Milwaukee Film Unveils 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival Artwork

MILWAUKEE – Thursday, January 30th – Milwaukee Film is thrilled to reveal the campaign artwork for the 17th annual Milwaukee Film Festival. Since officially moving the Festival to the spring, Milwaukee Film has been wanting to honor springtime in their Festival campaign art, and that’s just what this year’s artwork does with depictions of nature and greenery, as well as several watercolor species of birds that can actually be spotted in Wisconsin throughout the season. After several years of transition coming out of the pandemic, the MFF25 artwork signifies an era of blossoming and regrowth for the organization. 

Milwaukee Film worked with midwest artist Jinjer Markley to bring this Festival artwork to life. Jinjer Markley is an artist and illustrator from Minneapolis. She has formal training in science, and a love of watercolor. To her, painting with watercolor feels like the most satisfying kind of scientific research: a bit of close observation is always rewarded with fascinating discoveries. She also loves observing and drawing from nature, and can often be found tromping through the woods with her family, looking for mushrooms.  

“It was such a blast to work on the artwork for the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival!” Jinjer Markley enthused. “I used the excuse to learn a little bit about birds that migrate through Wisconsin in the Spring (I got kind of carried away drawing birds),” she continued. “I also wanted to incorporate playful watercolor explorations into the design, so I created unique ‘theater bushes’ for the theatergoing birds to sit on. Also, I had no inkling that popcorn would be so fun to draw: like snowflakes, no two are alike. (Unlike snowflakes, they taste great with butter).”

Last year, MFF marked the reopening of the Downer Theatre under Milwaukee Film’s operation and saw over 32,000 attendees for more than 150 film programs containing over 300 films. In 2025, for its 17th year, Milwaukee Film aims to continue building on the tradition of the Festival as a kickoff to festival season.

“This year’s campaign art mirrors the emotional tug of spring that our staff, local filmmakers, and audiences feel during the Milwaukee Film Festival,” said Cara Ogburn, Milwaukee Film’s artistic director. “And the films we show do that as well: opening hearts and minds to new ideas, luring us out of our winter hibernation into the world beyond, offering the promise of new ideas and new voices, celebrating whimsy and new discoveries. We’re excited to share in those feelings together in just a few months!” she concluded.

Ticket packages and passes for the 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival are available at mkefilm.org/mff25. Prices will increase on February 10th. The full lineup is set to be announced in early April. 

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.