Milwaukee Film will hold two 15-day virtual film festivals this fall including the 12th annual Milwaukee Film Festival (MFF2020), which although virtual, will take place during its previously announced dates of Oct. 15-29. The second Minority Health Film Festival (MHFF), presented by the Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin regional health network, will expand to 15 days, running from Sept. 10-24.
“This is a way for us to give our community some much-needed opportunities to connect and celebrate,” said Jonathan Jackson, CEO of Milwaukee Film. “Usually our fall events wrap up an incredibly packed season of festivals in our city – but this year, most of Milwaukee’s beloved fests have been canceled.
“We know our film festivals are better when we’re together, but we’re confident that we can deliver amazing experiences in a virtual space – full of discovery, wonder, tears, laughter and community,” he added.
MINORITY HEALTH FILM FESTIVAL
SEPT. 10-24
In a year when minority communities have been highly impacted by both the coronavirus pandemic and the increasingly urgent fight against racism, Milwaukee Film with the support of partners such as Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, will move forward with an expanded virtual MHFF.
More than 25 feature films and three shorts programs will pair with about a dozen events, all structured around themes of family, community and institutional health. The festival will also highlight health resources and ways for festival attendees to take action toward improving health outcomes.
“We started this festival last year thinking that we knew exactly how important it was to have conversations around minority health, and then 2020 happened,” said Geraud Blanks, director of Milwaukee Film’s Cultures and Communities program. “It turns out these topics are even more vital to explore after everything that’s taken place in the last few months
“We see this festival as an amazing opportunity to leverage the power of film and conversation – and turn it into action,” he noted. “A lot of people have seen the impacts of the coronavirus and of racism on our community and wondered what they can do. Our hope is that, if you take part in the Minority Health Film Festival, you’ll have more of the tools you need to help change things for the better.”
MILWAUKEE FILM FESTIVAL
OCT. 15-29
“This spring, we struggled with trying to make the best decisions for our staff, our industry and our community,” Jackson said. “It came down to this: The Milwaukee Film Festival is the core of everything we do, and if we can safely have a festival, then we’re having a festival.
“The incredible thing about having a film festival virtually is the opportunity we have to reach a vast number of people that we’ve never reached before through the accessibility provided by these new digital platforms,” he added.
The campaign theme for MFF2020 will be “Adapted for Your Screen,” a nod both to the change to a virtual platform and to the rich artwork created by local artist Jade Watring, which features technicolor butterflies emerging from a fantastical chrysalis.
“Oddly enough, we decided in early 2019 that this year’s theme would be built on the idea of transformation, and we had drafts of Jade’s beautiful artwork in February,” noted Jackson. “Highlighting the adaptations that take place in nature was eerily on the nose.”
Though MFF2020 will offer a slimmer set of film selections than in 2019, Milwaukee Film is confident there will still be something for everyone, and attendees will also have many opportunities to interact with filmmakers. With films being offered on demand, at a lower price point and without location restrictions, film fans will have more choices than ever before to view all the titles that spark their interest.