5 Films To See At Milwaukee Film Festival
Of 250 choices in entire festival here are five picks for every day this week.
“Peak Season” still. Image provided.
The 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival is here, and with it more than 250 choices of what to see.
Looking for more? The film festival runs from April 20 through May 4. A full guide is available online.
Monday: The Milwaukee Show
The showpiece of the Cream City Cinema series and Milwaukee’s film community. The one-night-only Milwaukee Show is a series of shorts made by local filmmakers. The eight shorts scheduled for this year include documentaries, music videos and fiction. The filmmakers and the subjects of the shorts are scheduled to attend and participate in brief question-and-answer sessions.
April 24 – 6:15 p.m. – Oriental Theatre Abele Cinema
Tuesday: “Peak Season”
The film festival is far from only about locally-made work. “Peak Season” is part of the North American Independents series, a collection of feature-length fiction films with broad appeal. The film currently boasts a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
New York yuppies Amy and Max arrive in resort town Jackson Hole, WY for summer vacation. When Max is called away on business, Amy finds a friend in Loren, a local wilderness guide. They spend the week together exploring the Tetons. Both lonely and lost in their own lives, Amy and Loren share an instant connection. As her bond with Loren grows into something more than friendship, Amy questions whether she’ll return to NYC with Max after all.
April 25 – 8:30 p.m. – Oriental Theatre Lubar Cinema (additional screening on May 4)
Wednesday: “How To Blow Up A Pipeline”
A fictional eco-thriller, “How To Blow Up A Pipeline,” will grab some attention solely because of the mysterious September 2022 underwater bombings of the Nordstream pipelines between Russia and Germany. But the film is set in West Texas, not the Baltic Sea, and is about environmental activism and morality, not geopolitical conflict.
A crew of young environmental activists executes a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline in this taut and timely thriller, part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of the climate crisis. “Based on last year’s controversial manifesto by Andreas Malm…director Daniel Goldhaber‘s fictionalized adaptation firmly puts the “how” back in the book’s title in thrillingly dramatizing what these actions could and probably should look like.” (Slant Magazine)
April 26 – 6:45 p.m. – Times Cinema – Trailer
Thursday: “Metropolis” featuring the Anvil Orchestra
Here’s something you’ll never experience on your couch. Performing live in the Oriental Theatre, the Anvil Orchestra will accompany the silent science fiction film “Metropolis.” The film was ranked as the 67th-best film of all time in the 2022 Sight and Sound critics poll.
April 27 – 7:30 p.m. – Oriental Theatre Abele Cinema – Trailer
Friday: “Hundreds of Beavers”
Want something a little weird? “Hundreds of Beavers” might be just that film for you. Part of the Cream City Cinema and Cinema Hooligante series, the black-and-white film includes no dialogue and a 19th-century aesthetic. “Hundreds of Beavers” is a follow-up piece from the team that created “Lake Michigan Monster,” which played at the festival in 2018.
Set in the 19th century, Hundreds of Beavers follows a drunken applejack salesman who wakes up one morning to realize an army of beavers is taking down the entire forest. So, he decides to do what any hero would do and wages a one-man war against hundreds of furry enemies who’ll stop at nothing while building the biggest dam in history. – Collider
April 28 – 9:30 p.m. – Oriental Theatre Abele Cinema – Trailer (additional screening May 2)
Looking for a weekend guide or a list for next week? You can browse the film guide yourself or keep your eyes peeled for future coverage.
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