Looking desperately for signs of spring? Look no further than inside this week's Isthmus to find the program for the 15th annual Wisconsin Film Festival. Both the festival and the long-awaited end of winter will soon be here. I promise.
The Film Festival launches on April 11 and runs through the 18th, a full eight days, but whereas my almanac says that spring officially arrives at 7:02 a.m. on March 20, its physical presence may not be felt until sometime thereafter. No matter, I'm quite sure the weather will be balmier by the time folks start to queue up for the first Wisconsin Film Festival offerings.
This year's festival involves only one commercial theater - Sundance Cinemas, using three of their screens. The other venues are all UW-related facilities, including the Chazen screening rooms. So the action takes place in two concentrated areas. The festival guide contains all this information, including maps and daily schedule grids.
Tickets go on sale at noon on Saturday, March 16. That's this weekend, so it behooves you to identify your must-sees right away. You can order online at 2013.wifilmfest.org. There is complete ticket ordering information on page 38 of this guide.
The Wisconsin Film Festival is a production of the UW Arts Institute in association with the Communication Arts Film Studies Program. We thank them. Isthmus has been associated with the festival since its beginning, and we look forward to this event every year. In addition to the latest achievements in American and international film, we also get to see again some of the landmark films of the past and gaze once more upon the visages that populate film history, from Douglas Fairbanks Jr., the original action hero, to Lee Van Cleef, the personification of the black hat.
At the risk of violating someone's trademark, see you at the movies.