GREAT FALLS — More than two decades after Derek Dowson last wore No. 40 for Great Falls High, his story is still taking the field. And it's also headed to the big screen.
A film crew was at Memorial Stadium during Great Falls High's Homecoming game Friday, capturing game action, fans and the atmosphere for Number 40, a feature film inspired by Dowson's story and the legacy created in his memory following his tragic 2005 death in a farming accident.
WATCH: LOCAL FILMMAKER PRODUCING DEREK DOWSON MOVIE
The film is being written and directed by Stu Brumbaugh, a Great Falls native who has spent nearly three decades in the film industry, working on projects including John Wick, The Unholy Trinity and numerous television productions.
Brumbaugh said he returned to Montana wanting to tell stories rooted in his home state. Derek's story found him through Dowson's sister, Nicole Marchion.
"When she sent the project over to me, I just fell in love with the whole story of the family," Brumbaugh said.
Marchion had spent more than a year researching and writing about her brother, interviewing more than 20 people in the process. After finishing the story for her publication the Montana Edit, she shared it with Brumbaugh, whom she had met earlier in the year.
A few days later, he called her.
"He was really interested and had already actually started on the screenplay and wanted to write a full screenplay," Marchion said.
Derek died at age 16, before getting the chance to play his junior football season at Great Falls High. In the years since, his No. 40 has become one of the Bison football program's most meaningful traditions.
Each season since 2016, the jersey is entrusted to a player who represents the qualities associated with Derek — including humility, leadership, work ethic, compassion and selflessness.
Marchion said watching players who never knew her brother continue that tradition has been especially meaningful.
"They didn't know him, but they understand, and they share so many characteristics," Marchion said. "Just all great, great people doing great things."
Capturing the real thing
Brumbaugh and his crew are still early in the filmmaking process.
Rather than trying to recreate every part of a high school football game later, the crew is filming actual Great Falls High games now. Brumbaugh said the goal is to capture authentic action, crowd reactions and atmosphere that would be difficult to reproduce.
The production can later return with actors to shoot tighter scenes needed for the film.
Brumbaugh said the project has become particularly personal. He has a son around the same age as Derek was, and said the story resonated with him both as a filmmaker and as a parent.
"I feel a sense of duty to tell Derek's story," Brumbaugh said. "And I think that it'll help the community itself by showing that Great Falls is something really special."
The production is still raising money and seeking community partners, sponsors, locations and other support as work on the film continues.
For Marchion, the growing reach of Derek's story also means something closer to home. Her children never had the opportunity to meet their uncle, but through the stories they've heard, she said they have come to know him in their own way.
"They talk about him as if they know him from all the things they've heard," Marchion said. "So it's really, really cool."
More than 20 years after Derek's death, Marchion said the staying power of his legacy is a reflection not only of her brother, but of the people who have continued to carry his memory forward.
"If you do right by people and you're a nice person, that can in itself be your legacy," she said.
