The world premiere of Corey McLean’s Havana Libre, documenting the fight to legitimize surfing in Cuba will open the 2021 Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula. The festival will close with Ann Kaneko’s Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, a documentary on a fresh interpretation of the Japanese American confinement site by examining the environmental and political history behind the World War II camp.
Both films will feature a live “Q&A” with the filmmakers.
HAVANA LIBRE
World Premiere
Following decades of cultural prohibitions, a group of Cubans rise up and demand legitimacy for their beloved sport of surfing. In this inspiring story, the athletes train to compete on the world stage with boards they built from scratch, reconcile with the country’s tumultuous history, and attempt to overcome borders that have been blocked their entire lives.
The exclusive film screening on opening night of Big Sky 2021, Havana Libre premieres in the virtual cinema Friday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. MST and is available to stream through Monday, Feb. 22. Havana Libre is in competition at Big Sky for Best Feature.
LIVE Q&A WITH THE FILMMAKERS FRIDAY, FEB. 19th at 8:00PM MST
Director Corey McLean and producers Tyler Dunham and Nicholas Weissman will have a live Q&A following the world premiere of this extraordinarily beautiful and cinematic documentary, an unprecedented peek behind the veil of life in Cuba.
MANZANAR, DIVERTED: WHEN WATER BECOMES DUST
World Premiere
A poetic story that travels from the snow-capped Sierras to the parched valley of Payahuunadü (“the land of flowing water”). Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust weaves together memories of an intergenerational group of women from three communities who hold in common an ancestral connection to the water that trickles through deep fissures in the land. Native Americans, former Japanese-American WWII prisoners, and environmentalists form an unexpected alliance to defend their water, their history and their culture from Los Angeles.
Presented at the 2020 Big Sky Pitch event, Manzanar, Diverted now makes its world premiere at BSDFF 2021 on Friday, February 26th at 10am MST and is available to stream through Sunday, February 28th. Manzanar, Diverted is also in competition for the festival’s Big Sky Award.
LIVE Q&A WITH THE FILMMAKERS SUNDAY, FEB 28th AT 5:00PM MST
Director/producer Ann Kaneko and producer Jin Yoo-Kim will have a live Q&A on closing night for a deep dive into this fascinating and layered story of cultural and natural resource activism.