The Avalon Theatre will host the Milwaukee International Short Film Festival (MSFF) this weekend, from Sept. 5–7. With 75 short films celebrating everything from comedy to horror and local filmmakers of color, there is plenty to see.
At 27 years, MSFF is the longest running film festival honoring greater Milwaukee-area filmmakers. This year, all but four of the short films are premiers never before seen in our area, and ninety percent of the films are made by local filmmakers.
"That's most of what we get now is Milwaukee filmmakers or Wisconsin filmmakers sending us stuff," says MSFF founder and director Ross Bigley. "And they luckily prefer our festival to be the first stop instead of the last stop now."
The MSFF has a total of five programming blocks programmed by Bigley, with every day of programming complimenting each other. "Hopefully you get a sense that you're seeing a continuation of something building up to a finale - that's how I like to look at it," he notes.
Saturday's "Voices Heard" programming block will feature shorts by filmmakers of color, while Sunday's Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival (MIFF) will be a festival-within-a-festival — featuring works by additional filmmakers who might otherwise be pushed to the margins. The underground, intersectional film festival illuminates the work of queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Islanders, all People of Color, Jewish, femme, fat, neurodivergent, disabled filmmakers as well as filmmakers who are survivors of sexual violence.
“Over the last three years we’ve been trying to create a space that’s not just about screening films, but is also about building community for filmmakers that are often left out of your average film festival,” says Amber Rose McNeill — co-founder, volunteer festival director and lead programmer for the Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival.
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