Sheboygan, Wisconsin, — the “Malibu of the Midwest " — is kicking off its very own film fest. From October 2 to 5, 2025, venues across downtown Sheboygan will feature over 80 films from 22 different countries.
The Sheboygan Film Festival is organized by the Belladonna Film Project, a nonprofit that supports independent film in the Midwest. Filmmaker and Sheboygan County native Beah Travis is the executive director of the Belladonna Film Project.
"We've got a lot of wonderful film festivals around our state — from the Wisconsin Film Festival to the Milwaukee Film Festival," they say. "But we know not necessarily everybody from the Sheboygan community is going to travel to those places to experience these kinds of films."
The festival opens Thursday night at the Weill Center with a showing of John Candy, I Like Me, a documentary about the late comedic actor.
Film screenings will continue at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center throughout the weekend — along with Friday-night dinner theater at The Berkshire, a Saturday horror night at 3 Sheeps Brewing and a Sunday return to the Weill Center for a screening of Tim Robbins' Dead Man Walking.
"We wanted to make the festival really centralized and as walkable as possible, because we wanted this feeling and the energy of the festival happening in the downtown area, people moving around, getting to experience our city, see all the different local shops and restaurants," Travis says.
With a growing arts scene conveniently situated between northern and southeastern parts of the state, Travis says Sheboygan offered a prime location for a new film fest in Wisconsin.
"We see Sheboygan as kind of this perfect place to draw people from all sides of the state to a central point, to be able to experience films and have this wonderful weekend for the art," Travis says.
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