Changes set for Hi-Line Film Festival

The annual Hi-Line Film Festival at Atrium Mall is being expanded into a New Idea Expo.

This year’s program will include a variety of speakers, presentations and films, information booths and food vendors, as well as documentary films.

“We have been doing the film festival for about 10 years,” said Kris Shaw, co-founder of Yellow Bus Creations, the organization that sponsors the film festival. “We haven’t seen participation increase that much, so we thought we would try something new.”

This year’s program, which will be held Friday and Saturday, April 2 and 3, will include discussions on a variety of topics:

• Organic gardening and farming,

• Sustainable and renewable lifestyles,

• New and upcoming energy technologies,

• Holistic and complementary healing techniques

• Health choices concerning vaccinations

• Growing public concern over the dangers of toxics and chemicals.

As in past years, it will be held on the top floor of Atrium Mall, said Rita Campbell, who is helping Shaw with the project.

But, Campell said, if the program expands as expected, it may have to expand to the main floor as well.

Many people have already expressed an interest in having booths or in making presentations, Campbell said.

Organizers are looking at having a larger room where talks and displays will be given. After the presentations, a film on the same topic will be shown.

At the same time, documentaries will be shown continuously in an adjoining room.

Booths will be set up, she said, “so people can pick and choose what they want to see,” Shaw said.

Campbell said that she and her husband, Kevin Campbell, who own Earthworks Wellness Center at Holiday Village Mall, often attend business conferences where nearly always films, talks and presentations are offered. She said she thought such an approach would be successful for the film festival.

Shaw said the student film festival will continue as it has on Friday night.

Students, many from Vicki Proctor’s Havre High School’s film class, take part in the contest which is judged by a panel not otherwise connected to Yellow Bus Creations.

Anyone interested in setting up a booth or making a presentation at the Hi-Line Film Festival should call Kris Shaw at 262-2365 or Rita Campbell at 265-5301.