Flathead Lake International Cinemafest

Polson, Montana – February 24-26, 2023 • Encore screenings Feb. 26-Mar. 2, 2023

The Flathead Lake International Cinemafest (FLIC) is home to breathtaking vistas of a clear blue lake at the base of majestic Mission Mountains. Beyond the great location, FLIC has become a Destination Film Festival for filmmakers from across the country and globe.

Starting the last weekend of February, 2023, FLIC will be celebrating its 11th year of presenting a broad slate of domestic and international films. Whether you’re a filmmaker or a film lover, make plans to enter or attend this exciting winter event in picturesque Polson, Montana.

Filmmaker Testimonials

Filmmakers share what makes FLIC a destination film festival:

The FLIC festival is an incredibly special experience. We can’t say enough about how welcoming the people of Polson are to filmmakers. It was a true community experience. David and Jessica are stellar festival organizers and passionate about bringing people together for well curated films. After 25 plus festivals over 18 months, FLIC stands out as our best overall experience. We greatly appreciate the festival, the Kings and community of Polson.

Kathy Kuras, Producer/Director

We LOVED attending and having our film screen at FLIC 2022! Jessica and David are awesome festival organizers and really great people. The location (Polson, Montana) was a dream and we will definitely try and come back. Met some lovely filmmakers and the local Polson community audience was so receptive and engaged with our film and our Q&A.

Golden Cage Films

We really enjoyed FLIC even with all the COVID restrictions. But the Kings kept us safe and we had an opportunity to network with great filmmakers and even distributors. Comms were great! Theatre was brand new. Great having our world premiere close to home and on the big screen.

TA Opre, Director/Writer

Thank you, FLIC, Jessica, and David! Working with you was such a pleasure, every interaction was kind and professional. The entire process of submitting and screening our film was so smooth, I couldn’t recommend this festival enough. We look forward to hopefully working with you again in the future, and to easier/safer travel and healthier times! Best, -The crew of Xylem, the Heart of the Tree ”

Emily Rund, Director

Thank you very much for selecting our documentary, it was wonderful being part of such amazing Film Festival. I highly recommend all filmmakers to apply, and I look forward to participate soon again. I want to add a quote here from David Mirisch, whose life was portrayed in our documentary: “I was honored to attend in person the first screening of the documentary on my life at the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest in Polson, Montana. Thanks to David and Jessica King for bringing it for the very first time to the ‘big screen. Everyone in the audience seemed to enjoy it and at the end we got a standing ovation.”

Anselmo Martini, Producer

Such an amazing festival! The team did a great job with ensuring COVID precautions were taken and I’m honestly just so grateful there was an in person festival. Getting to see great movies in a theater and meet other filmmakers and community members was wonderful! Thank you David and Jessica for putting this all together!

Eleanor Wells, Writer/Director

FLIC was a really wonderful experience. It’s a smaller festival with a real sense of warmth, enthusiasm and community. David and Jessica, the co-founders of the festival, were great communicators and incredibly hospitable. I had great conversations with other filmmakers, and the scenery can’t be beat. Looking forward to returning!

Michael Schwartz, Writer/Producer/Director

FLIC was an amazing expereince. The festival had a wonderful program with amazing films, they took care of us, the audience was engaged and attentive and our screening had a full house. Jessica and David, who are in charge of the festival are fellow filmmakers , and they really make this a heartfelt filmmakers festival.

Jim & Sam, Co-Writers/Producers/Directors

Wow, what a great festival! Everyone involved with the festival was wonderful to work with and the venue is a very cool independent theater, which I’m told is being remodeled this year. The audiences were incredibly engaged and extremely welcoming. We had a really wonderful Q&A after our film screening. Also, it’s one of the most beautiful areas I’ve had the pleasure of traveling to. I’m hoping to make a summer trip up there because it’s just amazing. It’s not the biggest festival or in the biggest city, but it’s one I will most certainly be entering future films into, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a festival that truly loves the craft of filmmaking and the filmmakers who put so much effort into their films. Keep up the good work FLIC!

Jimmy Boratyn, Writer/Producer/Director

Lovely people who were very patient and calm during our hectic submission process. They really watch the films and value the time spent by filmmakers. In that sense, although they are very professional, they are in touch with their heart and select the films by heart. Usually it is said that you need to know people from the festival world to get into a festival, we didn’t know anybody. We couldn’t join the festival since we were in Istanbul but we wish we could. Thank you, we are honored for being a part of your festival.

Director Stare Yildirim, Instanbul, Turkey

A filmmaker’s film festival! Jessica and David are the most wonderful hosts who treat filmmakers and their films with great care and respect. Well organized from beginning to end. The setting is gorgeous and because the festival is relatively small, it gave us a chance to meet and network with many other filmmakers and audience members. I highly recommend for anyone who is selected to attend. 5 stars.

Paula Mozen, Producer/Director

Loved this festival ! Had such an amazing time networking with other filmmakers & watching great films… David & Jessica put on a world class show!

Charles Moore, Writer/Director

One of the best film festivals I’ve ever attended. Efficiently run in a beautiful location by a super friendly staff.

Cynthia Wikler, Writer/Producer/Director

My second year attending the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest and yes I will try to go again next year. This has become one of my favorites for a number of reason but I’ll list just one: real audiences. So many film festivals have audiences that are comprised mostly of other filmmakers. FLIC has lots of people from the local community attending who just want to watch indie films. I’ve never had so many people come up to me after leaving the theatre to tell me how much they enjoyed my film – and that was nice. Well organized and friendly.

Writer/Director Ray Nomato Robison, Medford, OR

Was great to attend FLIC again for the second time. The crew that put on this festival was nothing short of spectacular and I had a great time showing my film. Polson is a wonderful small town and the community seemed very supportive of the festival and each showing I attended was nearly full! Great work and I definitely plan on coming back again!

Colter Olmstead, Director

We attended FLIC for the first time this year. All the way up to the festival we held constant communication with Jessica who is fantastic. The scenery is truly breathtaking. Everything about this festival is great. People know who you are when you arrive, the audience is engaged and participatory, and the theatre reminds me of my hometown where I first saw many of my favorite movies. The receptions, the Q&As, the after events, everything was a blast. We will definitely be submitting our next project to FLIC again and you should too!

Johnny Ventimiglia, Writer/Director