MKE International Short Film Fest
The pandemic forced the Milwaukee International Short Film Festival to go virtual since 2020. This year, the Short Festival returns to the big screen, but for one day only and in a new location, the Avalon Atmospheric Theater.
“There were some successes and some things that didn’t work as well as I thought—ultimately, we should be in-person,” says Ross Bigley, the festival’s founder and director. Plans for 2022 began after the end of last year’s virtual festival. “COVID might still be around, we thought, but with people starting to go movies, it might be fine to do it live. We hedged our bets by making it a one-day festival.”
Bigley and his crew were happy with the previous venue, the Fox Bay Cinema in Whitefish Bay, but the theater remains closed since the pandemic began. When he heard that the Twisted Dreams Film Festival, Milwaukee’s showcase of cinematic horror, chose the Avalon, Bigley decided to follow suit. Open since 1929 and located in the heart of Milwaukee’s hip Bay View neighborhood, the Avalon is one of two functioning Milwaukee movie palaces from the silent age.
At one time, 80 percent of the festival’s short films were of foreign origin and the rest from Wisconsin. Those percentages have been flipped. “I’ve seen a rise in the last years of Milwaukee filmmakers. More and more people want to be filmmakers in this state and there has been a rise in female filmmakers and filmmakers of color in Wisconsin,” Bigley says.
The demographic of its contributors has changed dramatically since the festival began. “Twenty years ago, it was mostly white guys from the UWM film school,” he says of local directors. “Nowadays it has opened up. Everyone feels they have a story to tell and cameras are more accessible than ever.”
This year’s Short Film Festival includes 34 entries, many by directors who have submitted to the festival in the past. Some of this year’s filmmakers come with significant resumes. Milwaukee animator Owen Klatte, whose Of Wood took five years to complete, worked on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and The Nightmare before Christmas. Actor Mtume Gant (“Oz,” “Hurricane Streets”) turns director with Mold of Malachi. The festival’s Voices Heard program focuses on work by Milwaukee filmmakers of color. Yungsnag is a documentary by Erin Hastings that spotlights up and coming Milwaukee rapper, Sanjiv Chheda, AKA Yungsnag.
One virtual element remains: a recorded panel discussion on Wisconsin film tax incentives (or lack of them). In the interest of giving it the widest exposure, the discussion will be available on the festival’s YouTube channel.
The Milwaukee International Short Film Festival is scheduled to begin with screenings at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Avalon Atmospheric Theater, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Tickets are available at avalonmke.com. For more information, visit
