BOISE, Idaho — Hollywood is heading for the hills, the Boise foothills that is.
While the area has seen film festivals come through, Thursday night will be the first year for the Boise Film Festival.
What makes it different?
Husband and wife duo and executive directors of the festival come from Hollywood.
After no action for TV and movie producers in 2023, it put Mark and Christine Holder on hold.
The two thought they'd roll the credits on film and art culture after leaving Hollywood, but there was a surprising twist.
"Our industry went on strike last year and we were unable to do anything except chase our four kids around the house," Mark Holder said. "We thought, well how could we do something that contributes to the community and maybe marry our day job and use access relationships that we had in Hollywood for 28 years, and with our new community life we've had here for four and half years, and so the idea popped up of let's do a film festival."
"When we got here we were so encouraged by the amount of just enrichment in the arts that the city supports," Christine Holder said.
The talent is here, as filmmakers in Boise are showing up to showcase what they've got.
A game above entertainment executive producer, Tyler Nimmons, said they followed the Idaho Steelheads in their docuseries called 'ECHL Unfiltered'.
After a historic run in the 2022 season, the series follows the team during the 2023 season in five episodes.
"You watch such a fast furious game, and then these guys at the end of the day is they are good human beings, so the biggest takeaway for me coming out of it was really just how to be a better person," Nimmons said. "To be able to showcase that and showcase the support that Boise has for it's team and that the love that the players have for the fans, I love it, it's great."
Nimmons lives in Boise and says he felt like the ECHL teams needed to be highlighted and that he always likes to start local with his ideas.
The NHL network agreed with that idea, picking up the series, and that's where you can watch it along with at the Boise film festival.
That's where you can also watch Boise filmmaker Eric Esau's movie, Saturn.
It's a science fiction film, shot in the pacific northwest about a family living in a small seaside town.
Their lives are upended when a planet appears on a collision course with earth and the husband is the only one who can stop it.
It took four years to create this.
"We had four inches above record rainfall, there was a tornado in the town over, there was snow, hurricane grade winds, it got crazy, we weren't able to finish filming the movie, we got 3/4's of the way through," Esau said.
Covid added in even more drama, but they kept the story rolling and now it's finally taking center stage.
"It feels so good for it to be finished, it feels so good for other people to see it, you know it's not just sitting on a hard drive anymore," Esau said.
The Boise Film Festival is casting more opportunities for locals and the filmmakers hope it produces inspiration for the next generation of talent.
"my hope for people who are just getting into film is just to keep going, don't give up, keep chipping away at it," Esau said.
"I hope that next generation of filmmakers come here to the film festival and be inspired and go, I want to do that, I want to make that because there is a lot of talent here and it just continues to grow," Nimmons said.
Thursday's event starts at 6pm, where the Idaho Steelheads are signing autographs.
You can watch the first part to the docuseries about the Steelheads and it continues through the weekend with master classes and a big gala on Sunday.
All access passes are $195 and film only passes are $65.