By some reports, the boxoffice for Hollywood was down 15-20 percent this summer. Are audiences gettingsick of seeing the same old heroes escaping from rolling fireballs when theyaren’t saving the universe from inside a Spandex jumpsuit? Could competitionfrom Netflix or even YouTube be eroding moviegoing?
Fortunately, there arealternatives to tiresome blockbusters as well as opportunities to seealternatives to contemporary Hollywood as they are meant to be experienced—withan audience in the dark transfixed by images moving across a big screen. Onceagain, the Milwaukee Film Festival steps in to provide an intensive 15 dayimmersion in cinema, Sept. 25-Oct. 9, at the Oriental and Downer Landmarktheaters and the Fox-Bay and Times, with events near the Oriental at KenilworthSquare, Hotel Foster and Collectivo Café on Prospect Avenue. For two weeks,Milwaukee’s East Side will be ground zero for cinema buffs.
This year MFF has 13tracks with programs devoted to children’s and music movies, African-Americanand local filmmakers, local cineastes, documentaries and more. The essentialinternational dimension is represented by “Passport: Mexico,” which focuses onfeatures and documentaries from our southern neighbor, and “Worldviews,” anambitiously curated look at contemporary world cinema.
MFF’s beautifullyproduced glossy festival guide is on the streets as of this week. Look for it,or check out mkefilm.org.
