CANCELED: Wisconsin Film Festival

press release:  The 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival (WFF) is canceled out of concern for the safety of our community due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. This action is consistent with public health guidance to limit non-essential large gatherings.

Slated to begin April 2, the WFF 2020 planned to present 155 films from all over the world, over the course of 8 days, on 7 screens, in 5 venues, both on- and off- the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus.

Tickets for the 2020 Wisconsin Film Festival will be refunded. The details involved with this process are still being worked out. Updates will be posted at 2020.wifilmfest.org as more information becomes available.

The Festival is grateful for the public’s understanding of this difficult situation and its support through the years. Festival staff and programmers are already looking forward to next year’s Wisconsin Film Festival, April 8–15, 2021.

For the latest information about the Festival, the public is invited to visit the Wisconsin Film Festival website at 2020.wifilmfest.org.

The Film Guide was released in the Thursday, March 5, edition of Isthmus. The printed guide will be available in different locations around the Madison area the following week, including local library branches, the Festival’s theater venues and box office, various Hilldale merchants, coffee shops, etc. This year’s website: 2020.wifilmfest.org also has an electronic version of the Film Guide.  The site is also the home of lots of other Festival facts, including box office and venue information.

Many films are not rated, so viewer and parental discretion is always advised. Big Screens, Little Folks films are suitable for the recommended age range listed in the film descriptions.

2020 Wisconsin Film Festival tickets are sold exclusively through Campus Arts Ticketing Box Office at Memorial Union and include a $1.25 per ticket processing fee for every ticket, in-person, online or by phone.

Tickets can be purchased starting at 11 a.m. CST on Saturday, March 7 online, visiting the Campus Arts Ticketing Box Office at Memorial Union (closed Sundays), 800 Langdon St.,

or by calling 608-265-2787 during box office hours. It is strongly suggested to buy tickets online starting March 7 at 2020.wifilmfest.org.

Online sales are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week until 5 p.m. the evening before each screening. After that, available tickets can be purchased by cash or redeemed with a WisCard or voucher only, at the venue the day of your film.

Ticket Prices:

• $11      General public
• $9*      Students, Seniors (65+), UW System-UW Health Faculty/Staff and Military Personnel
• $7        All Big Screens, Little Folks films
• $325    All-Festival Pass (unlimited access to films and special events for one person)

New for 2020, every current University of Wisconsin–Madison student, with a valid WisCard, is eligible for one free ticket to every screening at every Wisconsin Film Festival venue all festival long, based on seating availability.

Opening Night Celebration: Thursday, April 2 | 5:30-9:30 p.m., Wisconsin Union Theater, Memorial Union

Reception starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Lounge on the 2^nd floor of Memorial Union and tickets are $15 for the reception. The Golden Badger Awards presentation starts at 7 p.m. and the film “Boys State,” directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, starts at 7:25 p.m. in Shannon Hall and tickets for the awards and film are $11.

This year’s Golden Badger Awards honorees are:

• “The Mystery of Now” | Directed by Audrey Buchanan
• “N of 1” | Directed by Bernard Friedman
•  “Personhood” | Directed by Jo Ardinger