Wisconsin Film Festival
A line of film fest attendees waiting to get into a Cinematheque showing with the Humanities building in the background.
Wisconsin's Own films are always a highlight of the WFF.
Every year, the Wisconsin Film Festival devotes a chunk of its programming to films with some Wisconsin in their blood.
“It’s an awesome thing how much the Wisconsin Film Fest promotes local talent and Wisconsin filmmakers,” says Nathan Deming, winner of one of this year’s Golden Badger Awards for his film February. “A lot of other film fests don't necessarily have that focus.” And it’s been especially important for Deming as he’s worked to get more people interested in his films, “especially with February, because it is so Wisconsin-based.”
The Wisconsin ties definition is “liberal,” says the head of Wisconsin's Own programming, Ben Reiser. If the film was shot here, or is set here, or someone among the actors or crew lives here, or went to school here, that all counts. “We’re not here to reject films,” says Reiser. In the end, 141 films were submitted for Wisconsin’s Own, with 40 making it into the festival. Here are links to our previews detailing some of their stories.
Indigenous communities grapple with change: One With the Whale
Arts critics evolve: Out of the Picture
Belonging on an icy lake: February (Or: Si Nos Dejan)
The girls behind flat track: Angels of Dirt
Love letters: String Theory: The Richard Davis Method and A Room Alive!
Community for the formerly incarcerated: From Ashes to Beauty: Stories After Incarceration
