Milwaukee Film Previews MFF26 Film Selections Alongside Official Festival Artwork

MILWAUKEE – Tuesday, March 10th – Milwaukee Film’s programming team is thrilled to reveal a first set of selections for the 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival (MFF26), presented by Associated Bank, which runs April 16-30. The 2026 installment is the 18th Milwaukee Film Festival, and this year’s carefully curated program reflects the depth and breadth of Festivals past, celebrates the return of beloved MFF traditions, and is anticipated to include nearly 250 short and feature-length documentary and fiction films from near and far.

Milwaukee Film’s Executive Director Susan Kerns said, “We’re overjoyed to announce this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival which will mark our 18th Film Festival birthday! Reaching our 18th year is an incredible milestone and a testament to the community that has supported the Milwaukee Film Festival since the beginning. To honor the Festival’s legacy while looking ahead to the great things to come, we’ve programmed over two weeks of tremendous cinematic events including world premieres, the best international films, some early sneak peaks, and classics like Buster Keaton’s The General with live musical accompaniment.” She continued, “The Festival has always been about more than just great movies—it’s about bringing together the community we love and celebrating what makes Milwaukee special.”

Accompanying this initial film announcement, Milwaukee Film is delighted to unveil this year’s Festival campaign artwork, beautifully produced by the talented artists at Northern Ground who also designed Milwaukee Film’s new branding and website, both of which launched this past January. The MFF26 artwork is an extension of the organization’s new branding, ushering in a new era for the Festival’s 18th year.

Initial film selections announced:

• Cookie Queens (dir. Alysa Nahmias, 2026, USA)
  It’s cookie season, and pressure is rising as four tenacious Girl Scouts strive not only to be top-sellers in their troops, but to simply get through the thousands of dollars of cookies that they’ve pledged to sell. Deadlines approaching, trophies on the line, TV appearances, questions of capitalism, no sugar-free cookies?! Doc Queen Alysa Nahmias crafts a sweetly profound documentary navigating the $800 million business in which girlhood and ambition collide.
• The General with Live Orchestra Accompaniment by Anvil Orchestra (dirs. Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman, 1926, USA)
  A beloved MFF tradition, Anvil Orchestra returns to the Oriental Theatre to celebrate the 100th birthday of Buster Keaton’s The General with live orchestra accompaniment. One of the most revered comedies of the silent era, this one-night-only musical screening is not to be missed.
• I Want Your Sex (dir. Gregg Araki, 2026, USA)
  When fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands a job with artist and provocateur Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde), his fantasies come true as she taps him to become her sexual muse. Elliot finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal, and murder. Director Gregg Araki captured the voice of a generation in the 90s and he’s using it to beg Gen Z to change their puritanical ways.
• Misan Harriman: Shoot the People (dir. Andy Mundy-Castlei, 2025, USA)
  Featuring conversations with Rep. Ilhan Omar and Martin Luther King III, this urgent and compelling documentary follows Nigerian-born British image-maker Misan Harriman, best known for his powerful photographs of grassroots protests against climate change inaction, Gaza atrocities, George Floyd’s murder, and more. However, even as his images provoke palpable reactions, as a self-described person of privilege, Harriman shares his doubts about his work’s effectiveness while reflecting on his life’s work.
• Obsession (dir. Curry Barker, 2026, USA)
  After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for, but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price. “A simple, well-trodden concept transforms into a shocking and unsettling descent into abject horror in Barker’s capable hands, ensuring that his latest is destined to become horror’s latest, well, obsession.” (Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting)
• Paper Trail, part of Shorts: Let’s Get Animated (dir. Don Herzfeldt, 2026, USA)
  One of many films in this year’s “Let’s Get Animated” program of short films, Don Hertzfeldt’s latest animated work was awarded the Short Film Special Jury Award: Creative Vision at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Paper Trail allows viewers to witness a life through paper, in this singular new creation from two-time Oscar-nominee Don Hertzfeldt.
• Powwow People (dir. Sky Hopinka, 2025, USA)
  A celebration of the overlapping arts of music, dance, food, and dress packed into the cultural tradition of the powwow, vérité-style documentary directed by MFF and UWM alum Sky Hopinka, Powwow People is grounded in the rhythms, relationships, and lived experience of a contemporary Native gathering. Rather than entering as outside observers, the filmmakers organized the powwow itself, inviting dancers, singers, vendors, and community members to participate in the making of this film.
• Stop Making Sense (dir. Jonathan Demme, 1984, USA)
  The return of a sacred MFF tradition! Make sure all aisles are clear for dancing as Jonathan Demme’s essential concert documentary chronicling multiple nights of propulsive performance from the iconic Talking Heads (including magnetic frontman David Byrne and Milwaukee’s own Jerry Harrison) is sure to burn down the house once again. A24’s new restoration of this iconic film gains momentum like a runaway freight train, the show (and Byrne’s iconic suit) only gets bigger as it rolls along.
• TheyDream (dir. William David Caballero, 2025, USA)
  After twenty years of chronicling his Puerto Rican family’s life and devastating losses, MFF alum William David Caballero seeks to remember and make sense of his family’s complicated relationship. Expanding on the multiple shorts he has created about his family and through laughter and tears, Caballero and his mother craft animations that mirror scenes from their lives. Winner of the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression at Sundance Film Festival, this autobiographical documentary is proof that every act of creation is also an act of letting go.
• What Does That Nature Say to You (dir. Hong Sang-Soo, 2025, South Korea)
  A young poet drops his girlfriend off at her parents’ house and is amazed by its grandeur. He bumps into her father, meets her mother and sister, and they all end up spending a long day together; fueled by conversation, food, and libations. In his 33rd feature, multi-MFF alum Hong Sang-soo spins a bitterly comic fable on the trials of living simply and righteously in our world.

Advance ticket packages and passes for the 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival are available now at mkefilm.org/mff26. Audiences are invited to join Milwaukee Film for Friends & Family Preview Night on Thursday, April 2, at the Oriental Theatre where printed program books will be available.

About Milwaukee Film

Milwaukee Film is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences, with a vision to make Milwaukee a center for film culture. Milwaukee Film is committed to high-quality and accessible film programming through their operation of the magnificent Oriental Theatre, a historic cinema palace, and the iconic Downer Theatre, Milwaukee’s oldest running cinema. The 18th annual Milwaukee Film Festival will take place April 16-30, 2026. For more information or to become a Member, visit mkefilm.org.

Milwaukee Film Board of Directors: mkefilm.org/board

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Recent Press Releases by Milwaukee Film

Milwaukee Film Announces Titles in “Rated K: For Kids” Program at 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival; Seeks Kid Jurors

Mar 12th, 2026 by Milwaukee Film

The 18th annual Milwaukee Film Festival (MFF26) will run April 16-30, 2026

Milwaukee Film February Programming Features Afrofuturism Film Series, Return of National Theatre Live, and More!

Jan 22nd, 2026 by Milwaukee Film

 

Cinebuds Podcast to Record Live Episode Following Screening of “Scrooged” at the Oriental Theatre

Dec 4th, 2025 by Milwaukee Film

Kristopher Pollard from Milwaukee Film and Radio Milwaukee’s Dori Zori cohost Cinebuds