Productions earn grant funding to film across Montana

Twenty-nine film creations will share more than $1.5 million in grant funding to film on-location productions across the state.

The grant funding is awarded through the Montana Department of Commerce’s Big Sky Film Grant Program.

“These 29 film projects are expected to spend an estimated $11.3 million in Montana and will bring in productions that will help boost the economies of many rural Montana communities including Alberton, Cooke City, Eureka, Ovando, Rocky Boy, Sula and Twin Bridges,” said Montana Department of Commerce Acting Director Mandy Rambo.

A total of 101 applicants requested more than $16 million in grant dollars this year, with $1.5 million available through the competitive grant program for fiscal year 2024. The grants are awarded to eligible production projects in three different categories: Feature Film and TV, Feature Film and TV Resident Only, Short-Form Content and Short-Form Content Resident Only.

In 2023, Polar Productions received $40,00 of program funding to produce “Wild Foods: Montana.” 

Kevin Chap, show host, writer and producer said the experience creating “Wild Foods” was transformative. 

“As I crossed the Continental Divide into the Centennial Valley, surrounded by golden aspens and the sunlit peaks of Mount Nemesis, I felt a deep sense of connection, like returning home. This sentiment echoed throughout our production,” Chap said in a release. “We look forward to building an ongoing partnership with the Montana Department of Commerce to create additional episodes that explore Montana’s untold stories. We aim to bring lasting benefits to the state and foster meaningful engagement for years to come.”

Since the film grant program started in 2013, nearly 380 film projects have received over $13 million of grant funding to assist with those productions.

In 2023, Senate Bill 540 of the 68th Montana Legislature revised the laws related to state-funded tourism promotion to require a specific allocation of lodging facility use tax for Montana-based film grants. The Montana Department of Commerce Film Office is funded by an allocation of the Lodging Facility Use Tax, commonly known as the “Bed Tax.”

For more information about the Big Sky Film Grant, visit commerce.mt.gov.

The following projects have been approved to receive BSFG funding:

Feature Film and Television Grants

El Jinete Films, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “New Dawn Rising.”

Inside Voices, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “Gone by Morning.”

It’s Happening Now, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “Floating.”

Level 1 Productions, Inc. will receive $75,000 to produce “Dead Air.”

Story House Montana, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “St. George.”

The Reformer, LLC will receive $150,000 to produce “Voice Out.”

Feature Film and Television Resident Only Grants

99 Productions, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “Counting to a Thousand.”

Rob G. Green Photography, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “Traverse.”

Saltland Productions, LLC will receive $100,000 to produce “Warrior Cowboys.”

Short-Form Content Grants

Montana SOL, LLC will receive $15,000 to produce “The Age of Wellness.”

Play Practice Productions, LLC will receive $25,000 to produce “Dr. Randall & Sons’ Traveling Medicine Show.”

Rare Antiquities will receive $35,000 to produce “The Blistering, Blundering West.”

Velocity Films, LLC will receive $40,000 to produce “Last Stand at Butte City.”

Venture Digital Media, LLC will receive $50,000 to produce “Mobtana.”

Short-Form Content Resident Only Grants

4:08 Productions, LLC will receive $25,000 to produce “The Montana Sessions.”

Another Pictures, LLC will receive $25,000 to produce “Winkup.”

Audrey Hall Photography, LLC will receive $25,000 to produce “Dear Western Sky.”

Fault Line Inc. will receive $25,000 to produce “The Heist.”

Friendly Fishes Films, LLC will receive $25,000 to produce “The Merlin.”

Hollow Duck Productions, LLC will receive $10,000 to produce “Tarkio.”

JMac Productions, LLC will receive $40,000 to produce “Montana’s Best.”

KR Creative Strategies will receive $25,000 to produce “The Story of Us, the Women Who Shaped Montana.”

Leap of Faith Enterprise, LLC will receive $40,000 to produce “Sharktana.”

Mathew Halvorson will receive $20,000 to produce “The Babcock.”

Paige Williams Co., LLC will receive $25,000 to produce “Real Women of White Sulphur Springs.”

Panel and Script, LLC will receive $15,000 to produce “The Last Judgement.”

Rise Up Montana will receive $40,000 to produce “Journey to the Sun.”

Same Land Film, LLC will receive $40,000 to produce “Maltá u Lusí.”

Sojourn Productions, LLC will receive $30,000 to produce “Montana Carol.”