Still from Tate Bunker’s Studies in Space
With the
focus consistently placed on Hollywood blockbusters or Oscar contenders for 99
percent of the year, it’s always nice to take a look amongst ourselves during
the local film festival and see what the homegrown talent is up to during this
lovely 1 percent of our film-going calendar. The Milwaukee Show is
the premiere place to make good on that notion, with a veritable treasure trove
of local filmmakers showing off their wares to one of the biggest and most
appreciative audiences you’ll find in a Milwaukee movie theater in your
lifetime.
Even
though the filmmakers are locally based, the shorts they’ve worked on are
anything but: Spanning all genres and set across the globe, the shorts provide
with the full spectrum of filmmaking prowess our city has to offer from the
lighter comedic touch of Nathaniel Schardin’s The Vampire Formerly Known
as Dracula to the more formally experimental Studies in
Space from former MFF filmmaker-in-residence Tate Bunker, or from
the contemplative beauty of Giorgi Mrevlishvili’s Reflection to
the desolate landscapes of Sean Williamson and Erik Ljung’s Sing (For
Trouble). Point being, there’s a diversity of viewpoints and styles on
display in this program that represents the diversity of viewpoints and styles
throughout our beloved city. Be it documentaries, stop motion animation,
experimental or straightforward narratives you desire, this program is sure to
scratch whatever genre or formal itch you might have.*
As an
added benefit, the majority of the filmmakers will be in attendance to speak a
little about the processes behind the films they made. For example, the
aforementioned The Vampire Formerly Known as Dracula was made
possible in part by participation in Collaborative Cinema program, which
reaches out to the youth in our community to brainstorm ideas for short films
that are eventually presented to directors where they’re chosen for production.
These are the types of programs that deserve to be celebrated and made known to
the community at large and this yearly event is where such fantastic ideas get
their due. Even though Milwaukee houses a thriving film community (a handful of
eclectically programmed independent theaters, a film studies program ranked in
the top 25 in the world!), it’s easy to forget that fact in the face of the
multiplexes that dominate the local film landscape. The Milwaukee Show is
a great reminder of what our city is capable of artistically and a chance to
see these works on the big screen only comes around once a year, so it’s an
opportunity well worth taking. And if you don’t like the films, the local angle
makes it easier for you to find and berate each filmmaker for what you perceive
to be their artistic shortcomings in person. Kidding, of course. Save your tirades for the internet, their natural habitat.
