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With the popularity of streaming, the future of moviegoing might be more virtual than physical. But as the Milwaukee Short Film Festival marks its 20th anniversary this weekend, it’s worth observing that the event began virtually—as a broadcast on Milwaukee Area Cable Access—and eventually migrated to big screens in front of live audiences.
This year, MSFF’s second at the Fox Bay Cinema Grill, the festival will feature 50 films and two panel discussions over two days. “It looks like the Fox Bay will be our home until we decide we’re done,” says MSFF founder Ross Bigley. For the theater, MSFF presents an opportunity to fill time slots and seats during a slack period for first release films and for MSFF, the historic neighborhood cinema (complete with bar and food service) is a chance to do what festivals do best—gather together people with common interests for thought-provoking experiences in a convivial setting.
“Legacy is the theme,” Bigley says of MSFF 2018. “We have lots of returning filmmakers with new work. I also reached out to past festival award winners to rescreen films.” Among them, the first movie broadcast in the festival’s opening year, Mark G.E.’s “The Phantom Limb.”
Bigley was on the leading edge when he conceived a festival dedicated only to shorts. Since MSFF began, many similar events have popped up across the world. In the past decade, short films have increasingly grown shorter. “The trend is not more than 15 minutes,” Bigley explains. The shift has been motivated in part by ticket sales. “The more films you show the more people will come,” he continues.
But other programming changes reflect social and cultural developments. Until relatively recently, indie filmmaking—whether the films were short or long—was largely the pursuit of 20something white guys. “We get a lot more submissions from female directors than ever before—a remarkable increase,” Bigley says. “More people feel the need to tell their own story” spurred by the affordability of digital. Themes and styles are also more varied than when MSFF began. “We’re seeing LGBTQ, black, Asian and Latino directors—a greater range of diversity than ever.”
This year’s panels include discussions on filmmaking and film festival submissions. MSFF bestows several awards, including for audience appreciation, a Best Milwaukee Film prize and the Pace-setter Award for “outstanding leadership to the Milwaukee film community.” (Full disclosure: I am a past recipient). This year the Pace-setter will go to Eric Levin, who operated the Avalon and Times cinemas and managed the Oriental for many years until the venue’s takeover this summer by Milwaukee Film.
The Milwaukee Short Film Festival runs Sept. 7-8 at Fox Bay Cinema Grill, 334 E. Silver Spring Drive. For more information, visit milwaukeeindependentfilmsociety.org.
