A documentary on skateparks, community building, and Montana skate culture, featuring music by Jeff Ament and selected for Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2026.
After more than eleven years in the making, Montana Grind is finally ready to be seen. Directed, filmed, and edited by Danilo dos Reis (aka Dan Reis), the documentary has been officially selected for the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2026, one of the most important documentary festivals in the American West and an Academy Awards–qualifying event.
The festival will take place in Missoula, Montana, from February 13 to 22, 2026, marking a major milestone for a film that captures a real skateboarding scene as it was happening—and becoming history.
Eleven years of skateparks and real community
Montana Grind was filmed between 2014 and 2025 across more than 30 skateparks throughout the state of Montana. The film shows how skateboarding can be much more than a sport, becoming a powerful tool for community building, protection, and personal growth, especially in rural areas and Native communities that often lack the resources to create safe gathering spaces.
The documentary makes it clear that a skatepark is not just concrete and transitions, but a social hub that gives young people purpose, safety, and a sense of belonging. One of the film’s core goals is to inspire small towns to come together, build skateparks, and experience the long-term benefits across generations.
A standout example is Box Elder, Montana: population 87, world-class skatepark. From the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains, across ranch land and tribal territories, Montana Grind shows how diverse and deeply rooted skate culture is across the Big Sky State.
Jeff Ament and the soundtrack
A key part of Montana Grind is the involvement of Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam bassist and longtime Montana skater shaped by the state’s explosive skate scene of the 1970s. Ament composed the film’s soundtrack under the name Jeff Diction, a pseudonym he first used with his hardcore band Deranged Diction and now also uses with P.E.S.T.
The soundtrack features original music written specifically for the film, along with tracks from Ament’s solo catalog. According to Dan Reis, Jeff’s role went far beyond music, helping suggest interviews, connect people, and support the project in ways that were essential to making the film happen.
Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2026 selection
Announcing the selection, Dan Reis described the moment as especially meaningful. Big Sky is not only the most important documentary festival in the region, but it is also an Academy Awards–qualifying event, giving Montana Grind increased international visibility.
Reis also thanked the Montana Skatepark Association and the broader Montana community that made this scene possible, along with the many friends and collaborators he met along the journey since 2014.
Montana Grind is scheduled for release in 2026. The official trailer hints at a documentary that goes far beyond skateboarding, exploring themes of identity, belonging, and cultural resilience. Rooted deeply in Montana and its people, the film places Jeff Ament once again at the heart of a story where skateboarding, music, and community intersect in an honest and lasting way.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Mark Lanegan, R.E.M., Radiohead, Cat Power, Dead Kennedys