Wetlands

The 6th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival, announced its lineup for Cinema Hooligante. Now in its third year, the popular late-night film program expands to include more science fiction, fantasy, and comedy, alongside its traditional repertoire of horror, gore, and cult films. Embracing the mantra “where grown-ups come out to play,” Milwaukee Film adds variety to the mix through a more balanced offering of genres. 

Also in the lineup this year are two classic films screening in 35mm. John Axford presents Stanley Kubrick’s satirical comedy, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in celebration of its 50th anniversary, (Axford presented Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey at MFF 2013). Rob Reiner’s acclaimed rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, will also screen in celebration of its 30th anniversary. 

For those Hooligante fans still recovering from the previous night’s midnight screening, the Milwaukee Film Festival and Milwaukee Record present Bloody Sunday at The Hotel Foster–a hangover party filled with specials on Bloody Marys, free cold pizza, and non-stop horror films onSunday, September 28 from 11am to 3pm.

2014 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL

CINEMA HOOLIGANTE
Each of these films will push the boundaries of reality, playing with the rules on fantasy, horror, science fiction, comedy, and the very best of cult cinema. Cinema Hooligante is where the grown-ups come out to play.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(USA, United Kingdom / 1964 / Director: Stanley Kubrick)

http://youtu.be/1gXY3kuDvSU

Not just a great black comedy, but one of the greatest films of all time, Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove is vicious and hilarious, a political satire that feels no less fresh and relevant now than it did upon its release 50 years ago. With the Soviet Union and U.S. on the verge of nuclear war, it only takes one loony general (Sterling Hayden) who believes that the Commies seek to destroy our “precious bodily fluids,” a Pentagon war room populated by maniacs (including an unhinged George C. Scott, with Peter Sellers playing both the president and a Nazi scientist), and a patriotic B-52 bomber pilot carrying an atomic payload (the iconic Slim Pickens) to assure our mutual destruction.

Mood Indigo (L’ecume des Jours)
(France / 2013 / Director: Michel Gondry)

http://youtu.be/dh3V-dFlmyk 

Visionary director Michel Gondry returns to the visually spectacular surrealistic love story setting wherein he’s found his greatest success (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep) with Mood Indigo. Colin (Romain Duris) engages in a whirlwind love affair with the beautiful Chloe (Audrey Tautou) only to find Chloe afflicted with a strange malady—a water lily growing in her lungs—that challenges both her health and their relationship. No director is capable of marrying the visually poetic with melancholy as effectively as Gondry, who captures the ecstatic highs and manic lows of love through a series of boundlessly creative sequences.

Patema Inverted (Sakasama No Patema)
(Japan / 2013 / Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura)

http://youtu.be/RQZAXLAV63s

This stunning anime revolves around a botched scientific experiment that has led to two dramatically different societies: the inverts who have lost their gravity and must live deep underground so as not to fall into the sky, and those who live above and are forbidden to look up for fear of these inverts. Underground princess Patema and rebellious surface-dweller Age refuse to believe in the totalitarian government’s status quo and find one another in this dynamic and intelligent sci-fi allegory. Intelligently exploring ideas about fear of the unknown and prejudice, the film follows Patema and Age as they look to bridge these upside-down worlds and discover the beautiful equilibrium that can come from coexistence.

The Raid 2
(Indonesia / 2013 / Director: Gareth Evans)

http://youtu.be/MG9uFX3uYq4 

An unrelenting exercise in bone-crunching action, The Raid 2 is manna from action-lovers heaven. Undercover cop Rama infiltrates a burgeoning gang war between Arab and Japanese crime syndicates by befriending the son of crime boss Bangun while in prison, insinuating himself into an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse. The perfect antidote for anyone who thought The Departed could’ve done with more face-kicking, director Gareth Evans’ crime epic is packed with action sequences of exquisite intensity. The symphony of mayhem culminates with a nearly 30-minute finale that is among the best ever filmed—it practically demands to be seen on the big screen.

This Is Spinal Tap
(USA / 1984 / Director: Rob Reiner)

http://youtu.be/N63XSUpe-0o

Turn it up to 11 at this year’s MFF with Rob Reiner’s all-time great rockumentary following the exploits of David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), and an endless succession of deceased percussionists that form Spinal Tap. With the assistance of eerily accurate details supplied by real-life metal bands, we watch the hilarious exploits of this group on the wane as their misfortune begets smaller and smaller venues (including Milwaukee’s then-fictitious Shank Hall) and larger and funnier insults. An inspiration to every comedic mockumentary that has followed in its footsteps, This Is Spinal Tap hasn’t lost an iota of its verve and energy in the 30 years since its release.

Time Lapse
(USA / 2014 / Director: Bradley King)

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/88809713

Three friends (including MFF 2011 alum Matt O’Leary, Natural Selection) discover a remarkable machine that photographs events exactly 24 hours into the future in this twisting science-fiction action thriller. Found inside an abandoned neighboring apartment, this machine opens up a world of possibilities for the trio to cash in on, but their friendship is tested by an unstable criminal looking to exploit the machine for his own gains. In the proud tradition of past (or is it future?) time-traveling indies such as Timecrimes and Primer, Time Lapse is a film as much about ideas as thrills, combining action, humor, and philosophy with aplomb.

Wetlands (Feuchtgebiete)
(Germany / 2013 / Director: David Wnendt)

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/72133858

A film as unapologetic as the main character it portrays, Wetlands is the adaptation of a novel once thought unfilmable. We follow the explicit exploits of Helen, our skateboarding 18-year-old protagonist whose brazen interest in bodily fluids and female sexuality finds her sharing used tampons, masturbating with vegetables, and exploring all other manner of debauchery. An unfortunate shaving mishap lands her in the hospital with an anal fissure, so she whiles away the hours by scheming to reunite her divorced parents and engaging in ribald flirtation with her handsome male nurse. Unashamed and uncompromising, but filled with infectious energy and a showstopping lead performance, Wetlands is an unforgettable film experience.

Witching and Bitching (Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi)
(Spain, France / 2013 / Director: Álex de la Iglesia)

http://youtu.be/ISqG3zjZZVk

Alex de la Iglesia (The Last Circus, MFF 2011) is back with his latest go-for-broke genre mash-up, following a group of robbers who hide out in the Basque countryside in the aftermath of an audacious daytime robbery. Little do they know they’ve happened upon the infamous village of Zugarramurdi, home to a coven of vengeful witches—and the robbers happen to be just in time for an ancient ceremony that requires the ultimate sacrifice from its unwilling male participants. Iglesia fills his madcap supernatural spectacle with copious amounts of sex, gore, and comedy, living up to his reputation as Spain’s preeminent master of gonzo filmmaking.

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HAMLET A.D.D

The 6th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival announced its Cream City Cinema lineup. Now in its 6th year, Cream City Cinema showcases the best new work from Milwaukee-based filmmakers and awards one local filmmaker with a yearlong Filmmaker-in-Residence prize along with a $5,000 cash award.

This year’s Cream City Cinema includes four feature-length fiction films (HAMLET A.D.D, PESTER, THE OTHER ONE, SERIAL DATERS ANONYMOUS), one feature-length documentary (PSYCHOPATH), and three shorts programs: The Milwaukee Youth Show—the festival’s third annual showcase for local filmmakers ages 18 and under as well as two installments of The Milwaukee Show.

The program culminates with the highly sought-after Filmmaker-in-Residence juried prize which awards a yearlong residency with Milwaukee Film. The residency includes a mentorship program, a $5,000 cash prize, and a production services package, sponsored by Independent, North American Camera, and RDI Stages, valued at more than $20,000 to help the winning filmmaker produce their next film. Past winners include Michael T. Vollman (2013), Chris James Thompson (2012), Michael Hawkins-Burgos (2011), Tate Bunker (2010), and John Roberts (2009).

 2014 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL

CREAM CITY CINEMA 
Cream City Cinema is the annual showcase of the best new work from Milwaukee-based filmmakers. One of these local creatives will receive a yearlong Filmmaker-in-Residence prize from the jury that includes a cash award of $5,000!

Hamlet A.D.D.
(USA / 2014 / Directors: Bobby Ciraldo, Andrew Swant) 

http://youtu.be/CMbbk1p9aCM

From the twisted minds of the men who brought you What What (In the Butt) and William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet comes this bizarre and comical reimagining of Shakespeare’s work the way it was meant to be seen—chock-full of time travel and featuring Screech from “Saved by the Bell.” Hop-scotching from the 1800s through the 1950s and ‘70s (rest assured there will be disco dancing) before making its way into the distant future, Hamlet A.D.D. remakes Shakespeare for an era of viral videos and memes—a boldly irreverent take on the source material over 10 years in the making.

The Milwaukee Show I
The first of two installments celebrating our abundance of hometown talent, The Milwaukee Show I brings a diversity of styles and voices to the big screen, a veritable wealth of filmmaking riches. The stories in this program include extraterrestrials searching for one another in the Milwaukee area and a sobering examination of the untimely death of Corey Stingley.

The Death of Corey Stingley | Spencer Chumbley
An Evening at Angelo’s | Kara Mulrooney
Glider | Junehyuck Jeon
The Harpist | Erica Thompson
The Kenny Dennis | WC Tank
Little America | Kurt Raether
New Planet | James Tindell
Settlers | Nathaniel Heuer

The Milwaukee Show II
This second installment of the perennial favorite, The Milwaukee Show II shorts program brings us even more local filmmakers showcasing their immense talent on the festival’s biggest stage, with work spanning several genres and modes of storytelling. The films here range from a live-action narrative short of a young girl that brings happiness and color into the world through balloons to a wacky musical about an amnesiac trapped in a derelict bar adrift in time and space.

Balloons | Sitora Takanaev
Geoffrey Broughe Handles Confrontation Poorly | Jon Phillips
MECCA: The Floor That Made Milwaukee Famous | Chris James Thompson
One Week Vacation | Brendan T. Jones
Smoky Places | Michael DiMilo
This is Jackie. | Anna Sampers
Tis the Season | Kirsten Stuck
To Hold In the Heart | Pang Yang Her
The Waystation in the Stars | Brandon L Morrissey

The Milwaukee Youth Show
When you take a look at the remarkable work being created by our area youth (ages 18 and under), you’ll know without a doubt that the kids are all right. Spanning a range of styles, this showcase for the next generation of local filmmakers is a great way to get acquainted with the names you’ll be seeing at future editions of MFF.200,000 | Gavin White, Tyler Matthews, Jeremy LeCleir, Scott Meade

Assist Bhopal | Megan Sai Dogra
The Autumn Vignette | Serbata Tarrer
Counting the Dead | Alexandra Van Den Heuvel
Dreaming | Felicia McGowan
Get Real People | Griffin Anderson, Mitch Dykstra, Tanner Dykstra, Ronnie Al-Ramahi
Iero | Gabriella Avila, Alexia Jaso
If You Weren’t Here | LaVarnway Boys & Girls Club workshop participants
La Decisiones de Tu Vida | Alondra Mercado, Ana Ornelas
Let the Children Live | Clarke Street Boys & Girls Club workshop participants
Media and Mental Illness | Eden Raduege, Mikayla Bell
Protect Yourself | Youth from Townsend CLC Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee
Wake Up and Pay Attention | Youth from the Daniels-Mardak Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee

The Other One
(USA / 2014 / Director: Josef Steiff) 

http://youtu.be/V4SDEOWmwg4

Schoolteacher Amber, who survived a school shooting, returns to her rural childhood home to tend to her mother, whose dementia is becoming increasingly unmanageable. As her mother’s mental state deteriorates, family secrets are spilled that throw everything Amber thought she knew about her childhood into question. Family conflict brews as the women deal with the traumatic events of the past that have shaped them in the present. A supernaturally tinged drama about how the past can quite literally come back to haunt us, The Other One asks whether or not some emotional scars can ever heal and if redemption is possible when one struggles to forgive herself.

Preceded by Years | Director: Rose Curley

Pester
(USA / 2014 / Director: Eric Gerber) 

Pester

Trailer: http://vimeo.com/67927648 

A family extermination business run by two brothers and their father falls upon economic and ethical hardships in this challenging drama from UWM graduate Eric Gerber. With a cast and crew largely exported from Milwaukee to film in Los Angeles (including co-star Nick Sommer from MFF 2013’s Billy Club), Gerber delves into this unusual portrait of the American dream, as both brothers struggle with issues of identity and very different forms of addiction. Their pest control business hangs in the balance, in danger of being muscled out of the market by bigger corporate entities.Preceded by Give It Up for the Girl | Director: Carol Brandt

Psychopath
(USA / 2014 / Director: Manny Marquez) 

Psychopath

Oklahoma garbageman Victor Marquez has held a lifelong dream of creating gruesome makeup effects for Hollywood movies, but life got in the way and Victor deferred his dream to start a family with the love of his life. Twenty-five years later, husband and wife pool their life savings to purchase acreage where Victor will put together a haunted house that showcases his ghoulish talents, a risky business venture in rural Oklahoma where such celebrations of the macabre raise the ire of locals who perpetuate racial stereotypes. A documentary from Victor’s nephew Manny (MFF 2012 Work-in-Progress alum), Psychopath is a portrait of a self-made entrepreneur following the American dream despite long odds.  Preceded by Carnival of the Animals | Director: Sitora Takanaev

Serial Daters Anonymous
(USA / 2014 / Director: Christopher Carson Emmons) 

http://youtu.be/J7x76CUJd-g 

Filmed entirely in Milwaukee, this rom-com features jilted fashion columnist Claire cutting a wide swath through the local dating scene on the heels of being informed by her fiancé of his philandering tendencies at the altar. She blogs about each first date while refusing to go on a second. But this angel of dating vengeance meets her match in Kyle (Milwaukee-born Sam Page, a.k.a. Joan’s hot husband from “Mad Men”), a former flame who threatens to derail her plans for revenge on the entire male populace by introducing feelings back into the equation. A dating comedy with local flavor, Serial Daters Anonymous is a witty tonic for the brokenhearted.  Preceded by Anchovies | Director: Annabelle Attanasio

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 Cesar’s Grill

The 6th Annual Milwaukee Film Festival, announced the launch of its new film program: Film Feast. In its inaugural year, Film Feast presents a diverse lineup of features, eight in total, comprised of both fiction and documentary films that explore and celebrate the culture of food and drink.

Comedies like the crowd-pleaser Paulette, about an ill-tempered old woman­–an ex-pastry chef turned cannabis kingpin, and culturally-rich films like Soul of a Banquet, a mouth-watering documentary about legendary Chinese chef Cecilia Chiang by The Joy Luck Club director Wayne Wang, are at opposite sides of the spectrum. Whether viewers have a taste for romance, politics, social or environmental issues, they’ll find something delicious here.     

2014 MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL

FILM FEAST

A Year in Burgundy
(USA, France / 2013 / Director: David Kennard)
Trailer: 

http://vimeo.com/40705234

Cleanse your palates, fans of SOMM (MFF 2013)—A Year in Burgundy is the 2014 vintage you’ve been waiting for. Set your destination for France, where we follow a year in the life of a grape through seven different wine-making families, in a film that captures the artistry and dedication required in order to produce a truly stellar vino. As the four seasons pass at each vineyard, we see the history generated by multiple generations of wine-makers, with secrets and techniques being passed down through the ages. We also glimpse the history of that year, for better or worse, which makes its way into every bottle.

Cesar’s Grill
(Germany, Ecuador, Switzerland / 2013 / Director: Darío Aguirre)

Trailer: 

http://vimeo.com/71440059

After a decade spent abroad in Germany, filmmaker Dario Aguirre is called home to Ecuador by his father to prevent the family restaurant from falling into bankruptcy. An already tenuous father/son relationship (Dario is a vegetarian, while his father and his restaurant are passionately pro-meat) is pulled to its breaking point as Aguirre attempts to stop the restaurant from hemorrhaging more money. As he struggles to reconcile with the culture after so many years away, he recognizes the importance of his father’s business to the community in this simple, unsparing documentary.

Paulette
(France / 2012 / Director: Jérôme Enrico)

http://youtu.be/KxqGy1AlWv4

This crowd-pleasing French comedy shows it’s never too late in life to make a career change. We follow the cantankerous Paulette (the late, great Bernadette Lafont) as she struggles to make ends meet on only her pension in a suburban Paris housing project. Using the smarts and ingenuity honed over her years as a pastry chef, Paulette embarks on a career as a weed dealer with the aid of her elderly neighbors. But success draws the attention of rival dealers and the police (of which her own son is a member), and Paulette will need to use every ounce of her resourcefulness in this charming story of family and friendship.

Slow Food Story
(Italy, Ireland / 2013 / Director: Stefano Sardo)

http://youtu.be/Iyjpck1j880

Born of humble beginnings nearly 30 years ago in response to McDonald’s making its way to Rome, activist Carlo Petrini’s Slow Food Movement has since created a worldwide food revolution—local chapters spread over 150 countries with the goal of rallying against the homogenization of cuisine and cultural identity that fast food and its bland immediacy have to offer. Slow Food Story tells the story of an endlessly convivial man whose belief that “an environmentalist who is not also a gastronome is very sad” has awoken many to the simple pleasures of cooking and eating through our local ecosystems—a sustainable and delicious way of living.

Soul of a Banquet
(USA / 2014 / Director: Wayne Wang)

Soul of a Banquet

Legendary chef Cecilia Chiang has been credited with bringing authentic Chinese cuisine to America with the opening of her famed restaurant The Mandarin in 1961. Her exploits are given tribute by director Wayne Wang (The Joy Luck Club), with a portrait equal parts personal history (examining her emigration from Shanghai to San Francisco) and food porn (the preparation, execution, and delivery of a banquet feast make up a large part of the narrative). Interviews from food industry luminaries Ruth Reichl and Alice Waters help flesh out this warm and sumptuous portrait of a gastronomical pioneer.

Soul Food Stories
(Bulgaria, Finland / 2013 / Director: Tonislav Hristov)

http://youtu.be/1ex3YscuuJI

Satovcha, Bulgaria, has a population of only 2,000, but among that small community are Christians, Muslims, atheists, and Roma (aka Gypsies) all living together. They are united by a shared love of their land and a willingness to solve any problems generated by their different theologies and ideologies by gathering around the dinner table as they prepare for sumptuous feasts. Capturing this unique small town and those who inhabit it with warmth and wit, Soul Food Stories follows attempts by the female population to expand their use of the village’s social club from one to two days per week.

 The Starfish Throwers
(USA, India / 2014 / Director: Jesse Roesler)

Trailer: 

http://vimeo.com/44292667

A powerful rejoinder to those who believe one person alone can’t bring about change, The Starfish Throwers chronicles the heartwarming individual stories of three people from wildly different backgrounds—a top chef in India, a middle school girl, and a retired schoolteacher—who decide to combat world hunger despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Be it the donated bounties of backyard gardens, a night’s sleep lost to deliver sandwiches and goods to those stuck in the Minneapolis cold, or the daily preparation and delivery of meals to the homeless, each of these inspirational stories proves that one person can positively impact the world.

Zone Pro Site: A Moveable Feast
(Taiwan / 2013 / Director: Yu-Hsun Chen) 

http://youtu.be/Tdf4XElqDqw

This top-grossing Taiwanese culinary comedy follows the humble return of Wan to her family catering business after the modeling career she had set out for ends with heaps of debt and some shady characters demanding money. An opportunity reveals itself: a cooking contest in the classic art of “bandoh” (a Taiwanese custom of outdoor banquets) with a substantial cash prize. With the help of a handsome man known only as “The Gourmet Doctor,” Wan looks to prove her cooking bona fides to her skeptical family and rid herself of those pesky debt collectors once and for all in this delicious rom-com.

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