Film festival seeks entries

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West, is seeking submissions for its ninth annual event.

The festival will screen more than 100 films from Feb. 15 through 24, including world and U.S. premieres, classics, and rare and experimental works. The movies will be shown in several venues, including the historic Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula.

In addition to 10 days of screenings, public and VIP events and receptions, the festival will feature the Big Sky Doc Shop, a four-day industry forum with panel discussions, workshops and pitch sessions.

The festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2013, draws an annual audience of 15,000, including thousands of enthusiastic documentary fans, filmmakers, distributors, broadcasters and industry professionals.

The competitive event is open to nonfiction films and videos of all genres, subject matter, lengths and production dates. Awards and cash prizes will be given for Best Documentary Feature (more than 50 minutes), Best Documentary Short (15 to 50 minutes), Best Mini-Doc (under 15 minutes) and best documentary about the American West (the Big Sky Award).

The final submission deadline is Oct. 16. For more information, including an entry form, visit www.bigskyfilmfest.org.