If you enjoyed the all-virtual Milwaukee Film Festival in October, another one is right around the corner.

Milwaukee Film announced Monday afternoon that the 2021 Milwaukee Film Festival will not only be virtual, but it will be held in May—May 6-20, to be exact. Passes for virtual screenings go on sale tomorrow.

“As the Milwaukee Film Festival has evolved into the community-centric event that Milwaukee knows and loves, we’ve discussed extensively the benefits of moving to the spring,” said Jonathan Jackson, CEO of Milwaukee Film, in a press release. “From both a community and an industry perspective, a spring Festival would better suit our needs and serve our audience. It’s odd, but the disruption created by the pandemic has actually played a significant role in opening up this opportunity.

“We’ve seen some positive long-term developments for fighting COVID-19 in the news recently, but realistically we are planning for a 2021 Festival that’s primarily, or possibly exclusively, virtual,” he continued.

The all-virtual 2020 fest boasted an attendance of 66,286, with more than 1.7 million minutes of film viewed. Also, we watched some old public domain horror movies on Facebook during the fest, which was a hoot.

The 2021 film lineup won’t be announced until April. “Details of any in-person film events, as well as virtual events and guests, will be shared in April,” notes a press release.

And speaking of that press release, here it is:


Milwaukee Film Shifts 2021 Festival to May
Passes for the 13th annual Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by Associated Bank, go on sale on Giving Tuesday

MILWAUKEE – Monday, Nov. 30, 2020 – Milwaukee Film on Monday announced that its 2021 Milwaukee Film Festival, presented by Associated Bank, will take place May 6-20 of next year and, like the 2020 event, will largely take place in a virtual format. Passes for virtual screenings go on sale on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 1, the nonprofit noted.

“As the Milwaukee Film Festival has evolved into the community-centric event that Milwaukee knows and loves, we’ve discussed extensively the benefits of moving to the spring,” said Jonathan Jackson, CEO of Milwaukee Film. “From both a community and an industry perspective, a spring Festival would better suit our needs and serve our audience. It’s odd, but the disruption created by the pandemic has actually played a significant role in opening up this opportunity.

“We’ve seen some positive long-term developments for fighting COVID-19 in the news recently, but realistically we are planning for a 2021 Festival that’s primarily, or possibly exclusively, virtual,” he added.

The success of the all-virtual 2020 Milwaukee Film Festival, which boasted an attendance of 66,286 and more than 1.7 million minutes of film viewed, laid the foundation for the nonprofit to offer another robust virtual Festival in 2021, only six months after wrapping up this year’s event.

By holding another Festival on an abbreviated timeline, Milwaukee Film believes it will offer a platform to support a film industry that has faced enormous challenges, delays, and losses due to the pandemic. For the long term, the organization sees the shift to spring as a plus for attendees once the Festival can safely cater to large in-person crowds, as May weather is more conducive to outdoor queues, traveling between theaters, and exploring the neighborhoods around venues.

Milwaukee Film plans to use the same virtual platform, CineSend, for the spring Festival and is already working to create the best possible experience for its audience.

“In summer, about one-third of our Members told us they had never rented or purchased a film digitally before,” Jackson noted. “Our audience did a tremendous job adapting with us to a virtual platform. Many of them deeply missed being in a cinema, but they also enjoyed discovering the flexibility and accessibility of the virtual format.”

Filmmakers are invited to submit completed films of any length or genre for consideration in the nonprofit’s annual Festival. In addition to charging no entry fee for submissions, Milwaukee Film offers to pay for any film screened during the Festival. Detailed information and a link to the submission form are available at mkefilm.org/cfe.

Passes for MFF2021’s virtual content will go on sale Tuesday, Dec. 1, at a special price of $75 for Members or $140 for non-members; prices for passes will increase on Friday, Jan. 1. The cost of one MFF2021 non-member pass is roughly equivalent to the cost of an individual Milwaukee Film membership plus a Member pass.

The film lineup will be announced in April, and tickets to individual films will go on sale when the Festival begins on May 6; prices for tickets will be announced in the spring. Films will only be available to viewers in the U.S.; some films may have additional location restrictions set by the film’s distributors.

Passes will not include access to any in-person Festival screenings that may take place. Details of any in-person film events, as well as virtual events and guests, will be shared in April.

Both passes and Milwaukee Film memberships make great holiday gifts and help support the arts nonprofit. Milwaukee Film memberships start at $75 for individuals and $125 for dual memberships, with discounts available for students and seniors. All memberships include great year-round benefits and support Milwaukee Film’s education and community engagement programs. Full details on the membership program can be found at mkefilm.org/members.