Festival season comes early this year

It has been roughly 6 months since Milwaukee Film (MF) graced us with its unforgettable debut in September. In its first official year, the festival offered a slew of amazing films and hosted a pretty impressive opening night gala. The 11-day fest was a whirlwind of hot parties, eclectic films, incredible sponsors, intriguing Q & A’s and the icing on the cake – Mr. Martin Landau, ladies and gentlemen.

The festival drew a crowd of approximately 20,000 people and 2010’s Fall festival looks even more promising. But that’s months away, and some of us are experiencing film withdrawal. Luckily, the dedicated folks at Milwaukee Film are offering a special mid-year festival to sate our cravings. The Winter Edition kicks  off this Friday, March 12 and will run through March 18.

I had a chance to catch up with MF Program Coordinator T.J. Fackelman about their upcoming series and he gave TCD everything you need to know about the Winter Edition program. The 10 films that T.J. and  Executive Director Jonathan Jackson selected are tailored to suit a variety of diverse tastes and personalities. For your viewing pleasure, the staff at Milwaukee Film makes these recommendations:

Pulp cinema gurus: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Fresh faces in film making: Fish Tank
Animal lovers: Mine
Actions fans: Red Cliff
Political junkies: Collapse
Arts aficionados: La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
Humor enthusiasts: The Maid
The whole family: A Town Called Panic
Fan of cinema classics: Lola Montes
Documentary seekers: Which Way Home

The Winter Edition’s format is similar to that of the Fall festival. A few of the showings will offer Q&A sessions in North Shore’s Take 5 lounge, where audience members can enjoy a libation while chatting with directors, producers and other audience members about their thoughts on the film.

Director Q&A session schedule:

Friday, March 12

5:40 p.m. – La Danse
Odette Hughes (Artistic Director of Random Dance)
Antoine Vereecken (Esteemed dancer with Random Dance)

Saturday, March 13

2:30 p.m. – Mine
Alley Pezanoski-Browne (Associate Producer & Field Producer)

5:00 p.m. – Which Way Home
Rebecca Cammisa (Director)
Jack Turner (Executive Producer; also Producer of Racing Dreams – Debut film of ’09 MF Festival)

7:15 p.m. – Collapse
Chris Smith (Director)

It’s no surprise that plenty of the films in the Winter Edition have ties to Milwaukee.  Some of the participating Milwaukee locals are Whitefish Bay graduate Jack Turner (Which Way Home) and Geralyn Pezanoski (Director, Mine), a graduate of UW-Milwaukee. Also, Chris Smith (Collapse) is a prominent Milwaukeean.

North Shore Cinema will show Winter Edition films on two screens beginning at noon, and most of the films screen everyday of the festival. Advance ticket purchase is recommended online, through Milwaukee Film’s website or at Marcus North Shore Cinema.

It won’t be much longer until Milwaukee Film’s fabulous 11-day  festival consumes the streets of Milwaukee, but in the meantime be sure to clear some room in your calendar and satiate your withdrawal with MF’s Winter Edition. Enjoy some great films, take in a a drink or two and chat with the brains behind the scenes.  TCD will offer a cornucopia of coverage of the festival, with reviews and more throughout, so check back often between now and next Thursday.