Montana-Centered Projects Win Western Heritage Awards

Two Montana-centered film projects won Western Heritage Awards earlier this month at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The museum annually awards western literature, photography, poetry, magazine, music, and in this case, Film and Television.

A television presentation about artist Charlie Russell from MontanaPBS won the Documentary category and an episode from the "Yellowstone" series won the Fictional Drama award.

"Charlie Russell's Old West" was the story of western artist Charlie Russell and his role in capturing the lifestyle of the cowboy and Native Americans. The film provided details of how Charlie and his wife, Nancy, brought his art to a national audience in the early 1900s. The film's director and co-producer Gus Chambers and writer/co-producer Paul Zalis received the award at the museum's award luncheon. MontanaPBS is a service of the University of Montana and Montana State University.

Also honored in the Film and Television category was an episode of the "Yellowstone" series, with major filming in Montana. The Fictional Drama award went to episode 8 of season 3, "I Killed A Man today," written by Taylor Sheridan. Kevin Costner stars in the series which airs its next season this fall. The production company has done much of its filming in Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley, with more filming scheduled for next year.

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The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is a premier institution of Western history and culture. Since 1955 the organization has amassed a collection of Western art and artifacts. It also produces educational programs about the American West. Each year, it inducts people into The Hall of Great Westerners, Hall of Great Western Performers and Rodeo Hall of Fame. The museum also awards Western Heritage Awards for the creative arts annually.