Kalispell filmmaker returns to Flathead; looking for people

Kalispell’s Britni West has once again decided to bring her love of filmmaking back home.

Three years after receiving critical acclaim for her first film shot in Montanan, “Tired Moonlight,” West is hard at work on her newest project, a film she calls “By Now I’ve Lived a Thousand Lives and None of Them are Mine.” The film tells the semi-autobiographical story of Britni and Hillary Berg (West’s friend from college), two women in their 30s making the move to Montana. Britni is in the midst of returning back home to her parent’s house after finding herself lost and alone in the world, and Hillary moves to Bozeman to try and carve out a new life for herself in a new place.

The film will contrast the lives of the more quiet Hillary and her life in Bozeman and Britni’s more lively and chaotic life with her family.

While the film will incorporate some documentary aspects, West says the film is more a narrative about family and the culture of Montana.

“I kind of go with the flow in life and I have ended up in a lot of different places. I tend to hop around a lot and the title is a reflection of that,” she said. “There is a bunch of documentary-type stuff in there, but the real story is a narrative of me coming back here. There are also a lot of larger-than-life things that happen that are not documentary at all. It’s the truth with a little bit of embellishment.”

A graduate of Flathead High School, West studied film at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design before moving to Brooklyn. Her first film, “Tired Moonlight,” was called a work of small moments and natural wonders” by Fandor and the New York Times said it was “full of the oddness and vitality that are essential to the continued promise of American cinema (and American life).” The winner of several awards at film festivals around the world, West hopes to find similar success with her new film.

While West says she plans to continue filming in the Flathead area through the winter and hopes to have the project finished by the summer of 2019, the film currently has no planned, scripted direction or ending. So far, she has filmed a family wedding and casual gatherings and has even included some chance meeting with complete strangers into the film. She says she is still looking to incorporate even more interesting people into the film and that interested people can contact her through her website.

“I’m not looking for actors or anyone who wants to be an actor,” she said. “I am just looking for people who are interested in being a part of the film.”

In addition, West is also asking for support to make the film.

“Finding money for projects is always so hard,” she said. “Any help I could get through Kickstarter would be great, since right now I am making this movie on my credit cards. Making a film is very expensive.”

Those looking to help fund the film can do so by visiting www.kickstarter.com and searching for the title of the film.