The archive is gone. This is the year itself — every story in this issue was released, filmed, or held in 2026: new series, new films, eleven festivals, and the industry fights behind them.
A new first family arrived in Montana television this year. The Madison premiered March 14, 2026, with Michelle Pfeiffer leading the Clyburns from Madison Avenue to the Madison River Valley — and the valley on screen is the real one, filmed where the story lives. Our cover story traces the year's biggest Montana premiere.
Submit your project to Film Feed for potential coverage — reviews, interviews, spotlights, and Project of the Week consideration. Free, and you keep your copyright.
New to the 2026 issue? Start with the five stories that define the year — the new first family, the marshal, the vampire western, the shoot that stopped a town, and the festival Bozeman finally got.
News-style stories from 2026 — a record-fast renewal, a first-ever Montana award, a hometown premiere, a grant renewed. Dated, factual, and sourced like everything else in this issue.
The essential stories of 2026, ranked by our editors — every pick opens its full researched story, sources and all. Disagree with the order? Good. The Big Vote is further down the page.
Every entry was released, filmed, or held in 2026. Tap any card to read it in full — headline, lede, the verified facts, a real photo of the place, and an honest read time computed from the story's actual length.
Two ways to get involved. The Film Finder picks your next watch from this issue's 2026 stories in three questions; the Big Vote takes on the year's most arguable question.
Eight real places from this year's reporting — each one tied to a specific 2026 production or event, not a postcard.
The Madison's first season filmed in the valley itself — the river corridor from Yellowstone country north to Three Forks, Ennis included.
The constructed 1870s western town near Chico Hot Springs where The Wolf and the Lamb shot its mining-camp horror.
Pawn Shop's fall 2026 shoot — pyrotechnics, closures, a suspended permit, a six-hour hearing, and a finished film.
Marshals' base: the Ontario Mine as HQ, the Boneyard Saloon as the Bullet 'n Barrel, plus Coalville, Heber City, and Morgan.
The fictional home of Dutton Ranch — a 7,000-acre fresh start for Beth and Rip, set and filmed in Texas after a Montana wildfire.
Three 2026 festivals in two rooms: Big Sky (February), IWFF (April), and the Montana Film Festival (October).
The art-deco palace's centennial year hosted the 26th Fargo Film Festival — and Josh Duhamel's Preschool premiere.
Sandpoint's festival turned a whole town into a venue map — five crawl stops by day, the Panida Theater for premiere and closing nights.
2026 kept the tradition alive: Montana stories shot in other states, other cities playing Montana hometowns. We label them that way — because the distinction is the story.
Kayce Dutton polices the Montana range; the cameras worked Morgan, Summit, and Wasatch counties, Utah — drawn by the state's rural film incentive.
The Clyburns' Madison Avenue world was built in Dallas and Fort Worth; the Montana half of the series filmed in the real Madison River Valley.
Beth and Rip's story begins with a Montana wildfire and rebuilds in South Texas — set and filmed in Texas, with one small Montana parcel holding the thread home.
Accuracy beats completeness. These open questions are stated plainly rather than filled in:
All 11 verified 2026 festivals across the five states — February to December. Tap any festival to read its full story.
Dates shift year to year — confirm on each festival's official site before you book travel or submit. Edition dates above are as researched on October 29, 2026.
The year's verified highlights, state by state — an honest map of where 2026 actually happened.
The home beat
A festival saved
Festivals & shorts
Fargo's big year
Rapid City programs
Emily and Dave Schuman's short follows the King Arthur Flour team staffing a hotline for baking emergencies — and it world-premiered at The Wilma during Big Sky 2026, in front of one of the sharpest documentary audiences in the West.
Want your short featured? Pitch us with a link, runtime, town where you shot, and one still. We feature a Montana or Northern Rockies short every week.
Tell us about your film, series, screenplay, or video. Submissions are read by the Film Feed desk for possible reviews, interviews, creator spotlights, and the Project of the Week. Fields marked required are the minimum we need to consider a project — everything else is optional.
Not a news story — a standing resource for filmmakers, separate from the dated coverage above. Everything here comes from the Montana Film Office (Montana Department of Commerce) and its official pages, linked on every card. Checked October 29, 2026; programs, cycles, and rules change, and the official pages govern.
Created in 1974, Commerce's Film Office works inside the Department's Destination MT Division and is funded by an allocation of the Lodging Facility Use Tax — the “bed tax.” It promotes Montana as a location for films, television, documentaries, videos, and print and digital advertising shoots, and partners with filmmakers, producers, videographers, and photographers as a liaison through every phase of a project — connecting productions with talent, crews, locations, and support services across the state.
The grant builds partnerships with filmmakers and production companies to create film industry jobs across Montana, and to elevate Montana filmmakers, crew, and the businesses that serve productions. To qualify, a production must film 50% or more of its principal photography days in Montana.
Sources: BSFG Application Guidelines (PDF) · Commerce award announcement
Permits in Montana come from the agencies and land managers behind each location — and the Film Office is the productions' guide through them. Per its Mission and Services page, producers can depend on the office to help navigate permitting and understand regulation processes, and its liaison team assists with the permitting process for federal, state, city, county, and tribal agencies. Start with the office before you scout a contract, not after.
The Film Office maintains a comprehensive list of film summits and educational opportunities for filmmakers, and publishes industry reports on Montana's screen economy — including an economic impact analysis of film production and the MEDIA Act prepared for the state by Econsult Solutions. These live on the official site and are updated there, not here.
Sources: Montana Film Office — official home · MEDIA Act economic impact analysis (PDF)
Montana Department of Commerce — Film Office · 301 S. Park Avenue, P.O. Box 200533, Helena, MT 59620-0533
Phone: 406-841-2876 · Toll-free: 800-553-4563 · Big Sky Film Grant assistance: 406-841-2883
Email: montanafilm@mt.gov · Web: commerce.mt.gov — Montana Film Office (also montanafilm.com)
Contact details as published in the Film Office's Big Sky Film Grant Application Guidelines.
Film Feed is an independent magazine and is not affiliated with the Montana Film Office or the State of Montana. This page summarizes and links the office's official resources; if a detail here and an official page ever disagree, the official page is right.