The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival is just around the corner—April 24 – May 8, to be exact. It will feature approximately 200 short and feature-length documentary and fiction films from around the world (and Milwaukee, of course) screening at the Oriental and Downer theatres. It’s gonna be great.
Last month, Milwaukee Film revealed a handful of MFF25 selections. It included a new documentary from Errol Morris, that zany new Pavement doc, and a screening of 1922’s Nosferatu with a live score by the Anvil Orchestra. On Wednesday, Milwaukee Film revealed even more films, including a new documentary on Sally Ride that will serve as the Opening Night selection.
“We’re so excited about this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival, bringing over 200 films to audiences to our historic theatres and activating our vibrant Festival neighborhoods,” says Milwaukee Film’s Executive Director Susan Kerns. “This year’s Festival will include emerging voices and Hollywood luminaries, providing all the cinematic greatness audiences have come to expect from our programming.”
And there’s more! This year, the Opening Night party will take the form of a block party, “transforming the Oriental Theatre and its surrounding neighborhood into a celebration that will kick off the entire two-week festival.” The party will begin at 8 p.m. on April 24, and will be free and open to the public.
“Part of what makes Milwaukee so special is the tremendous sense of community that drives it forward,” says Connor Erickson, Milwaukee Film’s Operations Manager. “As we have shaped this year’s festival footprint into a walkable ecosystem on the East Side, we realized that we have an amazing opportunity to really activate the community that surrounds our historic cinemas, and we’re emphasizing this by turning our opening night celebration into an Opening Night Block Party!”
And there’s MORE. Discounted passes and ticket packages will be available via a Spring Flash Sale beginning Thursday, March 20 at 10 a.m., and running through Friday, March 21. Find more info HERE.
Okay! Here are all of the MFF25 films Milwaukee Film revealed today. See you at the fest! (And stay tuned for a mysterious MFF25 “event” we’re cooking up to compliment our annual sponsorship of the Cinema Hooligante program!)
Art Spiegelman: Disaster is my Muse (dirs. Molly Bernstein, Philip Dolin, 2024, USA)
Dive into the life and work of venerated comix artist Art Spiegelman, from his early days inspired by the irreverence of MAD Magazine to his seminal MAUS, a personal exploration of generational trauma during and after the Holocaust. Now in his late 70s, his work has turned to anti-fascist and anti-censorship activism, no less strident about the truths and values of art and life.
Balomania (dir. Sissel Morell Dargis, 2024, Denmark, Spain)
The culture and work of Brazilian baloeiros—secret groups of men who craft and launch intricate hot-air balloon art—deserve a place on the big screen. This epic portrayal captures the free-spirited artistry and subculture, showcasing a raw, authentic exploration of Brazilian masculinity. Through the filmmaker’s earned trust and intimate lens, the film reveals both the beauty and complexities of this unique community, exposing deep, sometimes turbulent truths about identity, pride, and tradition.
Cloud (dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2024, Japan)
CLOUD is a Kiyoshi Kurosawa neo-noir thriller that centers on Yoshii, a factory worker in Tokyo who makes extra money reselling goods online under a pseudonym. After a particularly successful stint, he quits his job and relocates to the countryside with his girlfriend, hiring a local young man to help with his reselling business. However, Yoshii’s seemingly idyllic life is shattered by mysterious attacks from unknown assailants, dismantling his peace as he discovers multiple enemies targeting him.
Color Book (dir. David Fortune, 2024, USA)
COLOR BOOK highlights the strength and resilience that emerge from the bond of Lucky and Mason, a father and son grieving the loss of Mason’s mother, while exploring the myriad of experiences that can accompany raising a child with Down syndrome. Stellar performances from William Catlett and Jeremiah Alexander Daniels, along with phenomenal directing and writing from David Fortune, make this critically acclaimed directorial debut a film worth seeing.
Death & Taxes (dir. Justin Schein, 2024, USA)
Director Justin Schein turns the camera on his father: Harvey Schein, a successful record company CEO who was a bit obsessed with passing on his wealth to his heirs while avoiding taxes. A case study in America’s history of tax benefits for the wealthy, this timely film deftly interweaves charming and complex family dynamics with equally complex American economic policy, illustrating to even the layperson how our tax structure works for some and not for all.
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (dir. Raoul Peck, 2024, France)
This documentary from Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck chronicles the life and work of South African photographer Ernest Cole, who was the first to expose the horrors of apartheid to a world audience. In 2017, more than 60,000 of his 35mm film negatives were discovered in the safe of a Swedish bank. Through a collection of archival writings and the lens of his uncompromising work, this film reintroduces a pivotal Black artist to a new generation.
Harvest (dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari, 2024, UK)
Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears. Tsangari’s follow up to 2015’s CHEVALIER, this tragicomic take on a Western follows townsman-turned-farmer Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones) and befuddled lord of the manor Charles Kent (Harry Melling), childhood friends who are about to face an invasion from the outside world: the trauma of modernity. This visionary period piece is a haunting allegory about xenophobic anxiety and unchecked capitalism.
Sally (dir. Cristina Costantini, 2025, USA)
OPENING NIGHT! Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure were secrets. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance, deepens our understanding of what motivated this heroine, and gives heft to the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together, in the latest from Milwaukee native Cristina Costantini (SCIENCE FAIR, MFF18).
Sister Midnight (dir. Karan Kandhari, 2024, India, Sweden, UK)
Winner of Best Film in the Next Wave section at Fantastic Fest, genre-bending comedy SISTER MIDNIGHT follows rebellious small-town misfit Uma, who arrives in Mumbai to find herself totally unsuited to life as a housewife. At odds with her prying neighbors and under the constant oppressive noise and heat of the city, she decides to break free from the shackles of domesticity and embrace her feral impulses.
Speak (dirs. Jennifer Teixiera, Guy Mossman, 2025, USA)
MFF alum Jennifer Teixiera (director, SUBJECT, MFF23; editor, 17 BLOCKS, MFF19) teams up with Guy Mossman for this high energy doc following five top-ranked high school oratory students from around the country as they spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances. All dream of winning one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions, but there can be only one champion in this inspiring film about the powers of youth and language.
This is a Film About the Black Keys (dir. Jeff Dupre, 2024, USA)
This music-filled documentary follows The Black Keys, from their parents’ garages in Ohio to global fame. Geeky Pat and popular Dan develop a unique musical chemistry and style influenced by Mississippi blues, and embark on tour in a minivan. During their rise, they gain fans, wives, and acclaim. When rockstar status and the pressures of fame strain their creative partnership, the duo reckon with the hidden costs of success.
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