Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Short Film Festival
Film poster for Mascot by Leeha Kim, featured in the 2019 Milwaukee Short Film Festival
2019 is the 21st consecutive year for the Milwaukee Short Film Festival (MSFF), but the event’s roots go even deeper in time. For the festival’s founder Ross Bigley, one of this year’s differences is the number of Milwaukee entries in the two-day program. “Most of our submissions have always been international—it used to be only 10% local submissions,” he explains. “This year, it shot up to 37%. Local filmmakers are seeking us out because we’re an institution that’s been around and respected outside Wisconsin.”
Could it be that there are more filmmakers in town than ever? “It’s hard to say,” Bigley replies. “A lot more people own their own equipment. And we’ve gotten a lot of submissions from UWM and Marquette filmmakers this year.”
For 2019, MSFF features its largest lineup ever with 55 films from around the world. Nearly all are Milwaukee premieres. Among the selections is a Korean animated short, Mascot, described by Bigley as “very atmospheric, not your typical Pixar production”; We Were Hardly More than Children by Milwaukee artist Cecelia Condit; and Snapshots by British radio host Lliana Bird and theater director Phoebe Barran.
New this year is a round-table discussion presented by the Wisconsin Entertainment Lawyers Association. “A lot of filmmakers don’t understand licensing and contracts. WELA’s Robert Arthur—he’s been a big supporter of the festival—came to me with the idea of presenting information on a starter level. Newcomers can ask questions, but experienced people can also glean information from the presentation,” Bigley said.
For the fifth year, MSFF will feature Voices Heard, “the only film event in Milwaukee spotlighting the work of local filmmakers of color,” Bigley says. This year’s Voices Heard includes a collaboration with A Way Forward MKE, a Milwaukee nonprofit organization that will bring local poets to perform as part of the festival. Poster artist Whitney Salgado will display her art in the lobby of the festival’s venue, the Fox Bay Cinema. “The focus will always be on film, but we want a cultural event many people can enjoy,” Bigley explains.
One of the biggest differences between now and 21 years ago, Bigley says, is the number of female filmmakers on the bill. “It used to be that 95% of indie filmmakers were male, white and age 20,” he says. “There are now more African American filmmakers and more [explicitly] LGBTQ filmmakers. Twenty-nine of our 55 films this year are by women. It’s easier to pick a more diverse field of topics than it was years ago. That’s a good thing for me. It makes my job easier.”
Milwaukee Short Film Festival runs Sept. 6-7 at Fox Bay Cinema Grill, 334 E. Silver Spring Drive, Whitefish Bay. For tickets and more information, visit milwaukeeindependentfilmsociety.org.
