Montana, BEYOND THE DIVIDE illuminates a path to healing old wounds while reimagining peace. Directed and produced by Jan Selby
Abdulai: Behind-The-Lens Episode 3 ReelWestMontana 2015-03-20 | As in life, much of producing a documentary is about the journey. Montana filmmakers Aidan Avery and Lane Brown discuss being flexible with the film’s vision during production, as well as the benefits of a collaborative workflow with a small crew. Abdulai is a short documentary that focuses on the strength and resilience found in a remote African village while shining light on the source of happiness from a new perspective.
Abdulai: Behind-The-Lens Episode 2 ReelWestMontana 2015-02-20 | In this episode of Behind-The-Lens, Montana filmmakers Aidan Avery and Lane Brown discuss the production of “Abdulai,” an African documentary short film. The Co-Directors touch on adjusting to filming in unfamiliar conditions and dealing with a language barrier during production.
Abdulai: Behind-The Lens Episode 1 ReelWestMontana 2015-02-13 | Montana filmmakers Aidan Avery and Lane Brown take you Behind-The-Lens of the African documentary short, “Abdulai.” The Co-Directors discuss choosing Ghana as a location for the film, community support and the fast-paced pre-production process.
Bard in The Backcountry: Sneak Peak! ReelWestMontana 2015-02-06 | What can bring together 200+ people, from a town with a population that tips at ten, to a butte in the "Middle of Nowhere?" Shakespeare!Shakespeare meets Montana in Cindy Stillwell's Bard in the Backcountry, a documentary following a theater company traveling through the Big Sky. At the heart of the story is a sense of transformation, for the players and for those residents of Montana who’s lives have been touched by this beloved company.www.bardinthebackcountry.com
Abdulai: Official Trailer ReelWestMontana 2015-01-30 | Through the eyes of a village patriarch, this poetic and observational documentary short reveals the basis of joy and sense of community in a remote West African village. Ekumfi-Atakwa is located in Ghana. With limited access to water, the living conditions found here are not ideal. Despite that, within this village is a community of residents whose compassion and value of each others’ well-being provides an undeniable joy. Abdulai Baa is a head of household and one of the village elders. The film follows Abdulai’s daily routine as he balances efforts to make the village self-sustaining, as well as instill in his grandchildren the culture and compassion with which he was raised. His inviting warmth and acute awareness of the village’s struggles make for the perfect point of view to experience the village life cinematically. While exploring both the strength and resilience found in this remote African village, the film shines light on the source of happiness from a new perspective.
On-Location with John Ansotegui – Episode 6: Libby Area ReelWestMontana 2014-12-26 | Blockbusters such as Steven Spielberg's romance "Always" and Curtis Hanson's thriller "The River Wild" take full advantage of the mountains, rivers and locals around Libby, Montana. Ansotegui tells how Spielberg even trekked across the state to film actual forest fires to add to his film, and how the studios behind The River Wild let out a local secret that caused filming to be banned on Kootenai Tribal ground forever... (until now!).Locals are often used for their knowledge of hidden locations, western skills and braving the extreme outdoors. Meryl Streep learned how to row through Class IV rapids from Montana whitewater guides, and Devil's Pond Director Joel Viertel found his discreet location only though the Montana Film Office Commissioner actually swimming to an island so secret it may not have a name. Find out more Behind-the-Scenes secrets with other episodes of Reel West Montana's exclusive series On-Location with John Ansotegui.
On-Location with John Ansotegui – Episode 5: West Glacier Area ReelWestMontana 2014-12-20 | Watch how Meryl Streep navigates the Class IV rapid BoneCrusher in the hit film The River Wild in Episode 5 of On-Location with John Ansotegui. The West Glacier area is one of Montana's premier filming locations; Directors Rod Daniel and Thomas Bezucha also filmed here for Beethoven's 2nd and Big Eden.
On-Location with John Ansotegui – Episode 4: Blackfeet Reservation ReelWestMontana 2014-12-12 | How do you choreograph the largest successful horse stampede in film history? Hire Montana wranglers! Watch how Hidalgo and Jimmy P use both Montana and its people to produce some of the most amazing scenes in film history.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Closed Door Open ReelWestMontana 2014-12-05 | Life is not a rehearsal... or is it?A young man contemplates his life as a series of auditions and rehearsals in Montana filmmaker Daniel TC Molloy's gorgeous short film.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Fan Fiction ReelWestMontana 2014-11-28 | An experimental take on addiction, death, choice and transformation from Montana filmmaker Justin Reichert."Fan Fiction" is just one of the top short films curated from The University of Montana Media Arts program.
Inside Bella Vista: Whats in a Location? ReelWestMontana 2014-11-19 | "The western landscape is a very powerful one in the American imagination. These themes of creating a new home and a new future are deeply ingrained - in large part due to film."Montana filmmaker Vera Brunner-Sung shares how Montana plays well as both "character" and location in this Behind-The-Scenes episode of Inside Bella Vista.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: A Proposal for Murder ReelWestMontana 2014-11-14 | "As soon as she walked in, I should have smelled trouble. But the smell of her perfume had me distracted..." With a hardcore detective, a mysterious woman in trouble, and more smokes than a Marlboro commercial a Missoula filmmaking team delves into shadowed alleys, empty train stations and pure Film Noir in "A Proposal for Murder;" where the good guys are as dark as the bad ones.
Inside Bella Vista: Discovering A Look ReelWestMontana 2014-10-29 | Every director has techniques to "get inside" of their actors, but how do you capture the personality of place? Writer/director Vera Brunner-Sung and cinematographer Alexandra Cuesta share how they developed their approach to light, space, and landscape while filming on location in Montana’s Mission Valley and the city of Missoula.See more about the film and local screenings at: www.bellavistafilm.com
On-Location with John Ansotegui – Episode 3: Going To The Sun Road ReelWestMontana 2014-10-24 | What connects Heaven to Hell? The Going To The Sun Road in Glacier National Park. From Heaven's stand-in West Glacier (What Dreams May Come, On-Location Episode 2) to East Glacier, the road was the first shot in the classic horror film The Shining. In Episode 3 of On-Location Ansotegui shares how huge films such as Forrest Gump, The Shining and Chronicles of Narnia use 2nd Units and Montana's backyard to create majestic and remote environments that look out-of-this-world (Chronicles of Narnia).
On-Location with John Ansotegui – Episode 2: East Glacier ReelWestMontana 2014-10-17 | On-Location takes it to East Glacier, home of tall peaks and wide vistas- a premier landscape for big movies such as What Dreams May Come and Heaven's Gate.
Take The Fusion Documentary Challenge! ReelWestMontana 2014-10-14 | The Fusion Doc Challenge is a timed filmmaking competition where filmmakers have 5 days to make a 4-7 minute non-fiction film. The top 12 films screen at a Slamdance premiere in Park City and win up to $4,500 in cash prizes.
On-Location with John Ansotegui – Episode 1: Glacier National Park ReelWestMontana 2014-10-10 | How does a film become known as the biggest Hollywood disaster? How do you get an RV onto one of the country’s most protected shorelines? How do you get lucky next to a gorgeous waterfall? One of Montana’s leading location guides takes you around Montana and behind the scenes of the state’s premier locations and films. In the first episode of On-Location we explore Glacier National Park in Heaven’s Gate, My Sister’s Keeper and Pretty Ugly People.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Bastard ReelWestMontana 2014-10-03 | A quiet short film that resides at the intersections of neglect and love, bleakness and hope. Missoula filmmaker Erin Hale finds both grit and beauty in the faces and landscape of rural America.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Lost Birds ReelWestMontana 2014-09-26 | "Lost Bird" is Lynn-Wood Fields short film about an assimilated Native American woman searching for both her mother and her culture while coming "home" to her reservation after 30 years away. This short film successfully proved to Native American author Debra Magpie Earling that Fields was the right filmmaker to make a feature film from Earling's novel Perma Red.
Inside Bella Vista: Real Characters ReelWestMontana 2014-09-19 | "This movie is about me." The international cast of Bella Vista shares the loneliness and adventure that often comes with being an outsider. Director Vera Brunner-Sung intentionally cast international students from places such as Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Moracco and Japan, to play the "other outsiders" that help their new instructor Doris find warmth and belonging through the natural walls of displacement.Bella Vista is a meditation on displacement and adaptation in the contemporary American West. The Montana-made feature film is successfully circulating international festivals, with the U.S. premier on September 26 at the Northwest Film Forum in Seattle, Washington.See more about the film at www.bellavistafilm.com
Inside Bella Vista: Official Trailer for the feature film Bella Vista ReelWestMontana 2014-09-17 | A poignant view from the outside-looking-out in this independent film by first-time feature director Vera Brunner-Sung. Bella Vista is a meditation on displacement and adaptation in the contemporary American West as it follows the lives of outsiders in Missoula, Montana. See more about the film at www.bellavistafilm.com.
Bard in the Backcountry: An Interview with Post Supervisor Theo Lipfert ReelWestMontana 2014-09-12 | Post Supervisor Theo Lipfert talks about the organization and process of editing a documentary shot over a thousand miles, a hundred locations, and months of filming.Bard in the Backcountry, airing on PBS Montana in 2015, is a documentary chronicling a theater company that travels through the Montana landscape to bring Shakespear to even the smallest of towns.
Bard in the Backcountry: Interview with Co-Director Tom Watson ReelWestMontana 2014-09-05 | Bard in the Backcountry Co-Director Tom Watson discusses the struggles of an actors life; especially that of a traveling actor who also acts as set constructor, wardrobe and music department.Bard in the Backcountry is a documentary that chronicles a traveling theater company through the landscape and peoples of Montana, coming to Montana PBS in 2015.
Bard in the Backcountry: Interview with Producer/Director Cindy Stillwell ReelWestMontana 2014-08-29 | Bard in the Backcountry is a documentary that chronicles a traveling theater company through the landscape and peoples of Montana. Producer/Director Cindy Stillwell discusses the making of the film and the heart of the project.Cindy Stillwell bases her production company Hybrid Media, out of Bozeman, MT and is a professor in the School of Film and Photography at Montana State University
Bard in the Backcountry: Trailer ReelWestMontana 2014-08-22 | Shakespeare meets Montana in Cindy Stillwell's Bard in the Backcountry, a documentary following a theater company traveling through the Big Sky. At the heart of the story is a sense of transformation, for the players and for those residents of Montana who’s lives have been touched by this beloved company.www.bardinthebackcountry.com
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Serves You Right ReelWestMontana 2014-08-15 | Two kokeshi dolls are playing until they are rudely interrupted in this animated short by UM Filmmaker Kayla Challinor.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Walls ReelWestMontana 2014-08-15 | This animated short explores the emotional walls we build around ourselves, and the struggles of getting through them. See more about University of Montana filmmaker Lauren Mackey's production at http://wallsanimation.wordpress.com
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: Diaphaneity ReelWestMontana 2014-08-08 | Nature is personified in this experimental, symbolic look at the fragile, yet carnal nature of the cycle of life from Missoula filmmaker Jon Baker. www.jonbakermedia.com
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: A Man Afraid ReelWestMontana 2014-08-01 | Get your adrenaline up with Missoula filmmaker Marshall Granger's short film "A Man Afraid." The University of Montana Media Arts student explores showing fear using various film techniques. Does it work for you? Leave your thoughts below.
University of Montana Shorts Showcase: 20/Nothing ReelWestMontana 2014-07-25 | "20/Nothing," is a short film with more depth than you'd expect. Missoula filmmaker Rachel Stevens's film focuses on one glass eye. The short is an International Documentary Challenge Finalist and is accepted to HotDocs 2014. Stay tuned for more great short films on Reel West Montana's UM Shorts Showcase series..
Mining for Reel Gold: Vagabond ReelWestMontana 2014-07-22 | A Montana filmmaker is setting out on a journey to find his homeless father. Along the way, he will explore the challenged relationships between homeless parents and their children. Visit the kickstarter campaign at: kickstarter.com/projects/1150576606/vagabond-the-search-for-my-homeless-father
The Audience Awards: Part 8 ReelWestMontana 2014-07-18 | The Audience Awards holds a Griz vs. Cats competition awarding the winner $1,000. Winner Hans Glasmann's MISCHIEF takes you into a world where the unimaginable can happen. This is the world of mischief where even a simple piece of paper can be an enemy!View all 27 competing films and more competitions at http://theaudienceawards.com/competition/view/cat-vs-griz9
The Audience Awards: Part 7 ReelWestMontana 2014-07-18 | The Audience Awards developer Paige Williams introduces their new "Hacker Growth Strategist" Rod Austin. The Audience Awards is an online film festival and competition that shares film news, filmmaker profiles, competitions and short films at: http://theaudienceawards.com.
Mining for Reel Gold: Wildfire ReelWestMontana 2014-07-17 | "Wildfire," is a film inspired by the experiences of writer/director Adam Meeks growing up in Hamilton, Montana. Living through forest fire evacuations, as well as growing up in a Christian church and seeing the devout faith of the community led him to ask a series of questions in the context of a film narrative: To what extent does faith drive us as human beings? And how does our faith affect the lives of those around us? Wildfire portrays a family of characters stuck in the center of these questions as a natural disaster rapidly approaches. Set in Montana but shot in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, this NYU short film is currently fundraising for post-production financing. See the kickstarter campaign for more information or to donate to the completion of this film: kickstarter.com/projects/1181154579/wildfire?ref=nav_search
Mining for Reel Gold: From Selma to Stonewall ReelWestMontana 2014-07-15 | Montana LGBT activist and producer Marilyn Bennett teams with civil rights foot soldier Reverend Gil Caldwell and Montana filmmaker Tonya Easbey to explore the intersection of these civil rights movements. Are they the same? How are they different? Why did one start with a violent riot and how was the other able to hold on to civil disobedience?Who were the leaders, and what were their thoughts on civil rights for all? Join the conversation - see the kickstarter campaign for more information:kickstarter.com/projects/348330923/from-selma-to-stonewall-are-we-there-yet?
Subterranea: Recap ReelWestMontana 2014-07-11 | What happens when a human-turned-science experiment-turned human is released into the world? Montana Director Mathew Miller evolves the progressive rock masterpiece Subterranea into a feature film, retaining the cryptic essence of the classic album while spinning an incredible visual story.IQ vocalist Peter Nicholls, guitarist Michael Holmes and actor William Katt join Miller and other Montana actors and crew in sharing the Montana filming experience in the Reel West Montana's exclusive series Behind-The-Lens with Subterranea.Though filmed in Montana, this film looks like it exists somewhere much deeper, and much much darker than The Big Sky state.
The Audience Awards: Part 6 ReelWestMontana 2014-07-03 | The Audience Awards gets local filmmakers noticed. And funded. And connected.The International Doc Challenge, run by the same peeps as The Audience Awards, is a five-day documentary competition that brings the finalists to Hot Docs; one of the hottest documentary film festivals in the world.
Subterranea: Episode 4 - Filming in Montana ReelWestMontana 2014-06-27 | Montana brings unique character to films, and local crew brings creative energy to set. Subterranea cast and crew talk more about their filming experience in Glacier National Park and Missoula, MT
The Audience Awards: Part 5 ReelWestMontana 2014-06-20 | The Audience Awards founder Paige Williams talks with Jeremy Sauter, Marketing Consultant for Paramount Pictures, about striving to provide a venue for Montana short films.
