2026 • USA • 24 min • Steve Panton

Filmmaker in Attendance, First Time Filmmaker

Artists, researchers, and activists explore the relationship between their lived experiences and the patterns of uneven development in Metropolitan Detroit and its art ecosystem.

2026 • USA • 4 min • Amara Johnson

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.

2025 • USA • 48 min • Ben Knight, Berne Broudy

Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Staff Pick

Best Day Ever follows the stories of two adaptive mountain bikers as they navigate the relentless challenges of their disabilities and embrace the tremendous support, friendship, and joy they find in their rural Vermont riding community.

2026 • USA • 3 min • Nick & Chris Loud

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.

2026 • USA • 25 min • Harrison Buck

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.

2025 • USA • 14 min • Grace Eggleston

Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles, Staff Pick

When her best “pow day” friend is diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age, Stephanie turns her grief into purpose. Set deep in the Colorado Rockies, Forever in the Mountains tells the powerful origin story of the nonprofit Tits Deep for Breast Cancer. Join Stephanie as she navigates grief, finds sisterhood, and works to save young lives in the mountains.

2020 • USA • 5 min • Annette Summersett

Filmmaker in Attendance

A music video for the song ‘If I Go’ which touches on themes of life, death, rebirth, mental health and mother nature. Featuring various beautiful, natural U.P. locations such as The Huron Islands, Montreal Falls, Point Abbaye, and Manitou Island.

2026 • USA • 65 min • Chris Ozminski

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.

2026 • USA • 9 min • Martha Shue

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.

2026 • USA • 6 min • Mike Ramsdell

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.

2026 • USA • 5 min • Lindsey Hagen

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.

2026 • USA • 20 min • Nate Sheppard

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.

2026 • USA • 15 min • Kate Stapleton

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?

2025 • USA • 39 min • Joe VanderMeulen

Representative in Attendance

The Search for Anna & Levi uncovers the overlooked story of Anna and Levi Johnson, early Black homesteaders in Leelanau County. Through descendants, historians, and regional experts, the film connects their family story to the broader history of African American settlement in the Midwest.

2026 • USA • 57 min • J.S. Phillips

Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Adult Language, Adult Themes

Witchy Boots_ _is a spirited and empowering documentary that explores both historical and modern women that shape the craft beer industry. From trailblazing founders accused of witchcraft to contemporary voices carving space in the male-dominated field, the film captures the movement toward inclusion, creativity, and sisterhood inside the brewhouse.

2025 • Canada • 11 min • Dr. Kelsey Leonard and Alejandro Miranda

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.

2026 • USA • 10 min • Kelley Wolf Griffith

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.

2026 • USA • 8 min • Mark Wilson of New Leonard Media

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.