Can’t believe Big Sky is over so soon, it’s been so good and the festival grows and gets better every year.

Outside the Wilma theatre (Photo: Big Sky)
The pitching event this year was fantastic, a real highlight and it has transformed my ideas of thinking about working with / applying to ITVS. Richard Saiz was a total inspiration.

Richard Saiz - ITVS pitch event and workshop
There’s been so many highlights – the ITVS pitch, the deliberation and judging of the competition films, a gondola ride after a great party at Boom swagger (Missoula’s hair salon), the mountains, getting to hang out with my good friends from over the pond.

The transport of choice - Transport chief Jeff Medley rides the gondola (Photo: Big Sky)

The packed out 1100 seater Wilma (Photo: Big Sky)
Aside from the competition films that we awarded prizes to I thought that Racing Dreams was phenomenal. On the surface it has the feel of the classic 3 character 5 part story on the way to a final race outcome, but it was so much more than that. The film is about 3 teens on the brink of changing their lives forever, they fall in love and find out who they want to be. Seek this film out!
The festival ended with a fire party at festival founder Doug Hawes Davis’ house. Until next year then, here are a last few views.

The frozen river - It's hard not to see the Twin Peaks visuals everywhere in David Lynch's home town

Doug Pray shows his best "Up with people" smile

Inspired by the party in the salon I ended up going back for a 50's blow dry.

The foyer of The Red Bird - my favourite place to hang out in Missoula. made me feel like an extra in The Shining

All of the lovely big Sky festival team - punch drunk and happy on the last day

Fire Party

Festival programmer and the man with an extraordinary English accent - Mike Steinberg

DHD - the man who started it all attempts some firewalking

Southern Charm - Stewart Copeland

My lovely hostess - Lulu Steinberg

The one and only Jeff Medley
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
Jeanie is a British artist and filmmaker who creates intimate, funny and personal work for the cinema and broadcast, including Emmy nominated Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, BIFA nominated Seahorse and The Great Hip Hop Hoax; BIFA winning ORION and SOUND IT OUT, and
Sheffield DocFest winner Your Fat Friend. She is currently making her tenth feature.