Yellowstone Film Festival to Honor Founder Jake Graham
Yellowstone Film Festival Announces Opening Night Celebration Featuring Tribute to Founder Jake Graham and Cody Centric-Films
The Yellowstone Film Festival will kick off its festival weekend on Friday, October 9, with an opening-night celebration highlighting Cody filmmakers, regional stories and a special tribute to festival founder Jake Graham.
The lineup for the second and third days of the festival, Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11 will be announced this week. Tickets will go on sale when the schedule is released.
Yellowstone Film Festival
October 9–11, 2026
Big Horn Cinemas, Cody, Wyoming
yellowstonefilmfest.org
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
Opening night begins at 6:00 p.m. sharp with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of Big Horn Cinemas, host and sponsor of the Yellowstone Film Festival. Guests will then move inside the theater for the evening’s film program.
At approximately 6:30 p.m., the festival will present a special tribute to Graham, celebrating his life, creative work and role in helping establish the Yellowstone Film Festival.
The tribute will include a music video featuring Graham performing one of his songs, followed by a short film Pyrrich in which he starred which was directed by Cody native Jared Iler. “I’m excited to bring Pyrrhic – a story of how we leave a legacy – back to Big Horn Cinemas,” says Iler. “Most of all, I’m honored to celebrate Jake and the legacy he continues to leave through his impact on storytelling, community, and the people he championed every step of the way. I’m honored to have my short film play a small role in the tribute to Jake. I think the film highlights Jake’s wide-ranging talents, and his willingness to help others carry out their vision.”
Festival Director Brett Straniere, Filmmaker & Festival Consultant Preston Randolph, and Bighorn Cinemas owner and sponsor of the festival, Tony Beaverson will offer remarks in Graham’s memory.
Following the tribute, the festival will turn its attention to the first official film of the 2026 Yellowstone Film Festival by another native Cody filmmaker, director Jarom Beardall, who will introduce his film, The Light Remains. Beardall states, “To be able to be included in a festival that’s in my hometown is so amazing to me, and to be the opening film adds to that tremendously. This film took a huge amount of work and passion, and to have it shown to the community where it was made makes little me very proud.”
His accolades include the following: Emmy award winner for Audio/Sound at the 2025 National Student Production Award for his short film, Fragmentary. With The Light That Remains, Beardall was selected as a Semi-finalist at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival, which is a BAFTA and Canadian Screen Award qualifying festival. The Light That Remains has won awards in multiple categories throughout film festivals around the country including, Best Short Film, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography. Best Director, and many more.
The evening will continue with a special sneak preview of “Where Ya Been? The Odyssey an Elegy of Luke Bell,” a documentary about Cody native and acclaimed singer-songwriter Luke Bell. The film is currently in the final stages of editing, giving Yellowstone Film Festival audiences a rare opportunity to see an exclusive 30-minute preview before the completed film is released. The filmmakers stated, “We’re honored to contribute to the Yellowstone Film Festival both in honor of Luke Bell and Jake Graham. Jake was a big supporter of our film and our hearts go out to his family. We’re excited to share a sneak peak of WHERE YA BEEN in Luke Bell’s hometown of Cody, Wyoming.”
Following the preview, the directors & producers of the film, Kevin Romeo and Matt Bakken will participate in a question-and-answer session with the audience to discuss Bell, the making of the documentary, and the film’s continuing journey toward completion.
Our Opening Night party will start immediately at nearby award-wining Cody Craft Brewing at 9:00 p.m.! Festival attendees and members of the Cody community are all invited to join the celebration which will include movie trivia night with prizes for the winners and special discounts on select items for festival-goers. Cody Craft Brewing is a partner and our home base throughout the festival. Festival attendees can enjoy multiple micro-beers on tap and delicious burgers and more plus pizza provided by in-house pizza makers WYO Dough! They are also family-friendly and are open for lunch! Please visit their website codycraftbrewing.com
The opening-night program reflects the Yellowstone Film Festival’s commitment to celebrating filmmakers and artists with connections to the tri-state region of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho as well as a number of award-winning filmmakers from throughout the United States.
A portion of the proceeds from the Yellowstone Film Festival will benefit the family of Jacob Graham.
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