"Hi, Neighbor!" appearing at the Milwaukee Short Film Festival
Entering its 17th season, the Milwaukee Short Film Festival (MSFF) is a much different entity this year than in 2014. For one thing, the venue has shifted from its longtime home at the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Lubar Auditorium to ComedySportz, an address more familiar for funny business than film. More importantly, this year’s MSFF focuses more heavily on Milwaukee filmmakers, stepping back from its growing reputation as a venue for international short subjects.
According to Ross Bigley, founder and executive director, the programming move was not premeditated but a response to our city’s flourishing indie film scene. “This year, we had an abundance of local talent sending us their films. It was a noticeable shift—there are a lot more local filmmakers than ever.”
Night one of the two-evening event, a program track called “Voices Heard! A Local Multi-Cultural Filmmaker Showcase,” is purpose-dedicated to Milwaukee. The Friday program will include nine films curated by Rubin Whitmore II, a local filmmaker whose résumé includes music videos for the band Arrested Development.
“I approached Rubin, noticing the differences in film communities in Milwaukee,” Bigley explains. “The film students at AI [The Art Institute of Wisconsin] are primarily minority, and the students at UW-Milwaukee film department are primarily white. Many of these filmmakers haven’t been seen locally. It’s a way of reaching out.”
As usual, MSFF will give out several trophies, including the Pace-setter Award for “those who strive to help Milwaukee’s filmmaking community.” This year’s recipient, Jared Stepp, increased sponsorship and submissions for Milwaukee’s annual 48-Hour Film Project after taking charge of it three years ago.
The Saturday evening program is also heavy on Milwaukee talent and includes documentary and fiction shorts, many only four or five minutes long. When asked to define a short film, Bigley replies, “You’re telling one story, setting it up and resolving it. With feature films you typically have the classic three-act structure. Looking at short film festivals in other cities five years ago, it was common to see 20-30-minute films. Now the trend is getting shorter.”
Rather than blame audience attention deficit, Bigley sees it as shrewd programming. “The more movies you plug into a block of time, the more chance you’ll have for a wider audience,” he says.
Milwaukee Short Film Festival runs Sept. 11-12 at ComedySportz Milwaukee, 420 S. First St. For more information, visit: milwaukeeindependentfilmsociety.org.
