PUFF unites small businesses, filmmakers, enthusiasts
Nicole Tavenner
Jim Ereaux of PUFF gives the stage to Steve Lozar (right), owner of the Polson Beer Museum, to talk to festival guests about the Mission Valley Ice Arena project.
Nicole Tavenner
Jim Ereaux and Frank Tyro mingle at the hisotric bar at the beer museum.
Nicole Tavenner
Hilary Lozar of the Mission Valley Ice Arena and Wendy Anderson of Flathead Lake Cheese prepare snacks of local cheese curds.
Nicole Tavenner
Guests enjoy a short film.
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
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LAKE COUNTY – In a single night, locals explored religion, crime, Irish history and the struggle of a bird trying to navigate around a fence – all from inside the Lozar Brewery Museum in Polson.
About 20 people attended a screening from the new Pop Up Film Festival. PUFF shows films monthly around the region. The films are shorts, selected from submissions from filmmakers around the world.
Jim Ereaux said he was inspired to start the film festival when he saw that small businesses in the area were struggling to attract the business necessary to stay open. He and his friend Frank Tyro had been imagining a film festival that breaks from the classic film festival format. Ereaux sees the PUFF style as meeting the needs of a wide variety of community groups.
“We’re trying to find innovative ways to help small businesses that are hard-pressed to attract customers. We’re trying to help small filmmakers who don’t have an opportunity to have films screened and get feedback. And we’re trying to give people a chance to see films they wouldn’t normally have an opportunity to see,” Ereaux said.
According to Ereaux, the Internet has changed the way people watch films. Access to films has increased thanks to streaming services but that convenience has also changed the way people watch films. These days watching films is more of a solitary activity than it ever was before.
Ereaux said PUFF provides access to a film experience that isn’t available online. People get together and build community bonds. They support the local businesses where the films are shown. And they see films that aren’t available online.
“It’s an experiment in trying to do something a little bit different,” Ereaux said.
Organizers have worked hard to eliminate costs to keep the events free. It takes just a few volunteers who view films to make sure they’re acceptable, someone to set up the viewing equipment and a bit of advertising to run the events. The partner businesses, hosting the events, do much of the advertising for the events.
“It doesn’t cost anyone anything,” Ereaux said.
Unlike other film festivals, filmmakers don’t have to pay to submit their films to the festival, which removes a barrier to submission. Local businesses donate their space in exchange for the visibility that the festival brings to their enterprises. It’s also important to Ereaux to support the local businesses that provide a home for PUFF. When people attend a PUFF showing, they bring business to a space, and the business becomes more visible to the public.
Films have been shown at Glacier Brewing, the Good Coffee Company and the Montana Beer Museum in Polson and at the Grey Leaf Gallery in Ronan.
Rather than paying judges to vet the films, the audience gives feedback for each film at the screening. Ereaux said that feedback can be even more valuable to filmmakers than a judge’s thoughts. “It gets the audience involved in the process of thinking about the film,” Ereaux said.
One filmmaker from England, Sammy Simmans, responded to the audience feedback with gratitude. “Your positive comments will only help me improve in the future,” he said.
Ereaux and Tyro are the organizers of the festival. Ereaux is a filmmaker and has worked with the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest and the Bigfork Independent Film Festival. He grew up in Ronan and worked at Salish Kootenai College for years. Now, he works for Blackfeet Telecommunications.
Tyro worked as the media/public television department head at Salish Kootenai College for 32 years. He has a background in broadcast, documentary and video production. He and his wife own a media production and consulting partnership called Caribou Crossing.
Ereaux said presenting the films among the vast collection of Montana brewery memorabilia at the Lozar Brewery Museum was a unique experience for attendees. The event was also a fundraiser for the Mission Valley Ice Arena project. Hilary Lozar, a board member for MVIAA, said the event increased the visibility of her project. She presented plans for the ice arena and said people were excited about the idea.
Attendees told Ereaux they enjoyed the diversity of the film selections. It included animations and live-action films, on serious topics and light-hearted ones. “We try to mix it up and have a little of something for everyone,” Ereaux said.
Filmmakers can submit their films under the “filmmakers” tab of the PUFF website. Those interested in attending a viewing can find information about future events on the PUFF website, Facebook or Instagram page.
The next showings will be on Oct. 27 at the Good Coffee Roasting Company in Polson and Nov. 14 at the Glacier Brewing Company in Polson.
