STARTING CONVERSATIONS AROUND STORIES THAT MATTER
24,409 attendees joined us for ten blissful and snow-covered days in downtown Missoula, and online in our virtual cinema. Visitors came to Missoula from countless Montana cities, U.S. states and 12 countries including Canada, El Salvador, England, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, The Netherlands, Mexico, Norway, Spain and Singapore. Online viewers tuned in from 41 states and 25 nations.
The BSDFF audience continues to trend in the highly educated demographic, with over 80% in their earning prime age and over a third holding a post graduate degree. Over 90% spend an average of 5 nights in Missoula and nearly three quarters of attendees attend events on 3+ days of the festival, with over 30% of attendees traveling from outside Missoula to attend the festival. Our loyal patrons continue to be overwhelmingly loyal and engaged, spending nearly $3 million in downtown Missoula and making a February visit to Missoula for the festival part of their annual plan.
IMPACT
4TH WORLD MEDIA LAB
Six emerging Indigenous filmmakers attended Big Sky as artist fellows in the 4th World Media Lab. Attending screenings, DocShop, a private seminar, headshot sessions and industry meetings, the fellows connected with their cohort, shared projects in development, networked with collaborators and mentors and experience Big Sky as VIP attendees. A unique collaboration with Points North Institute, Seattle International Film Festival, and Indigenous Showcase, 4th World works to open doors for Indigenous artists and perspectives across the film industry and beyond.
Reach & impressions
Social media around Big Sky didn’t miss a beat in 2024-25 with a 15% increase in followers (!), a reach of over 30,000 accounts and near 300,000 impressions. With announcements, highlights, daily coverage, press, audience and filmmaker posts plus a lot of sponsor love, opportunities to engage and experience the collective excitement were palpable. Paid media, e-newsletter, radio promotions and regional news reports drew attention from far and wide, bringing thousands of eyeballs to focus on the partners and sponsors who made our 22nd edition possible.
FILM FREEWAY TOP 100 & MORE!
Big Sky is an Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences qualifying event for short-form documentaries and the winner of the Best Mini-Doc and Best Short Documentary categories automatically qualifies to compete for a Documentary Short Oscar the following year. Moreover, for nine years running Big Sky has been named by the MovieMaker Magazine’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.
"Big Sky is worth attending for the gorgeous location alone, and the very walkable festival makes the trip easier by assisting with lodging and local transport. But it’s also one of the best places on earth for documentarians to find collaborators, backers and companies to release their film,“ says MovieMaker Editor-in-Chief Tim Molloy in 2024. “In great and bad times for documentaries — and in its 20-something years, Big Sky has seen both — it has kept the focus on its core mission of putting great films in front of appreciative audiences."
2025 COMPETITION WINNERS
Congratulations to the winners of the four competitions at the 22nd annual festival, which included three special jury awards for artistic vision! Announced at a live awards ceremony at the historic Wilma Theater, winners were selected by a distinguished jury of filmmakers, programmers and documentary industry professionals. Winners in the Best Short and Best Mini-Doc competitions are automatically eligible for Academy Award nomination in the 2025 documentary short category, and all winners received a cash prize.
TESTIMONIALS
Don’t just take our word for it—Hear from the filmmakers, industry and locals who took part and enjoyed the festivities, films, and fellowship during an extraordinary ten days (and then some online!) in February 2025.
From film participant Brenton Geisler (FOX CHASE BOY):
“Truly one of the great documentary festivals out there. Excellent programming, meaningful workshops and above all a phenomenal team. It's clear this festival is run by a talented and gifted team doing the real work to keep independent documentary cinema alive..”
BUT WAIT, IT DOESN’t END WITH THE FEST!
The Big Sky Film Institute is year-round 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the transformative power of documentary film. Through artist development programs, fiscal sponsorship and a pipeline of youth education programs, Big Sky is working to arm the next generation of storytellers and media artists.
During the festival, classroom screenings reached over 7,000 students across Montana, the Youth Fellowship films made their world premieres, and the Teen Doc Intensive filmmakers-in-training worked together to make a short film in just three days with the help of BSFI mentors. Click below to learn more about the impact of Big Sky Film Institute youth education programs.
UP NEXT
LEANING INTO OUR THIRD DECADE
For over twenty years our team has worked to bring stories from around the world to our beautiful mountain town, creating a vibrant, quality event that gathers our engaged community, and expands the knowledge and conversation around issues that matter. We could not be more ready to build on this foundation with more year-round programming and artist development programs.
The Big Sky Film Institute is a leading arts and education 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the transformative power of documentary film. Our work empowers a diverse range of filmmakers, promotes media literacy for all ages and presents global perspectives that inspire our engaged communities.
Packed with action and agency, our mission reflects the impact our programs bring to youth, artists, filmmakers, the Missoula community, the documentary industry and beyond. As we navigate a changing world and work to support artists doing the work, we ask that you be apart of our journey. Big Sky is taking big leaps with our staff and board of directors to strengthen our nonprofit organization and expand our capacity for impact. Join us in sustaining our year-round arts and education institute by investing in our work around media literacy, community screenings and the powerful medium of documentary film. Consider supporting the Big Sky Film Institute today!