For the fourth year in a row, Soft Landing is proud to sponsor films for the incredible Big Sky Documentary Film Fest (BSDFF).

This week-long event allows us to explore the world through film and presents artful productions that cover a diverse range of topics. We thoroughly believe that stories unite people from all walks of life and are always so excited to be a part of such a beautiful and at times complicated view of humanity. This is a wonderful community event that showcases diversity and supports the arts! We advise trying to see as many of these great films as you can (take the week off work?!?!)!

Our four sponsored films are:

Chèche Lavi (Looking for Life)

Sam Ellison, 2019, Mexico, Haiti, USA, 76 minutes
Montana Premiere

CHÈCHE LAVI is a lyrical portrait of two Haitian migrants, Robens and James, who find themselves stranded at the US-Mexico border with no way forward and no one to depend on but each other. As the two men drift towards drastically different futures, a picture of their unexpected friendship emerges against the backdrop of an incomprehensible political situation and a new wall rising on the horizon.

Screening:

Saturday, Feb 15th @ 5:00 pm- Roxy Theater
Wednesday, Feb 19th @ 2:45 pm- Elks Lodge

A Word Away

Mollie Moore, 2019, USA, 19 minutes

Cosmo, originally from South Sudan, seeks help from childhood friend Moon, a poet. After having to flee his home country, he attempts to tell his story for the first time through the medium of poetry after 18 years of silence.

Screening:

Tuesday, Feb 18th @ 4:00 pm- ZACC
Saturday, Feb 22nd @ 5:15 pm- ZACC

Welcome Strangers

Dia Sokol Savage, 2020, USA, 21 minutes
World Premiere

When asylum-seeking immigrants are released from an ICE detention facility onto unfamiliar streets near Denver, Colorado, where can they go for help? Since 2012, Sarah Jackson and her team of volunteers have welcomed them into her home and helped to reunite them with their families.

Screening: 

Sunday, Feb 16th @ 9:00 pm- Elks Lodge
Wednesday, Feb 19th @ 1:30 pm- ZACC

Paradise Without People

Francesca Trianni, 2019, Greece, USA, 76 minutes
Montana Premiere

Inside the delivery ward of a Greek hospital, two Syrian women share the same dream: to raise their newborn daughters far from war. Taimaa and Nour begin a journey navigating an inflexible European resettlement program that rarely takes their needs into account. A tender and at times infuriating view into a new mother’s choices at the height of Europe’s refugee crisis.

Screening: Wednesday, Feb 19th @ 5:30 pm- Elks Lodge

*** The filmmaker and a representative from TIME Studios are also scheduled to be at this screening***

For more information on BSDFF, a full schedule of events, and to purchase tickets and passes, please visit their website here.

Soft Landing is delighted to partner with the Humanities Institute, the UM Department of History, the International Rescue Committee and other campus departments and groups to co-sponsor the lecture “Was the United States Ever Pro-Refugee?” by Dr. Steve Porter from the University of Cincinnati.

Dr. Porter is the author of Benevolent Empire: U.S. Power, Humanitarianism, and the World’s Dispossessed (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). The lecture will take place Monday, November 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the ALI Auditorium of the Phyllis J. Washington College of Education and Human Sciences.

This event is free and open to the public and is the first in a new lecture series entitled “Making the Humanities Public.”

Please see the flier below or visit the Humanities Institute website here for more info! There is also a Facebook Event to share with friends!

Hi guys!!! It’s been a while! We took a little break from our traditional sit down Supper Clubs this spring, but we are back and so excited to feature the the talents of chef Suhad Munshid, our newest neighbor from Iraq, for this month’s supper club! Join us at Masala on July 28th for a taste of traditional Iraqi cuisine.

The Soft Landing Missoula Supper Club aims to introduce the incredible culinary talent of Missoula’s newest neighbors and international residents, whose rich and flavorful cooking traditions provide a cultural bridge and enrich our shared community.

Suhad’s recipes are prepared with flavorful herbs and spices, and she is very excited to spread some joy with her delicious cooking!

Reserve your spot today! Find out how below… a heads-up: they go QUICKLY!

Where: Masala, 206 W Main St, Missoula, MT

When: Sunday, July 28th. Doors at 5:30 pm and dinner at 6:00pm

Cost: Eat: $40/person Give: $60/person Love: $80/person

How: To make a reservation call Masala at (406) 926- 6444

When you pay after your meal, you will have the option to: 

Eat: $40 for a delicious family style dinner, where a portion of the cost covers ingredients and staff time, and the rest goes to the guest chef. 

Give: $60 gets you the same delicious dinner, but with an additional $20 going directly to the guest chef. 

Love: $80 gives an additional $40 directly to the guest chef to collectively make this an unforgettable evening!

All levels are welcome and appreciated!

As climate change forces more people to flee their homes, do borders keep getting fortified, or are there other ways humankind could be looking for solutions? Journalist and award-winning author Todd Miller will use stories to explore the dynamics of climate, human displacement, and border security. With 68.5 million forcibly displaced people currently across the globe, many of whom have been forced to leave their homes due to conflicts with origins in climate issues—including famine, drought, and scarcity of resources—there is no better time to have the conversation about how we can step outside of our boxes and borders to think of creative solutions that bring opportunity and promise of a good life to all.

Following his talk, there will be a panel discussion and Q&A of local experts to consider implications of climate migrants in Missoula and Montana.

Following the Q&A, there will be a reception at the Mansfield Center, and Todd will be signing copies of his latest book, Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the U.S. Border Around the World.

This talk is co-sponsored by Climate Smart Missoula, the Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, the UM College of Humanities and Sciences, the UM Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism graduate program, and the UM Climate Change Studies Program.

It is made possible through support of our above sponsors and generous grants from Humanities Montana and Thrivent Financial.

When: April 1st, 2019 6:30-8:30 pm

Where: University Center Theater @ University of Montana

Todd Miller is the author of two other books: Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security, and Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security, which won the 2018 Izzy Award for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. He has spent the last 17 years researching, writing, and working on immigration and border issues from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico divide. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Mother Jones, TomDispatch, The Nation, San Francisco Chronicle, In These Times, Guernica, and Al Jazeera English, among other publications. He’s a contributing editor on border and immigration issues for NACLA Report on the Americas and its column “Border Wars”.

We are very excited to welcome him to Missoula for this important and timely conversation.