“When we started MINT, there was not a great presence for indigenous filmmakers in Billings and their stories,” says Murnion. “In the past years, we have had a surge in indigenous film, so there’s no need to separate their work and that everyone should be in one unifying program. Now, there’s a huge variety of films from women, indigenous filmmakers, and other voices.”
Another Montana documentary, Only Roundup Remains, which takes place in central Montana, covers the Highwood Cattle Roundup that has been occurring without change since 1912. As the world changes and modernizes, this proud iconic American culture struggles to preserve its way of life. Through the perspective of an aging father, his two sons, and their extended family of Montana cowboys, Only Roundup Remains is a rare and intimate glimpse into the disappearing lifestyle of proud generational ranching families, their tradition, hard work, honor, and what might be their final roundup. A Q&A with director Brian Liu and cast members follows the screening.
Saturday’s MINT screenings also feature a block of narrative films, which include Sons of Toledo, Homestead, Dogwood (Sipinikimm), Read No More, My Tiny Friends, One Call Away, Projecting, and WILDCAT. A Closing Night After Party will take place at Kirks’ Grocery, also sponsored by Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and will include a 360 VR Short Film experience.
Murder at Yellowstone City – Gabriel Byrne
“When a prospector strikes a vein of gold…his murder sets off a chain of events…”
“It’s appropriate to recognize region and community,” says Murnion. “After two years of a pandemic, we didn’t want the return to the theater to be a drain on our resources, staff, and volunteers. We are taking this year to ease back in, working for all the screenings to be full and ensuring patrons don’t feel overwhelmed.”
On Sunday, September 18, at the Yellowstone Art Museum, a sneak peek preview of Who Are the Marcuses? will screen at 1:30 pm. Documentary filmmaker Matthew Mishory reconstructs the lives of Holocaust refugees Lottie and Howard Marcus, an unassuming couple from Great Neck, New York, who retired to a modest two-bedroom apartment in San Diego, California. A former dentist, Howard, passed away in 2014 at age 104. Lottie passed less than two years later. In 2016, Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev announced the Marcuses had given them over half a billion dollars: the most significant single charitable donation to the State of Israel in its history.
Who Are the Marcuses? simultaneously traces the development of Israel’s vital water technology from pre-technology to the present; how the Marcuses’ endowment to BGU has ensured its continued leading-edge development in this science and in climate action for not only the Israeli people but the world.
Buy individual tickets or a VIP pass for $75 for the entire weekend at mint2022.eventive.org/welcome.
