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Big Bear Film Festival to Launch in September, Led by Former Outfest Director Damien Navarro
The Big Bear Film Festival — formerly known as the Green Jack International Film Festival — is launching September 24-29, the brainchild of the newly inaugurated Big Bear Film Institute. The famed California mountaintop destination, which has been seen in numerous films and television shows dating back a century, will host what the BBFI is calling a 'boundary breaking celebration' that encompasses not just film, but animation, podcasting, gaming, stand-up comedy, Indigenous storytelling, experimental sound design, and AI.
CEO Damien S. Navarro, who previously served as the executive director of Outfest, noted that over 400 titles have used Big Bear as a backdrop, including 'Magnolia,' 'The Last of the Mohicans,' 'Creep,' 'Gone with the Wind,' and 'Old Yeller.'
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'Its alpine terrain has doubled for the Rockies, Appalachians, and even European forests —making it one of the most versatile and under-celebrated locations in film history,' Navarro said.
Festival features include a 'Peak Pitch' marketplace for original projects to connect with potential buyers, a 'Music Village & Audio Pavillion' lakeside retreat, an expo for gaming and animation content, an outdoor and drone cinematography showcase, and plans for a future 5-day 'Alpine Story Lab' residency.
'The Big Bear Film Festival is unapologetically built for the next generation of storytelling,' Navarro told IndieWire. 'Attendees can expect an eclectic mix: elevated genre films, climate-forward documentaries, Indigenous and Latinx voices, immersive experiences, gaming [and] animation showcases, audio storytelling, and outdoor/adventure films. We're especially excited about spotlighting IP across mediums — from podcasts to graphic novels to AI-created narratives.'
Navarro added that BBFI wasn't just launching a festival; 'we're launching a movement.'
'Backed by the newly formed Big Bear Film Institute and Film Office, this is a year-round ecosystem for creators and culture-shifters,' he explained. 'With partners like Utopia, we're planting a flag for what a future-forward, community-rooted film culture can look like. Think Sundance-meets-SXSW with boots, brains, and a view.'
BBFI's partner Utopia was founded by Robert Schwartzman in 2018.
'Our mission at Utopia has not only been to support how independent films reach audiences through direct acquisitions and full distribution support, but to provide filmmakers with alternative, empowering self-distribution tools and to challenge our industry by providing additional meaningful, viable outlets for monetization,' Schwartzman said in a press release. 'Partnering with the Big Bear Film Institute and Festival allows us to do exactly that — giving a range of creators and distributors a meaningful new environment to engage and launch their work within an energized and thoughtful community.'
For information, sponsorships, and submissions, visit the festival's website.
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