Filmmaker in Attendance, First Time Filmmaker, Adult Language, Adult Themes, Staff Pick
Amid the radical politics and cultural upheaval of the late 1960s, a series of brutal murders targeting young women gripped the twin university towns of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Michigan. This independent documentary examines not just a series of crimes, but the social and political tensions that enabled them—many of which still resonate today.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick
Catching Pinecones is the story of Jan and Herb Conn, pioneering rock climbers and cave explorers who lived life to the fullest on their own terms. Rejecting a conventional lifestyle in pursuit of adventure and fun, the Conns’ story reveals a legacy of renowned discoveries and their philosophies for a simple, well-lived life.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Adult Language, Adult Themes, Nudity, Staff Pick
GOLD is a documentary exploring the lives of four current dancers and the owner of the Gold Nugget strip club in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin. The film focuses heavily on Dusty’s story, who was a dancer in the 90s. She has owned the club for 30 years, and runs the club in a way that empowers women, guiding them to further education, encourages them toward sobriety, and offers respect and support through unconditional (and sometimes tough) love.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Adult Language, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, Staff Pick
Green Blah! The History of Green Bay Punk Rock is a documentary that tells the story of the punk scene of Green Bay, WI. Green Bay is the hometown of the smallest NFL franchise, the Green Bay Packers. It’s also home to paper mills, pickle factories and cheese curds. Green Bay fostered a punk scene that spawned from meager beginnings and had a hard-core roster of local punk bands some with ties to the football team itself!!
Filmmaker in Attendance, Adult Language, Has Subtitles, Staff Pick
In the heart of Detroit, a city with a rich history and a tapestry of diverse communities, “Land of Lost Toys” follows the interconnected lives of its residents, brought together by a shared passion to combat the city’s vast stray dog epidemic. This mosaic of characters carry their own burdens and dreams, navigating the challenges of life in Detroit. With conflicted views on the breeding, spaying and neutering this group of characters discuss the saddening results of disposability culture, lack of municipal support and overall care for “humans’ best friend”. Following our lead character James, we get a unique look into the world of dog fostering and rescuing as he navigates his own internal hardships and the emotional support dogs bring to him.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick
Detroit endured six decades of massive disinvestment, losing its primary industry in what is often described as the largest economic withdrawal in U.S. history. Its industry collapsed, its skyline dimmed. Yet the city’s spirit refused to vanish. Some call what followed the greatest comeback story in the nation. Others insist Detroit never left at all.
Now, through the eyes of a two-time Emmy Award–winning filmmaker and the voice of a celebrated poet, comes a story told from the ground up. Drawn from a twenty-year archive of over three million photographs and thousands of hours of unseen footage, this cinematic journey redefines an iconic city through the lives of the people who lived it.
Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick, Family Friendly, First Time Filmmaker
With a single Facebook post, a small mountain in upstate New York received national attention and captured the hearts of the entire ski industry.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Has Subtitles, First Time Filmmaker, World Premiere, Making Waves Recipient, Staff Pick
After turning her Chicago home into a monarch butterfly sanctuary, Claudia Galeno-Sánchez, an environmental activist, Mexican immigrant, and mother is on a mission to save the monarch butterfly, an important symbol for both her family and millions of others in the United States.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Adult Language, Staff Pick
The Developer is about outdoor climbing areas and how they are discovered, established, and maintained. Follow Michigan climber Brendan Baars and his journey to put The Nooks — a newly developed crag in northern Ontario — on the climbing community’s map.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Staff Pick
The Grand Ride follows Grand Rapids, Michigan rider Patrick Ellis as he carves his way through West Michigan’s best mountain bike trails. From the punchy climbs of Richmond Park to the fast flow of The Underground and the lush loops of The Bike Park this film is a love letter to the region’s growing trail network and tight-knit riding community.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Staff Pick
Against the backdrop of the sixth mass extinction, an all-woman team of biologists set out to save bats from a deadly fungal disease, but when the COVID-19 pandemic interrupts their work, they are sent down a path of discovery that illuminates the connections between bat conservation and the spread of infectious disease.
Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick
For over three years, Rob Shaver, 48, has run at least a mile every single day. Through rain, pain, and the weight of a terminal cancer diagnosis, his daily streak has become more than a habit — it’s an act of resilience, a step-by-step refusal to surrender to his disease.
Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, Staff Pick
In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s coastline and the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he uncovered the vital nesting beaches of sea turtles. During his death-defying quest, he unravels mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ocean creatures – and sets out to save them from extinction.
Family Friendly, Staff Pick, Filmmaker in Attendance
When I’m in the Water is a film centered around a group of women, called the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, in Cape Cod, Mass. fighting to revitalize not only their own lives and the lives of their fellow group members, but the ecosystems consisting of hundreds of ponds in the Cape. Throughout their journey to clean up the ponds, members of the group have found an accepting and supporting community to aid them in their personal journeys, harnessing their mental fortitude and discovering physical strength at their age.