2015 Milwaukee Film Festival Announces Cream City Cinema Lineup

MILWAUKEE – Thursday, August 27, 2015 – The 7th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, announces its Cream City Cinema lineup. Now in its 7th year, Cream City Cinema showcases the best new work from Milwaukee-based filmmakers and awards one local filmmaker with a $5,000 cash award.

“The quantity, and importantly, quality of submissions this year was astounding,” shares Jonathan Jackson, Artistic and Executive Director for Milwaukee Film. “With 177 submissions, a 31% increase over last year, it is clear that our film community is on the rise.”

This year’s Cream City Cinema includes two feature-length fiction films (Neptune, Take the Dog), three feature-length documentaries (30 Seconds Away: Breaking the Cycle, Clarence, Yoopera!), and four shorts programs: The Milwaukee Youth Show—the festival’s fourth annual showcase for local filmmakers ages 18 and under, two installments of The Milwaukee Show as well as the debut of The Milwaukee Music Video Show.

“Milwaukee’s music scene has long been vibrant and we believe the Milwaukee film scene is close to becoming its equal. What better way to celebrate this than by foregrounding a program that is the product of both artistic communities,” continues Jackson.

Presented by: John Axford
Sponsored by: WUWM 89.7 FM- Milwaukee Public Radio and UWM Department of Film

2015 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
CREAM CITY CINEMA
Show some hometown pride and local support at our annual showcase of the best new work from Milwaukee-area filmmakers. One of these local creatives will receive a cash award of $5,000 from our jury!

30 Seconds Away: Breaking the Cycle
(USA / 2015 / Director: Faith Kohler)
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKuEcbEF5Vg
Milwaukee’s homelessness problem is examined by no less an authority than former federal prosecutor and Marquette graduate Faith Kohler in 30 Seconds Away, a vital documentary examination of this issue from all sides of the argument. Spending time with those struggling to survive on the streets as well as with the justice system and Milwaukee police stuck between trying to enforce the law and care for these forgotten members of society (through means such as our local Homeless Outreach Team), Kohler paints a powerful and empathetic portrait of an ever-growing problem with no easy solutions.

Clarence
(USA / 2014 / Director: Kristin Catalano)
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roC08SxNY9Q
Meet Clarence Garrett, an African-American WWII veteran who had to put his own dreams of a higher education on hold to put his four children through college. But at the ripe age of 85, Clarence decides to enroll in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and finally get the last 52 credits that will earn him his bachelor’s degree. However, medical complications from an earlier cancer scare threaten to derail his graduation dreams from becoming a reality. Clarence is an inspirational portrait of an indomitable spirit, a documentary that proves it’s never too late to finish what you started.

The Milwaukee Music Video Show
A program that proves the local film scene is every bit the equal of that of our thriving local music scene, the Milwaukee Music Video Show plays host to a variety of musical acts (Vic and Gab, Webster X, Field Report, Sylvan Esso, Victor DeLorenzo of the Violent Femmes) and the wildly creative local filmmakers who bring their varied soundscapes to visual life. Fun, creative bursts of energy occur as these artistic disciplines combine, a toe-tapping, head-banging, hip-swaying celebration of local art displayed on the majestic big screen of the Oriental Theatre.

Calliope – “Casino” (USA / 2014 / Director: Victor Buell IV)
Field Report – “Wings” (USA / 2014 / Director: Blackbox Visuals)
GGOOLLDD – “Boyz” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Ryan Bingham, Tony Hunt)
Greatest Lakes – “Nothing Left” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Brian Steinseifer, Josiah Werning)
Kane Place Record Club – “Sunshine” (USA / 2014 / Director: John Roberts)
Lex Allen – “This is Our Year” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Damien Gram, Cody LaPlant)
Maritime – “Milwaukee” (USA / 2015 / Director: Bob Purvis)
The Midwest Beat – “High Life” (USA / 2014 / Director: Jon Salimes)
Sam & Margot – “Burn It Down” (USA / 2015 / Director: Brendan T. Jones)
Sylvan Esso – “Dreamy Bruises” (USA / 2014 / Directors: Timm Gable, Bob Purvis)
Tigernite – “Witch” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Kyle Arpke, Eric Arsnow)
Uncle Larry – “Pieces” (USA / 2014 / Director: Billy Judge Baldus)
Vic and Gab – “Love of Mine” (USA / 2014 / Director: Betty Allen)
Victor DeLorenzo – “Carry Me” (USA / 2014 / Director: T.C. De Witt)
WebsterX – “Doomsday” (USA / 2015 / Directors: Damien Klaven, Cody LaPlant)
Wooldridge Brothers – “Drive Through Summer” (USA / 2015 / Director: Robb Fischer)

The Milwaukee Show I
Perennially one of the festival’s hottest tickets, this first of two installments celebrating our wealth of homegrown filmmaking talent includes styles ranging from documentaries to fiction to experimental films—be it the story of a man with a giant thumb for a head, a documentary following the weird world of sport drumming, or the story of a rock band that goes head to head with an invading UFO!

Beautiful Orifice Boy (USA / 2015 / Director: Vincent Maslowski)
The Daffy Strut (USA / 2015 / Director: Andrew Megow)
The Death Drive (USA / 2015 / Directors: Michael Bourne, Kyle V. James)
Destiny (USA / 2015 / Director: Rubin Whitmore II)
DOG*WALK (USA / 2015 / Director: Kristin Peterson)
Fast Company (USA / 2015 / Director: Jack Davidson)
It’s Cold Up North (USA / 2015 / Director: James J. Roufus)
The Life and Times of Thomas Thumb Jr. (USA / 2015 / Director: Ryan Fox)
The Sonatina (USA / 2015 / Director: Kate Balsley)

The Milwaukee Show II
The second installment of our local celebration brings us even more diverse styles and voices from the local film scene, with stories ranging from a documentary about a Kenyan sound engineer’s work in African crisis zones to Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” broadcast coming to life in our very own public museum, and even a claymation short about a cat-hating grump saddled with an affection-seeking kitten.

Again (USA / 2015 / Director: Natasha Scannell)
Lemon (USA / 2015 / Director: John Roberts)
Mothers For Justice (USA / 2015 / Director: Erik Ljung)
Notes from the Interior (USA / 2015 / Director: Benjamin Balcom)
Parting (USA / 2015 / Director: Sitora Takanaev)
The Sound Man (USA / 2015 / Director: Chip Duncan)
We Interrupt this Broadcast (USA / 2015 / Director: Kurt Raether)

The Milwaukee Youth Show
It’s not just the adults making stunning contributions to our local film scene, as this wide-ranging showcase aims to prove. After you take in the diversity of viewpoints and styles crafted by our eminently talented youngsters (documentary, fiction, animation, live action, music video, and PSAs are all covered here), you’ll be excited for the next generation of Cream City Cinema!

Awakening (USA / 2015 / Director: Mikayla Bell)
The Brooklyn Bridge (USA / 2015 / Director: Marcelo Quezada)
Crazy He Calls Me (USA / 2015 / Directors: Julia Mutranowski, Eden Raduege)
Fusion (USA / 2015 / Directors: Alex Meeth, Ethan Suhr)
Gettysburg (USA / 2015 / Director: Sam Pike)
Happy Cookers (USA / 2015 / Directors: Youth from the Fitzsimonds Boys & Girls Club)
In the Victim’s Voice (USA / 2015 / Directors: Tasha Kappes, Kirsten Kliebenstein)
A Perilous Poisoning (USA / 2015 / Directors: Sam Pike, Hanxiou Wang, Andrei Conrad)
Scorched Earth: A British Soldier’s Memoir of India’s Partition…. (USA / 2015 / Director: Megan Sai Dogra)
They Never Came Back (USA / 2015 / Director: Alondra Mercado)
Urban Ecology: A History (USA / 2015 / Director: Serbata Tarrer)
What is Milwaukee to Me?  (USA / 2015 / Directors: Youth from the Milwaukee Visionaries Project)
A Work in Progress – The Painter (USA / 2015 / Director: Tyler Pelzek)
What is Beauty? (USA / 2015 / Director: Raven Miller)

Neptune
(USA / 2015 / Director: Derek Kimball)
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/77970830
Set on a small island off of Maine’s coast in the late 1980s, Neptune is a coming-of-age story marked by a lush setting and beautiful cinematography. Obsessed by the disappearance of a young boy her age who washed out to sea, young orphan Hannah takes over the boy’s former position on a lobster boat, working alongside his grieving father. Having been a ward of the local church since an early age, Hannah begins to chafe at her limited upbringing, plagued by mysterious dreams that appear to be calling her out to sea.

Take the Dog
(USA / 2015 / Directors: Carol Brandt, Andrew Tolstedt)
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tLVHapGWjw
Three punkers pack up their dog and make their way from Milwaukee to California for a brother’s wedding in this freewheeling roadtrip from co-directors Andrew Tolstedt and Carol Brandt. Brothers Tim and Jack (along with Tim’s girlfriend, Leah) make their way to their brother Patrick’s wedding, cutting a booze-soaked swath as they cross the country. Tensions flare and bonds are tested as what it means to be a brother, boyfriend, and responsible adult are all put under the microscope before they reach their final destination, with no guarantee these relationships will last until journey’s end.

Yoopera!
(USA / 2015 / Director: Suzanne Jurva)
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/97005866
What do you get when you combine the cultural heritage of Yoopers — those born and raised in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — and the classical tradition of opera (or oopera, if you’re Finnish)? You get Yoopera!, an exuberant documentary about a group of people gathering together to tell their local and family history in a beautifully artistic fashion. We follow the commission and production of a major opera for and of the people, maintaining the legacy of family stories and celebrating the history of people who eked out a living in the beautiful and remote U.P.

Pre-Features
The following locally-made short films will precede features throughout the festival program. See the program book for their pairings.

The 414s: The Original Teenage Hackers (USA / 2015 / Director: Michael T. Vollmann)
Arrowhead (USA / 2014 / Director: Jon Phillips)
Avi, La Petite Ballerina (USA / 2015 / Director: Susan Kerns)
A Boy and His Guns (USA / 2015 / Director: Sean Kafer)
For Carillon No 5 (USA / 2015 / Director: Joe Brown)
The Mule (USA / 2015 / Director: Mike George)
Operation Allie (USA / 2015 / Director: Manny Marquez)
Places (India / 2015 / Director: Kyle Arpke)
Police Shooting Tests New Wisconsin Law (USA / 2015 / Director: Erik Ljung)
Vuriloche (USA / 2015 / Directors: Erik Ljung, Maureen Post)

The 2015 Milwaukee Film Festival runs September 24 – October 8, 2015 at the Landmark Oriental Theatre, Landmark Downer Theatre, Fox-Bay Cinema Grill, Times Cinema and Avalon Theater. Passes and ticket 6-Packs for the 2015 Milwaukee Film Festival are currently available at discounted rates exclusively online at mkefilm.org/tickets.

Tickets for individual screenings will be available through the Milwaukee Film Festival Box Office starting September 9 for Milwaukee Film Members and September 10 for the General Public.

About Milwaukee Film
Film can entertain, educate, and empower. It can bring change on levels both intimate and epic. And it’s at its best as a communal viewing experience, with the best possible sound and projection. As a non-profit cultural institution, Milwaukee Film’s mission is to communicate all of this to the city that we love, in a way that is both true and unique to Milwaukee.

Visit mkefilm.org for information on the film festival and the organization, membership, special events, and to sign up for the weekly email newsletter (mkefilm.org/newsletter). Connect with Milwaukee Film on Facebook (facebook.com/MilwaukeeFilm), Twitter (twitter.com/mkefilm), Instagram (instagram.com/mkefilm), and the Milwaukee Film blog (mkefilm.org/news).

The 7th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival will be held September 24-October 8, 2015.

About the Milwaukee Film Board of Directors
Milwaukee Film’s independent board is made up of the following members: Chris Abele (Past President); John P. Bania; Donna Baumgartner; Tina Chang; Dr. Robert M. Davis; Michael Drescher; Karen Ellenbecker; Jeff Fitzsimmons; Alexander P. Fraser; Cecelia Gore; Bill Haberman (Past President); Carmen Haberman; Susan Haise; Katie Heil; Patti Keating Kahn; Michael G. Klein; Tracey L. Klein (President); Kenneth C. Krei; Mary Ann LaBahn; Alexander Lasry; Steve Laughlin (Past President); Emilia Layden; Marianne Lubar; Sara Meaney; Steve Mech; Barry Poltermann; Bob Pothier; Joseph A. Rock; Dave Stamm; Julia Taylor; John Utz. Emeritus members: Tom Barrett, Jacqueline Strayer.

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

Early Bird Sale for 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival Passes and Packages Begins on Cyber Monday

Nov 27th, 2024 by Milwaukee Film

Milwaukee Film Gift Memberships and Cinema Gift Packs Available Now

“Season’s Screenings” Film Series at the Oriental Theatre Showcases a Variety of Holiday Classics

Nov 13th, 2024 by Milwaukee Film

Milwaukee Film’s winter programming features dozens of favorite holiday movies

Milwaukee Film November Programming Features Keanuthon, Powell & Pressburger Retrospective, and Live Mariachi Performance

Oct 29th, 2024 by Milwaukee Film

Milwaukee Film partners with the Milwaukee Art Museum to bring director Robert Longo, and Latino Arts to bring a live mariachi performance to the Oriental Theatre