The Milwaukee Film Festival will feature more than 300 films from 61 countries, including 131 feature films, with 382 screenings on seven screens at four venues – Avalon Theater (2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), Downer Theatre (2589 N. Downer Ave.), Oriental Theatre (2230 N. Farwell Ave.) and Times Cinema (5906 W. Vliet St.)
The full list of films for this year’s festival, which runs from April 11-25, has now been released and can be found here.
Opening night of the festival on April 11 begins with a 6 p.m. screening of Shari & Lamb Chop at the Oriental Theatre’s Abele Cinema, which will be followed by a Q&A session.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
As a young performer in the 1950s with big aspirations, Shari Lewis sought a voice who could say things that she could not and found it in a sock puppet named Lamb Chop, who would soon become an enduring pop cultural icon. The documentary is the latest from Milwaukee Film Festival alum Lisa D’Apolito (Love, Gilda) and examines Lewis’ impact on children’s television through the lens of her decades-long relationship with Lamb Chop. The film brims with warmth and spunky charm.
Following the screening, an opening night party will be held from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Villa Terrace (2220 N. Terrace Ave.), sponsored by WMSE and featuring DJ Tony Myers. An opening night screening ticket or Milwaukee Film Festival pass will be required to join the festivities. No party-only tickets will be sold.
Opening night tickets, which includes party admission, are $20 for the general public, $18 for seniors (60-plus) students/educators and military members (with ID), and $17 for Milwaukee Film members.
The festival’s centerpiece film is The Queen of My Dreams. Filmed in Canada and Pakistan, the movie finds Azra worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra ends up on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined, from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming-of-age in rural Canada. The film will be shown at 6 p.m. April 19 at the Oriental Theatre’s Abele Cinema and April 21 at Downer Theatre’s north cinema.
The festival will close on April 25 with a 7:30 p.m. showing of Robot Dreams at the Oriental Theatre’s Abele Cinema. The movie, which was filmed in Spain and France and has no dialogue, finds Dog living in Manhattan and growing tired of being alone. One day, he decides to build a robot and they become inseparable friends. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness, is forced to abandon his robot at the beach. Will they ever meet again? Watch the trailer here.
Now in its 16th year, the Milwaukee Film Festival attracted more than 87,000 attendees in 2019. More than 100,000 people took part in virtual festivals in 2020 and 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic led the cancelation of in-person screenings. In 2022 and 2023, the festival provided a hybrid experience.
