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, Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Representative in Attendance
Patrick Concannon reflects on his ancestral land near North Lake Leelanau, where hunting, gathering and caring for the land connect family across generations. This film is part of the Leelanau Conservancy’s Indigenous Knowledges Project, dedicated to elevating Anishinaabe voices.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
Two boys arrive at a remote summer camp in the Vermont woods. Free from screens and societal expectations, they learn to open up, support one another, and redefine what it means to be a boy.
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
Explore the rise of forward-facing sonar, the most controversial technology in modern fishing. Is this innovation… or are we crossing the line between sport and simulation?
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, Work in Progress, Making Waves Recipient, 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, Family Friendly, Representative in Attendance, Student Filmmaker
_Organic Network _features interviews from urban farmers and experts in Flint, Michigan on the impact of the water crisis, COVID, benefits of local farming, and how the lives of the farmers have changed over the years.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Adult Language, Michigan Premiere, Adult Themes, Staff Pick
From Brooklyn’s concrete jungle to the heart of the Everglades, Black wildlife photographer George McKenzie Jr. is transforming his lens into a beacon of change. A rare gem in the predominantly white canvas of wildlife photography, McKenzie is empowering kids of color to shift their gaze to conservation.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
Lead poisoning is an ongoing public health emergency. This short documentary goes into the trenches with the workers and advocates fighting to replace lead pipes in Wisconsin, while revealing the human stakes of a water crisis that continues to put children at risk.
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?
Has Subtitles
If a train in Detroit could talk, what would it say? This short film showcases the possible musings of Detroit’s tiny public transit system.
Filmmaker in Attendance
UNFINISHED is a five-minute documentary built entirely from photographs of American flags in ordinary places: farms, storefronts, closed main streets. With no faces or partisan narration, the flag stands as a constant witness, present in both celebration and struggle, to the distance between American promise and lived reality.
Filmmaker in Attendance, First Time Filmmaker
Water is Life covers issues facing the Great Lakes in brief yet explains how people around the region are doing something when it comes to the challenges they face. This is a synopsis of the longer documentary still in production.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Representative in Attendance
For Tanya Raphael, maple season is a time for family, friends, and tradition. This film is part of the Leelanau Conservancy’s Indigenous Knowledges Project, dedicated to elevating Anishinaabe voices.