Milwaukee Film Expands Festival Footprint

MILWAUKEE – Thursday, July 25, 2019 – The 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by Associated Bank, welcomes the Rivoli Theatre in Cedarburg and the Broadway Theatre Center in the Historic Third Ward as new venues. With eight screens over six venues, this will be the largest footprint in the festival’s history.

“We’ve always had ambitious dreams of expanding our festival throughout the Greater Milwaukee Area. It is thrilling, thanks to several incredible new sponsors, that we are able to introduce our film festival to two new neighborhoods and audiences this year,” states Jonathan Jackson, CEO and artistic director of Milwaukee Film.

Located in downtown Cedarburg, the Rivoli Theatre has been an integral part of the town’s community since opening in 1936. Recently, the cinema underwent a major renovation effort to restore the original art deco façade and glittery, red marquee.

Operated by the Skylight Music Theatre and traditionally used as a performance space for musicals and operas, the Broadway Theatre Center’s 358-seat Cabot Theatre will host film screenings this fall. The theater is uniquely designed as a replication of an 18^th-century European opera house.

Milwaukee Film recognizes the generous underwriting support that made the addition of two new theater venues possible. The Rivoli Theatre is sponsored by the Greater Cedarburg Foundation, Chris and Rick Lane, Ozaukee Bank’s Gift’s: A Fund Supporting Cedarburg…Now and Forever, and Mary-Kay Bourbulas and Greg Zimmerschied. The Broadway Theatre Center is sponsored by Joseph Property Development and Jan Serr and John Shannon.

The Oriental Theatre remains the anchor venue of the festival, with all three screens in operation for a second year in a row and housing the primary festival box office. Returning theaters also include the ambitious Jann Serr Studio Cinema, a pop-up theater located several blocks from the Oriental Theatre; the Times Cinema in Washington Heights; and the Avalon Theatre in Bay View.

Ticket packages and passes for the 11^th annual Milwaukee Film Festival are on sale now. For more information, please visit mkefilm.org/tickets.

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 operates the magnificent Oriental Theatre, a historic cinema palace committed to high-quality and accessible film and education programming. The 11th annual Milwaukee Film Festival will take place Oct. 17-31, 2019. For more information or to become a member, visit mkefilm.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/MilwaukeeFilm | Twitter: @mkefilm | Instagram: @mkefilm

About the Milwaukee Film Board of Directors

Milwaukee Film’s independent board is made up of the following members: Chris Abele (Past Board Chair); John P. Bania; Donna Baumgartner; Elizabeth Brenner; Héctor Colón; Karen Ellenbecker; Jeff Fitzsimmons; Alexander P. Fraser (Immediate Past Board Chair); Carmen Haberman; Susan Haise; Katie Heil; Patti Keating Kahn (Board Chair); Tracey L. Klein (Past Board Chair); Michael G. Klein; Michael J. Koss Jr.; Alexander Lasry; Steve Laughlin (Past Board Chair); Emilia Layden; Michael R. Lovell; Joan Lubar; Marianne Lubar; Steve Mech; Mark Mone; Susan Mikulay; Kenneth W. Muth; Bob Pothier; John Ridley; Joseph A. Rock; Ramona Rogers-Windsor; Lacey Sadoff; Dave Stamm; Julia Taylor; John Utz; Kimberly Walker; 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.