The Films

• Year 2025
• Country USA
• Runtime 4 min
• Director Aaron Peterson, Darryn Schulte

Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly

Mama Sol is a spoken word artist, rapper and community activist in Flint, Michigan. This is more than a hustle, it’s her passion, and she’s proud to rep the 8-1-0.

• Year 2025
• Country USA
• Runtime 9 min
• Director House of Bug Productions

Michigan Premiere

Explore the evolution and transformation of a stretch of the Chicago River into a thriving habitat and neighborhood fixture through the Wild Mile, the world’s first floating eco-park planned and developed by nonprofit Urban Rivers.

• Year 2025
• Country United States
• Runtime 10 min
• Director Nick Loud

Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere

The film tells the story of how researchers discover ‘lingering ash’ trees, and use them to genetically breed emerald ash borer resistant trees. They hope to someday plant resistant trees back in forests across the country. A production from Points North Podcast & The Boardman Review in partnership with Great Lakes Now / Detroit PBS.

• Year 2024
• Country USA
• Runtime 11 min
• Director Finn Ryan

Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick

In its creation story, the game of Baaga’adowewin is given as a gift and tool for life. After forced assimilation, the game was suppressed and remained dormant for almost a century. This film shares the return of Baaga’adowewin, or stickball, as Ojibwe communities walk the path of cultural revitalization and exercise their treaty rights to continue to heal from historical traumas and overcome challenges of today.

• Year 2024
• Country USA
• Runtime 10 min
• Director Andrew Doyle

Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, First Time Filmmaker, Student Filmmaker

Ron Yob, chairman of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, seeks to gain federal recognition for his tribe from the federal government. Through Yob’s fight, he walks viewers through the historical evidence of the tribe’s presence in Grand Rapids to understand why the tribes deserve their federal rights.

• Year 2025
• Country USA
• Runtime 14 min
• Director Ben Weaver

Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Making Waves Recipient

Using relationship as a method of storytelling, Edgelands explores urban green spaces to see what’s thriving despite impositions of modern infrastructure.