Game Hawker

2023 • USA • 71 min • Davis Huber

Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, First Time Filmmaker, Representative in Attendance, Staff Pick

Troubled Water is an exhilarating adventure, conservation film that beckons viewers to follow along on a transformative journey down the stunning coast of Lake Michigan. As the journey unfolds, the film unveils the significance of the Line 5 pipeline issue, the dire need for collective action and the historic precedent that this movement would establish. If successfully shutdown, it would become the first active pipeline in US history to be terminated before it ruptures.

2023 • United States • 41 min • Rory K. McHarg & Bret Miller

Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, Staff Pick

Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale is America’s No.1 IPA. The now infamous & iconic trout image is found in every convenience store nationwide. The legends behind this label and many others have been buried in folklore for nearly 40 years, but the vision created at Bell’s started a revolution in the craft brewing industry that changed what a beer label could be. This is the unconventional story of an artist whose love of fishing, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and beer found its way into every store in America. Dave Chapelle, during a comedy set in Kalamazoo said aloud, “Why the hell did you put a fish on the label?” However, eccentric artist Ladislav Hanka’s reasoning is simple yet personal. Just like the rest of his artwork.

2024 • USA • 17 min • Chris Cresci

Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick

Set against the backdrop of Desolation Canyon, UT, Mikah Meyer, a world-record traveler and LGBTQ+ advocate, reflects with three close friends and his mentor, Larry Edwards, on their stories and the power of mentorship within the queer community. As a child, Mikah believed he could never have a successful life AND be publicly out and gay. When he moved to college and met Larry, his openly gay choir professor, a lifelong mentorship was born. Amidst conversations and joy along the river, we understand the power and importance of their friendship. As Larry enters what he calls the ‘final chapter’ of his life, he reflects on the lifelong fight for openness and vulnerability within the queer community, and through the desolation of nature, finds contentment in a job well done.