It’s finally here – premiere night for “The Orphan Girl” short film.
A documentary celebrating Butte’s rugged mining history, the film starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Mother Lode Theater, 316 W. Park St.
For months, Chisel Industries of Bozeman, Courtney and John McKee of Headframe Spirits and the Montana Film Office have collaborated to film the realistic documentary as part of “The Spirit of Butte” campaign, an ongoing multi-media platform project.
The premiere is the result of summer days filming above and below ground, hiring local and relocated actors like Butte native Brick Patrick and raising $51,318 via a successful Kickstarter.com campaign, easily surpassing its $38,750 goal.
“We’re all really excited to see this come to life,” Director Yarrow Kraner told The Montana Standard on Wednesday. “The people around Montana have rallied together to bring this to life.”
The mission of the campaign is to increase national awareness for Butte while showcasing Butte mining history in conjunction with modern-day Montana success stories.
“No one in Missoula or Bozeman does this – builds a community like what we’re about to do in Butte,” said John McKee.
The overall campaign is made up of several media components, including the short film and a series of vignettes called “Butte Legends” and “Modern Mavericks.”
The project is designed to awaken the nation to Butte and Montana and to support business recruitment and local economic development, including tourism.