Western film festival coming to Bigfork
When Bigfork’s Steve Shapero thinks of iconic Western movies, vivid images of western heroes come to mind: John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Yul Bryner. Shapero considers himself a film aficionado, and he misses seeing the classic films on the big screen. So this year, with a focus on Westerns, he is bringing a variety of films to the big screen at the first Bigfork Film Festival.
“Long before television became our primary source of entertainment, people went to the movies,” Shapero said. “It was considered an occasion worthy of dressing up. Even the smallest towns had a movie theater, and large cities had many, so you had a choice of which movie to see. Seeing a first-run movie starring your favorite actor or actress was a special occasion and made a great place to take a date.”
The Bigfork Film Festival is set for Oct. 16-20 at the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. Afternoons and evenings will feature screenings of a variety of Western films.
“I loved going to the movies as a kid, but like lots of people, I began watching movies on television,” Shapero said. “I didn’t enjoy watching movies on TV as much as I had in a theater, though.
“My goal with the Bigfork Film Festival was to bring back the movie experience that I remembered as a kid. The fun of watching a movie on the big screen is what I miss most, becoming fully absorbed in the film with no commercial interruptions and experiencing the film as the director had intended.”
For the first festival, Shapero said he wanted to choose a film genre that would interest a lot of local Montanans.
“Westerns have been around since the days of silent films, but experienced a resurgence in the 1980s with directors like Clint Eastwood. That’s when the modern Western was reborn,” Shapero said. “The films have been picked both to entertain and to demonstrate the breadth and depth of the Western genre. Each day we will present films that either helped create or reshape the mold of what a classic Western film is. The festival is a rare opportunity to see 14 great Westerns that span 44 years.”
Ticket prices range from $11 for one day to $33 for all five days. They are available in advance at The Pocketstone Cafe and Electric Avenue Gifts in Bigfork; Sandpiper Gallery in Polson; The Kalispell Grand Hotel in Kalispell; and the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts box office.
Movie titles and more information are available at www.BigforkFilmFestival.com.