Montana filmmakers steeped in movie magic

The first movie I ever remember seeing was the tearjerker "Old Yeller" at a little theater attached to the back of the drugstore in my small hometown.

Not long after that, the theater (and drugstore) permanently closed and going to the movies then meant hoping for a parent to take me to the outdoor drive-in in a slightly larger town 12 miles away. It wasn’t something they were often moved to do. That’s where I saw the blockbuster "Cleopatra" and all the Vincent Price movies I could stand to squeal through.

Even though as an adult I can go to the movies as often as I want, somewhere in my DNA it still feels like a special treat. When I moved to Missoula, the old Crystal Theater with its funky seats, sticky floor, intimate space – and fabulous independent and foreign films – helped seal my first impression this was going to be a great place to live.

The theater in that incarnation is gone now, but Missoula continues to offer plenty for a film-lover to savor, including events like the recent Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. The great thing about festivals is that they bring the filmmakers to town as well, and I’ve had the good fortune to recently spend time with a few of them.

Sally Mauk

Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/column-montana-filmmakers-steeped-in-movie-magic/article_f739be92-64e5-11e1-9024-0019bb2963f4.html