Milwaukee Film Announces Refocus On Foundational Mission Of Connecting Community Through Cinema
Changes Will Ensure Future Sustainability and Success
Milwaukee, WI – Friday, August 9th – Milwaukee Film, the organization behind the nationally recognized Milwaukee Film Festival and the operator of the historic Oriental and Downer Theatres, is making a group of strategic adjustments designed to further focus on its foundational mission of convening and connecting the community through exceptional cinematic experiences. As the global pandemic’s impact lingers, affecting arts organizations worldwide, Milwaukee Film is renewing its focus on the work that has made it a cultural institution.
“We have always been guided by an understanding of our unique contribution to the community. Our goal in these decisions was to structure our work to ensure that contribution would thrive,” said Anne Reed, Milwaukee Film’s executive director. “This central focus was clear. It is the nationally recognized Milwaukee Film Festival and our ongoing rich and varied programming at the two historic cinemas we have preserved.”
Led by this central focus, Milwaukee Film has made the difficult decision to end its specialized youth education and artist mentoring programs.
“While we are deeply proud of these programs, we recognize that other organizations are also doing wonderful work advancing youth education through the arts. This decision allows us to redouble our efforts on what we do better than any other organization: a shared cinematic experience for our community,” said Susan Mikulay, Milwaukee Film’s board chair.
Milwaukee Film’s work will continue to support youth and local filmmakers through its festival and cinematic programming, the organization stressed. “Film has been a powerful force in children’s lives and development from its invention,” Reed said. “As these changes allow us to focus more strongly on film, we’ll be able to provide continued and increasing opportunities for kids and families to connect around story, imagination, empathy, and all that film brings to every corner of our community.”
Milwaukee Film will also continue its groundbreaking Cream City Cinema program for local filmmakers during the annual Milwaukee Film Festival. The program offers local filmmakers a unique opportunity to showcase their work in a high-quality and visible setting, with no submission fee.
Additionally, the organization will have more streamlined screening schedules at both historic cinemas, allowing Milwaukee Film to focus its resources on more popular screening times and improve operational efficiency.
“We are committed to continuing our core mission of bringing extraordinary cinema experiences to our community,” Reed said. “We believe these changes will allow us to do so with even more attention and focus, and will ensure the long-term sustainability of our organization.”
For more information about Milwaukee Film and its upcoming events, please visit www.mkefilm.org.
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