Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

Every summer, working-class families enjoy waterfront living in a scrappy trailer park off the coast of Virginia. When the relentless march of capitalism threatens their shabby Shangri-La, the denizens of Inlet View face the inevitable, and reveal the secrets to a rich life. Amy Nicholson, the director of Happy Campers, visited the Trail studios to discuss her heartwarming feature film with Mike Smith.

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Education Director Julia Sherman talks with Aubrey Nilsen of 104.5 the U about Schoolhouse Docs and the wonderfully rich array of youth programs that are part of the 21st annual Big Sky Doc Film Fest.

Known only by her research number, Grizzly 399 has captivated photographers since 2007, becoming the most famous — and photographed — mother bear in the world. The Big Sky Doc Fest's opening night film follows 399 as she struggles to raise an unusually large litter in the face of human encroachment, a rapidly changing climate, and disputes over her Endangered Species protections. Director and producer Elizabeth Leiter visited the Trail studios to discuss her powerful film.

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival executive director Rachel Gregg stopped by the Missoula Broadcasting company studios to preview the opening night film 399: Queen of the Tetons and offer a few of her other personal recommendations for films she's looking forward to this week.

As buffalo return to the North American landscapes they once defined, the important ecological and cultural impacts of that restoration have begun to manifest. A Buffalo Story follows the work of Jason Baldes, the Tribal Buffalo Manager for buffalo restoration on the Wind River Reservation, whose efforts to help people believe in buffalo again require him to confront his own trauma. In the debut interview of a series focusing on films from the 2024 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, director and producer Colin Ruggiero visited the Trail studios to discuss his feature film.

Renowned ecologist Nalini Nadkarni pioneered climbing techniques to study the Costa Rican rainforest canopy. After surviving a life-threatening fall from a tree, she turns her research inward to understand the processes of disturbance and recovery in her own life, a journey documented in Between Earth and Sky. Nalini Nadkarni and director Andrew Nadkarni visited the Trail studios to discuss Between Earth and Sky, which won the award for Best Short at the 2023 Big Sky Doc Fest.

In the middle of a remote desert, two men are assigned to guard the ruins of an ancient kingdom. When the Dust Blows Through follows them as they confront the heat and thirst of the desert, as well as more insidious foes like loneliness and tomb raiders. Director Ethan Wu visited the Trail 103.3 studios to discuss the challenges of filming in such an inhospitable location, and why he felt called to the story anyway.

The film Hollywood's Finest follows three mothers fighting to create a family: Mckenzie, a young woman in recovery who became pregnant while living in a tent; Cat, her nomadic mom; and Leslie, the social worker with her own history of addiction, housing insecurity, and losing children to foster care. Filmmakers Claire Hannah Collins and Gale Holland visited the ESPN Missoula studios to discuss the film, the process of making it and the issues it confronts with Colter Nuanez.

A chance encounter transformed Bernie Krause's life, setting the prolific composer and sound artist on a path to capture the sounds of a vanishing wilderness. The Last of the Nightengales is a haunting black-and-white film that follows Krause's journey, inviting the audience to experience the rich acoustic beauty of the living world through his ears. Director Masha Karpoukhina visited the Missoula Broadcasting Company studios to talk about the film with Aubrey Nilsen.

Megan Harrington and Malia Kipp visit the ESPN Missoula studios to discuss the documentary film Native Ball: Legacy of a Trailblazer, which follows Kipp's journey from the Blackfeet Reservation to becoming the first Native American player in Montana Lady Griz history.