Blackfeet reservation focus of documentary

The first documentary by filmmaker and Kalispell native Nicolas Hudak will be shown on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in Missoula during the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, followed by another screening in Browning on Monday at 5:30 p.m. on the Blackfeet Community College campus.

“Where God Likes to Be,” Hudak’s first feature film, portrays what it means to be Native American today — taking a personal, cinematic and lyrical journey into the heart of the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Browning. 

The film follows three young protagonists, Andrea Running Wolf, Edward Tailfeathers and Douglas Fitzgerald, over the course of one summer, a summer that marks a turning point in their lives. They must decide if they want to leave home to attend university or stay and struggle with life on the impoverished reservation. 

"Where God Likes to Be" breaks down stereotypes and transforms conventional views of the reservation showing it as the spectacular home of a great and open-hearted people who do their best to survive in, and identify with, a country that has tried to strip them of their identity. 

Hudak takes a naturalistic approach to filmmaking. He is committed to projects that give voice to people that would otherwise go unheard. 

He has worked as cinematographer and photographer on commercial projects and filmed feature-length documentaries. His work is influenced by the conviction that documentary films are the social art form of the future and have the ability to change the world.  

Hudak is an Independent Filmmaker Project fellow and currently resides in Berlin, Germany.