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After two years of a virtual event forced by the pandemic, the Milwaukee Film Festival is set to return this spring to its newly remodeled home at the Oriental Theatre and other local cinemas. For artistic director Cara Ogburn, this is a triumph, and hopefully another step toward making the festival a national event.
Ogburn is the leading force behind curating the selection of films, though she credits her programming team for shaping the lineup. She joined the staff at the Film Festival over a decade ago, working many jobs including programming director and education director, before being named artistic director in July of 2020. Over the years, she’s seen the festival grow, evolve and most recently, roll with some nasty punches. The virtual 2020 festival pulled in 66,286 total online movie-watchers. While it was down from the record-breaking 87,618 attendees at the 2019 festival, the number still far exceeded Ogburn’s expectations for a first-time virtual event.
“The festival is really trying to bring the best films from the year and from the festival circuit to Milwaukee, films that otherwise maybe wouldn’t show on a cinema screen here,” Ogburn says.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Traditionally held in the fall, the festival switched to the spring in 2021 and will remain there this year (April 21-May 5) and for the foreseeable future. The change was made, in part, to align with the timing of other major spring festivals like Sundance and Tribeca. Ogburn hopes that by positioning Milwaukee in that lineup, the festival will draw more filmmakers to the city.
“We think our audiences are spectacular,” Ogburn says. “They ask great questions. They have a great curiosity. And we want to make sure that filmmakers have the chance to be in community with them.”
One of the most significant ways the festival has changed during Ogburn’s time on staff is the introduction of new film categories like Black Lens (added in 2014), Cine Sin Fronteras (2016) and GenreQueer (2018). Ogburn wants to continue expanding the festival’s impact for years to come. One step in that direction that she is particularly fond of is Teen Screen, a category of festival films chosen exclusively by Milwaukee teenagers.
“They’re learning to exercise their critical muscles,” Ogburn says. “It’s really about handing this over to the next generation.”
