Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Representative in Attendance
Kendsie and Matt have been living car-free forever, and now they’ve added two kids to the mix without losing any of their optimism. The filmmaker knew she had to capture the joy it’s brought her family and so many others along the way.
Michigan Premiere
This short documentary tells the story of sandhill cranes in America.
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.
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.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, World Premiere, Staff Pick
Carving a Legacy follows Luke Costilow, an award-winning duck decoy carver and wildlife conservationist, and the often-overlooked role of hunters as stewards of the environment.
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, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere
Cold Blooded Kari follows Minneapolis ultra winter athlete Kari Gibbons on her journey toward the legendary 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Invitational on foot. Driven by an obsession with winter and the pursuit of endurance, Kari has become a respected leader in the growing community of female ultra winter athletes.
Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
Since 1972 the Little Traverse Conservancy has preserved over 82,000 acres in northern Michigan. Today every LTC sign is an invitation and a reminder that all conservany-owned lands are open to you to enjoy.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly
Scattered around the shores of the Great Lakes are unique ridge and swale ecosystems, created over thousands of years and home to many rare species. Researcher Steve Loheide wants to know what’s happening beneath these landscapes - how shifting Great Lakes water levels ripple underground, and what that could mean for this fragile ecosystem’s future.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere
Endless Ride follows artist Billy Coulon of Evergreen Skateparks and his crew making public parks as skateable art pieces all over the United States.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly
The Midwest has a rich natural heritage of beautiful forests, sprawling prairies and clear and clean lakes and rivers. While the human footprint across America’s heartland clashes with nature, protection and restoration of our most sensitive habitats is how humans can find a way to help biodiversity persist within our working landscapes.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance
Frontier to Freedom is the origin story of Michigan from 1600-1837. Through a blend of expert interviews, archival imagery, and stunning visuals, the film traces our evolution from a vast wilderness inhabited by Indigenous peoples to its history of war and conflict on the American frontier, and the complex socio-political forces that shaped its path to statehood.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly
A group of high school students at a boarding school in Northern Michigan set out to make a film about regenerative farming, only to get tangled in the contradictions between what they learn and the system that feeds them.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Has Subtitles, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
On the mend from a knee replacement, ultra marathoner Dane Rauschenberg attempts to break a record in the half marathon portage category – even though he’s never before lifted a canoe!
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance
An inside look at Northern Michigan’s surf scene. Hometown hype is part of a video series highlighting America’s Surf Towns.
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, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, First Time Filmmaker
At 86 years old, Michigan fly fishing legend Jac Ford still paddles rivers across Michigan and Montana, guiding clients and teaching fellow guides his craft. In Jac, the master angler reveals some of his secrets, and shares a lifetime of wisdom for living a long, happy life.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Adult Language
Mall Video Store is a fun and nostalgic short documentary about Harrison Lange, owner of Static Tape Video, an independent video store located inside a Michigan shopping mall. Passionate about movies and physical media, Harrison spends his days rescuing VHS tapes, tracking down forgotten collections, and creating a place where movie lovers can connect through a shared love of film.
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, Adult Language
Spanning between Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota lies 650 miles of trees, lakes, and trails, what some call the North Woods, where most folks don’t expect to see anyone on a bicycle. A posse of Midwestern boys decided it’d be a good idea to bike through this area of the country that sometimes gets overlooked.
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
It’s theater of the mind! It’s cinema for the ear! It’s a Points North listening party! This immersive audio experience will transport you through time and space via two never heard before episodes of the award winning podcast about the land, water and inhabitants of the Great Lakes. Discussion with Points North producers Ellie Katz and Dan Wanschura will follow.
Adult Language
The city of Detroit is 138 square miles. You may know Midtown or Downtown, but Rabinski has been all around. Follow Dan as he traverses the back roads, alleys, and dense wilderness of the Detroit you’ve never seen. Armed with only his bicycle and a camera, Rabinski takes you on a journey that even the locals have a hard time finding.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly
Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin’s largest inland lake, used to teem with wild rice. What happened to the rice, and how do we help restore it? An intertribal, interdisciplinary team is blending traditional ecological knowledge and western science to answer these questions.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Staff Pick
The film explores the lake sturgeon’s traditional role in Anishinaabe culture as told through interviews with community members across Michigan and examines how traditional beliefs have guided and revolutionized lake sturgeon restoration efforts in the Great Lakes.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Student Filmmaker
After their life takes an unexpected turn, Megan and Mitchell start a business creating keepsakes for families’ most important moments.
Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick
A documentary chronicling the life and career of Kristian Svitak, a professional skateboarder hailing from Cleveland, Ohio. Known for his fearless style and dedication, Svitak has been a significant figure in shaping Ohio’s skateboarding culture.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Has Subtitles
Spearfishing brings Ojibwe families together, honors ancestors, and provides food for the community. Despite this, spearfishing is often misunderstood outside of Indigenous communities. Hear from the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin about what spearfishing means to them, and how they scientifically manage the fishery.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Subject in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, Student Filmmaker, Family Friendly
A student documentary exploring what drives people to keep going, and the people who show up to support them, Still Running follows the Anderson Lake Backyard Ultra, a grueling endurance race in the heart of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly, Michigan Premiere
Drafted by the Detroit Tigers 50 years ago, Mike Wilson never made it to the Major Leagues. Instead, he devoted his life to coaching youth baseball in Detroit. Now overseeing historic Hamtramck Stadium, the former Negro League ballpark where he fell in love with the game, Mike’s story reveals how mentorship, community, and baseball can shape generations.
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.
Michigan Premiere, Staff Pick
The last commercial fishermen of the Great Lakes struggle to survive as they face unprecedented ecological disasters, a changing climate, and outdated governmental regulations.
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?
Filmmaker in Attendance, Michigan Premiere, World Premiere, Nudity
The Heat That Holds Us explores the enduring sauna culture of the Great Lakes region, tracing its evolution from century-old public steam rooms to breathtaking modern architectural marvels.
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, Michigan Premiere
In America’s Dairyland, many families only learn that the water coming from their wells is toxic once it’s far too late. The Right to Know follows people living with nitrate and bacterial contamination caused by factory farming, and shows how knowing what’s in your water can be a matter of life and death.
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.
Filmmaker in Attendance, Family Friendly
For four decades, volunteers with the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology have visited Wisconsin’s Baraboo Hills before dawn, gently netting and banding birds one by one. Year after year, the data adds up to something bigger - a long-term window into how bird populations are shifting across the country.
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.
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.
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.