Filmmaker in Attendance, World Premiere
A Seething Underneath explores the stories of three Wisconsin communities grappling with the devastating challenges posed by water contamination – from lead in Milwaukee’s drinking water, to nitrate-polluted groundwater in the state’s farm country, to the threats posed by factory farming on the shores of Lake Superior.
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, Subject in Attendance, Work in Progress
Filmmaker Kate Arpke Houle unravels her father’s unusual childhood inside a rural Wisconsin mental hospital, where he and his siblings grew up among patients. Not Abandoned explores family, resilience, and confronting darkness with curiosity in this unfolding Midwestern tale.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles
“Citizen” explores the near deportation of Grand Rapids, Michigan-born U.S. citizen, Marine, and combat veteran Jilmar Ramos Gomez. This film scrutinizes the system that nearly expelled him, the collaboration between local law enforcement and I.C.E., and raises critical questions about who gets to define what it means to be American.
Filmmaker in Attendance
The Lake Sturgeon has existed virtually unchanged for more than 130 million years. It survived a meteor impact and outlived the dinosaurs but we’ve found out it couldn’t survive in the face of human development. With only 1 percent remaining in the Great Lakes, conservationists in Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay are working to bring this iconic species back.
First Time Filmmaker, Filmmaker in Attendance, Student Filmmaker
A documentary about urbanism and life on the road- how is a car centric society changing the way we interact?
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Making Waves Recipient, Filmmaker in Attendance
Using relationship as a method of storytelling, Edgelands explores urban green spaces to see what’s thriving despite impositions of modern infrastructure.
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
Mud-thick boots, cold farmers, an adze chopping holes for tiny trees in a huge field. These are memorable images from a film that follows one recent restoration project of Ohio’s Black Swamp Conservancy to tell the larger story of the history and mission of the Conservancy.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Adult Language, Adult Themes, Nudity, Staff Pick
GOLD is a documentary exploring the lives of four current dancers and the owner of the Gold Nugget strip club in Spread Eagle, Wisconsin. The film focuses heavily on Dusty’s story, who was a dancer in the 90s. She has owned the club for 30 years, and runs the club in a way that empowers women, guiding them to further education, encourages them toward sobriety, and offers respect and support through unconditional (and sometimes tough) love.
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!!
First Time Filmmaker
In the wake of the Iraq war, anti-war protesters began gathering on a street corner in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Twenty years later, a small but dedicated group still gathers, their message unchanged.
Adult Language, Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker, Student Filmmaker, Filmmaker in Attendance
A 17-year-old’s first film offers an intimate look at the climate crisis, current events and a trip West through a teenagers eyes. It is brave to admit you are scared.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Adult Language, Has Subtitles, Staff Pick
In the heart of Detroit, a city with a rich history and a tapestry of diverse communities, “Land of Lost Toys” follows the interconnected lives of its residents, brought together by a shared passion to combat the city’s vast stray dog epidemic. This mosaic of characters carry their own burdens and dreams, navigating the challenges of life in Detroit. With conflicted views on the breeding, spaying and neutering this group of characters discuss the saddening results of disposability culture, lack of municipal support and overall care for “humans’ best friend”. Following our lead character James, we get a unique look into the world of dog fostering and rescuing as he navigates his own internal hardships and the emotional support dogs bring to him.
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
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance
The story of hardship, growth and resilience many indigenous women experience.
Michigan Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
Missouri isn’t a place most people think of when they think of ultra running. But it’s here on the rolling hills and chunky karst terrain where race director Shalini Bhajjan has built Terrain Trail Runners, a community of long distance ultra trail runners. Follow along as three members of this community set out to complete Shalini’s toughest race and run 100 miles through extreme weather in the Ozark foothills.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
Grant takes an unconventional road trip in a tiny 33 year old kei car from Japan, with a simple goal: to challenge the narrative that electric vehicles are the greener choice.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Student Filmmaker
A look at the annual efforts to deploy and maintain the data collecting buoys by the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences. From scientists and sailors to weather forecasters and beachgoers, these buoys play an integral part of our lives to help us better understand and respond to the changing conditions of the Great Lakes.
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
Something in the Water follows five water justice advocates who discuss how Milwaukee’s Black communities are disproportionately being lead poisoned, the debilitating effects it has on residents’ health, and their hopes to see equitable change that will heal the water and Black resident’s relationship to it.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Has Subtitles, First Time Filmmaker, World Premiere, Making Waves Recipient, Staff Pick
After turning her Chicago home into a monarch butterfly sanctuary, Claudia Galeno-Sánchez, an environmental activist, Mexican immigrant, and mother is on a mission to save the monarch butterfly, an important symbol for both her family and millions of others in the United States.
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, Staff Pick
The Grand Ride follows Grand Rapids, Michigan rider Patrick Ellis as he carves his way through West Michigan’s best mountain bike trails. From the punchy climbs of Richmond Park to the fast flow of The Underground and the lush loops of The Bike Park this film is a love letter to the region’s growing trail network and tight-knit riding community.
Has Subtitles, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Family Friendly
Rufino Vargas moved to the U.S. from Mexico in 1988. Vargas, who has diabetes, now owns and operates Ortega Urban Farms on Detroit’s westside. He says farming has helped him manage his blood sugar while providing healthy food for his family — and other Detroiters.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
The film tells the story of how researchers discover ‘lingering ash’ trees, and use them to genetically breed emerald ash borer resistant trees. They hope to someday plant resistant trees back in forests across the country. A production from Points North Podcast & The Boardman Review in partnership with Great Lakes Now / Detroit PBS.
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.
Michigan Premiere
Explore the evolution and transformation of a stretch of the Chicago River into a thriving habitat and neighborhood fixture through the Wild Mile, the world’s first floating eco-park planned and developed by nonprofit Urban Rivers.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, Filmmaker in Attendance
In the face of climate change, Wisconsin conservationists are protecting the plants and wildlife at Rush Creek State Natural Area. Using fire and innovative adaptive techniques, their proactive approach offers a model for building resilience across our natural spaces in an uncertain future. In partnership with the Natural Resources Foundation of WI.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, Filmmaker in Attendance
Following in his father’s footsteps of polar exploration, captain Peter Schurke takes us up the West coast of Svalbard in a small sailboat, dwarfed by the towering mountains of this arctic archipelago.
Filmmaker in Attendance
Elite cyclist Noah Collins reflects on his journey in the sport while hoping to inspire the next generation as he competes in the La Crosse Omnium in La Crosse, WI, the only three-day omnium in the United States.
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.