Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Representative in Attendance
Kendsie and Matt have been living car-free forever, and now they’ve added two kids to the mix without losing any of their optimism. The filmmaker knew she had to capture the joy it’s brought her family and so many others along the way.
Subject in Attendance, Staff Pick
In the sterile storage of museums and archives our ancestor’s remains struggle to find their way home. The film follows eleven indigenous repatriation specialists that make up Michigan Anishinaabek Cultural Preservation & Repatriation Alliance, fighting to rebury and return ancestors from settler-colonial libraries, archives, and museums. Winner of the 2026 Sundance NEXT Audience Award.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
This short film explores the work of local Marquette artist, Niikah Hatfield, engaging with the philosophical questions of life and what it means to be alive through the process of ceramics, creativity, and living well.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Student Filmmaker
The filmmakers mother, Jennifer Johnson a fish biologist with the Michigan DNR, discusses her connection with ice fishing.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Staff Pick
Trail towns often face similar dilemmas when access to the outdoors, affordable housing and job creation compete for the same finite resources. Choosing Trail explores these issues in Marquette County, Michigan through conversations with land managers, business owners and trail advocates working to preserve and grow their beloved–but changing–community.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Staff Pick
This portrait of Northern Michigan artist and musician Dana Falconberry follows her from inspiration to finished piece as she combines paint and traditional chain-stitching to create a multi-layered scene.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
Dragon Mom follows Laura, a mother learning to navigate the emotional, physical, and societal complexities of raising a child who lives with severe disability. Alongside her family, Laura must confront the realities of ableism, advocate for accessibility, and redefine what strength and connection look like.
Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, Adult Language, Subject in Attendance, Filmmaker in Attendance
Finding the Universe follows photographer John Berry as he journeys into the Colorado Rockies to capture a time-lapse of the Milky Way over his favorite alpine lake. Along the way, he reflects on personal struggles, creative perseverance, and the quiet, demanding work behind filming the night sky in the mountains.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Staff Pick
A short form film created around a poem titled Flag Song, written by the Indigenous Nations Poets Fellows and Faculty at their retreat at Amerind Museum and University of Arizona Poetry Center in the spring of 2026.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance
Frontier to Freedom is the origin story of Michigan from 1600-1837. Through a blend of expert interviews, archival imagery, and stunning visuals, the film traces our evolution from a vast wilderness inhabited by Indigenous peoples to its history of war and conflict on the American frontier, and the complex socio-political forces that shaped its path to statehood.
Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
The rapidly changing climate weighs heavily on Andrea, a sensitive and passionate professor who has taught climate science for over 20 years. She knows she can’t navigate these feelings alone. The film follows participants in the Good Grief Network, an innovative support program, as they lean into their painful feelings and, in the process, discover joy, connection, and a renewed sense of possibility.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance
An inside look at Northern Michigan’s surf scene. Hometown hype is part of a video series highlighting America’s Surf Towns.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Staff Pick
Existing in public without hitting a database seems impossible thanks to the 82 million surveillance cameras, 100,000 Flock license plate readers, and millions of Ring doorbells active in America. So in order to learn about them, I spent 7 days trying to avoid them.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Work in Progress
Michipicoten Island in Lake Superior is the little known sibling to famous Isle Royale. Soak in the rugged wilderness. Explore seldom seen relics and natural wonders. Get to know your seasoned off-trail guides, Michael Neiger and Chris Ozminski. This is a special sneak preview of the nearly completed film.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
At 86 years old, Michigan fly fishing legend Jac Ford still paddles rivers across Michigan and Montana, guiding clients and teaching fellow guides his craft. In Jac, the master angler reveals some of his secrets, and shares a lifetime of wisdom for living a long, happy life.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, World Premiere
Casual friends meet at a Lake Superior beach on a beautiful September morning. Soon they’re dipping regularly while their friendship grows as they show up for each other, and themselves dipping through the winter, in the icy lake.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
After crushing the fastest known time paddling the Wisconsin River, Kyle Parker takes on his next adventure: canoeing from Washington to Florida. Throughout his solo tip to tip journey, he discovers community and connection on and off the water.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, First Time Filmmaker, Work in Progress, Making Waves Recipient, Representative in Attendance, Staff Pick
Mikah Meyer grew up a Midwest pastor’s son, hidden in a religion-sealed closet. After his social media crowns Mississippi “The Most Homophobic State in America,” Mikah attempts to run across it in flamboyant colors. Alongside his college mentor, Larry, they confront traumas from their shared time in America’s Bible Belt. Together, they try to exist loudly, so the next generation has an easier road to travel.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Student Filmmaker
Normal is a short reflexive documentary about growing up with divorced parents and living between two homes. Using personal narration, archival footage, and interviews with my parents, the film reflects on how something that seems difficult or overwhelming to others became my everyday reality - and how hearing their perspectives changed the way I understand my own childhood.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Staff Pick
A five-minute tribute to the last 100 years of Flint, through the lyrics and performance of Mama Sol and the Flint Symphony.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
Lifelong equestrian Britta Nancarrow seeks to progress as a professional competitive skijorer. Join along as she trains with Michigan skier Mike King and snowboarder Sandra Hillen, taking their on-snow skills to the next level at their very first competition.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Student Filmmaker, Family Friendly
A student documentary exploring what drives people to keep going, and the people who show up to support them, Still Running follows the Anderson Lake Backyard Ultra, a grueling endurance race in the heart of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
Stone Cold Phoenix is an intimate look at the life and stylings of Shelley Novotny, a northern Wisconsin artist who creates stunning wearable art pieces to showcase the understated beauty of the world and people around her. This film explores how communal art (and cold water immersion!) can transform us through the ashes of trauma into something new and more beautiful.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Representative in Attendance, Staff Pick
In Michigan’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, teams from around the world compete in the MATE International ROV Competition. In this competition, the Thomson family from Alpena competes brother against sister against sister against father. Who will triumph in this test of engineering skills in the Great Lakes?
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Adult Language, Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick
A cowboy doctor has spent a lifetime paying house calls to the Old Order Amish community in Southwestern Wisconsin- but what will they do when he dies?
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
Across the salt-sprayed shores of Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, a gathering of Indigenous women comes together to rematriate wampum as a living system of justice, truth, and inherent relationship. Through practices of teaching, making, and collective remembrance, the film examines how patriarchal disruption, colonial extraction, and climate-driven coastal change threaten not only living shores but the relationships that sustain them.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
After losing her corporate job in New York City, Christina “Maz” ventures into the remote Upper Peninsula searching for a way back to her art and herself. Guided by Yooper Wise Women, a collective of healing artists deeply connected to nature, she enters a transformative world where the wilderness becomes her guide. This is a sneak preview of the upcoming documentary series Yooper Wisdom.