Covellite International Film Festival

About the Festival

Founded in 2015 by Don Andrews and Brian Boyd, who broke down in Butte while filming a road trip movie, CIFF has built a down-home filmmaker community from the ground up. Over our first five years, we showcased 600+ films from 36 countries, transforming historic Uptown Butte venues into spaces for unforgettable storytelling.

After a dormant period for the Festival and for the Covellite Theatre, Covellite Presents 501c3 has blossomed into a creative community hub under new direction by Demetrius Fassas and team since 2023. Don Andrews returned as Programming Director to begin the CIFF reboot in 2024, with a new CIFF Director Ainsley Sevier.

Now managed by a team of Covellite staff & volunteers, in 2026, the Covellite International Film Festival is following the vein back to its lode—honesty, resilience, and the everyman experience. CIFF continues to offer a multi-faceted gathering place where filmmakers and film lovers connect year after year, the people have a voice, and buyers discover candid, uncompromising works.

Forged in fire, built on solidarity—The Covellite International Film Festival is a place to come as you are and leave a little changed. No gatekeepers, just grit, goodwill, and A Vein of Truth.

Read more about the kinds of films and awards you’ll see at CIFF 2026: CLICK HERE.

Questions? Email Demetrius@CovellitePresents.org

CIFF 2026 lodging discounts

Finlen Hotel & Motor Inn, 0.4 miles from The Covellite, CLICK THIS LINK to book using promo code COVE10 (COVE and the number ten)

Best Western, 3.5 miles from The Covellite, CLICK THIS LINK to book at a special CIFF discount!

Thank you to our 2026 sponsors & partners:

2026 Festival Schedule

All Film Screenings followed by Live Q&A with Filmmakers

April 9th

Thursday

5 PM | Doors Open

5:30 Thursday Films:

Beau Ideal (1 hr 49 m) – In the stillness of a remote town, a troubled writer intervenes in a neighbor’s abusive household—testing the limits of truth, heroism and his own fractured sense of self.

Thursday Afterparty:

April 10th

Friday

12 PM | Doors Open

12:30 Friday Films:

What Rhymes with Magdalena? (1 hr 40 m) – The night before her wedding, a poet visits all her exes in order to figure out why her relationships always fail.

3:00 Friday Films:

F2020 (1 hr 12 m) – Confronted with a worldwide pandemic, daunting financial struggles, turbulent relationships, and creative obstacles, a talented Indiana artist struggles to survive.

6:00 Friday Films:

Step 6 (1 hr 10 m) – A quiet mechanic must outwit a mysterious maintenance man after a failed assassination attempt traps him in his shady boss’s apartment.

8:00 Friday Films:

Bloom (45 m) – Autumn struggles with her mental health and an overbearing mother. A new support group gives her hope, but something more to the group lies beneath the surface.

Cryptid Crisis (13 m) Supernatural comedy drama.

The Last Piece (17 m) Buddy cop.

Marina (17 m) Inspirational.

Total Section Length: 47 min

Friday Afterparty:

April 11th

Saturday

11 AM | Doors Open

11:30 Saturday Films:

A Lesser Gift (1 hr 25 m) – New parents’ relationship is tested when an American woman unexpectedly enters their lives in picturesque Ireland.

1:30 Saturday Short Films:

Ball Lightning (12 m) – Drama.

Imagine a Cave (9 m) – Philosophical.

Match Dance (4 m) – Experimental.

Go Down, Diller (23 m) – Surreal feel-good.

AMEROTICA (12 m) – Cult.

Release (13 m) – Dystopian.

The Last Advice (7 m) Cyberpunk.

Helezon Akışkan (10 m) Survival.

Total Section Length: 90 min

3:30 Saturday Films:

The Conversation (12 m) – A cold-case tip from an odd homeless man stuns a hard-boiled Detective.

Not If I See You First (1 hr 11 m) – While visiting Chicago for work, Kenny befriends Aaron—whose selective amnesia (and a mysterious car explosion!) tests their unlikely new friendship.

5:30 Saturday Films:

ON BORROWED TIME (1 hr 45 m) – After losing weight and reinventing himself, a medical student secretly reconnects with the woman who once broke his heart—only to find his quest for revenge turning into a journey of self-discovery.

8:00 Saturday Films:

Hekla (1 hr 28 m) – Hekla, a determined Chicago actress, races through auditions, breakups, and self-doubt over the course of one chaotic day, risking her heart and career to claim her voice and step fully into the artist and woman she’s meant to be.

Saturday AfterParties:

April 12th

Sunday

12 PM | Doors Open

Sunday Special Event:

3:30 Sunday Films:

Programmer’s Choice (1 hr) – Come and see what secrets our Covellite International Film Festival programmer has in store for his Sunday afternoon picks!

4:30 Sunday Films:

Ghost Fish (1 hr) – After escaping a lifetime of captivity beyond the veil, Isla Novak emerges into the world searching for her parents and finds temporary refuge with the kind owners of a tropical fish store—though the darkness she fled may still be following her.