14th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival being held April 21-May 5

Cara Ogburn, artistic director with Milwaukee Film, joins FOX6 WakeUp with all the details.

After going virtual for 2021 – tonight is the night! The Milwaukee Film Festival returns for opening night. Cara Ogburn, artistic director with Milwaukee Film, joins FOX6 WakeUp with all the details.

Of the feature film lineup, 63 films are documentaries alongside 70 fiction films and 1 Super Secret Members Only screening; while the 150 short films make up 18 short film programs. The entire lineup features films from 43 countries, and 48% of the lineup has been made by women and non-binary directors. Additionally, as part of this year’s previously announced hybrid film-festival, 77% of the 284 films will be available on virtually - including 69 feature films and all 150 short films.

Highlights of this year’s in-cinema festival include Spotlight Presentations in-cinema Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night film experiences:

Opening Night - THE PEZ OUTLAW (dir. Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel), the SXSW lauded documentary that proves that truth is often stranger than fiction - following the true story of Steve Glew, a friendly Midwesterner with a secret life as an international smuggler of… Pez dispensers. The Storkels are longtime MFF friends and alumni having attended with their short films, "The Bad Boy of Bowling" (MFF2015) and "The Dean Scream" (MFF2016). o Thursday, May April 21 | 6:30 PM | Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema. Requires a special Opening Night Film Ticket or All-Access Festival Pass.
Centerpiece - NAVALNY (dir. Daniel Roher) - the highly relevant and must-see thriller documentary that centers around Russian lawyer and activist Alexei Navalny, revealing a courageous and controversial would-be president who will sacrifice everything to reform Russia. o Friday, Apr 29 | 6:00 PM | Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema
Closing Night - PETIT MAMAN (dir. Céline Sciamma) - Sciamma’s much anticipated follow-up to PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE; a critical darling, Mark Kermode at Observer UK says the film "goes straight into my list of the greatest films ever made for children of all ages." o Thursday, May 5 | 8:00 PM | Oriental Theatre: Abele Cinema