Pictures for Pinky: Gallatin High junior to debut Livingston film festival in honor of great aunt

Bridger Warner grew up roaming Livingston’s Empire Twin Theatre in the same way many kids explore playgrounds. Operated by his late aunt Margaret “Pinky” Warner, the Empire will serve as the venue for Warner’s inaugural Pinky’s Film Festival, named to honor the “most generous” person he’s known.

“She was the movie theater person in my family,” Warner said. “She let me have free rein at the theater when I was younger. She let me sell concessions, play with the projector all the time, and learn to operate all the systems.”

Warner remembers Pinky as a charismatic and caring community builder. Before the theater, Pinky ran a pie business in Livingston, selling her goods for “exceptionally low” prices. Even when the Empire’s profit margins dipped, Pinky kept its doors and her arms wide open.

It was last May, while attending Alzar, a leadership and kayaking school in Chile, that Warner first got the idea to host a film festival. The semester capstone required students to host a community event to help address an issue or accomplish something to better the community.

“With my background in film, I thought, ‘Why not put on a film festival? Why not bring creatives together and give them a place where they can network and find an environment where they can help progress their careers?’,” Warner said.

Admission for the May 6 festival is pay-what-you-can, and proceeds will benefit the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts, a Livingston community arts center. Screenings will start at 6 p.m., and the event will conclude at 8:30 p.m.

The festival will feature seven films, all created by Montanans. Ranging from works by amateurs to professional producers, Warner hopes the festival will bring together film lovers across the region.

“It’s a festival for people who really enjoy films, want to see what future Montana filmmakers are going to look like, and enjoy supporting community artists,” he said.

The lineup features the short documentary “Cowboy” by Andrew Preston and Matt Wheat, which follows a bull rider striving to reach the top; “Come Out, Wherever You Are” by Caitlin Presberg and Dan Burns, centered on a man’s search for solidarity; and Warner’s own “One Last Game,” filmed at Bozeman’s Cousin’s Pub and chronicling a game of billiards.

“It’s a very diverse festival environment. We’ve got multiple award-winning films as well as films from student filmmakers,” Warner said. “We didn’t really discriminate at all with genre or theme; we just focused on films that would entertain people and show off their skills.”

Warner is approaching the inaugural Pinky’s Film Festival as a “trial run.”

While the idea for the festival was his own, and he did a lot of the organizing himself, Bridger said he received a plethora of support from his parents, friends, and Montana PBS, which helped connect him to production resources.

In addition to organizing the film festival, Warner runs track for GHS and produces political ads for Plazby Solutions, his father Tim Warner Jr.’s advertising, video production and communications firm.

Under his father’s guidance, Warner works on production for several political campaigns, including those of U.S. House candidates Russell Cleveland, a Democrat running in western Montana, and Michael Eisenhauer, an independent running in eastern Montana.

“I’m earning my keep in the household by doing some editing work and the majority of his film production,” Warner said.

While Warner said his heart lies with making narrative films, he said the industry is developing in a way that is making pursuing narrative filmmaking increasingly difficult.

“It seems to be a niche that is so exclusive, especially with how the money is working out, that not many people are able to get into the narrative filmmaking world unless they come from that background,” Warner said.

Because of this, he is turning his eyes toward marketing.

“I really like being able to share a story with people that’s going to have a direct effect in their community,” Warner said. “That’s why I’ve really enjoyed making political ads.”

With senior year still ahead of him, Warner already has his eyes set on pursuing production as a career.

“It’s what I’ve found enjoyable,” he said. “It’s what I can do the best in, and it’s what I’m best at.”

But like his late great-aunt Pinky, Warner keeps his focus beyond himself, looking to uplift the community of filmmakers around him.

“In my family, it’s always been a really strong pillar to work our asses off in any way we can,” Warner said. “I’ve taken that to heart and worked off their example to just do as much good as I can.”