The Lone Peak Film Festival's mission is to champion inspiring stories, build community, offer mentorship, and support local and Indigenous filmmakers, all to spark positive change and catalyze action.

Our last festival edition in 2025 had 25 attending filmmakers, 4 industry mentors, and hundreds of locals enjoying uplifting cinema.

The festival is held in the beautiful town of Big Sky, Montana and our primary focus is to create a nourishing, enriching and fun environment for all attending filmmakers and to offer a joyful, uplifting experience for our filmgoing audience.

SELECT PRESS FROM OUR INAUGURAL YEAR

https://www.forbes.com/sites/afdhelaziz/2026/03/20/how-the-lone-peak-film-festival-is-showcasing-stories-of-kindness-and-resilience-in-montana/

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DATES

The Second Annual Lone Peak Film Festival will run from September 17 to 20, 2026

VENUE

The Waypoint Cinema in Big Sky, MT

WHY SUBMIT TO LONE PEAK?

Our festival has an intimate single-track festival program for everyone to enjoy. The festival holds filmmaker workshops, panels and parties where connections with other filmmakers and industry members happen in a very confidant and natural atmosphere.

All films accepted will receive covered travel and lodging for one director or creative producer and an invitation to participate in a two day filmmaker retreat along with seasoned filmmakers and industry members.

Big Sky is a community in the Rocky Mountains of southern Montana known for ski, downhill mountain-bike trails and hikes, and there are plenty of opportunities for outdoors recreation. Big Sky has an energetic and passionate audience of film and art lovers who are ready to see great films and share their community, 45 miles southeast of town is Yellowstone National Park, for more information https://www.visitbigsky.com/

Awards & Prizes

In order to create a space free of competition and to minimize stress, the Lone Peak Film Festival does not have awards. Instead, we offer travel and lodging expenses for one filmmaker from every project.

Selections from 2025’s edition included Cutting Through Rocks (Shortlisted for an Academy Award and Sundance Grand Jury Prize: International Documentary), Sing Sing (Academy Award Nominee: Best Actor & Adapted Screenplay), Champions of the Golden Valley (Grand Prize at Banff multi-awarded and chosen film for the Olympics 2026), Runa Simi (Tribeca premiere) Lost Wolves of Yellowstone (IMAX), and Bring Them Home (PBS)

Rules & Terms

The Lone Peak Film Festival 2026 will run from September 17 to 20, 2026

It is essential that all films submitted are ultimately positive or uplifting, showcasing the good in humanity. By offering stories of kindness, perseverance, resilience and positive action in the face of injustice or adverse circumstances, we will create spaces where people can come together and honor the goodness in humanity and build a nurturing community. Our film selection is a counterweight to the relentless negativity of the mass media, offering compelling and well crafted stories that entertain as much as they move and inspire.

We are seeking films of any length and genre (including but not limited to documentary drama, comedy, and animation) that fit into the following categories:

Montana Stories
Indigenous Stories
Conservation Stories
Stories of Human Resilience

Submissions open on Film Freeway January 10th Through April 30 of 2025. Deadlines are:

March 15th - Early Bird
April 10th - Regular
April 30th - Extended

A condition of acceptance is full attendance to the Lone Peak Film Festival by one director or creative producer from each film. We will cover all travel and lodging expenses. We also require that the attending film team member participate in a two-day filmmaker program, which includes creative sessions, networking opportunities, panels, and outdoor recreation and in all screenings and full program, which will include moments for rest and relaxation.

*If you are a current Montana Film Student or recently graduated, write us an email for a partial or full waiver attaching a photo of your student ID.

**The Lone Peak Film Institute is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We strive to maintain low entry fees to cover our staffing, platform, and organizational costs. Consequently, we are only able to offer a very limited number of fee discounts.

ADDITIONAL TERMS OF ENTRY

By submitting this film, I understand that I am agreeing to the following:

My film will not be publicly available before September 20, 2026. If it is released widely for personal viewing (i.e. streaming, broadcast, etc) before this date, it will be disqualified from screening at the 2026 Lone Peak Film Festival.

I am currently the copyright owner of this work. Should ownership or rights to my film change, this agreement to screen at the 2026 Lone Peak Film Festival, if accepted, will be upheld and not be infringed. I own or control the copyright and am duly authorized to submit this documentary film to the Lone Peak Film Festival (LPFF) and to the best of my knowledge, all statements on this document are true; This film contains no material which could result in tort claims, royalty claims, claims for breach of contract, or claims of any sort whatsoever; If this documentary is selected for screening at LPFF, I grant LPFF the right to screen this film in Big Sky, Montana, September 17 to 20, 2026; I understand and agree that this film entry, if selected for LPFF, may be used for promotional purposes for LPFF and/or its partners and I grant LPFF and its partners the rights to use up to two minutes of footage, photographic stills and/or titles and information from the film for promotional purposes; I fully indemnify and hold Lone Peak Institute, Lone Peak Film Festival and its partners harmless from: a) damage to or loss of the film print or videotapes en route to or from LPFF or during the course of festival possession of the entry; and b) from any claims which may arise in connection with this documentary film. If a claim arises in connection with this film, I will bear all the costs of defense incurred by LPFF and pay any award of damages which may ensue. I also agree to reimburse LPFF for any attorney fees incurred in connection with the defense of such a claim. By submitting my film, I am indicating that I understand, comply with and agree to the Terms of Entry and the eligibility requirements.