It’s miserable outside today but guess what? We’re less than two months away from the 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival! The 15th annual fest is set for April 20 through May 4 at the Oriental Theatre (and other theaters, presumably), and we can’t wait. Oh, and Milwaukee Film just dropped its first MFF2023 title announcement: Metropolis! With live music accompaniment from The Anvil Orchestra!

Yes, the 1927 Fritz Lang silent sci-fi classic will screen in the built-in-1927 Oriental Theatre, and the Vermont-based Anvil Orchestra will provide the music. If all this sounds familiar, it should: The Anvil Orchestra features members of The Alloy Orchestra, which did live scores for numerous past MFFs. In fact, Alloy last did Metropolis during the 2016 Milwaukee Film Festival. Our review of that performance:

MFF’s live accompaniment screening has developed into a fan favorite annual event, or at very least, our favorite annual event. This year’s return of Metropolis, live-scored by festival veterans Alloy Orchestra, was another weird and wonderful chapter in the series. Fritz Lang’s silent sci-fi masterpiece jumps between class conflict, “science,” romance, and seductive robot dance scenes; the Orchestra’s nimble performance had no trouble keeping pace. The nearly 150-minute screening was a ton of fun and the time just flew by. The funky tune the Orchestra dialed up every time the robolady danced will someday be our ringtone.

Here’s hoping the Stop Making Sense dance party returns, too!

Anyway, ticket packages and all-access passes to the 2023 Milwaukee Film Festival are on sale NOW. Think spring!

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