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, World Premiere
On the shores of the Keweenaw Peninsula, a group of paranormal investigators break out their ghost hunting equipment and expertise to prove the historic Eagle Harbor Lighthouse is haunted. But their evidence leaves some unconvinced.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
Indigenous and Western ways of knowing come together through the collaboration of a Anishinaabe scholar and college professor to redefine our understanding of wilderness and argue for the return of fire to our forests.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
In November 2016 Gatlinburg, Tennessee was devastated by a wildfire that impacted thousands of families and businesses. Beyond the Ashes tells the stories of the families and businesses affected by the fire and how one city demonstrated resilience during its darkest times.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles, Michigan Premiere
Bloodhound dog handlers have an essential role in Québec’s hunting ecosystem. Thanks to them, a large number of wounded and lost animals are found during hunting season. Meet Yves Martineau as he follows the long waits and intense searches that come with the job.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
Bouncy Brothers examines the unspoken bond of brotherhood and what it looks like to take a second crack at the American dream.
First Time Filmmaker, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Filmmaker in Attendance
Rooted in the core values of uplifting representation, place, and public learning, this segment follows Alice Lyn and community members on a powerful journey to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where they learn to ice climb at Michigan Ice Fest.
Color Out Here is a TV show highlighting BIPOC representation in the outdoors through Public Learning, Representation, and Place. Each episode explores outdoor activities, unique environmental narratives, and the intersection of identity with nature, inspiring inclusion and advocacy for equitable access to outdoor spaces.
Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Representative in Attendance
Eight Detroit youth venture to Yosemite National Park to meet legendary Park Ranger and fellow Detroiter, Shelton Johnson. A homecoming in the High Sierra ensues and the next generation is inspired to connect with and protect precious outdoor spaces.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
What does it take to start a small business in rural Wisconsin? ENTREPRENEUR explores the stories of four interconnected businesses in a historic building in downtown Rhinelander.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Student Filmmaker
A short documentary about three generations of Ojibwe women from L’Anse, Michigan, sharing their stories about intergenerational trauma.
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, 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!!
Has Subtitles, Michigan Premiere, Family Friendly
Over 400 years ago, a major disturbance disrupted nature’s law along the West Coast, reshaping coastlines, Indigenous life, and traditions. Now, a new wave emerges, allowing Indigenous communities to thrive in harmony with nature. Haagua portrays the deep bond between Great Great-Grandmother Ocean and her great-grandchildren, where surfing is more than a sport—it is a cultural revival, reconnecting with ancestral ways of life.
Family Friendly
A cross pacific journey to find one’s homeland on a 26 foot voyaging canoe. Join a pacific islanders path from learning the stars to eventually re discovering their island.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly
Blending stunning visuals, heartfelt stories, and expert perspectives, “Lake Leelanau, Spirit of the Lake” is a heartfelt tribute to a lake that continues to shape the identity and memories of its community.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
A short documentary about the importance of Native American language revitalization shot in Milwaukee, Keshena and Bjorklunden with Indigenous Nations Poets
Michigan Premiere, Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Adult Themes
In 2022, 17-year-old Marquette High School student Jordan DeMay’s life ended. What looked like a suicide revealed something far more sinister, an international scheme that preyed on his trust.
Family Friendly
Love & Sugar celebrates how Stephen Loveland, renowned Saint Paul, Minnesota ice cream man, purposefully inspires kindness.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
A look into Devin Brown’s journey as she seeks to be the First black female on record to kayak the entire Mississippi River.
Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
Join Turkic-American pro-skier, Giray Dadali, on his journey to answer a life-long question: Which has a greater influence; the heritage from which you descended or the culture in which you were raised?
Filmmaker in Attendance
The story of hardship, growth and resilience many indigenous women experience.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Representative in Attendance
From Rugg Pond Dam on the Rapid River in Kalkaska County to the Crystal River in Leelanau County, this film follows the Conservation Resource Alliance’s River Care program and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians as they restore Northern Michigan’s rivers—reconnecting waters, renewing habitats, and honoring cultural ties.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance
“ScrapFest: An Artist’s Journey” chronicles the transformation of an artist as he turns scrap metal into stunning sculptures—celebrating resilience, community, and reclaimed beauty. Embracing sobriety, Andrew carved out his own second chance while also giving new life to scrap, crafting beautiful pieces that express his experiences and himself.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, Representative in Attendance
Taste of Home follows Mimi and Eak, a Thai couple who run a beloved restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through a blend of vérité footage and intimate interviews, we observe a full day in their lives, from morning prep to closing time, they navigate the joys and challenges of running an authentic Thai kitchen in America.
Adult Language, Filmmaker in Attendance
How does a satire comedy website find itself on the front lines of the debate over free speech online? Seth Dillon and his team at the Babylon Bee,tell the story of how they unwittingly found themselves at war with Twitter over a joke, eventually garnering the attention of Elon Musk and ushering in a new era for the social media company.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
A dedicated group of paddlers embarks on a seven-day journey along Vermont’s Upper Missisquoi and Trout Rivers, celebrating the 10th anniversary of their Wild & Scenic designation.
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, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
The Inner Sea is an unconventional love story–a story about music, adoption, the journey of a lifetime, and a bright blue 40 foot school bus. This film explores the complex issues of identity that result from the decision to place a child for adoption. It is also a film that explores the role that art plays in suffering, and healing.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
On a windswept hill, in a place still young and devoid of all life, an ancestral house builds itself. The house comes to life and unveils its long life of one hundred and fifty years. Brick by brick and beam by beam, each action, big or small, shows life. Over the years, it leads us to feel the passage of time, the transformations of its surroundings and its vulnerability in the face of the unstoppable frenzy of our urban growth. The house evolves quietly in the heart of a growing and buzzing city that will eventually bring its end.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, Representative in Attendance
The Seven Grandfathers Teachings sculpture, created by renowned Anishinaabeg artist Jason Quigno, is an installation in the public art collection of the City of Marquette that honors the foundational principles of Anishinaabe culture.
Michigan Premiere, Family Friendly, World Premiere, Representative in Attendance, Filmmaker in Attendance
The pristine waters and winding channels of the the Bad River and Kakagon Sloughs hold the largest wild rice beds in the Great Lakes. Managed through time by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the sloughs are recognized internationally for their exceptional quality. They also remain under threat from an aging oil pipeline and impacts of climate change. The video is a segment of an upcoming hour-long documentary, Estuaries in the Balance: Freshwater Nurseries of Lake Superior, which is being produced by Hamline University’s Center for Global Environmental Education.
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.
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.
Hope comes to a South Memphis neighborhood that has struggled with basic resources. It takes the unlikely form of a climbing gym, where Jarmond Johnson and others experience different outcomes on the wall.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, First Time Filmmaker, Student Filmmaker
A perspective of life in Marquette, MI through the lens of Project Knot Work, a community of 12 self-directed homeschooled kids.