ORIGINS, LEGACY & WHAT COMES NEXT
The Bozeman Film Festival origin story begins in the late 1960s, when Dr. Jack Stonnell, a young professor in the emerging Montana State University Film and Television program, launched a series of classic and international film screenings on campus for young college students. Opening with classic films such as Casablanca (1942) and Gone with the Wind (1938), these public showings drew community interest and popular demand, and in 1978, screenings expanded beyond campus to downtown Bozeman’s historic Ellen and Rialto Theaters, with new releases added to the programming.
In 1983, downtown business members and MSU faculty joined forces to register Bozeman Film Festival, Inc. (BFF) as a non-profit organization, the term “festival” signifying a celebration of film, not a specific time frame of awards and panels. Making the newly renovated Rialto Theater their permanent home, the fresh BFF Board of Directors enlisted the help of local film-booker Verl Clark, who would convince a skeptical Atlanta-based Theater Operators Inc. to screen their ‘wish-list’ of arthouse films every Sunday-Thursday. In short order, attending these obscure, indie films became a staple of the arts scene in Bozeman.
Unfortunately, after two decades, and hundreds of 35mm reels later, in 2004, the Rialto and Ellen Theaters were shuttered.
Determined to “keep ‘em flickering” as famously coined by MSU film professor and long-time board member, Dr. Bill Neff, the BFF embarked on a new chapter in 2006 at the Emerson Art Center’s Crawford Theater. They installed the Ellen Theatres’ ancient, unused 35mm projector and purchased a new perforated movie screen. To better reflect their year-round film screenings and clear up confusion about their mission, in 2014 Bozeman Film Festival, Inc. created dba Bozeman Film Society (BFS).
For a decade, BFS thrived at the Emerson, but as 35mm films gradually faded into obscurity, the Board wisely launched a successful “Go Digital or Go Dark” campaign. With generous support from community film devotees and legendary philanthropist Tim Crawford, in 2016 a state-of-the-art DCP digital projector was purchased. Returning to Main Street, BFS installed the new projector in The Ellen Theatre, whose doors re-opened in 2008 following a remarkable renovation by Montana Theatre Works, helmed by John Ludin. The Bozeman Film Society could continue to keep ‘em flickering!
And the Bozeman Film Festival lives on, too! In 2026, an actual, and hopefully, annual festival will launch. On October 8-11, 2026, our inaugural festival, titled “A Confluence of Cinematic Landscapes,” will present 4 days of emerging films at multiple downtown venues. We’ll share the unique vision of filmmakers, host engaging panels and Q&A sessions, and celebrate the creative spirit with parties and awards. We invite you to join us - it could very well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
THE BOZEMAN FILM SOCIETY BRINGS OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER BY SCREENING POWERFUL INDEPENDENT FILMS IN THE CORE OF DOWNTOWN BOZEMAN.
Since 1978, we’ve rallied behind the idea that independent film quickly disperses new ideas, fresh perspectives, culture and art wherever it’s shown and shared. A 501(c)3 non-profit, Bozeman Film Festival, Inc. dba Bozeman Film Society, is deeply grateful for the support we’ve received over the decades, and exhilarated to continue expanding in the future.
Bill Neff, creator and voice of Keep ‘Em Flickering!