2024 Wisconsin Film Festival Film Guide

Wisconsin Film Festival

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This year’s Wisconsin Film Festival is dedicated to David Bordwell (1947-2024), Jacques Ledoux Professor Emeritus of Film Studies at UWMadison. A legendary teacher and lecturer, David was also the renowned author of more than 22 books on cinema. Before and after screenings at the UW Cinematheque and Wisconsin Film Festival, we knew David as the most passionate of movie lovers. David was a warm and loyal presence who could always be found in the center of the front row. He had many reasons for this seating choice, but perhaps, above all, it was because, in his own words: “Somehow the front-row sitter seems to be more engaged, more eager to be swept up in the magic.” In memory of our kind friend, and in the spirit of David’s generous and infectious cinephilia, we encourage you, the viewers, to sit as close as you can to the screens at this year’s WFF. Farewell, David, and thank you.

About the Festival

First launched in 1999, the Wisconsin Film Festival curates, promotes, and exhibits programs that showcase the art and history of world cinema. A non-profit annual event supported by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the Festival advances the teaching, research, and public service mission of the University by exposing the campus and the greater community to films and filmmakers from Wisconsin and beyond. The Wisconsin Film Festival is firmly grounded in the belief that cinema is an essential art form that enriches human experience and enhances our knowledge of diverse cultures. As such, we seek to create a strong sense of community by creating a diverse program of films for viewers of all ages presented with state-of-the-art projection.

The Wisconsin Film Festival is the Wisconsin Idea in action.

Festival Sta

Professor Jeff Smith | Director

Mike King | Artistic Director

Ben Reiser | Director of Operations & Wisconsin’s Own Programming

Jim Healy | Director of Programming, UW Cinematheque

Terry Kerr | Big Screens, Little Folks Programming, Educational Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator

Lance St. Laurent | Wisconsin’s Own Programmer, Print Traffic Coordinator

Sophie Gryske | Wisconsin’s Own Programmer

Karin Kolb | Big Screens, Little Folks Senior Programmer

Kyra Hunting | Big Screens, Little Folks Programmer

Kathleen Ricci | Corporate, Campus and Community Partnerships and Grants

Christina King | Art Director

Katrina Simyab | Marketing and PR

Jane Schroeder | Hospitality and Events Coordinator

Justin Dean | Technical Director

Michaela Holzhuter | Digital Communications

Christina Peterson | Layout Designer

Katie Reiser | Financial Specialist

Opening

Night Sponsor

Film Descriptions

Mike King (MK)

Jim Healy (JH)

Ben Reiser (BR)

Terry Kerr (TK)

Lance St. Laurent (LSL)

Kyra Hunting (KH)

Karin Kolb (KK)

Sophie Gryske (SG)

Matt St. John (MSJ)

Projectionists

Julian Antos, Olivia Babler, Sam Davisson, Sam La Strapes

Support Staff

Boyd Hillestad, Pete Sengstock, Ken Sabbar, Julie Van Esler, Lynn Malone, Sophie Hougland, Clara Schanck

Trailer

Ben Reiser, Matthew Sanborn, Andrew Rohn, James Runde and Rex Wenger

The Wisconsin Film Festival is presented by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Department

Arts.

Order Online

Set up your account at WIFILMFEST.EVENTIVE.ORG

If you’ve already purchased a Festival pass, Holiday 10-pack, or any 2024 tickets, you already have an account.

Ensure you can sign in and have a working password.

”All-Festival” passholders can acquire tickets for individual screenings beginning noon CST on Friday, March 8 Passholders can acquire one ticket for any and all individual screenings, as long as screenings do not overlap. Find more pass instructions at wifilmfest. eventive.org.

Tickets to the general public will be on sale beginning noon CST on Saturday, March 9 and available for purchase 24/7 through the end of the Festival. Holiday 10-packs may be redeemed at this time.

Tickets ordered online will be sent directly to your email.

Just show the QR code on your phone at the theater, or print your tickets at home.

AT SHOWTIME

During the Fest

Tickets will be available during the Festival at all Festival venues for same-day ticket purchases and Rush Tickets.

Free Day-Of Tickets for UW-Madison Students

*

Every current UW–Madison student with a valid WisCard is eligible for one free ticket to every screening at every Festival venue all Festival long—a chance to see any of our 150 films FOR FREE! Just arrive at a screening with your WisCard and if we have a seat available, it’s yours, free!

*Subject to availability. Learn more at wifilmfest.org

LIMITED HOURS

In Person

There are no cost savings for in-person ticket purchases, and if possible, we recommend purchasing/ acquiring tickets online.

Barrymore Theatre

2090 Atwood Ave.

3/9 Noon – 4 PM

3/16 Noon – 4 PM

3/23 Noon – 4 PM

Mitchell Theater

821 University Avenue

@ East Campus Mall

3/13 4 – 7 PM

3/20 4 – 7 PM

3/27 4 – 7 PM

2024 Festival Locations

For details on transportation, parking and accessibility, visit wifilmfest.org/venues

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

750 University Ave. chazen.wisc.edu

MUSIC HALL 925 Bascom Mall

UW CINEMATHEQUE

Room 4070, Vilas Hall 821 University Ave. cinema.wisc.edu

THE MARQUEE

2nd Floor, Union South 1308 Dayton St. union.wisc.edu

CHECK WIFILMFEST.ORG FOR NEWS AND UPDATES. FESTIVAL SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

BARRYMORE THEATRE 2090 Atwood Ave

BARTELL THEATRE

113 E. Mifflin Street

FLIX BREWHOUSE

85 E Towne Way

On the east side of the Mall, near Dick’s Sporting Goods.

2024 Short Film Index

AAbout Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne)

FRI, APRIL 5 • 12 PM • BARTELL THEATRE

MON, APRIL 8 • 6:45 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Key

WISCONSIN’S OWN FILMS

BIG SCREENS, LITTLE FOLKS FILMS

GOLDEN BADGER WINNERS

35 MM

Narrative • Turkey, France, Germany • 2023 • Turkish with English subtitles • 197 MIN

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan Cast: Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar, Musab Ekici

Back for the winter term in the snowbound Anatolian steppes, elementary school art teacher Samet longs to be transferred back to a school in his native Istanbul. As his career frustrations begin to slip out in the classroom, one of the few to escape his disdain is teacher’s pet Sevim, a bright eighth grader with an innocent crush on him. Their unspoken relationship comes under intense scrutiny when the faculty discovers a secret love letter Sevim’s written to Samet, and the two turn against each other. Meanwhile, Samet and his roommate Kenan begin to compete for the affections of another teacher, the sharp-witted and perceptive Nuray. No working filmmaker is as adept at transposing the pleasures of literature to cinema as master writer/director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, About Dry Grasses achieves novelistic profundity with its vivid characterizations and deep philosophical complexity. Named one of the best films of 2023 The Los Angeles Times, Indiewire, Vulture, Slant, and RogerEbert.com. Winner, Best Actress, 2023 Cannes Film Festival. (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Middle East Studies

About Thirty (Arturo a los 30)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 2:15 PM • BARTELL THEATRE

TUE, APRIL 9 • 12:45 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Narrative • Argentina • 2023 • Spanish with English subtitles • 92 MIN

Director: Martín Shanly Cast: Martín Shanly, Camila Dougall, Paula Grinszpan

Smoking a joint outside his friend’s wedding, Arturo is doing his best to keep it together. Well, maybe not quite his best. A fender bender on the way to the reception puts him in a reflective mood, heightened by the onslaught of familiar faces (now aging), and the drugs (kicking in). As the drinks go down over the course of the night, Arturo flashes back to some of his recent misadventures: the Patagonian bus trip with his trans roommate who was coming out to their parents; getting bossed around by his kid sister who treats him as a chauffeur; where things went wrong with his ex; enduring a friend’s avant-garde theater performance. Writer/director/star Martin Shanly is naturally charming as the perpetually befuddled slacker whose life has become a comedy of errors while all his contemporaries have been growing up. A descendent of the kind of casually perceptive, low-key dramedy that once dominated independent cinema, this hidden gem won Best Director at the BAFICI film festival in Buenos Aires, and Best Actor at Las Palmas and Torino. (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies (LACIS)

Address

Unknown

MON, APRIL 8 • 5:15 PM

BARRYMORE THEATRE

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda

The Tell-Tale Heart

Narrative • USA • 1953 • 8 MIN

Director: Ted Parmelee Cast: James Mason

In this enormously imaginative animated short from UPA Studios, James Mason narrates the Edgar Allan Poe story of the deranged boarder whose landlord has the “evil eye.” (JH)

Address Unknown

Narrative • USA • 1944 • 72 MIN

Director: William Cameron Menzies Cast: Paul Lukas, Carl Esmond, Peter van Eyck

In the early 1930s, Martin Schulz embarks with his family on a trip to Germany, leaving behind his art gallery in San Francisco under the care of his Jewish partner Max. As Martin becomes influenced by a charismatic advocate of Nazi doctrine, tensions naturally rise between Martin and Max. Meanwhile, Griselle, Martin’s daughter, faces danger in Europe, prompting Max to plead with Martin for assistance. However, misunderstandings and suspicions lead to unforeseen consequences, ultimately thrusting the two families into a web of intrigue, coded messages, and shocking betrayals. A marvelous example of wartime Hollywood cinema that is ripe for rediscovery, Address Unknown was produced and directed by the great William Cameron Menzies, better known for his work as a production designer and art director on dozens of classics, including Gone with the Wind Working with a small Columbia Pictures budget, Menzies, cinematographer Rudolph Maté, and their crew create an evocative, shadowy world where paranoia reigns. The terrific cast is led by Paul Lukas, who, as the duplicitous Martin, appears in his first movie role after his Oscar-winning turn in Watch on the Rhine. Tightly wound and enormously suspenseful, Address Unknown will be shown in a recently restored DCP and presented by Rita Belda of Sony Pictures. (JH)

Presented with support from Jewish Federation of Madison

Americans

Smell Good + Wisconsin’s Own Shorts

SAT, APRIL 6 • 1:30 PM

BARTELL THEATRE

91 MIN

Filmmakers scheduled to appear Know Thyself

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 5 MIN

Director: Samira Mian Cast: Samira Mian, Finlay Markham, Jess Higgins

The short and sweet true story of coming of age in a high school Latin class, as told through a stylish flurry of animation and intimate voiceover. (LSL)

Patient

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 20 MIN

Director: Lori Felker Cast: Ronna Trapanese, Rainy Armstrong, Jim Rowe, NayMyo Win, Melvyn Marcum

Lori Felker (WFF ‘18 Golden Badger winner, FUTURE LANGUAGE: The Dimensions of VON LMO) is back with a singularly discomfiting, funny, and moving hybrid short that plants us squarely in the middle of intimate interactions between doctors and their patients... or does it? Winner of a 2024 Golden Badger Award. (BR)

Americans Smell Good

Documentary • USA • 2024 • English, Turkish with English subtitles • 66 MIN

Director: Emir Cakaroz Cast: Cecelia Condit, Jamal Currie, Robert Fox, Rafael Cakaroz, Vincent Cakaroz

Longtime WFF contributor, Emir Cakaroz’s latest film is a charmingly serpentine document of his time spent here in the dairy state. Emigrating from Turkey to seek a career as a filmmaker, Emir arrives in Wisconsin, starts a family of his own, gets a job teaching, and meets a fascinating variety of people while establishing his new life in Milwaukee. His mom, back in Turkey but ever-present via Zoom, checks in regularly, peppering Emir with questions both sardonic and full of her own particular version of motherly love. Americans Smell Good combines the personal narratives of Cakaroz’s previous films, Two Photographs, Revza, and Dad’s Apple with his fly-on-the wall observational documentaries, One Money and Riverwest Film & Video. The result is a singularly funny and moving feature that mashes the essay film and the portrait doc to create something that is uniquely and recognizably “Emir Cakaroz.” (BR) Presented with support from UW-Madison Institute for Regional and International Studies National Resource Center (IRIS NRC)

Angels Of Dirt

SUN, APRIL 7 • 7 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Scheduled to appear: Wendy Schneider

Documentary • USA • 2024 • 86 MIN

Director: Wendy Schneider Cast: Charlotte Kainz, Mert Lawwill, Dave Kilkenny, Jack Kainz Wendy (The Smart Studios Story) Schneider’s long-gestating passion project, Angels of Dirt, is finally here and it has crossed the finish line in stirring fashion. Equal parts inspiration and heartbreak, Schneider charts the life and career of the amazing Charlotte Kainz, a “small-town girl” who grows up among the racers and pit mechanics at a rural Wisconsin motorcycle track. Developing a taste for speed and a talent for Flat Track racing at age four, young Charlotte puts the pedal to the metal and never looks back. Shot over the course of 17 years, this intimate and engaging documentary is an all-encompassing portrait of a fearless young woman with an innate desire and knack for competing and succeeding in a sport very few women, much less young girls, ever thought to compete in. Charlotte’s story of triumph and tragedy (she lost her life in a racing accident at age 20) is told through a rich tapestry of personal archives, interviews with family and friends, fellow competitors, and the supportive community that is the Aztalan Cycle Club, the Wisconsin track where Charlotte learned to race. The official Wisconsin premiere of Angels of Dirt at the Barrymore Theatre is sure to be electrifying. (BR)

Presented with support from Aztalan Cycle Club in memory of Charlotte Kainz

Ashima

SUN, APRIL 7 • 6:30 PM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

WED, APRIL 10 • 1 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 84 MIN

Director: Kenji Tsukamoto

At fourteen years old, Ashima Shiraishi is already one of the world’s most elite rock climbers. Now, she’s set her sights on becoming the second woman—and youngest person—to climb a boulder with an extreme difficulty rating of V14. Ashima’s coach is Poppo, a retired Butoh dancer with no climbing training, who also happens to be her dad. These two New Yorkers travel to South Africa to take on Golden Shadow, a V14 boulder problem that experienced climbers train for months to master. Ashima and Poppo are giving themselves two weeks to get the job done over a school break. Wisely focusing on this one climb instead of delivering a standard-issue career highlight reel, documentarian Kenji Tsukamoto brings us deep into their process, allowing us to appreciate the discipline and perseverance required to accomplish this monumental challenge. It’s lonely at the top of a V14, and Ashima is literally peerless—everyone else at her skill level is an adult man. And while every teenage girl gets annoyed by her dad, Ashima can’t roll her eyes at her coach’s demands quite so easily. It may be set in the majestic sprawl of a mountain range, but this beautifully crafted documentary is equally attentive to the human scale of a father/daughter relationship. (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Asian American Studies

WISCONSIN’S OWN

WISCONSIN’S OWN

GOLDEN BADGER WINNER

BThe Burglars (Le

Casse)

WED, APRIL 10 • 5:45 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

THU, APRIL 11 2:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Narrative • France • 1971 • French with English subtitles • 117 MIN

Director: Henri Verneuil Cast: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Omar Sharif, Dyan Cannon In Athens, Azad (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and his crew steal a bounty of emeralds, kicking off a cat-and-mouse game with shady Detective Zacharia (Omar Sharif). With help from the lovely Lena (Dyan Cannon), Azad and his gang plan their escape on a ship, while Zacharia schemes to snatch the loot for himself. One of the best international co-productions in the history of Columbia Pictures, The Burglars was the studio’s second adaptation of the same David Goodis novel (the other was 1957’s The Burglar, starring Dan Duryea and Jayne Mansfield). This fun 1971 version begins with a breathtaking, almost dialoguefree heist sequence reminiscent of Rififi, and that is just one of this movie’s many showcases for the physical prowess of the magnificent leading man, JeanPaul Belmondo. The European film legend’s remarkable stunt work in The Burglars includes jumping from the top of a moving Athens city bus and, in a truly jaw-dropping moment, dumped from a truck down an impossibly steep rock quarry hill with boulders flying all around him! Widely released in the U.S. in a dubbed English version, this restoration of the French version from Sony Pictures allows viewers to hear Belmondo’s own voice. The seductive score is by Ennio Morricone, a frequent collaborator of director Henri Verneuil and himself the subject of Ennio, a career spanning documentary screening at this year’s festival. (JH)

Presented with support from UWMadison Business Services

Bushman

SUN, APRIL 7 • 4:15 PM

UW CINEMATHEQUE

WED, APRIL 10 • 12:30 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Narrative • USA • 1971 • 73 MIN

Director: David Schickele Cast: Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokham, Elaine Featherstone, Mike Slye, Timothy Near, Jack Nance, David Schickele

In 1968, amidst American turmoil and the Nigerian Civil War, Gabriel (Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam), a Nigerian youth, navigates cultural dissonance in San Francisco’s vibrant scene. In a series of funny, emotional, and absurd encounters with Northern Californians, Gabriel grapples with racial tensions, financial struggles, and personal relationships while reflecting on his African roots and the challenges of political unrest both abroad and in America. An extraordinary document of its era and a boldly unpredictable film, Bushman begins as the fictional story of an African in America, acted by both professional and amateur performers. Before Gabriel’s narrative can reach a conclusion, however, David Schickele’s movie is interrupted by a surprising, real-life happening that leads the film to its moving final act, which is played out in a traditional documentary style. Schickele’s innovative hybrid approach to finishing his movie led Roger Ebert to write that “The way this ending is handled – gently, sadly, never polemically...succeeds, against the odds, in giving the movie a total form…Bushman is a remarkable testament.” Independently produced and distributed in 1971, the movie is now being shown to more audiences than ever before, inspiring The New York Times film critic Ben Kenigsberg to choose it as his “Critic’s Pick” in 2024, and citing Bushman as “A film of and ahead of its time.” This new restoration from the original 35mm negatives is the work of University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, and Martin Scorsese’s The Film Foundation. (JH)

Presented with support from UWMadison African Cultural Studies

CLa Chimera

THU, APRIL 11 • 7:45 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Narrative • Italy • 2023 • Italian with English subtitles • 133 MIN Director: Alice Rohrwacher Cast: Josh O’Connor, Isabella Rossellini, Alba Rohrwacher Tuscany in the 1980s. Josh O’Connor (The Crown) stars as Arthur, an Englishman with an inexplicable gift: he can divine the location of hidden Etruscan tombs. Fresh out of prison, he reluctantly joins back up with his ragtag gang of graverobbers, who sell the antiquities they uncover to a shady dealer (played with relish by Alba Rohrwacher), who in turn auctions it to respectable museums. When they discover a jackpot of relics, the group’s carnivalesque camaraderie begins to splinter, but what Arthur’s really looking for is his lost love, Beniamina. With her sublime fourth feature, writer/ director Alice Rohrwacher has once again proven herself world cinema’s current master of magical realism, and a worthy heir to Italy’s storied film history. “Enchanting. La Chimera is a gift of a film… has the rare capacity to genuinely transform the way we look at the world” (The Playlist). “Truly a treasure… the type of film that possesses the type of rareness that makes you believe movies hold magic. It’ll make you want to live more boldly, love more intensely and appreciate the beauty in everything that surrounds you” (Loud and Clear). (MK)

Christine

WED, APRIL 10 • 8:30 PM FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda

Narrative • USA • 1983 • 110 MIN

Director: John Carpenter Cast: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, Alexandra Paul Repeatedly and viciously bullied at his California high school, bespectacled nerd Arnie Cunningham (Keith Gordon) finds his life changing when he buys himself a bitchin’ used car. But the 1957 Detroit red Plymouth Fury, named Christine by a previous owner, has a haunted history and the car begins to exert a malevolent influence over Arnie, bringing destruction and death to anyone who gets in the teenager’s way. As Arnie’s obsession spirals into madness, his best pal Dennis (John Stockwell) and girlfriend Leigh (Alexandra Paul) must confront Christine’s evil nature before it consumes them all. Like the title character, John Carpenter’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel is a sleek, well-oiled horror vehicle. Carpenter’s eerie widescreen compositions give off a haunted, steely feel with their noticeable lack of crowd scenes and extras. The stripped-down style, along with a quintessential synthesizer score composed by Carpenter himself, stands in exciting contrast to the lively and spirited actors. Anchored by directors-to-be Gordon and Stockwell, plus great character turns by Robert Prosky, Roberts Blossom, and Harry Dean Stanton, the cast brings Christine to life. Like most of Carpenter’s work, this Columbia Pictures release was given a lukewarm reception from audiences upon original release in 1983, but today has developed a loyal cult following. Introduction by Sony Pictures’ Rita Belda. (JH)

Close Your Eyes (Cerrar los ojos)

FRI, APRIL 5 • 3 PM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

WED, APRIL 10 • 2:30 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Narrative • Spain, Argentina • 2023 •

Spanish with English subtitles • 169 MIN

Director: Víctor Erice Cast: Manolo Solo, José Coronado, Ana Torrent

Renowned Spanish auteur

Víctor Erice has returned after a 31-year hiatus with this deeply introspective and self-reflexive masterpiece. Employing a film within a film framework, Close Your Eyes begins with a glimpse at The Farewell Gaze, a film directed by Miguel Garay (Manolo Solo) that was left uncompleted when the lead actor, Julio Arenas (José Coronado), disappeared during production. Decades later, Garay, now retired, reopens the investigation with Julio’s daughter (Ana Torrent, former child star of Erice’s Spirit of the Beehive), reigniting a quest for closure and unraveling the layers of a haunting mystery. Erice skillfully navigates the complexities of memory and absence, using cinema as a lens to examine the passage of time and the power of human connection. Endowed with captivating performances, the narrative unfolds with meticulous precision, each scene rich with symbolic depth and emotional resonance. Erice’s masterful storytelling rewards viewers with a thoughtprovoking exploration of loss, longing, and the enduring power of movies. Despite the decades-long wait, Close Your Eyes stands as a testament to Erice’s unparalleled talent. “A shimmery, nourishing culmination of ideas and ellipses in a career so elusive as to have taken on a mythic quality, to the point that his latest feels almost dreamed into being” (Guy Lodge, Variety). (JH) Presented with support from UW-Madison Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies (LACIS) and UW-Madison Department of Spanish & Portuguese

Coup!

FRI, APRIL 5 • 8:30 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Scheduled to appear: Austin Stark, Joseph Schuman

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 98 MIN

Director: Austin Stark, Joseph Schuman Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Billy Magnussen, Sarah Gadon

A jaunty, wicked comedy set during the 1918 influenza epidemic, Coup! stars a deliciously villainous Peter Sarsgaard as Floyd Monk, a charming rogue who mounts a stealth takeover of a country estate. His target is Jay, a wealthy, pompous failson with the resources to flee New York City and wait out the pandemic in the most luxurious quarantine imaginable. Stealing the identity of the estate’s new chef, Floyd ingratiates himself to the family and staff, undermining Jay and setting the stage for a mutiny. As these two scoundrels face off, Coup! is refreshingly equalopportunity in its skewering of self-interest and the rich’s ability to turn any situation in their favor. Despite the progressive ideals he performatively espouses, Jay’s hypocritical behavior demonstrates that his comfort comes first—something the underclass is eager to relieve him of. “That perky exclamation point sets the tone for Coup!, a story of murder, class struggle, One Percent entitlement and a global pandemic that nonetheless unfolds with all the eager, scrappy energy of an off-Broadway musical, minus most of the songs” (Variety). “Fun! Amusing! Radical! Packs a lot of flavor, suspense and droll comedy into its slim running time, making it fun enough to deserve an exclamation point in its title… wears its screw-the-rich subtext with insouciant breeziness” (The Hollywood Reporter). Coup! was produced by UW-Madison alums Todd Friedman and Brian Levy, and premiered as a Closing Night selection at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. (MK)

Crumb Catcher

WED, APRIL 10 • 8:30 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

THU, APRIL 11 • 5:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 102 MIN

Director: Chris Skotchdopole Cast: Rigo Garay, Ella Rae Peck, John Speredakos Buckle up for this wildly inventive dark comedy. Already snapping at each other mere hours into their marriage, newlyweds Shane and Leah arrive at their honeymoon destination—a secluded house in the woods (of course). In the middle of the night, they receive a surprise visitor— one of the caterers from their wedding, who insists on pitching them to invest in his invention. And he won’t take no for an answer. Sweaty with used car-level salesmanship, John launches into one of the hardest (and most hilarious) sells in the history of cinema, all in the name of a rather baffling product. Next his frazzled, vampy wife struts in, and ups the ante to straight-up blackmail. Call it a home invasion comedy, or a screwball thriller, either way this warped mashup keeps us enjoyably off-balanced through its sharp turns and fakeouts. Longtime character actor John Speredakos is unforgettably unhinged as he sinks his teeth into this traveling-salesmanfrom-hell role with gusto. Energetically directed by first-timer Chris Skotchdopole, Crumb Catcher is most certainly “an unpredictable ride… crosses Funny Games with an extended I Think You Should Leave sketch” (RogerEbert.com). (MK)

BIG SCREENS, LITTLE FOLKS

Dancing Queen

SUN, APRIL 7 • 4:30 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Welcome Sesame (Ukraine): Invisible Shield

Documentary • Ukraine • 2023 • Ukrainian with English subtitles • 2 MIN

Director: Lada Sabova Cast: Denys

Ten-year-old Denys is learning a Cossack dance in Kyiv, Ukraine, and rejoices, “The space is dancing Hopak with me inside and out.” (TK)

Dancing Queen

Narrative • Norway • 2023 • Norwegian with English subtitles • 91 MIN

Director: Aurora Langaas Gossé Cast: Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson, Sturla Puran Harbitz, Viljar Knutsen Bjaadal, Anne Marit Jacobsen

Twelve-year-old Mina: bookish, awkward, and uncool, is smitten when a famous Instagram hip-hop heartthrob joins her class at school. He announces that he is forming a new hip-hop crew, and she decides to audition, even though she has never danced before! Her spirit and enthusiasm win her a spot in the group, and soon an instructor pairs her with the Instagram heartthrob, who can barely hide his disdain. Mina works tirelessly to improve, enlisting her grandmother - a former dancer - as her coach, and her best friend as her rehearsal partner. Mina’s struggle with adolescent desire, insecurities, exhaustion and exhilaration all comes to a head at the big dance competition. As Mina, Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson gives an engaged and sincere performance that carries this funny and entertaining story of trial and triumph to a satisfying end that is both redemptive and slightly bittersweet. Full of dance and heart, Dancing Queen strikes a perfect balance between day-to-day struggles and larger challenges of reinvention, identity, and self acceptance. (TK)

Big Screens, Little Folks is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The CapitalTimes; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

Deep in the Heart (Handgun)

Deep Sea 3-D (Shen hai)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 6 PM

UW CINEMATHEQUE

TUE, APRIL 9 • 3:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 1

SAT, APRIL 6 • 6:15 PM • UW CINEMATHEQUE

Scheduled to appear: Jonathan Hertzberg

Narrative • USA, UK • 1983 • 101 MIN

Director: Tony Garnett Cast: Karen Young, Clayton Day, Suzie Humphreys

One of the best films of the 1980s that you never heard about, British writer/producer/ director Tony Garnett’s Deep in the Heart is a riveting female revenge drama that also offers a profoundly accurate depiction of Reaganera America. On a quest for reinvention, young school teacher Kathleen Sullivan (the brilliant Karen Young, in her big screen debut) is a recent arrival in sunny Dallas who makes a new connection with Larry (Clayton Day), a swaggering and gun-loving Texan. When Kathleen rejects Larry’s advances during a date, he brandishes a pistol from his collection and sexually assaults her. Angry and appalled by the police’s failure to prosecute and Larry’s nauseatingly macho entitlement, Kathleen joins the ranks of a local gun club, honing her skills and arming herself to emerge from the shadows and teach her tormentor a lesson in how it feels to be targeted and hunted. Filming exclusively on Dallas-area locations and casting non-actors alongside professionals, veteran producer Garnett uses the storytelling techniques he developed working with fellow Brit Ken Loach in the 1970s. With his observant and sometimes satirical outsider’s perspective, Garnett creates an authentic and spontaneous environment where Kathleen can reclaim her life. The second of only two movies that Garnett ever directed, Deep in the Heart was given a very limited U.S. theatrical release in 1984, and it developed a small cult following when it was later released on VHS as Handgun. Now, UW-Madison alum and veteran distributor Jonathan Hertzberg, who will introduce this screening, is making Garnett’s finest achievement available again through his label, Fun City Editions. (JH)

Animation • China • 2023 • Mandarin with English subtitles • 112 MIN

Director: Tian Xiao Peng Cast: Wang Ting Wen, Su Xin, Kuixing Teng

From China comes a truly spectacular feast for the eyes, featuring the most jawdropping 3-D animation we have ever seen. Deep Sea is a wild ride to the bottom of the sea and the furthest limits of human imagination. Tenyear-old ShenXiu experiences every child’s worst fear— abandonment. When her parents divorce, ShenXiu longs for her mother—who texts her, but will not see her. Her father, distracted by his new family and baby, ignores her and forgets her birthday. When he takes the family on a cruise, a despairing ShenXiu leans over the ship’s railing and imagines her mother’s voice calling to her from the ocean. Washed overboard she follows a fantastical and mysterious creature to a surreal underwater universe, winding up at the titular Deep Sea Restaurant. There she encounters Nanhe, the manic, egotistical head chef, and his colorful crew.

U.S. PREMIER

“The Deep Sea Restaurant is part Nemo’s Nautilus, part coral reef, crewed by grumpy walrus cooks and adorable sea otter waitstaff. Every frame is enough to satiate even the most gluttonous of animation fans”

(Richard Whittaker, The Austin Chronicle). ShenXiu and Nanhe embark on a dizzying, gorgeous, and decidedly operatic journey into the depths of longing and the ocean. If you haven’t taken psychedelic drugs on your way into Deep Sea, you will certainly come out of the theater feeling like you have. “Deep Sea is the best animated film of the year that most won’t see or even know about. Its extraordinary animation sets it apart from everything else out there because it feels like a brilliant, one-of-a-kind plunge into pure imaginative whimsy” (Chris Sawin, Bounding into Comics). (TK)

Dirty Money (La Maudite Galette)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 8:30 PM

UW CINEMATHEQUE

THU, APRIL 11 • 4:45 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Canada • 1972 • French with English subtitles • 101 MIN

Director: Denys Arcand Cast: Marcel Sabourin, René Caron, Luce Guilbeault

In the wake of a disappointing visit from rich-but-stingy Uncle Arthur, Montreal’s blue-collar duo Roland and Berthe feel the sting of betrayal over a measly $500 handout. Fueled by greed, Berthe concocts a scheme to raid Uncle Arthur’s secluded estate and find his hidden loot, roping in her wayward kin for the heist. But as the caper unfolds, alliances fracture, blood stains the floor, and Roland and Berthe’s enigmatic boarder, Ernest, emerges as a key player in the battle for Arthur’s ill-gotten gains. Drawing inspiration from gritty American crime fiction and told with a series of deadpan, fixed camera long takes (imagine the Coen’s Blood Simple merged with Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise), Dirty Money delivers a gripping tale of greed and retribution. Anchored by a stellar and memorable cast of characters, the film marked the feature directorial debut of Quebecoise filmmaker Denys Arcand, who later delivered such arthouse smashes as Jesus of Montreal, The Decline of the American Empire, and the Oscar-winning The Barbarian Invasions. Seldom screened in the U.S., Dirty Money will be shown in a marvelous looking new 4K restoration from Montreal’s Éléphant and Canadian International Pictures. (JH)

Presented with support from UWMadison Business Services

The Disorderly Orderly

SAT, APRIL 6 • 4 PM

UW CINEMATHEQUE

Scheduled to appear: Bob Furmanek

35MM • Narrative • USA • 1964 • 91 MIN

Director: Frank Tashlin Cast: Jerry Lewis, Glenda Farrell, Karen Sharpe, Everett Sloane, Kathleen Freeman, Susan Oliver

Beginning with the first notes of the swinging theme song belted out by Sammy Davis, Jr., Jerry Lewis wreaks medical havoc in this zany romp as hospital orderly Jerome Littlefield. Though Jerome dreams of being a doctor like his father, he is plagued by a bizarre condition that makes him feel his patients’ pain. This intense empathy usually leads to bumbling antics, but the head of the hospital, Dr. Jean Howard (Glenda Farrell, who can also be seen in 1933’s Man’s Castle at this year’s WFF), refuses to fire him. Amidst the escalating chaos, Jerome navigates romantic entanglements with a comely nurse (Karen Sharpe) and a pretty but neurotic patient (Susan Oliver). The Disorderly Orderly was the last collaboration between Jerry Lewis and his mentor, director Frank Tashlin. A former Looney Tunes auteur, Tashlin maintains a brisk cartoonish pace with emotions running wild and a comedic flurry of mishaps, all leading to a runaway-car-vsshopping-cart finale that Peter Bogdanovich later admitted was a big influence on the car chase in his What’s Up, Doc? The 35mm IB Technicolor print that will be screened is a rare preview cut with one slightly extended sequence and a couple of scenes shown out of the order they were in for the wide release version. The print comes from the collection of Jerry Lewis’ personal archivist, Bob Furmanek, who will be with us in person for this screening! (JH)

Presented with support from UWMadison School of Medicine and Public Health

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Nu astepta prea mult de la sfârsitul lumii)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 6:15 PM

BARTELL THEATRE

SUN, APRIL 7 • 11 AM

BARTELL THEATRE

Narrative • Romania, Luxembourg, France, Croatia • 2023 • Romanian with English subtitles • 164 MIN

Director: Radu Jude Cast: Ilinca Manolache, Ovidiu Pîrșan, Nina Hoss Angela is run ragged. Like everyone else in the gig economy, she’s overworked and underpaid, pulling a 16-hour day crisscrossing Bucharest in her cramped car as a production assistant for a sketchy corporate safety video. Chainsmoking all the way, she careens between the extremes of Romanian society, occasionally pausing to record ridiculously vulgar Tik Toks under her face filtered alter ego “Bobita,” a grotesque right winger. Across Angela’s whirlwind day, this allencompassing satire viciously critiques commercial and political corruption from all angles, including a sidesplitting cameo from notorious schlock auteur Uwe Boll, and the greatest depiction of a hellacious work Zoom call yet committed to celluloid (blackand-white 16mm, no less). Over the past decade, Radu Jude has cemented himself as Jean-Luc Godard’s heir apparent, creating vital works of cinema that are at once wildly entertaining, politically pointed, and formally brilliant—his latest missive is characteristically caustic, hilarious, and visionary. “Funny, fierce, unstoppable, Radu Jude’s latest film is quite simply essential viewing for anyone trying to survive the world as we now know it” (Sight & Sound). (MK)

EEarly Columbia Capra

SUN, APRIL 7 • 11 AM • UW CINEMATHEQUE

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda, David Drazin

As Columbia Pictures advanced from the silent era into the all-talkies 1930s, the low-budget studio came to quickly realize that their most valuable director under contract was the not-yetlegendary Frank Capra, who would in a few years deliver a pair of best picture Oscar-winners for the studio with It Happened One Night (1934) and You Can’t Take it With You (1938). This special program includes two terrifically entertaining Capra features from 1928, a year when Columbia would release five more (!) Capra movies. The gangster melodrama The Way of the Strong and the romantic comedy So This is Love demonstrate Capra’s range with genres, a brisk sense of pacing, and a keen understanding of the rules of film storytelling grammar. Rita Belda, Sony Pictures Vice President of asset management, film restoration, and digital mastering, will join us in person for the first theatrical screenings of these new restorations, featuring live piano accompaniment by David Drazin. (JH)

Screen Snapshots (Series 12, No.2)

Documentary • USA • 1932 • 10 MIN

Director: Ralph Staub

This Columbia Pictures promotional short takes us behind the scenes of the casting process at the studio and shows Frank Capra at work filming The Bitter Tea of General Yen

The Way of the Strong

Narrative • USA • 1928 • 58 MIN

Director: Frank Capra Cast: Mitchell Lewis, Alice Day, Margaret Livingston During Prohibition, bootlegger “Handsome” Williams (Mitchell Lewis), known for his brutal tactics and ugly mug, crosses Tiger Louie, sparking a deadly vendetta. Handsome falls for blind musician Nora (Alice Day), but his rivals kidnap her, leading to a showdown where loyalty and love collide. Capra’s fun and flavorful gangster melodrama features a supporting turn by Margaret Livingston, best known as “The Woman from the City” in Murnau’s Sunrise. (JH)

So This Is Love

Narrative • USA • 1928 • 55 MIN

Director: Frank Capra Cast: Shirley Mason, William Collier, Jr., Johnnie Walker Delicatessen employee Hilda (Shirley Mason) becomes smitten with pugilist Spike (Johnnie Walker) after she mistakenly thinks Spike gives her the look of love (he was hungrily gazing at a roasting chicken). Meanwhile, Jerry McGuire (William Collier, Jr.), who is quietly enamored with Hilda, musters the courage to ask her out. When Spike challenges Jerry to a fight, Hilda sees Jerry’s true affection and helps him train, leading to a surprising and action-packed finale in the ring! (JH)

35 MM

The Echo (El Eco)

WED, APRIL 10 • 8:45 PM FLIX

BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

THU, APRIL 11 • 2:15 PM FLIX

BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Documentary • Mexico, Germany • 2023

• Spanish with English subtitles • 102 MIN

Director: Tatiana Huezo

On a picturesque sheep farm in the tiny village of EL Eco, Mexico, teenaged Monse bathes her abuelita in a wooden tub, taking care to gently, thoroughly wash her hair and scrub behind her ears. This warm, intimate scene - and many others to follow - is so exquisitely photographed one could easily mistake it and the rest of the film as a work of naturalistic fiction, so beautiful and carefully constructed is the framing and lighting, so immersive the sound design, so poignant the dialogue. But The Echo is at its core, a documentary, one that captures with seemingly impossible eloquence the everyday highs and lows in the life of the families of Puebla, Mexico. Director Tatiana Huezo, returning to documentary but carrying with her the narrative skills she developed in 2021’s Prayers for the Stolen, wields a remarkably keen sense of observation, which in turn allows us as an audience to feel like we are members of these families, almost as if we had put on VR glasses and been led, willingly, into a life we never imagined living. The Echo is filled from start to finish with indelible imagery, searingly tender moments, and breathtaking moments of heartache and grace. “Huezo manages to strike a tonal chord that is both disquieting and jubilant. It’s a hypnotic combination that honors the rural lives of the family depicted, while also subtly suggesting it is a life of hardship, toil and precarity (including the impact of climate change on crops and growing cycles).” (POV) (BR)

Ennio

SUN, APRIL 7 • 1:30 PM • MUSIC HALL

MON, APRIL 8 • 11:15 AM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Documentary • Italy • 2022 • Italian with English subtitles • 156 MIN

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Acclaimed director Giuseppe Tornatore orchestrates a symphonic journey into the life of Ennio Morricone, the tireless and highly influential composer of several hundred film scores, including one for Tornatore’s own Oscar-winning Cinema Paradiso. Tornatore’s cinematic ode unveils the vast tapestry of Morricone’s musical odyssey, from the melodies and bold arrangements of Italian pop to the iconic scores of films like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, Days of Heaven, and The Mission. Through a harmonious blend of interviews with Morricone’s closest collaborators and fellow maestros such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Clint Eastwood, Joan Baez, Lina Wertmuller, John Williams, Quincy Jones, and Quentin Tarantino, Ennio becomes a melodic testament to the genius behind many unforgettable soundtracks. The most gratifying element of Ennio is hearing from the expressive and passionate Morricone himself in interviews that Tornatore conducted several years before Morricone’s death at age 91 in 2020. This symphony of storytelling grants Morricone one last encore to share the secrets of his craft and the inspiration that led him to claim two Academy Awards. At this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival, you can hear more Morricone in the vastly different scores for The Burglars and Treasure of the Four Crowns 3-D. (JH)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Department of French & Italian and Jeff Smith

Every Little Thing

SAT, APRIL 6 • 11 AM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Documentary • USA • 2024 • 93 MIN

Director: Sally Aitken

The world’s smallest birds get their big-screen moment in this breathtaking documentary, filled with glorious close-up cinematography. The self-appointed patron saint of hummingbirds, Terry Masear, operates a one-person rescue operation in the hilltops of Los Angeles. Every day, strangers show up at her door with injured hummingbirds cupped in their palms, which Terry expertly nurses back to health and releases back into the world. The delicacy, care, and devotion Terry lavishes on creatures no more than a couple inches large is humbling and awe-inspiring— even if she is far more patient with her birds than her fellow humans. But with plumage and personalities like these, who can blame her? Indeed, you may be surprised how deeply invested you become in the fates of tiny, colorful individuals with names like Cactus, Wasabi, and Larry Bird. Soon enough, ruby-throated hummingbirds will be darting around our own backyards again—and after this documentary, you’ll be sure to consider their lives a little more closely. “A bighearted work of delicacy. Every Little Thing is not just a deeply affecting portrait—it offers a vision of compassion as a way of life” (The Hollywood Reporter). 2024 Sundance, SXSW Film Festivals. (MK)

Evil Does Not Exist (Aku wa Sonzai Shinai)

MON, APRIL 8 • 6 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

TUE, APRIL 9 • 12:15 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Japan • 2023 • Japanese with English subtitles • 106 MIN

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi Cast: Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, Ayaka Shibutani

In the serene haven of Mizubiki Village, nestled snugly near Tokyo, Takumi and his spirited daughter Hana lead a simple existence, harmonizing with the natural world around them. Their tranquility is interrupted when news spreads of a scheme to erect a “glamping” paradise on their doorstep, promising urbanites a plush “escape” to the great outdoors. After the arrival of two hapless, blueprintbearing representatives from the big city, Takumi and his eccentric neighbors find themselves thrust into a sometimes-comic clash of cultures and ideals, uniting in a crusade to protect their beloved home. The latest film from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the auteur behind the Oscar-winning Drive My Car, has some of the whimsical spirit of Bill Forsyth’s similarly plotted Local Hero, but Evil Does Not Exist also has a stinger in its tail and Takumi’s quest to preserve the integrity of his community builds to an unpredictable and surprising conclusion. “A gorgeous eco-fable that ends with a mythical mic drop” (Time Out). Winner, Grand Jury Prize, 2023 Venice Film Festival. (JH)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Business Services

FThe Fabulous Ones (Le Favolose)

FRI, APRIL 5 • 8:30 PM • BARTELL THEATRE

TUE, APRIL 9 • 8:30 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Documentary • Italy • 2022 • Italian with English subtitles • 75 MIN

Director: Roberta Torre

At an Italian villa, five old friends, all trans women, reconvene after decades apart. Excited to be back together in the house that served as their headquarters and refuge during their youthful exploits, they reminisce about 1970s trans realities with honesty and humor. The impetus for their reunion is the discovery of an unopened letter from their friend Antonia, who died thirty years ago. In the letter, Antonia asks her friends to make sure that she is buried in her favorite green dress. But the letter was never found, and Antonia’s family dressed her in a suit and tie for the funeral. Now, the survivors try to make things right with their lost friend using the only means left available to them—a séance. Director Roberta Torre’s warm and winning film mixes documentary and fantasy to create a nonfiction fairy tale that doesn’t shy away from hard truths. “My body is a political act,” announces one of the women, while another remarks, “between dream and madness we have always preferred the show.” With its unique hybrid approach, The Fabulous Ones Has been awarded at a variety of festivals, including the Grand Jury Prize at prominent LGBTQ festival Outfest, and a Best Directing award at IDFA, the world’s most prominent documentary festival. (MK)

Scheduled to appear: Joanna Arnow

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 87 MIN

The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

FRI, APRIL 5 • 6 PM

BARTELL THEATRE

SAT, APRIL 6 • 11 AM

BARTELL THEATRE

Director: Joanna Arnow Cast: Joanna Arnow, Scott Cohen, Babak Tafti

It’s starting to feel like a joke, how Ann’s life has become one humiliation after another—only some of which she asks for. Besides her dismal 9-5 job and weekend visits to her overbearing parents, most of her human contact comes out of a longstanding BDSM relationship with an older man. Wondering aloud if people can change, Ann looks for a way out of her rut, starting with online dating. With its unsparing stream of self-deprecating tableaux, few movies earn the praise “painfully funny” as thoroughly as this naked, deadpan comedy from writer/director/editor/star Joanna Arnow (Bad at Dancing, WFF 2015); fewer still have Arnow’s ability to transform that pain and humor into a wry and vulnerable commentary on contemporary life. “Hilarious and clever. This Cannes discovery showcases a raw, intimate, and more importantly extremely funny new talent. You would hope that this is the kind of film that would lead to fame and fortune for Arnow” (Variety). “Audaciously raw, revealing, and excruciatingly funny” (RogerEbert. com). With her first feature, Arnow joins the ranks of other bold and unflinching contemporary filmmakers like Jane Campion, Todd Solondz, Julia Ducorneau, and Sean Baker, who served as Arnow’s Executive Producer. 2023 Cannes, New York Film Festivals. Viewer discretion advised. (MK)

Film is Dead, Long Live Film!

SAT, APRIL 6 • 1:15 PM • UW CINEMATHEQUE

Scheduled to appear: Peter Flynn

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 102 MIN

Director: Peter Flynn

Film is Dead. Long Live Film! delves into the clandestine universe of private film collecting—a realm of hidden vaults, stacked with forgotten 35mm and 16mm reels, and inhabited by ardent cinephiles dedicated to preserving photochemical film. Once vilified as pirates and hunted by the FBI, these colorful collectors have safeguarded numerous films from oblivion, earning recognition from archives and studios seeking missing titles. With digital projection now dominating commercial exhibition of movies, these once-underground figures are finally receiving acknowledgment for their vital role in cinema history. This documentary serves as a vibrant homage to the sometimeseccentric private film collectors, celebrating their passionate devotion to pre-video movie culture and emphasizing the enduring allure of analog film. Director Peter Flynn’s previous ode to classic cinema culture is The Dying of the Light, a celebration of 35mm film projectionists. Archivist and collector Bob Furmanek, one of Flynn’s interview subjects, will be presenting his rare archival print of Jerry Lewis in The Disorderly Orderly at this year’s WFF! (JH)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research

Flipside

FRI, APRIL 5 • 8:30 PM • MUSIC HALL

MON, APRIL 8 • 2:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Bob’s Funeral

Narrative • USA • 2024 • 19 MIN

Director: Jack Dunphy

Curious about his extended family’s various estrangements and generational trauma, filmmaker Jack Dunphy sneaks a camera into his grandfather’s funeral.

Flipside

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 91 MIN

Director: Chris Wilcha

Filmmaker Chris Wilcha is best known for his 1999 documentary, The Target Shoots First, a look inside the Columbia House record club where Wilcha was employed. Later, Wilcha was instrumental in adapting NPR’s This American Life to television, but Hollywood’s grind eventually dimmed his creative spark. Now, in Flipside, Wilcha confronts the doubts of middle age, seeking solace in his teenage haunt and the place that provided him with his first job: Flipside Records in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. The record store teeters on the edge of closure, igniting Wilcha’s determination to revive the dusty vinyl museum by making a movie about it. As the journey to finish the film drags on for years, Wilcha takes a second look at other unfinished or forgotten projects, unearthing old interviews with artists like Ira Glass, jazz photographer Herman Leonard, and television writer David Milch, all reflecting on their own creative struggles.

When he meets “Uncle” Floyd Vivino, a NJ television legend who inspired one of David Bowie’s best songs, these disparate lives and narratives converge into a universal tale. Wilcha’s creative and compelling essay film resonates deeply, inviting viewers to contemplate their own paths towards resilience and reinvention. Flipside is a whirlwind of music, creativity, and the highs and lows of chasing your artistic dreams.

(JH)

Presented with support from Strictly Discs

GGasoline Rainbow

SAT, APRIL 6 • 6:45 PM

MUSIC HALL

TUE, APRIL 9 • 6 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 108 MIN

Director: Turner Ross, Bill Ross IV Cast: Micah

Bunch, Nathaly Garcia, Nichole Dukes

Fresh out of high school, five friends climb in a van and set off on one last adventure before adulthood—a 500-mile road trip from their rural Oregon hometown to the Pacific coast, where they hope to find the rumored “Party at the End of the World.” The romantic odyssey hits a speed bump when their tires are stolen early on, forcing them to improvise and rely on a network of strangers they meet along the way to reach their destination. Few filmmakers have proven as adept at lyrically mixing fiction and documentary as co-directors Bill and Turner Ross—what’s more impressive is that they do so while maintaining a profound authenticity, particularly as they capture the vibrancy of youth, music, and America itself. With its impeccable nonprofessional cast, beautiful landscapes, and wall-to-wall soundtrack celebrating every kind of American music, Gasoline Rainbow may just tempt you to ride off into the horizon after the screening. “Overflows with youthful exuberance. Simultaneously succeeds as a nuanced depiction of a generation’s concerns and an ironic look at what young people have yet to learn” (Indiewire). “A vivid travelogue whose freewheeling spirit emulates the film’s improvisational making. The results are often revelatory, offering an unvarnished look at being young, free and unsettled” (Screen Daily). “A piece of mesmerizing realism… alive and beating” (The Film Stage). 2024 SXSW Film Festival. (MK)

Ghostlight

THU, APRIL 11 • 7:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • USA • 2024 • 110 MIN

Director: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson

Cast: Keith Kupferer, Dolly de Leon, Katherine Mallen Kupferer

Deeply human, unexpectedly funny, and incomparably moving, this portrait of a family piecing itself back together is a soulful testament to the healing power of art. Adrift after a family tragedy, Chicago construction worker Dan finds himself drawn into a ragtag community theater that is preparing an unorthodox adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. When one of the actors drops out, the group convinces Dan to step up and take his role, much to his family’s—and his own— surprise. In co-director Kelly O’Sullivan’s nuanced script, Dan’s personal transformation is treated with abundant warmth, grace, and humor. Fittingly for a film about the stage, Ghostlight rests on four absolutely superb performances. A veteran of Steppenwolf and Goodman theaters, Keith Kupferer brings this character to vivid life, and is matched by Tara Mallen and Katherine Mallen Kupferer as his wife and daughter—who they happen to be in real life, as well. Meanwhile, Dolly de Leon (Triangle of Sadness) gives a spirited and spiky turn as the head of the theater troupe. “Charming, funny, and very human. A film that makes you marvel at the pleasure of storytelling as an actual practice, not an oft-repeated buzzword with little actual emotion behind it. O’Sullivan and Thompson gently fold their story together, finding humor and heart at every turn” (Indiewire). 2024 Sundance, SXSW Film Festivals. (MK)

The Girls Are Alright (Las chicas están bien)

WED, APRIL 10 • 6:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

THU, APRIL 11 • 2:45 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Narrative • Spain • 2023 • Spanish with English subtitles • 85 MIN

Director: Itsaso Arana Cast: Bárbara Lennie, Irene Escolar, Itziar Manero

Across a summer week in the sunny Spanish countryside, five women meet at a villa to workshop a new play. In sneakers and crinolines, they laughingly lug a four-poster bed to the riverside to write and rehearse in nature. As they get into their roles and find their places, the actors reveal themselves to one another; the older and younger among them sharing secrets and trading advice, all the while honing their craft. Whether its characters find themselves in rehearsal or actuality, The Girls Are Alright blossoms with feminine conversation and friendship with a natural honesty that is all too rare in cinema. A playful sonata of sisterhood, writer/ director/actor Itsaso Arana’s exquisite debut feature also invites a meta reading of its quintet of actors, who all perform under their real names with a directness that at times verges on documentary. “Films are letters to the future,” one of the characters observes, and The Girls Are Alright indicates a bright outlook for its director and cast indeed. “Beautiful and moving” (Cineuropa). “One of the most charming and beautiful surprises of the season” (El Mundo). “A delightful film: beguiling, tactile and intimate” (Screen Daily). (MK)

Presented with support from UWMadison Department of Spanish & Portuguese

Good One

WED, APRIL 10 • 6 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • USA • 2024 • 90 MIN

Director: India Donaldson Cast: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy

Exactly the type of intimate gem one attends film festivals in hopes of discovering, Good One derives a wealth of meaning from a simple premise: three characters on a backpacking trip through the Catskills. It’s not her ideal weekend, but high school senior Sam has agreed to tag along with her dad and his buddy on a multi-day hike. Pals from way back, Chris and and Matt’s charming rapport now contains trace elements of middle-aged frustration, which begins bubbling up as the time in nature affords them an opportunity to examine—and compare—their lives. What begins as an intergenerational bonding session takes a subtle turn that forces Sam to see these men differently, and come to a new understanding about her place in the world.

Newcomer Lily Collias is a revelation as this wise-beyondher years teenager, holding her own with two seasoned performers in James Le Gros and Danny McCarthy, each of whom are at the top of their game here. Writer/director India Donaldson’s impressively nuanced debut feature will continue to resonate long after the credits role. “Extraordinary. Unfolds with the grace and sensitivity of a masterful short story” (Indiewire). 2024 Sundance Film Festival. (MK)

Goodbye Julia (Wadaean Julia)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 11 AM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

MON, APRIL 8 • 11:30 AM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Narrative • Sudan, Egypt, Germany, France, Saudi Arabia, Sweden • 2023 • Arabic with English subtitles • 116 MIN

Director: Mohamed Kordofani Cast: Eiman Yousif, Siran Riak, Nazar Gomaa

An official selection at the Cannes Film Festival and a box office hit in the Arab world, Goodbye Julia tackles the complexities of the political through the lens of the personal. The debut film from Sudanese filmmaker Mohamad Kordofani, the film is set against political turmoil in mid-2000s Sudan, still reeling from a recent civil war and on the cusp of South Sudan’s secession from the north. Mona is a prosperous North Sudanese housewife living in the city of Khartoum. After a thoughtless accident escalates into an altercation with tragic consequences, her life becomes entwined with that of a South Sudanese widow and her young son. As the two women grow closer, the difference in their social station becomes an increasing point of tension and Mona’s secrets become harder for her to bear. Recalling the politically engaged melodramas of Ashgar Farhadi, Goodbye Julia deftly balances a story of private shame and confronted privilege with a spare, yet engrossing sense of style and trenchant insight into Sudan’s thorny social politics.

(LSL)

Presented with support from UW-Madison African Cultural Studies

Green Border (Zielona granica)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 4:30 PM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

TUE, APRIL 9 • 2:45 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Poland, France, Czech Republic, Belgium • 2023 • Arabic, French, English, Polish with English subtitles • 152 MIN

Director: Agnieszka Holland Cast: Jalal Altawil, Maja Ostaszewska, Behi Djanati Atai This powerful, gripping drama exposes the harrowing refugee crisis currently unfolding at the Polish border. The multicharacter story begins in 2021, when people fleeing the Middle East and Africa are invited into Belarus and then transported to an unforgiving forested zone near the Polish border and encouraged to cross the

Guardians of the Formula (Cuvari Formule)

TUE, APRIL 9 • 5:30 PM

BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Macedonia, France • 2023 • Serbian, French with English subtitles • 120 MIN

sometimes-unprotected area. Those captured by Polish guards are violently forced back into Belarus, where the inhuman cycle begins again for the desperate migrants. Inspired by the more than 37 bodies that have been uncovered in the “Red Zone” between the two Eastern European nations, director Agnieszka Holland (Europa, Europa), lays bare the hypocrisy on both sides of the divide, shedding light on the innocent men, women, and children caught in the crossfire of political maneuvering. Holland excitingly shifts the story’s perspectives between those of the refugees, the border guards, and compassionate Polish citizens and activists, a boldly cinematic move that is reminiscent of her work on HBO’s politically charged series The Wire. Evocatively shot in black-and-white, Holland’s new movie powerfully captures the human toll of a crisis fueled by heartless politics. (JH) Presented with support from UW-Madison Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) and UW-Madison Institute for Regional and International Studies National Resource Center (IRIS NRC)

Director: Dragan Bjelogrlic Cast: Alexis Manenti, Radivoje Bukvic, Lionel Abelanski 1958. Fear grips the world as the Cold War rages on and the specter of nuclear annihilation looms large. In Yugoslavia, a daring group of young scientists working on a clandestine project face a deadly fate after a lethal dose of uranium irradiates them. With time ticking away and death’s shadow looming closer, they’re stealthily whisked away to Paris’s Institut Curie. In France, they are introduced to Dr. Georges Mathé, a brilliant but inscrutable scientist, who proposes a daring solution: the world’s first bone marrow transplant. As the lines blur between salvation and sacrifice, the ultimate question remains: is this Mathé’s bid for a heroic scientific triumph or a reckless gamble with human lives?

Guardians of the Formula is a suspenseful, philosophical, and thought-provoking historical thriller. Serbian director and co-screenwriter Dragan Bjelogrlic convincingly recreates a moment in history that marks not only a culmination of geopolitical tensions, but the dawn of a medical breakthrough. “A film that proves, in elegant defiance of Chekov’s Gun, that sometimes the most dramatic story is of the bomb that doesn’t go off” (Jessica Kiang, Variety). Guardians won the Variety Piazza Grande Award at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival and Audience Awards at the 2023 Sarajevo Film Festival and the 2024 Palm Springs International Film Festival. (JH)

The Gullspång Miracle

SUN, APRIL 7 • 4:15 PM • BARTELL THEATRE

WED, APRIL 10 • 12:45 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Documentary • Sweden, Norway, Denmark • 2023 • Norwegian, Swedish with English subtitles • 109 MIN

Director: Maria Fredriksson

The Gullspång Miracle begins with a still-life sign from God, a tailbone-breaking amusement park ride, and a deceased sister’s doppelganger, and this mesmerizing Scandinavian documentary only gets more surprising from there. During an apartment search in Sweden, devout Norwegian sisters Kari and May are shocked to meet Olaug, the spitting image of their sister Astrid who died in 1988. After a DNA test, Kari, May, and the rest of their siblings welcome the no-nonsense Olaug into their family. But questions about the circumstances of Astrid’s death and the family’s true relationships soon threaten to tear the religious clan apart from their newly found (possible) sister. In her enthralling debut feature, director Maria Fredriksson shares the audience’s amazement as she learns every unexpected development in real time alongside her subjects, who contacted Fredriksson as the story began to unfold. As if Three Identical Strangers (2018 WFF) went Nordic and somehow added even more twists, The Gullspång Miracle contains a never-ending supply of bizarre coincidences and divisive conspiracies. “It’s a stupendous film, alive with detail, profound and resonant” (The Hollywood Reporter). (MSJ)

HHumanist Vampire Seeking

Consenting Suicidal Person

(Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant)

FRI, APRIL 5 • 6:30 PM • THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

MON, APRIL 8 • 8:30 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Canada • 2023 • French with English subtitles • 90 MIN

Director: Ariane Louis-Seize Cast: Sara Montpetit, Félix-Antoine Bénard, Steve Laplante, Sophie Cadieux, Noémie O’Farrell, Marie Brassard

Playfully macabre yet surprisingly sweet, this helpfully-titled treat introduces us to a family of everyday vampires in Montreal. The trouble is that Sasha flat out refuses to kill anyone, no matter how badly her parents beg her to. A sort of vampiric conscientious objector, she’s content to slurp on blood bags like they’re Capri Suns, until her parents finally cut off her supply. Forced to grow up and provide for herself, she enters a pact with Paul, a depressed teen looking for a purpose—even if it’s just to be used as a meal. When Sasha grants Paul a last request and pledges to help him get revenge on all his bullies, she finally meets some people who might actually be worth killing. Debut director Ariane Louis-Seize has fun flipping the script on both coming-of-age and horror films, cleverly locating fresh and unexpected opportunities for dark laughs. Rising star Sara Montpetit (Falcon Lake, UW Cinematheque 2023) nails a perfect droll deadpan—Sasha could be a sister to Winona Ryder’s iconic goth Lydia in Beetlejuice. More interested in putting a smile on your fangs than a shriek in your throat (this is, after all, a pacifist vampire movie), this nocturnal charmer earned a Best Director prize at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. (MK)

IIn a Violent Nature

FRI, APRIL 5 • 8:30 PM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

Scheduled to appear: Alex Jacobs

Narrative • Canada • 2024 • 94 MIN

Director: Chris Nash Cast: Lauren-Marie Taylor, Andrea Pavlovic, Ry Barrett Ruthless and visionary, this fresh take on the slasher genre introduces a bold new voice in horror cinema. It begins as prescribed by decades of slasher tradition, with a group of attractive young people at a remote cabin in the woods, where they are picked off one by one by a masked killer. But writer/director Chris Nash inverts the formula by shifting our perspective to that of the murderer: a hulking, relentless, and absolutely terrifying agent of death roaming the woods. Rest assured (or perhaps be warned), the kills in this film are as brutally creative and disturbingly memorable as any you’ve ever witnessed. A mesmerizing blend of the best of arthouse and horror cinema, In a Violent Nature is both formally radical and classically immaculate—the cinematic equivalent of a clean kill. “Explosive. Takes familiar slasher elements, tears them to pieces, and makes a macabre work of gory art in the wreckage. The kills in this film are some of the most bonkers, bloody, and brutal you’ll ever see. Just when you think it’s run out of ways to obliterate the characters, it outdoes itself again with fearsome flair. One can’t help grinning all the way through this gruesome horror picture with its delightfully audacious approach.

Jason Voorhees better watch his back” (Collider). In a Violent Nature was edited by Madison native and WFF veteran Alex Jacobs, who will join us for a Q&A. 2024 Sundance Film Festival. (MK)

Io Capitano

THU, APRIL 4 • 7 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Italy, Belgium • 2023 • Wolof and French with English subtitles • 121 MIN

Director: Matteo Garrone Cast: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawadogo

One of the five nominees for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards, Io Capitano is a powerful, urgent, and ultimately inspiring tale of migration. The story centers on Seydou, a teenager living in poverty in Dakar who dreams of pop stardom in Europe with his cousin Moussa. Sneaking away to Nigeria with forged passports, Seydou and Moussa endure a harrowing journey across the Sahara, only to be faced with separation and imprisonment by Libyan captors. Meanwhile, Seydou, determined to reunite with Moussa, is presented with a dangerous mission by a trafficker in Tripoli. Io Capitano is the latest effort from one of

JJanet Planet

SAT, APRIL 6 • 1:15 PM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 113 MIN

Director: Annie Baker Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Ziegler, Sophie Okonedo In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet and her spellbinding nature. In her solitary moments, Lacy inhabits an inner world so extraordinarily detailed that it begins to seep into the

Europe’s most accomplished filmmakers, Italian writer/ producer/director Matteo Garrone, whose marvelous films Dogman and Tale of Tales screened at previous editions of the WFF. Garrone brings an epic, Homerian quality to the proceedings, finding a genuine odyssey in the simple story of impoverished young men trying to fulfill their dreams amidst the perils of crossing borders. “This is storytelling at its most visceral, painted on a broad canvas that reminded me of a saga by David Lean. In a year when all five Oscar contenders for International Film are so worthy, this one captured my heart” (Leonard Maltin). (JH)

outside world. Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright Annie Baker captures a child’s experience of time passing, and the ineffability of a daughter falling out of love with her mother, in this singularly sublime film debut.“Grade: A. A miracle of a directorial debut. Janet Planet is gloriously packed with the carefully observed details of the lives of its central characters, who are embodied with warmth and endearing strangeness by Ziegler, an incredible discovery, and the typically fantastic Nicholson, who gives one of her finest performances to date” (Indiewire). “Magical. This is not just one of the great films of its year, but one of the finest first films in the annals of the medium” (Little White Lies).

KKidnapped (Rapito)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 11 AM

MUSIC HALL

WED, APRIL 10 • 3 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Italy, France, Germany • 2023 • Hebrew, Italian, Latin with English subtitles • 134 MIN

Director: Marco Bellocchio Cast: Enea Sala, Leonardo Maltese, Paolo Pierobon The latest from legendary Italian director Marco Bellocchio, Kidnapped unveils the scandalous true story of Edgardo Mortara, a six-year-old Jewish child abducted from his family in 19th-century Bologna under the Pope’s decree.

Believing young Edgardo was baptized in secret as an infant, the church uses their enormous power to separate the boy from his anguished family and raise him as a Catholic in Rome under the watchful eye of Pius IX (played with a disturbed intensity by Paolo Pierobon). With operatic fervor, Bellocchio’s narrative follows the relentless struggle of the child’s parents, echoing the outcry of the international Jewish community and Italian liberals alike. Edgardo Mortara’s harrowing journey – also the subject of an unrealized Steven SpielbergTony Kushner collaboration - becomes a battleground against the Vatican’s power. Bellocchio, whose filmmaking career began over 60 years ago, is not interested in mere historical reenactment. The director transcends dramatic convention, using chiaroscuro lighting to delve into existential turmoil as Mortara grapples with his forced conversion and identity as an adult. Kidnapped is “a full-tilt melodrama with the passionate vehemence of Victor Hugo or Charles Dickens, which lays bare an ugly formative episode of Europe’s Catholic church” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian). (JH)

Presented with support from Jewish Federation of Madison and UW-Madison Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

The Klezmer Project (Adentro mío estoy bailando)

MON, APRIL 8 • 2:45 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

TUE, APRIL 9 5:45 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Documentary • Argentina, Austria • 2023 • German, Romanian, Spanish, Yiddish with English Subtitles • 115 MIN

Director: Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann

Cast: Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann, Perla Sneh

At a wedding in Buenos Aires, videographer Leandro catches one of the musicians in his camera’s lens, and it’s love at first sight. Chatting Paloma up at the reception, Leandro pretends to share her passion for klezmer music, and it works beyond his expectations—soon, the two are not only coupled up but collaborating on a documentary about the disappearing genre. In pursuit of recording ancient melodies before they vanish, they traverse Eastern Europe, filming and bonding with folk musicians in Ukraine, Romania, and Moldova. Here The Klezmer Project itself subtly morphs into the promised documentary on klezmer, and we’re treated to numerous rich performances of traditional folk music. A playful blend of narrative and documentary forms—Leandro and Paloma are both characters and the film’s directors—The Klezmer Project combines the authentic beauty of ancient traditions with the bloom of love. “Unique and utterly captivating. Many different narrative threads weave together to form this thought-provoking, heartfelt, witty, and thoroughly enjoyable film. Each encounter is a gem of life experience, wisdom, and true beauty” (Senses of Cinema). (MK)

Presented with support from Jewish Federation of Madison and UW-Madison Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

LLaRoy, Texas

SAT, APRIL 6 • 7 PM

BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 110 MIN

Director: Shane Atkinson Cast: John Magaro, Steve Zahn, Galadriel Stineman

A twisty crime caper cut through with black comedy, LaRoy, Texas unfolds in a small town where everyone knows each other—and therefore has a good reason to stab them in the back. Ray is a local loser who’s just happy to have somehow landed the town’s beauty queen—that is, until his old pal Skip, now an aspiring private investigator, reveals that she’s having an affair. In his darkest hour, Ray finds himself in the wrong place at the right time, and is mistaken for an assassin for hire. This is the most flattered Ray’s felt in years, and no sooner than he kinda sorta takes the job, he makes a mess of things, and teams up with Skip to track down the blackmailer behind the hit… and blackmail them back? Or maybe just solve the case?

Either way, the bodies quickly pile up as these two dim bulbs bumble around every seedy address in LaRoy chasing down leads, with both the cops and the real hit man hot on their tails. With this welcome throwback to the indie crime comedies of the 1990s, writer/director Shane Atkinson spins a heck of a yarn, loaded with laughs and suspense—often at the same time. Steve Zahn is particularly funny and charming as Skip, the wannabe detective who is only too thrilled to be caught up in a mess like this. Grand Prize, Audience Award, and Critics Award, 2023 Deauville Film Festival. “Two hours of fun… a hilarious ensemble of largerthan-life characters keeps you so entertained. Watching Skip and Ray hunt down lust-filled, money-hungry idiots never gets old” (Indiewire). (MK)

WISCONSIN’S OWN

Light Needs & Botanical Shorts

SAT, APRIL 6 • 1:30 PM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART • 96 MIN Filmmakers scheduled to appear

Island

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 3 MIN

Director: Jack Cronin

A poetic 16mm black and white document of the scenic splendor and native wildlife of Isle Royale National Park, in Lake Superior. (SG)

Natura Artis

Magistra

Experimental • USA • 2022 • 2 MIN

Director: Kate Balsley Cast: Daffodils, Roses, Daisies, Forget-Me-Nots

Two-time Golden Badger winner Kate Balsley returns with another stunningly beautiful kaleidoscopic experimental short that celebrates the glory of nature. (BR)

electric moonlight & the language within the leaves

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 8 MIN

Director: Takahiro Suzuki Cast: Jennifer Keim An ancient japanese tale retold in gloriously grainy super 8mm. (BR)

Parallel Botany

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 11 MIN

Director: Magdalena Bermudez Still lives of real fruit meet botanical illustrations of plant galls in this fascinating experimental short. Winner of a 2024 Golden Badger Award (BR)

Light Needs

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 72 MIN

Director: Jesse McLean Cast: Nazli Dincel, Cecelia Condit, James Baxter, Zachary Epcar, Jack Douthitt

Many of us have a plant in our home, but what does it really mean to live with a plant, to share a space with living creatures that constantly grow and change yet remain passive and silent? This question is the subject of Jesse McLean’s experimental documentary Light Needs. McLean films a variety of living and working spaces shared with houseplants and interviews the people who share the spaces with these ever-sprawling, sometimes challenging roommates. McLean’s camera finds the beauty of nature intersecting with the modern world, but it’s her interviews that prove the most surprising. As much as an ode to the humble houseplant, McLean’s film is a testament to the benign eccentricity of plant people, whose cohabitation with plants have bred an odd, bordering on mystical, set of beliefs and superstitions. (LSL)

GOLDEN BADGER WINNER

Music

FILM GUIDE at a G lance

Bartell

Music

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Music

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The Long Haul

THU, APRIL 11 • 5 PM

BARRYMORE THEATRE

Scheduled to appear: Alexander Payne

Narrative • UK • 1957 • 88 MIN

Director: Ken Hughes Cast: Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Patrick Allen Discharged from the U.S. military after serving in Europe, trucker Harry Miller (Victor Mature) reluctantly stays in Liverpool with his English wife. Despite trying to stay clean, Harry gets tangled in a dangerous game of truck hijacking and insurance fraud orchestrated by mobster Joe Easy (Patrick Allen). As Harry’s life spirals out of control, he finds solace in the arms of Joe’s girlfriend Lynn (Diana Dors, the UK’s answer to Marilyn Monroe), but their attempt to escape leads Harry towards a deadly showdown with Joe and one last shot at redemption. Muscular, lusty, and noirish, The Long Haul follows in the tradition of great action movies about the rough side of driving a rig, from Hollywood’s They Drive by Night and Thieves’ Highway to France’s The Wages of Fear to that other great British entry of 1957, Hell Drivers. The movie’s talented and economical director, Ken Hughes, would ten years later put his skills to work on an entirely different kind of road movie: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. One of our WFF selections highlighting the Columbia Pictures library and the preservation work of Wisconsin’s own Rita Belda, The Long Haul will be shown in a recent restoration from Sony Pictures. The screening will be introduced by Oscarwinning filmmaker and fan of The Long Haul Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Holdovers). Presented with support from UWMadison Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, and UWMadison Business Services

MThe Mad Magician 3-D

TUE, APRIL 9 • 6 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 1

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda

Pardon My Backfire 3-D

Narrative • USA • 1953 • 16 MIN

Director: Jules White Cast: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard

The Three Stooges, Larry, Moe, and Shemp star as wacky garage mechanics in the second of their two 3-D laff riots. Watch out! Squirting oil, a blow torch flame, and Moe’s two fingers are coming right at your eyes!

The Mad Magician 3-D

Narrative • USA • 1954 • 72 MIN

Director: John Brahm Cast: Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Eva Gabor, Patrick O’Neal

Columbia Pictures’ last entry in the 3-D craze of the early 1950s was an attempt to cash in on the huge success of Warner Bros. House of Wax (1953), recruiting that film’s writer, producer, and star, the horror film legend Vincent Price. In The Mad Magician, Price plays the title character, Don Gallico, an expert who devises illusions for other performers, but is planning his own show with a nifty buzz-saw trick. When Gallico’s employer claims ownership of his creation, effectively stealing the trick and giving it to another magician, Gallico seeks revenge against all those who wronged him. With a wickedly playful tone, director John Brahm (Hangover Square, The Locket), delivers spine-tingling frights and suspense, especially in one sequence where Gallico goes through a great struggle to hide and dispose of a decapitated body. Best of all, there are lots of in-your-face 3-D effects: dueling yo-yos, spraying water, a razor sharp spinning saw blade, and more! This program will be introduced by Sony Pictures’ Rita Belda. (JH)

Man’s Castle

SAT, APRIL 6 • 11 AM • UW

CINEMATHEQUE

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda, Daniela Currò, David Drazin

Movietone News in Wisconsin, Part 1

USA

• 11 MIN

This special selection of silent and sound outtake footage from Fox Movietone newsreels of the 1920s and 1930s puts the spotlight on the Badger state! The program includes President Coolidge at his Summer vacation home in Brule (1928), moving images of a shipwreck on the shores of Kenosha (1929), and footage from a 1934 “Wisconsin Celebration” in Green Bay. The material is all archived in the Digital Collections of the University of South Carolina Libraries and the selection will be presented by Daniela Currò, Moving Image Research Collections Director. Live piano accompaniment by David Drazin.

Man’s Castle

Narrative • USA • 1933 • 78 MIN

Director: Frank Borzage Cast: Spencer Tracy, Loretta Young, Marjorie Rambeau, Glenda Farrell, Walter Connolly

Hungry and homeless, the innocent Trina (Loretta Young) is given a ramshackle roof over her head when she’s brought to the shantytown dwelling of the tough-talking but sweethearted Bill (Spencer Tracy). Barely making a living through occasional odd (and we mean odd) jobs, the freedom-loving Bill gruffly resists anything he thinks will tie him down, but his growing affection for Trina makes it hard for him to keep his independence. A simple story told with tenderness and plenty of humor, Man’s Castle is a quintessential entertainment from the Depression Era and pre-code Hollywood. The tale of a couple whose love for each other transcends their impoverished surroundings was familiar territory for Frank Borzage, one of the most romantic and sensitive directors of his time, and an artist who developed his visual poetry in silent movies like Seventh Heaven and The Lady (WFF 2023). There is also a bawdy, risqué, and sexually frank side to Man’s Castle, a quality that made it one of Columbia Pictures’ most censored features both before and after the production code began to be enforced. This new 4K restoration uses multiple sources to create the most complete version of this masterpiece that has been seen since its 1933 premiere. Rita Belda, Sony Pictures Vice President of asset management, film restoration, and digital mastering, will be present to discuss her work in preserving Man’s Castle. (JH)

Presented with support from UWMadison Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research

WISCONSIN FILM FESTIVAL Wisconsin Film Festival

Melomaniac + Wisconsin’s Own Shorts

SAT, APRIL 6 • 9 PM

MUSIC HALL

Filmmakers scheduled to appear 90 MIN

Iterance

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 3 MIN

Director: Jamison-Jupiter Clauer Cast: Piper Clauer, Egg Goyette

This experimental short examines cycles of trauma via arresting images and striking match-cuts. (BR)

Lost Wave

Experimental • Australia • 2023 • 4 MIN

Director: Thomas Brami, Elise Kerns Cast: Thomas Brami, RAD DOG, Aline Fashion doll (not a property of Mattel)

An experimental short shot entirely in the Australian outback, Lost Wave traces the journey of a mermaid (a doll), her flying machine (a drone), and the beast (dog) that chases her across the desert. (LSL)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

Tuesday Film

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 13 MIN

Director: Kaylinn Duffy Cast: Sadie Dickerson, George Cron, Logan Phoenix, Callandra Hudak, Taylor Marcink

An experimental coming-ofage short set in Springfield, MO, Tuesday Film is bursting with style and a wicked sense of humor that recalls DIY independent cinema of the 90s in a decidedly modern package. (LSL)

Melomaniac

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 70 MIN

Director: Katlin Schneider Cast: Aadam Jacobs, Jon Langford, Janet Bean, Damon Locks, Fred Armisen

Melomaniac. Noun. One with an abnormal fondness of music. This word perfectly describes Aadam Jacobs, also known as “Chicago’s Taping Guy”, who single-handedly recorded (officially and unofficially) the sounds of Chicago’s live music scene starting in the 1980s. Jacobs’ obsession with recording the music of this era can be found in his massive collection of roughly 10,000 tapes containing more than 30,000 sets of live music. Throughout his decadeslong tenure, Jacobs arguably perfected the art of recording live shows, yet his collection was never made available for bootleg culture, just for himself. Melomaniac explores Jacobs’ hidden history of documenting and preserving Chicago’s live music scene through the eyes of bands, venue owners, and Jacobs himself, as well as pondering the possible future of these recordings. His collection of tapes contains the stories of hundreds of bands, performances, and venues all around the Chicago area, most of which have only been listened to by Jacobs. The soundtrack of the documentary is filled with some of Jacobs’s actual recordings, which include the music of Antietam, Eleventh Dream Day, and The Mekons. Melomaniac is a fascinating glimpse into the world of this music obsessive. (SG)

Miss Sadie Thompson 3-D

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda

TUE, APRIL 9 • 1 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 1

Narrative • USA • 1953 • 91 MIN

Director: Curtis Bernhardt Cast: Rita Hayworth, José Ferrer, Aldo Ray, Charles Buchinsky (Bronson)

The luminous Rita Hayworth is the title character in the big screen’s third, electrifying version of Somerset Maugham’s short story, Rain Sadie is a singer hopping islands in the Pacific just after the end of WWII who charms a unit of U.S. Marines waiting to be discharged from their remote outpost. At the same time, the small island is visited by the over-zealous, sanctimonious missionary Davidson (José Ferrer), whose repressed desires are unleashed when he learns the secret of Sadie’s past. Assuming the role previously played by Gloria Swanson and Joan Crawford, Hayworth is made an even more mesmerizing presence through Technicolor cinematography (shot on gorgeous Hawaiian locations) and the miracle of 3-D. Miss Sadie Thompson is also a quasi-musical and Hayworth, dubbed by singer Jo Ann Greer, shimmies her way through “The Heat is On,” a number that matches Hayworth’s “Put the Blame on Mame” performance in Gilda for cinematic excitement. The screening will be introduced by Rita Belda of Sony Pictures. (JH)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Department of English

The Monk and the Gun

SUN, APRIL 7 • 1:45 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Bhutan • 2023 • Dzongkha with English subtitles • 106 MIN

Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji Cast: Tandin Wangchuk, Tandin Sonam, Choeying Jatsho

The 2024 Wisconsin Film Festival salutes the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures through a selection of restored classics from the Columbia archives at Sony Pictures.

The screenings will be introduced by Wisconsin’s own Rita Belda, Sony Pictures Vice President of asset management, film restoration, and digital mastering.

Early Capra: So This is Love (1928)

Early Capra: The Way of the Strong (1928)

Man’s Castle (1933)

Address Unknown (1944)

Miss Sadie Thompson 3-D (1953)

The Mad Magician 3-D (1954)

Tight Spot (1955)

The Long Haul (1957)

The Tingler (1959)

The Burglars (1971)

Christine (1983)

It’s 2006, and democracy is coming to the Kingdom of Bhutan… whether its citizens want it, or not. A pair of election officials arrive in a remote Himalayan village to educate its skeptical citizens on how this whole voting thing works, and why they might want to do it in the first place. Wary of all this change (TV and the internet have just arrived, too), an elderly lama instructs his disciple to bring him a pair of guns… but for what purpose? The young monk’s strange mission puts him in contact with an American gun collector, who is in the area tracking down an antique rifle. Writer/director (and alumnus of Appleton’s Lawrence University) Pawo Choyning Dorji’s much-anticipated followup to his Oscarnominated, WFF Audience Award winning Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is full of intriguing surprises, breathtaking vistas, and warm laughs. It’s also a perceptive look at the effects of global modernization, and the wary eye The Monk and the Gun casts towards American ideals like democracy is particularly refreshing. “Terrific. A sly critique of western influence with a humorous and hugely satisfying finale” (Variety). (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Center for South Asia

WisconsinFestival

WISCONSIN’S OWN FILMS

Moving (Ohikkoshi)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 6:15 PM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

American

MON, APRIL 8 • 8:15 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Narrative • Japan • 1993 • Japanese with English subtitles • 125 MIN

Director: Shinji Sōmai Cast: Kiichi Nakai, Junko Sakurada, Tomoko Tabata, Tsurube Shofukutei Discover a hidden gem of world cinema with this rich and intimate family drama, which centers around a sixth-grade girl in Kyoto whose parents are splitting up. Rebelling against her mom’s strict new rules, Renko attempts to trick them into getting back together, culminating in a breathtaking climax at a fire festival. A beloved classic in Japan that has never received its international due, Moving has long served as a north star for leading Japanese filmmakers like Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters; Monster, UW Cinematheque 2024), who declares it “masterful. After seeing it, I had confirmation that Shinji Sōmai was the best filmmaker of his generation, which immediately placed him as the only director I was hoping to overtake. Deserves to be rediscovered today more than ever.” Similarly, Oscar-nominated Drive My Car director Ryusuke Hamaguchi (whose new film, Evil Does Not Exist, is also in this year’s fest) reflects that “Sōmai is held in the highest esteem by Japanese film fans, just as it is, let’s face it, impossible for anyone making cinema in Japan today not to have Sōmai in mind. Watching the film again today, it seems unbelievable. He is still far from achieving the widespread recognition that all Sōmai lovers feel is his due.” This is the North American premiere of Moving’s gorgeous 4K restoration, which won Best Restoration at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. (MK)

NWISCONSIN’S OWN

One With The Whale

FRI, APRIL 5 • 6 PM

MUSIC HALL

86 MIN

Filmmakers scheduled to appear

Quagmire

Experimental • USA • 2024 • 6 MIN

Director: Bill Bedford

Put WFF vet Bill Bedford in a corn field and out comes another mesmerizing combination of color, shape and rhythm. (BR)

One With The Whale

Documentary • USA • 2023 • English, Siberian Yupik with English subtitles • 80 MIN

Director: Pete Chelkowski, Jim Wickens

Cast: Agra Chris Apassingok, Nalu Danielle Apassingok

The Apassingoks are a typical American family. They watch the NBA, have a dog named Blue, and are often glued to social media. Living on a tiny Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, there are a few things about their lives that are different than mainland life. For example: Chris, a shy teenager, must regularly skip days at high school so he can go whale and walrus hunting, providing food for his family and his village. Chris is one of the last subsistence hunters of his generation, continuing the

The Nature of Love (Simple Comme Sylvain)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 4 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Canada • 2023 • French with English subtitles • 112

MIN

Director: Monia Chokri Cast: Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Francis-William Rhéaume

“Fun, sharp, and sexy” (Screen Daily), this lively Quebecois romantic comedy asks whether the path to one’s heart is through the head or the bed. Middle-aged academics Sophia and Xavier are all too comfortable in their routine marriage and snobby social milieu, sharing bon mots at dinner parties even if they no longer share a bedroom at the end of the night. Sophia’s dormant libido gets a wake-up call with the arrival of Sylvain, a smoldering handyman hired to fix up their lake house. It’s lust at first sight, and the pair are immediately joined at the hips like a couple of teenage lovebirds. Sophia’s ready to trade Xavier in for Sylvain, but how well can this dreamy hunk integrate into her day-to-day? Writer/director/ co-star Monia Chokri’s zesty tale of infidelity knowingly uses romcom tropes as a springboard for a funny, frank, and self-aware examination of passion versus companionship. “A sexy, funny treat… communicates some home truths about desire and familiarity, but not at the expense of comedy. The Nature of Love refreshingly centers the female adulterer’s experience, in a richly comic mode” (Variety). (MK)

Oancient practice of providing food for an entire community, a way of life that has become much more difficult due to climate change. When Chris becomes the youngest person to ever harpoon a whale, there is much cause for celebration among his family and community. His proud mother posts photos of the hunt on social media to share with other Alaska Native communities, but those posts are re-contextualized in the hands of environmental activist Paul Watson, and Chris and his family receive thousands of hate messages and death threats. With much of the film narrated and captured by family members themselves, One With The Whale intimately captures the multiple challenges that Chris and his family face (Chris’s sister, Nalu, is gay and

decides to leave the island and its restrictive religious morality). Caught in the crosshairs of climate change, food insecurity, social media, and centuries of racially motivated attacks from outsiders, the Apassingoks and their entire village are on the cusp of losing everything. That is, unless they can find a way to navigate these precarious times and strike a balance between being modern Americans and traditional hunter-gatherers. Filled with layered portraits of Chris, his family and their community, and peppered with thrilling bursts of sea-faring adventure, One With The Whale is a challenging and inspirational documentary that leaves us with a much deeper understanding of the nuanced difficulties this unique culture faces as it stands on the precipice of extinction.

(BR)

Join us at the Barrymore Theatre for food and drink and at least one champagne toast as we kick off this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival in grand-old-movie-palace style. The price of admission includes aforementioned food and drink, and early access to general admission seating inside the Barrymore Theatre for our Golden Badger Award Presentation and opening remarks, beginning at 6:30pm and our Opening Night film, Io Capitano

North

Premiere 4K Restoration

WISCONSIN’S OWN Out of the Picture

FRI, APRIL 5 • 8:15 PM

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

107 MIN

Post screening discussion with director Mary Louise Schumacher and Judy Davidoff of Isthmus

Discriminator Loss

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 9 MIN

Director: David Witzling

Unsettling AI imagery, strange frame rates, cacophonous soundscapes and images of playful destruction comprise David Witzling’s latest remarkably experimental short. (BR)

Out of the Picture

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 98 MIN

Director: Mary Louise Schumacher Cast: Jen Graves, Carolina Miranda, Jeneé Osterheldt, Seph Rodney, Hrag Vartanian

For generations, the critic has been a figure treated with distance, if not outright hostility, portrayed as intellectual, snobbish, and quick with a cutting remark or a devastating turn of phrase. Mary Louise Schumacher’s documentary

Out of the Picture takes a more expansive look at the critic, specifically the art critic. In her engaging and urgent new film, Schumacher, an independent critic who for almost two decades covered art and architecture for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, interviews several prominent art critics— including The Los Angeles Times’ Carolina Miranda, The Boston Globe’s Jeneé Osterheldt, and The Stranger’s Jen Graves—along with the artists whose work has served as their subjects, examining the role of the critic in artistic discourse, misperceptions about their profession, their importance as drivers of cultural discourse, and the instability they have faced during an uncertain time for journalism and the transition from print to online publications. For those who love to read thoughtful criticism, Out of the Picture serves as an overdue examination and celebration of an unfairly vilified figure in art culture. For those skeptical about critics, the film invites new ways of thinking about these hardworking, hard to please writers. (LSL)

Presented with support from Isthmus

P35 MM

Pitfall (Otoshiana)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 4 PM

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

Ena Sendijarević scheduled to appear 35MM • Narrative • Japan • 1962 • Japanese with English subtitles • 97 MIN

Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara Cast: Hisashi Igawa, Sumie Sasaki, Sen Yano, Kazuo Miyahara

In a desolate postwar mining town, a wandering miner and his son encounter a silent assassin in a white suit, sparking a chain of mistrust and killings. Meanwhile, ghosts of the deceased haunt the community, seeking answers from the alienated citizens who cannot hear them. Hiroshi Teshigahara, best known for Woman in the Dunes (1964) and Antonio Gaudi (1984), coined the term “documentary fantasy” to describe Pitfall, his first feature and his first collaboration with novelist Kobo Abe and composer Toru Takemitsu. Reminiscent of Antonioni and Kafka, this mesmerizing, surreal movie merges a social critique of alienation and poverty with unsettling supernatural elements. This screening of a 35mm print of Pitfall will be introduced by European filmmaker Ena Sendijarević, who joins us at the Festival this year to present her second feature, Sweet Dreams. (JH)

Presented with support from the Division of the Arts International Visiting Artist Program in partnership with the International Division

Puan

SAT, APRIL 6 • 1:45 PM

MUSIC HALL

MON, APRIL 8 • 12:30 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Italy, France • 2023 • Spanish with English subtitles • 109 MIN

Director: Maria Alché, Benjamín Naishtat Cast: Marcelo Subiotto, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Julieta Zylberberg

In an engaging lead performance, Marcelo Subiotto plays Marcelo, a dedicated philosophy professor at the Public University of Buenos Aires (Puan) who is thrown for a loop when his mentor, Professor Caselli, kicks the bucket unexpectedly. Expecting to smoothly slide into Caselli’s coveted chair, Marcelo’s dreams are put on hold by the arrival of Rafael Sujarchuk (Leonardo Sbaraglia), a suave and charming newcomer with European university cred, who swoops in to snatch the position for himself. What follows is a hilariously awkward battle of wits as the earnest, idealistic, but decidedly unflashy Marcelo tries everything in his power to prove he’s the rightful heir to the throne. As the movie builds towards its unexpected conclusion our hero finds that his life, and the entire University community, are slipping into a whirlwind of chaos and absurdity. Fastpaced and sometimes laughout-loud funny, this dead-on depiction of Academic life is the collaborative effort of Argentine writer/directors Benjamin Naishtat (Rojo, WFF 2019) and María Alché. “A fleet-footed if sharply pointed existentialcrisis comedy... that finds wit and wisdom in the last place on earth one might expect to find either: a university philosophy department” (Jessica Kiang, Variety). (JH)

Red Rooms (Les Chambres Rouges)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 7:30 PM • THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

WED, APRIL 10 • 6 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Narrative • Canada • 2023 • French with English subtitles • 118 MIN

Director: Pascal Plante Cast: Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin, Élisabeth Locas

Equal parts riveting and harrowing, this fresh twist on the serial killer genre unfolds in the aftermath of its crimes. In a Montreal courtroom, a man stands accused not only of committing three grisly murders, but of livestreaming them on the dark web. But Red Rooms isn’t about him, or his victims. Instead, we follow Kelly-Anne, one of the groupies who lines up daily to attend this media-frenzy trial with religious devotion. A fashion model who spends most of her time alone in her high-rise, illuminated only by the glow of her computer screen as she racks up bitcoin via online poker, KellyAnne’s disposition eerily matches the detached serenity of her custom AI assistant. But when she begins to let a fellow groupie into her life, it sends her down an even darker path. With this tense chiller, writer/director Pascal Plante draws disturbing connections between popular culture’s morbid fascination with serial killers and our increasingly digital lives. “Disturbingly brilliant. Takes an overused genre—the serial killer movie—and an often-misused technique—dark Lynchian surrealism—and somehow alchemizes the two into something new and original. Word-of-mouth cult status beckons” (Deadline). Best Film, Screenplay, and Performance, 2023 Fantasia Film Festival. (MK)

35 MM

Riddle of Fire

Richard Davis, Lynda Barry, and The Wisconsin Idea

SUN, APRIL 7 • 4:45 PM • MUSIC HALL • 100 MIN

Lynda Barry, Jeff Butler and filmmakers scheduled to attend

Wisconsin Film Festival in collaboration with the Division of the Arts celebrates the UW’s 175th Anniversary with this program of campus based documentaries featuring UW professors Richard Davis and Lynda Barry. The program also features raw newsreel footage shot on the UW - Madison campus in the 1920s and live bass music and demonstrations courtesy of the Richard Davis Foundation.

Movietone News in Wisconsin, Part 2

USA • 12 MIN

This special selection of silent and sound outtake footage from Fox Movietone newsreels of the 1920s was all filmed on the UW-Madison campus! The program includes the testing of a model rotor ship in the Physics Dept. (1925), an archery class in action (1925), a look at a Badger football practice, and University President Glenn Frank struggling to complete a monologue “on beauty” (1929). The material is all archived in the Digital Collections of the University of South Carolina Libraries and the selection will be presented by Daniela Currò, Moving Image Research Collections Director.

A Room Alive!

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 28 MIN

Director: Tommasina (Tommie) Capelli Cast: Lynda Barry, Jeffrey Butler, Julia Tanenbaum UW faculty member Lynda Barry takes center stage in this charming documentary about the “Comics Room”, where Dr. Barry and her students–including a student turned faculty, comics veteran Jeff Butler–explore their creativity through the medium of comic books, creating a lively community of artists in the process. (LSL)

Presented with support from UWMadison Center for Humanities

String Theory: The Richard Davis Method

Documentary • USA • 2024 • 60 MIN

Director: Michael Neelsen Cast: Richard Davis, Christian McBride, John Clayton, Diana Gannett, Virginia Dixon

String Theory: The Richard Davis Method is a heartfelt and inspiring documentary that delves into the life and legacy of one of the greatest bass players in history, Richard Davis. Set against the backdrop of the renowned Richard Davis Bass Conference for Young Bassists at UW - Madison, the film captures the essence of Davis’s profound impact on the world of music. While Davis is most known for gracing stages and recording studios with music icons like Miles Davis, Van Morrison, and Eric Dolphy, his transition from a celebrated performer to a revered professor at UW in the 1970s forms the crux of this story, highlighting his dedication to nurturing young talent. Featuring interviews and candid footage of Davis and other legendary bass players passionately instructing students as young as elementary school. The film is a testament to the transfer of generational wisdom, showing these maestros shaping the next generation of musicians. String Theory is particularly poignant following Richard Davis’s passing in Madison in 2023. It stands as a timeless tribute to his enduring influence and the unbreakable bond he forged between music and education. This film is not just about the notes played but the lives touched by a man who believed in the power of music to transcend boundaries and inspire dreams. (BR)

Presented with support from UWMadison Division of the Arts

FRI, APRIL 5 • 5:45 PM

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

SUN, APRIL 7 • 1:15 PM

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

35MM • Narrative • USA • 2023 • 113 MIN

Director: Weston Razooli Cast: Lio Tipton, Charles Halford, Weston Razooli, Skyler Peters, Phoebe Ferro, Lorelei Olivia Mote, Charlie Stover Riddle of Fire invites audiences on a journey through the enchanting landscapes of Wyoming, USA, where three dirt bike riding children set out on a quest to find their mother a blueberry pie. Their seemingly simple task is transformed into a fantastical, whimsical odyssey, complete with elaborate heists, kidnappers, witches, and a courageous, sometimes hilarious battle against the odds. Along the way, they forge unbreakable bonds, befriend magical creatures, and discover the true power of having pals. Writer/director Weston Razooli’s self-described “neofairytale” is both heartwarming and wonderfully weird. The charmingly inexperienced child performers create a one-of-akind chemistry when playing against the professional adult actors, particularly the terrific Lio Tipton as the head of the coven and Charles Halford as her chief goon. Taking inspiration from Little Rascals shorts and the countless unsupervised kiddie movies of the 90s that were created in the wake of Home Alone’s massive success, Razooli’s debut feature is an inspiring, captivating celebration of childhood adventure. In another nod to cinema of the past, Riddle of Fire was shot on film and will be screened at the Wisconsin Film Festival on a 35mm print! 2023 Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. (JH)

Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus

SUN, APRIL 7 • 11:15 AM • MUSIC HALL

Documentary • Japan • 2023 • Japanese with English subtitles • 103 MIN

Director: Neo Sora Cast: Ryuichi Sakamoto

Bask in the genius of one of the world’s most celebrated and visionary composers with this spellbinding concert film. Filmed in late 2022, just months before his death, Opus presents Ryuichi Sakamoto alone with his piano, performing 20 pieces that serve as an elegant and elegiac summation of his life’s work. This selfselected retrospective generously encompasses everything from his pioneering electro-pop band Yellow Magic Orchestra all the way up to his final ambient album, as well as pieces composed for cinema, including his iconic score for Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (WFF 2016). Filmed in rich black-and-white and directed by Sakamoto’s son Neo Sora, Opus distills his varied oeuvre to its essential components, allowing us to draw connections between his eras and hear familiar pieces in a new light—perhaps as Sakamoto heard them himself. The man may never have played Madison, but this deeply moving swansong provides the next best thing. “A gift to the world—both commemorating an incredible life and career and chronicling a performance rich and sophisticated enough to inspire dozens more” (Variety). (MK)

WISCONSIN’S OWN FILMS

Samsara

SUN, APRIL 7 • 1:45 PM • UW CINEMATHEQUE

The Daughters of Fire (As Filhas do Fogo)

Experimental • Portugal • 2023 • Portuguese with English subtitles • 9 MIN

Director: Pedro Costa

After a volcanic eruption, three Cape Verdean sisters reunite in song across a triple-split screen in this virtuoso short from Portuguese auteur Pedro Costa. (MK)

Samsara

Narrative • Spain • 2023 • Lao, Swahili with English subtitles • 117 MIN

Director: Lois Patiño Cast: Amid Keomany, Toumor Xiong, Simone Milavanh

A radical extension of cinematic language, Samsara is surely the year’s most visionary film—even if you watch part of it with your eyes closed. It begins in Laos, where a teenage monk embarks on a journey to visit a dying woman, in order to read her passages from the Tibetan Book of the Dead and prepare her for the next world. When she passes on, the film itself follows her into the bardo. We, the audience, are instructed to close our eyes, and Samsara becomes an immersive sensory experience unlike any you’ve had in a cinema before. The liminal state between life and death is conjured through light and color we perceive through our closed eyelids. When we reopen our eyes and emerge on the other side, the woman’s soul has been reincarnated in another part of the world. Director Lois Patiño has unlocked a new frontier in the age-old act of movie-watching not through VR or AI, but through the most low-tech means possible, by literally asking us to look within ourselves. “Grade: A. Here’s the rare film that invites your whole body into its universe… it was terrifying, soothing, exhilarating. I am not entirely sure I am the same person I was when I first walked in” (The Film Stage). “A transcendent experience… allows us to marvel at cinema’s miraculous capacity for the transportive and sublime” (Sight & Sound). (MK)

BIG SCREENS, LITTLE FOLKS FILMS

Short and Sweet

SAT, APRIL 6 • 11 AM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

91 MIN• Ages 8 - 12. Bold and adventurous, the characters in these stories reinvent themselves and, sometimes, the world around them!

Lulina and the Moon (Lulina e a Lua)

Animation • Brazil • 2023 • 14 MIN

Director: Marcus Vinicius Vasconcelos, Alois

Di Leo Cast: Marilia Mencucini, Henrique Chiurciu

Lulina has a creative power that is boundless. When her parents paint one wall of her room white, she finds herself feeling adrift. Beckoned by the blank white canvas of the moon, Lulina draws herself into a vibrant new world where, guided by the creatures she’s created, she discovers she can face the changes in her own world. (KH)

Savitri

Animation • USA • 2023 • 10 MIN

Director: Crestwood Elementary Fourth and Fifth Graders Cast: Leah W., Omari D-S, Rishaan P., Lila F., Nehemiah C.,Annabel D., Andy H.

My Name is Edgar and I Have a Cow (Jmenuju se Edgar a mam kravu)

Animation • Czech Republic, Slovakia • 2023 • Czech with English subtitles • 8 MIN

Director: Filip Diviak Cast: Vladimír Javorský, Andrej Polák

Edgar’s predictable life will change forever when he witnesses the birth of a calf. To save her from becoming a Schnitzel dinner, he takes her home. (KK)

Bimberli

Animation • Slovenia • 2023 • Slovenian with English subtitles • 15 MIN

Director: Rok Predin Cast: Tilen Artač, Barbara Lapajne Predin, Maja Pihler Stermecki BiLbi

A young girl begins to grow up and must say goodbye to the magical creature, Bimberli, that represents her early childhood. Together they make the journey to a new world where they must part. (TK)

More than Hair (Plus que des Cheveux)

Narrative • Canada • 2023 • French with English subtitles • 12 MIN

Savitri, a spunky, bright and independent Indian Princess, torments Death until he returns her husband. The fourth and fifth graders of Madison’s Crestwood Elementary retell the classic Indian myth with wit and a bit of irreverence. (TK)

Gaps

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 11 MIN

Director: Jenn Shaw Cast: Charli’ Gurl, Malachi Dewitt, Eldren Keys, Lorraine Toussaint

Is a gap between your front teeth a flaw? Or a feature that makes you who you are and a part of the family? Sydney has to decide. (TK)

Director: Fitch Jean Cast: Ceyon Crossfield, Lisa Deganutti, Anthony Bacon, Byron Brydges, Emmanuel Fokhus Mensah

In this essay film, an adopted young black boy discovers the symbolic power of black hair. His first barbershop visit will change him forever and determine his future. Audience Award winner at the New York International Children’s Film Festival. (KK)

The Mystery of Missing Socks (Kadunud sokid)

Animation • Estonia • 2023 • Estonian with English subtitles • 20 MIN

Director: Oskar Lehemaa Cast: Vega-Freya Luus, Priit Pius, Liis Remmel, Jan Uuspõld, Oskar Lehemaa

Dad’s socks are missing! Young Pille is sent to search under the bed and discovers a whole new world… and the socks! (TK)

Big Screens, Little Folks is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

BIG SCREENS, LITTLE FOLKS

Shorter and Sweeter

SUN, APRIL 7 • 10:30 AM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

63 MIN • Ages 4 - 8.

The world is a big and fascinating place with lots of challenges and problems to solve. Follow the curious, the inventive and the playful in these tales of exploration and discovery.

Rainboy

Animation • Switzerland • 2023 • 6 MIN

Director: Barbara Brunner Cast: Patric Gehrig, Heidi Happy, Nina Steinemann Rainboy helps make the weather. He tickles the clouds and harvests the raindrops. But when he accidentally injures the Sun, he has to weather a stormy conflict. (TK)

Buzz

Animation • UK • 2023 • 10 MIN

Director: Bryn Chainey, Andrew Brand Cast: Eliza Collings, Allison Ballard

A lone scientist struggles to grow crops on Mars, assisted by her robotic animals and pollinators, until Buzz, a rogue bee, makes a discovery that saves the farm! (TK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Wisconsin Institute for Discovery And Then

(Und dänn)

Narrative • Switzerland • 2022 • Swiss, German with English subtitles • 3 MIN

Director: Tanja Nuijten, Leo Graf, Raphael Stalder Cast: Sun Ina, Papsotiriou Yiannis, König Kasimir

What does a whale do in the Swiss Alps? Inventive young storytellers create a funny story that everyone, except the whale, will love. (KK)

Cat (Katze)

Animation • Germany • 2023 • 4 MIN

Director: Julia Ocker

Cat follows a recipe for a delicious soup....until he discovers the key ingredient! (TK)

Presented with support from Goethe-Institut Chicago

To Be Sisters (Entre Deux Soeurs)

Animation • France • 2022 • 7 MIN

Director: Clément Céard, Anne-Sophie Gousset

There is a special magic to the relationship between sisters. The friendship between two sisters grows as the younger sister’s needs change and they find new and joyful ways to be together. Based on the story of the writer and co-director and her sister.

Young Audience Award (June 2023) Annecy International Animation Film Festival. European Children’s Film Association 2024 Award for best European Young Audience Short Film. (KH)

Presented with support from ARTS for ALL Wisconsin Snif and Snuf

Animation • USA • 2023 • 5 MIN

Director: Michael J Ruocco

Two friends discover new shapes and struggle to learn to share. Can they make things right? Or are they bent out of shape for good? (KH)

Sunflower (Tournesol)

Animation • France, Russian Federation • 2023 • 4 MIN

Director: Natalia Chernysheva

A field of sunflowers responds in unison to the world around them until one curious sunflower breaks free. (TK)

What’s Inside that Crate?

(Wat zit er in die kist?)

Animation • Belgium • 2023 • 10 MIN

Director: Bram Algoed

Come join all the people who wonder what’s inside that crate?

The visually stunning journey takes us in the air, over sea, and on the road, before the secret is revealed. Based on Pieter Gaudesaboos’s wonderful book. (KK)

The Hedgehog

Animation • Czech Republic • 2023 • 2 MIN

Director: Daniela Hýbnerová

Don’t mess with a hedgehog and try to figure out if it can swim. You may regret it. A fun and very short film from Czech’s famous film school FAMU. (KK)

Little Fan

Animation • Germany • 2023 • 5 MIN

Director: Shad Bradbury, Sveta Yuferova Little Fan stumbles into an adventure of discovery and finds a new friendship. (KH)

Presented with support from Goethe-Institut Chicago Battery Mommy

Animation • South Korea • 2023 • Korean with English subtitles • 9 MIN

Director: Jeon Seung-bae Battery Mommy has a busy workday helping the humans run a daycare; blowing bubbles, taking photos, and running the kitchen blender. When a fire break outs, the little battery has to find a way to save the children and the day. (KH)

Sideways

THU, APRIL 11 • 7:30 PM

BARRYMORE THEATRE

Scheduled to appear: Alexander Payne

Narrative • USA • 2004 • 127 MIN

Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh

Nearly 20 years before they were reunited with The Holdovers, director Alexander Payne and actor Paul Giamatti first teamed for this terrific buddy comedy that inspired a whole new generation of oenophiles. Giamatti plays Miles, a wine connoisseur and would-be published author, who has planned a winery tour in Santa Barbara with his actor pal Jack (Thomas Haden Church) the week before Jack’s wedding. Dealing with his own insecurities and personal issues, Miles becomes even more stressed out by Jack’s single-minded pursuit of a final fling before tying the knot. Miles’ struggles with rejection are tempered when he discovers that the beguiling Maya (Virginia Madsen), another wine expert, just might return his interests. One of the funniest and most acclaimed comedies of the 21st century, Sideways brought Payne the first of his two Academy Awards for screenwriting, an honor he shared with co-writer Jim Taylor. This special WFF screening marks 20 years since Sideways’ original release and Alexander Payne will join us in person to discuss his celebrated road movie and explain how he really feels about Merlot. (JH)

Sleep

SAT, APRIL 6 • 9 PM

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

MON, APRIL 8 • 3:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 8

Dream Creep

Narrative • USA • 2024 • 13 MIN

Director: Carlos A.F. Lopez Cast: Ian Edlund, Sidney Jayne Hunt

David awakens in the night to cries for help emanating from his partner Suzy’s earhole.

Sleep

Narrative • South Korea • 2023 • Korean with English subtitles • 95 MIN

Director: Jason Yu Cast: Jung Yu-mi, Lee Sunkyun, Kim Kuk-hee

Expectant mother Soo-jin wakes to find her husband Hyun-su sitting up on the edge of their bed, ominously muttering about someone being inside their city apartment. This creepy opening sequence is just the first of a series of unsettling nocturnal events that strain the couple’s once-ideal marriage. Hyunsu’s increasingly disturbing sleepwalking episodes fuel Soo-jin’s fear for their safety, pushing her to first seek medical intervention. Then she looks for help from a strange shaman who suggests there may be paranormal forces at work. With a tight three-act structure, director Jason Yu masterfully builds tension, blending humor, suspense, and ambiguity as the couple confronts a sinister force threatening their sanity and their unborn child. Yu’s skillful direction, coupled with stellar performances, builds tension with every scene, leaving you spellbound in its grip until the electrifying climax. 2023 Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals. (JH)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Center for East Asian Studies

Big Screens, Little Folks is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The CapitalTimes; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

So Unreal

SAT, APRIL 6 • 4 PM

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

SUN, APRIL 7 • 11 AM

CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 95 MIN

Director: Amanda Kramer Cast: Debbie Harry

The Matrix Tron Strange Days, eXistenZ, Hackers The Net

Since the earliest days of the internet, cinema good, bad, and unclassifiable has wrestled with how to depict cyberspace. Comprised entirely of eyebending footage from sci-fi films of the 1980s and 90s, this mesmerizing documentary is a psychedelic catalog of Hollywood’s wildest attempts to envision our new digital frontier. As the internet’s cultural presence grew from spooky unknown to all-consuming black hole, technological anxiety permeated the movies, providing filmmaker Amanda Kramer (Please Baby Please, UW Cinematheque 2022) a wealth of bizarre material. Some of this imagery symbiotically influenced the very evolution of what it was attempting to capture and has since become iconic; but that’s the tip of the iceberg. For every bullet-time masterpiece, there’s a Virtual Encounters, a Lawnmower Man 2, an Emmanuel in Space 3: forgotten or disreputable misfires whose fluorescent imagery now seems less like failure of foresight than a transmission from our cinematic forebears. In the days before “lifelike” CGI that often feels lifeless, these films pushed vintage special effects beyond its limits to conjure something otherworldly. Narrated by Videodrome star (and Blondie herself) Debbie Harry, So Unreal is a trip into the future—as imagined by our past. Arrive early for a pre-show reel of 35mm trailers for some of the films included in So Unreal, courtesy of the Wisconsin Center for Film & Theater Research. (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Center for Film and Theater Research

Sweet Dreams

SAT, APRIL 6 • 3:45 PM •

THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

Scheduled to appear: Ena Sendijarević

Narrative • Netherlands, Sweden, Indonesia, France • 2023 • Dutch, Indonesian with English subtitles • 102 MIN

Director: Ena Sendijarević Cast: Renée Soutendijk, Lisa Zweerman, Hans Dagelet

It’s 1900 on a Dutch sugar plantation on a lushly verdant Indonesian island. When the owner abruptly dies, his widow summons her estranged son and his very pregnant wife to return from Europe and take over the family business—only to discover that everything has been left to a young boy the man fathered with his Indonesian servant. Sensing the opportunity for revolution, some of the laborers begin to organize, while the family attempts to hang onto their power any way they can. In this cutthroat moment, longstanding relationships between the colonizers and the indigenous servants come to light, while new ones form. Ena Sendijarević’s impeccably crafted, riveting knockout offers a damning vision of colonialism that is charged with the heightened atmosphere of a waking dream—or nightmare. Lead actor Renée Soutendijk, every bit as commanding now as she was in Paul Verhoeven’s 80s masterpieces The Fourth Man and Spetters, won the Best Performance prize at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival. “A gorgeous, sardonic portrait of colonial decline. Ena Sendijarević’s drolly exquisite Indonesia-set period parable makes for a startlingly accomplished sophomore film” (Variety). (MK)

Presented with support from the Division of the Arts International Visiting Artist Program in partnership with the International Division and Dutch Culture USA.

Songs of Earth (Fedrelandet)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 11AM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Documentary • Norway • 2023 • Norwegian with English subtitles • 90 MIN

Director: Margreth Olin Cast: Jørgen Mykle, Magnhild Mykløen, Margreth Olin

Welcome to Oldedalen. An impossibly beautiful slice of Norway, this majestic river valley is carved from mountains and glaciers as though straight out of a storybook. Documentarian Margreth Olin lets us spend a year with two of the people lucky enough to wake up there every day: Jørgen and Magnhild, her parents. Generations of Jørgen’s family have called Oldedalen home, and this long-range perspective grants him a wisdom that verges on the eternal. A profound and ravishing appreciation of the natural world and our place within it, Songs of Earth is as mind-clearing, eye-popping, and soul-replenishing as your favorite hike. Needless to say, this is mandatory big screen viewing, if for no other reason than to pick out the exact spots you’ll inevitably want to visit. “A soaring documentary portrait, Songs of Earth is ambitious work from Olin, who ties cosmic themes of love, grace, time, and memory together through the much smaller tale of her aging parents’ extraordinary love for one another. A remarkable, poetic meditation, Songs of Earth weaves the smallness of human lifespan into the grandness of the earth’s history, and does it all with unspeakable beauty” (Vox). “A many-splendored thing: a home movie worthy of IMAX theaters” (RogerEbert.com). (MK)

TTake Me Somewhere Nice

MON, APRIL 8 • 5:30 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Scheduled to appear: Ena Sendijarević

Narrative • Netherlands, Bosnia and Herzegovina • 2019 • Bosnian, Dutch with English subtitles • 91 MIN

Director: Ena Sendijarević Cast: Sara Luna Zorić, Ernad Prnjavorac, Lazar Dragojević

The debut feature of Sweet Dreams director Ena Sendijarević combines the deadpan cool of early Jim Jarmusch with brightly colored absurdism. Dutch teen Alma arrives in Bosnia to visit her ailing father. But it quickly becomes clear that the cousin she was relying on is in no rush to drive her to the hospital, and instead pawns her off on his pal. Finally giving up on these two, she heads out on her own, hopping on a bus only to quickly lose her luggage, cash, and direction. Alma weathers these amusing misadventures with an insouciant breeziness that only a teen can pull off, even as the film takes her in increasingly surprising directions. “An immensely charming and deliberately odd riff on themes of identity and immigration. Sendijarević exists within a filmmaking universe that spans European dark humor—Scandinavians Roy Andersson and Aki Kaurismäki, Greek New Wavers Yorgos Lanthimos and Athina Rachel Tsangari—and stylized American indie auteurs like Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch” (Reverse Shot). Special Jury Prize for Exceptional Artistic Achievement, Rotterdam Film Festival. (MK)

Presented with support from the Division of the Arts International Visiting Artist Program in partnership with the International Division and Dutch Culture USA

Golden Badger Awards

As members of the Golden Badger Jury, we were overwhelmed by the crop of films we had the pleasure of viewing for this year’s Wisconsin’s Own program. We believe that this year’s festival attendees have an embarrassment of riches to sort through, but ultimately, we selected three films— February (Or: Si Nos Dejan), Parallel Botany, and Patient to receive the Golden Badger Award. These films best represent the incredibly high level of craft and uniqueness of vision on display at this year’s festival. We hope you enjoy these singular films as much as we did.

JURY:

Julian Castronovo is a writer and filmmaker living in Los Angeles. He is the director of Hannah’s Video (WFF ‘21) and Noise (WFF ‘23).

Erica Moulton is an Assistant Professor of Film Studies at the University of WisconsinWhitewater, where she teaches courses on film genre, theory, and adaptation. She graduated with her Ph.D. in Film Studies from University of WisconsinMadison in May 2023.

Lewis Peterson is the owner of Four Star Video Rental (née Heaven) and has worked there since 2013, and has been writing for Tone Madison since 2020.

WINNERS:

February (Or: Si Nos Dejan)

Screens with Wisconsin’s Own Two Handers • Music Hall • 4/7 2pm Director Nathan Deming’s follow up to January (WFF ‘22) continues his 12 film cycle on life in small town Wisconsin. This installment centers on Miguel (David Ezekial Duran), a young Mexican immigrant fishout-of-water who’s flopping pretty hard. He withdraws into his phone after work, and appears almost catatonic despite attempts to acclimate him to his new surroundings by his sister Rosa (Nayelli Michelle Hernandez) and brother-in-law Luis (Erick Inestroza), until a chance encounter on an errand leads to a newfound interest that embraces the harshness of the Wisconsin landscape. Duran’s performance is promisingly naturalistic, and the cast of true to life oddballs got the most laughs in the jury room of any Wisconsin’s Own selection.

Parallel Botany

Screens with Light Needs & Botanical Shorts • 4/6 1:30pm Chazen Museum of Art Magdalena Bermudez’s Parallel Botany is a probing exploration of both the nature of knowledge and our knowledge of nature. Illustrations are magnified and examined, medieval botanical superstitions are told and retold, fruits and galls are halved and quartered

with scalpels. A work of poetry, precision, and paradox, this is an experimental short which asks: “How can I look without in the process destroying what I’m looking for?”

Patient

Screens with Americans Smell Good Music Hall • 4/6 1:45pm Patient is a captivating and curious portrait of the American medical system—not a documentary, but not a complete fiction either. The film focuses on a day-long session with “Standardized Patients,” actors who perform various mental and physical ailments for the educational benefit of medical students. Director Lori Felker probes the mundanity of this setting, training her camera on a simple examination room, where she unpacks the complicated, often overwhelming emotional exchanges between four pairs of “doctors” and “patients” as they run through the “script” of taking a medical history. The boundaries between fiction and nonfiction, and between performance and real-life, are collapsed across the various sessions, with the arcs of two characters—Gayle, a “standardized patient” and Melanie, a medical student— giving the film an emotional throughline. The film directly and obliquely addresses difficult questions within the medical profession, including mental health, but does so with astonishing sensitivity and humanity.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

A Room Alive!

Tommie Capelli’s documentary about UW Madison’s Comics Room, established by Professor Cats (The Musical) AKA Lynda Barry, might just make you want to pick up a pen yourself (and deserves honorable mention for innovation in pseudonyms).

A Zhi

A father and son’s contentious relationship forms the backbone of A Zhi, Yucheng Lian’s restrained and enigmatic short film. A supernatural twist sends the son on a late-night run for kway teow noodles with his grandfather, who sheds light on his quick-tempered father. Lian’s talent for staging his actors and using the edges of the frame expressively make this a riveting watch.

One With The Whale

This documentary about a young Yupik whale hunter shines a light on some vitally relevant issues, like climate change, the impact of incarceration, and the positives and negatives of social media reaching even one of the most remote areas of the world, St. Lawrence Island in Alaska.

Trying

Emily Alpren’s film Trying, cowritten with lead actor Abby Wathen, explores the elation and then the devastation of a woman struggling with infertility. The film impressively navigates the shift in tone between the candy-colored and humorous first half of the film and the sober reality of the second half with remarkable authenticity.

Tuesday Film

Kaylinn Clotfelter’s short Tuesday Film hums with energy, dropping us into the life of Kasey, a 20-year-old Missourian, who records her observations about smalltown Midwestern life. The camera flits from place to place, presenting a whirligig of suburban streets, convenience stores, bowling alleys, and all manner of in-between places.

WISCONSIN’S OWN FILMS

Tales and Tones from Wisconsin’s Own

SAT, APRIL 6 • 6:30 PM

MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

90 MIN

Filmmakers scheduled to appear From Alex Jacobs’ serene winter night’s tableau to Yucheng Lian’s lovely encounter with an elderly spirit under the Chaoshan sky, Tales and Tones from Wisconsin’s Own is a beguiling mix of short narrative and experimental films mashed together like the tastiest chocolate and peanut butter cup you’ve ever enjoyed.

snow light

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 8 MIN

Director: Alex Jacobs

Alex Jacobs’ mesmerizing ambient short brings a delightfully digital color palette to a classic scene of urban Wisconsin winter. (BR)

Trying

Narrative • USA • 2022 • 7 MIN

Director: Emily Alpren Cast: Abby Wathen, Michael Draper

A woman in her thirties finally finds love with the man of her dreams and hopes to start a family with him. Her protracted efforts to conceive become a source of anxiety, self-doubt, and personal pain in this tragicomic short. (LSL)

Unified

Animation • USA • 2023 • 4 MIN

Director: Luke Bassuener Luke Bassuener steps away from his students at Crestwood Elementary long enough to give us this delightfully rhythmic stop-motion animated shorts that brings to life some simple woodcuts. (BR)

Hiding Place

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 15 MIN

Director: Jared Meyer Cast: Julia Strafella, Jane Stiles, Ruth Solorzano, Roy Shuler, James Price

A single mom whose babysitting arrangement falls through at the last minute is forced to bring her tween daughter to work at a catering job where kids are most definitely not welcome. (BR)

Computer Sciences, B.S.

Experimental • USA • 2023 • 4 MIN

Director: Samuel Knopes Cast: Samuel Knopes

A student film that tells the story of a computer science student struggling to find the motivation to work on a difficult assignment, by using simple visuals and vibrant colors to connect human emotions to the digital world. (SG)

Presented with support from UWMadison Wisconsin Institute for Discovery

Lost Boys Pizza

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 14 MIN

Director: Cassie Llanas Cast: Ana Silva, Elena Victoria Feliz, Jordan Knapp, Ryan Foreman

This deliciously campy horror short about a certain type of undead bloodsucker breathes fresh life into the genre. Two friends start the night at a Halloween party but end up in the middle of a supernatural event as a mystery partygoer leaves a bloody trail. Can they make it out alive, or have they bitten off more than they can chew? (SG)

Unit 17: Week 3

Animation • USA • 2023 • 5 MIN

Director: David Kaye, Theresa Stefaniak Cast: Melody Lopac

In this eerily dystopian, black-and-white stop-motion animation, we follow the life of a safety inspector surveilling the residents of an apartment complex. (SG)

The K-Town Killer

Narrative • USA • 2022 • English, Korean with English subtitles • 14 MIN

Director: Vahan Bedelian, Healin Kweon Cast: Kahyun Kim, Joy Sung Kim, Tony Nevada Grace is hiding her identity as a professional kickboxer from her mother, while in turn, her mother tries to hide the racist bullying she is being subjected to by her landlord. It’s only a matter of time before secrets collide in this action-drama short. (SG)

Paper Boats

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 5 MIN

Director: Cole Finn Cast: Satchel Finn

A boy focuses on a simple memory in an effort to get to a peaceful state of mind in this meditative short. (BR)

A Zhi

Narrative • China • 2023 • Chinese, Teochew Dialect with English subtitles • 15 MIN

Director: Yucheng Lian Cast: Zebin Wu, Weidong Zhao, Jiankun Chen, Meizhen Zhong, Liuting Lian

In this exquisitely staged and photographed narrative short, a young man finds himself in conflict with his father over plans to go to college. On the anniversary of his grandfather’s death, he communes with the elder’s spirit to seek advice. (BR)

Tell Them You Love Me

FRI, APRIL 5 • 3:45 PM • BARTELL THEATRE

WED, APRIL 10 • 3:15 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 102 MIN

Director: Nick August-Perna

The story of a respected university professor working with a man with disabilities transforms into a shocking tale of unexpected romance or appalling abuse—depending on who’s telling it— with complex dynamics of power and identity at its center. Anna Stubblefield, a white philosophy professor specializing in race, ethics, and disability, assisted Derrick Johnson, a non-verbal Black man with cerebral palsy, in a controversial process called “facilitated communication,” allowing him to type messages on a device with her physical support. Stubblefield claims that they developed a romantic relationship as she continued helping him, leading to a contentious rift and a dramatic trial. Through interviews with Stubblefield, Johnson’s mother and brother, and other experts connected to the case, director Nick August-Perna skillfully weaves together conflicting perspectives as Stubblefield insists that she and Derrick were in a loving and consensual relationship, a viewpoint that is unflinchingly contradicted by his family. Disturbing and gripping, Tell Them You Love Me explores the origins and consequences of Stubblefield and Johnson’s controversial relationship. Best Documentary Feature, 2023 Hamptons International Film Festival. (MSJ) Presented with support from ARTS for ALL Wisconsin

Tight Spot

FRI, APRIL 5 • 1:30 PM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

Scheduled to appear: Rita Belda

35MM • Narrative • USA • 1955 • 97 MIN

Director: Phil Karlson Cast: Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, Brian Keith In her last great leading role, Ginger Rogers stars as former model and convict Sherry Conley, a character inspired by mobster Bugsy Siegel’s girlfriend, Virginia Hill. After a mob witness is coldbloodedly killed on courthouse steps, Sherry is sprung from the big house under the protection of cynical cop Vince Striker (Brian Keith). Sherry learns she is the only hope that District Attorney Hallett (Edward G. Robinson) has in nailing her old boyfriend, crime boss Ben Costain (a pre-Bonanza Lorne Greene). Facing some very real threats and betrayal from those closest to her, Sherry, whose personal philosophy is “never volunteer for anything,” wrestles with her conscience while Vince and Hallett try to keep her safe and secure her testimony. Loaded with twists of fate and surprising revelations, Tight Spot is high quality entertainment from two superb Hollywood craftsmen who specialized in Westerns and films noir: screenwriter William Bowers and director Phil Karlson. Part of this year’s WFF salute to the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures, an archival 35mm print from Sony Pictures will be screened, introduced by Sony Pictures Vice President Rita Belda. (JH)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Business Services

The Tingler in “Percepto”

FRI, APRIL 5 • 6 PM UW CINEMATHEQUE

FRI, APRIL 5 • 8:15 PM UW CINEMATHEQUE

Narrative • USA • 1959 • 82 MIN

Director: William Castle Cast: Vincent Price, Philip Coolidge, Judith Evelyn

The great Vincent Price stars as coroner William Chapin, who, during a routine autopsy, discovers a killer creature that attaches itself to human spines and can induce fatal fear. The only way the tingler can be removed is through the victim’s loud screaming. While William delves deeper into the creature’s mysteries, a series of horrifying events unfold, leading to a desperate battle to contain the tingler’s terrorizing grip. The Tingler was produced and directed by William Castle, the crown prince of schlock cinema salesmanship. Castle frequently used gimmicks to promote his successful string of horror movies and our WFF screenings of this camp classic will feature the return of “Percepto,” the original sensation that literally tingles your spine! Prepare to scream for your lives when the tingler is set loose in the theater! Part of our festival’s salute to the 100th anniversary of Columbia Pictures, through whom Castle released many of his fun genre classics, The Tingler will be screened via a restored 2K DCP. (JH)

Presented with support from UWMadison Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research

Together (Tillsammans)

WED, APRIL 10 • 5 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Sweden • 2000 • Swedish with English subtitles • 106 MIN Director: Lukas Moodysson Cast: Gustaf Hammersten, Lisa Lindgren, Michael Nyqvist, Emma Samuelsson

In the heart of a Stockholm commune in 1975, peace-loving Göran (Gustaf Hammersten) strives to keep the vibes harmonious, but upheaval arises when his sister, Eva, fleeing her abusive husband, moves in with her two kids. Soon, new adult couplings are formed, and the children learn to navigate a world where love and attention are sometimes scarce commodities. Amidst leftist debates, dishwashing dilemmas, tangled love triangles, and failed experiments in freedom, the commune’s ideals of peace and love face their ultimate test. Released internationally at the dawn of the 21st Century, Lukas Moodysson’sTogether looked back on a bygone era with a decidedly un-nostalgic, yet un-cynical perspective. Now, with the same humor, honesty, and affection for the characters, Moodysson has made the reflective and funnyTogether 99 and this year’s WFF includes the cinematic event of experiencing both films back-to-back! “Moodysson is the perfect host, calmly introducing us, without the trace of a sneer, to a broad selection of trolls and eccentrics” (Anthony Lane, The New Yorker). “This funny, bighearted movie avoids all the pitfalls that movies about the counterculture so easily fall into, neither demonizing its free-loving, leftist characters nor holding them up as untarnished free spirits” (David Ansen, Newsweek). (JH)

Together 99 (Tillsammans 99)

WED, APRIL 10 • 7:30 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Sweden, Denmark • 2023 • Swedish w/English subtitles • 115 MIN

Director: Lukas Moodysson Cast: Gustaf Hammarsten, Shanti Roney, Cecilia Frode

Love and chaos swirl in equal parts in this frequently hilarious and sometimes touching Swedish comedy, part ode and part elegy to communal living. It’s 1999, and time hasn’t been kind to the mid-70s Stockholm community depicted in Lukas Moodysson’s Together (2000); only two members remain, Göran and Klasse, holding onto their hippie ideals amidst a looming Y2K. As Göran’s former housemates return to celebrate his 60th birthday, old flames reignite, as well as some old conflicts, highlighting the enduring complexities of commune life. In his sequel, Moodysson’s keen eye captures the essence of the end of the 20th century, blending warmth and satire seamlessly. Though Moodysson successfully creates a spontaneous, realistic environment, the film’s meticulous craft shines through, from Ellinor Hallin’s cinematography to the ensemble’s authentic performances. With humor and heart, Together 99 reflects on the enduring struggle that is holding onto one’s ideals while never losing sight of the tender connections that define us all. You don’t need to have seen Together to enjoy this marvelous followup, but at this year’s WFF viewers will have the opportunity to experience the entire groovy saga. (JH)

35 MM

BIG SCREENS, LITTLE FOLKS FILMS

Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light (Tonda, Slávka a kouzelné světlo)

SUN, APRIL 7 • 12 PM • THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH

Animation • Czech Republic • 2023 • Czech with English subtitles • 82 MIN

Director: Filip Pošivač Cast: Michael Polák, Antonie Baresová, Ivana Uhlířová

Rendered in exquisitely detailed stop motion, this feature-length marvel from the Czech Republic will enchant viewers of all ages as it presents a unique universe that is both visually compelling and full of intrigue. Eleven-year-old Tony, born with a mysterious glow all over his body, has anxious parents who have confined him to the building they live in, not even allowing him to wander beyond their apartment door without a tether. Lonely and lost, Tony finds a friend when Shelly moves into the building with her mother, a melancholy retired ballerina. Shelly has an unusual capability of her own; she can use her magical flashlight to create images and worlds fit for exploration. As a mysterious darkness spreads in the building, Tony and Shelly work together to solve the mystery. Even as many of the adults seek to contain and restrict the children’s world, magic seeps into every moment of the film, creating spaces for viewers to imagine and thrive. Czech Director Filip Pošivač describes his work as “continuing the tradition of what is now regarded as our national treasure…puppetry…I think there is pure magic in stop-motion.” (Balaga, 2023, Variety). A co-production of Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light won the Contrechamp Jury Award at the 47th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Critics have applauded the film‘s engagement with important themes of difference, tensions between parents and children, and acceptance. Indeed, only by revealing what is unique within themselves and accepting one another can Tony and Shelly confront and repair the threats to their shared community, though in the end, Tony must sacrifice his unique gift to save the building. (KH)

Big Screens, Little Folks is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The CapitalTimes; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.

BIG SCREENS, LITTLE FOLKS

Totem

SAT, APRIL 6 • 4 PM

BARTELL THEATRE

Swimming with Wings

Animation

• Netherlands, Israel • 2023 • Dutch, Hebrew with English subtitles • 10 MIN

Director: Daphna Awadish Cast: Lyri Gonen, Alex Gray, Ben Gray, Olivia Schumann A young Israeli girl takes a deep dive into a scary new world when her family relocates to the Netherlands. Whimsical animation is paired with the voices of young immigrants from Israel, Brazil and Australia who reflect on what they miss and what they like in their new country. (TK)

Totem

Narrative • Netherlands • 2022 • Dutch with English subtitles • 93 MIN

Director: Sander Burger Cast: Jean-Philippe Amani, Emmanuel Ohene Boafo, Céline Camara

Passionate swimmer Ama (a convincing Jean-Philippe Amani) spends most of her time in a Rotterdam swimming pool with her best friend Thijs, training for an upcoming championship. Ama is the daughter of Senegalese parents, born on a boat and raised in the Netherlands. She is unaware of the family’s illegal immigration status, and has little interest in her Senegalese heritage. After all, she is Dutch. But her world is upended when the police arrest her mother and

brother Abi, while she is out shopping. Eleven-year-old Ama tries desperately to find her father. In her time of need, she finds a new companion, a totem animal from her mother’s Senegalese tales. The gigantic porcupine gives Ama solace during the dangerous search for her father and her efforts to prevent the deportation of her family. Nominated for the 2024 European Children’s Film Association Award. (KK)

Presented with support from Dutch Culture USA

LIMITED EDITION

Treasure of the Four Crowns 3-D

TUE, APRIL 9 • 8:15 PM

FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 1

Narrative • Italy, Spain, USA • 1983 • English, Italian, Spanish with English subtitles • 97 MIN

Director: Ferdinando Baldi Cast: Tony Anthony, Ana Obregón, Francisco Rabal, Gene Quintano

Big Screens, Little Folks is supported by Dane County Arts with additional funds from the Endres Mfg. Company Foundation; The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The CapitalTimes; the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation; and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. wifilmfest.eventive.org

In this fun 3-D Euro knockoff of Raiders of the Lost Ark, a group of rugged explorers search for a fortune held by a deadly cult. The adventurers are led by Soldier of Fortune J.T. Striker, played by co-writer and co-producer Tony Anthony, who wears a red Members Only ski jacket instead of Indy’s leather. Striker recruits an international heist crew and embarks on a perilous quest to retrieve mystical gems hidden within enchanted crowns. As he confronts booby traps (including a flaming rolling boulder) and battles the evil, Manson-like

Brother Jonas, the 3-D effects intensify, culminating in Striker harnessing magical powers that literally make heads spin. Treasure of the Four Crowns reunites Tony Anthony with cowriter/co-star Gene Quintano and director Ferdinando Baldi. The trio were responsible for the 1981 3-D Spaghetti Western Comin’ at Ya!, an international box office smash that led to the revival of 3-D in the early 1980s. Devising twice as many in-your-face effects than in their previous effort, the filmmakers’ biggest coup was in securing the great Ennio Morricone to compose a lush, majestic score. This screening marks the theatrical premiere of the new digital 3-D restoration of Treasure of the Four Crowns from the 3-D Film Archive. Originally released in a single strip 35mm process that made the movie too dark, Four Crowns now looks better than it ever did, and the jaw-dropping parade of amazing 3-D effects deliver a truly immersive experience. (JH)

The Universal Theory (Die

Theorie von Allem)

SAT, APRIL 6 • 1:15 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Narrative • Germany, Austria, Switzerland • 2023 • German with English subtitles • 118 MIN

Director: Timm Kröger Cast: Jan Bülow, Olivia Ross, Hanns Zischler

This stylish thriller combines noir intrigue and mind-bending sci-fi into a grand, widescreen spectacle. It’s 1962 in the Swiss Alps. Doctoral student Johannes is headed to a prestigious conference of Europe’s leading quantum physicists—but everything seems off. Is it déjà vu, cold war paranoia, or is something more sinister afoot? Strangers seem to already know him. Rival experts are unaccountably invested in his controversial dissertation. The keynote speaker is missing. Avalanches reveal tunnels buried in the mountains. The clouds look weird. People are turning up dead. Beautifully etched in crisp, high-contrast black-and-white and propelled by a full Bernard Herrmann-esque score, The Universal Theory will delight movie lovers with its game nods to the works of Alfred Hitchcock—its Alpine setting and shadowy secret societies in particular recall the 1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much. But director Timm Kröger is ultimately after something different—certain Christopher Nolan films could as easily be cited as touchstones—and takes Johannes on a journey that reaches beyond the ordinary laws of time and space. “Fiendishly clever… an elegant puzzle box full of ingenious ideas” (Time Out). “Superbly crafted… supremely cinematic pleasure” (Variety). (MK)

WWest Indies

FRI, APRIL 5 • 3:30 PM • MUSIC HALL

TUE, APRIL 9 • 3 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 2

Narrative • Mauritania • 1979 • French with English subtitles • 113 MIN

Director: Med Hondo Cast: Robert Liensol, Roland Bertin, Philippe Clévenot Even for those well-versed in African cinema, Med Hondo’s extravagant epic West Indies is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. One of the most expensive productions in the history of the continent—and its first musical—the film weaves a history of French colonialism in the Caribbean, past and present, tracing the introduction of sugar cane to the islands, the ravages of the Atlantic slave trade, and generations of political corruption and oppression in a dizzying array of song and dance. Hondo drew inspiration from classic Hollywood productions, and his massive set—a reproduction of a slave ship built inside an abandoned factory—serves a similar function as a stage for showbiz musicals of old, hosting a revolving display of performances that whisk us through four centuries of historical struggle. Out of circulation for over four decades, this stunning 4K restoration guarantees that a new generation of audiences can discover a film that matches bold stylistic ambition with uncompromising political vision. (LSL)

WISCONSIN’S OWN

Wisconsin’s Own Reel Life Shorts

SAT, APRIL 6 • 4:15 PM • MUSIC HALL • 75 MIN

Filmmakers scheduled to appear

This program of five short documentaries from Wisconsin’s Own filmmakers runs the gamut from journalistic docs to fanciful essays, revealing the wide spectrum of talent and genre possibilities.

A Clean Slate

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 14 MIN

Director: Tran Hoang Calvin Cast: Shanyeill McCloud, Evan Goyke, David Steffen, Karie Elliott

In this moving short documentary, a personally motivated Wisconsin woman works to expunge the records of formerly incarcerated citizens so that they can restart their lives with “a clean slate.” (BR)

Flood of Memory

Documentary • USA • 2024 • 8 MIN

Director: Maya Castronovo Cast: Yone Bartholomew, Peggy Yamato Mikuni, Rose Masters, Akiko Kurose Maya Castronovo’s new short documents climate change and flooding at Manzanar, site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II, prompting memories and observations from former prisoners and current National Parks Service employees at what is now a historic site. (BR)

Hoop Dynamics

Documentary • UK • 2023 • 10 MIN

Director: Alyssa Jouett Cast: Alyssa Jouett, The London Cruisers

The London Cruisers, a basketball team open to lesbian, bisexual, trans women, and nonbinary people, is one of those places where you can be yourself. Alyssa Jouett, from small-town Wisconsin, was looking for just such a place.

Through interviews with the director and members of the team, we feel the impact of having a safe space for LGBTQ+ identities in sports and a sense of the community that is found within this team. (SG)

Presented with support from UWMadison Gender and Sexuality Campus Center

An Attempt to Exhaust a Place in San Francisco

Narrative, Experimental • USA • 2023

• 8 MIN

Director: Matt E. Novak Cast: Justine Rose Armen, Pricilla Phillips

What do you notice about the world when you take the time just to sit and watch? This essay-documentary follows a young woman as she watches the morning events of a park in San Francisco, taking note of everything, no matter how insignificant it seems. (SG)

From Ashes to Beauty: Stories After Incarceration

Documentary • USA • 2023 • 34 MIN

Director: Mabel Malhotra Cast: Eugene Crisler’El, Vicky Harrison, Anthony Cooper, Antonia Drew Norton

Four stories of Wisconsinites forced to rebuild their lives after incarceration. This short documentary explores hope, humanity, and most of all, the restorative power of community. (LSL)

Wisconsin’s Own Reel Life Shorts are presented with support from Isthmus and UW-Madison Law School

WISCONSIN’S OWN

Wisconsin’s Own Secret Sneak

FRI, APRIL 5 • 6 PM

BARRYMORE THEATRE

Filmmaker scheduled to attend

Documentary • USA • 2024 • English, Spanish, Turkish with English subtitles • 72 MIN

Experience one of Wisconsin’s most iconic attractions in a whole new way with this unique behind-the-scenes look at its seasonal employees. Set for a world premiere at an international documentary festival in the near future, the Wisconsin Film Festival is proud to give it a hush-hush homestate launch with this special sneak preview! The director will be with us in person for a Q&A and audience members will be sworn to secrecy.

Wisconsin’s Own Two Handers

SUN, APRIL 7 • 2 PM • THE MARQUEE AT UNION SOUTH • 92 MIN

Filmmakers scheduled to attend

Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock famously exclaimed that “It takes two to make a thing go right, it takes two to make it out of sight.” And who are we to disagree? But, you know, sometimes it takes two to make a thing go wrong, as well. Join us for a collection of Wisconsin’s Own shorts that set out to prove those points, starting with Anatasha Blakely’s study of domestic bliss gone bust, Maladjustment , and culminating in Nathan Deming’s Golden Badger winning charmer, February.

Maladjustment

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 10 MIN

Director: Anatasha Blakely Cast: Natalie Polisson, Allen Regimbal Familiarity breeds contempt in this stylish, slyly satirical thriller about a married couple getting on each other’s last nerve while stuck at home together during the pandemic. (LSL)

Spark Plug

Narrative • USA • 2024 • 12 MIN

Director: Cole J. Sheldon Cast: Terry Richard King, Gabrielle Johnsen, Goose Xavier Sheldon, Trigger Propson

When Emma is forced to call Oliver for help after her car breaks down, the pair is forced to reexamine the pieces of the relationship they left behind in this well-acted and impressively shot romantic drama. (SG)

Barney & Herb

Narrative • USA • 2023 • 25 MIN

Director: Tommy O’Rourke Cast: Peter Jason, Jonah Ray Rodrigues Featuring winning performances from Jonah Ray Rodrigues (Mystery Science Theater 3000) as thirty-something Barney and Peter Jason (Deadwood) as garrulous retiree Herb, this short film follows the titular mismatched friends as they spend Herb’s birthday reflecting on love, friendship, and the idiosyncrasies of life in charming fashion. (LSL)

February

(Or: Si Nos Dejan)

Narrative • USA • 2024 • English, Spanish with English subtitles • 44 MIN

Director: Nathan Deming Cast: David Duran, Ritchie Gordon, Erick Inestroza, Nayeli Hernandez

Nathan Deming is back with the second in his planned 12-month film cycle about life in smalltown Wisconsin. Following January (WFF ‘22), February brings us the story of Miguel, a recent emigrant from Mexico, living in Wisconsin with his sister, brother-in-law and their family. Miguel is having a tough time fitting in on the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin in February, until he discovers the joy of icefishing. Filled with spectacularly lived-in performances, and some delightfully amusing twists, turns and character reveals, February is Deming at the top of his game, reminding us with every frame what a warm and deeply humanistic filmmaker he has become. Winner of a 2024 Golden Badger Award (BR)

MADISON'S CINEMA BREWERY

EAST TOWNE MALL

SCAN FOR TICKETS

GOLDEN BADGER WINNER

The World’s Greatest Sinner

MON, APRIL 8 • 7:30 PM • BARRYMORE THEATRE

Scheduled to appear: Mike Pogorzelski, Romeo Carey

Narrative • USA • 1962 • 82 MIN

Director: Timothy Carey Cast: Timothy Carey, Gil Barreto, Betty Rowland

They don’t make ‘em like this anymore – but then again, they never really made ‘em like this in the first place. This vintage slice of homebrewed brilliance is the work of character actor turned auteur Timothy Carey – a memorable and mushmouthed presence in Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing and Paths of Glory. The tale unfolds with the Devil slithering in as a snake, introducing Clarence Hilliard (Carey), a disenchanted insurance peddler yearning for transcendence. Clarence stumbles upon a chaotic rock’n’roll spectacle that ignites his soul, and from there, our hero spirals into a whirlwind of seduction, political aspirations, and guitar-smashing madness, culminating in a bid for the presidency. Crafted on a shoestring budget and filmed over a three-year odyssey in the enclave of El Monte, California, The World’s Greatest Sinner exudes the raw, DIY vibe

reminiscent of greats like John Waters, George Romero, Doris Wishman, and Ed Wood. Carey’s directorial debut unleashes his unbridled eccentricity, birthing something like a psychotronic variation on Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter. A rough, revolutionary, and ahead-of-its-time film, imbued with an outrageousness that still shocks, Sinner is nothing if not the unique personal vision of Timothy Carey. The footstomping rock theme song and musical score are the early work of none other than Frank Zappa! A new restoration from the Academy Film Archive will be presented in person by AFA Director and Wisconsin native Mike Pogorzelski and Romeo Carey, Timothy’s son. Restored by Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. (JH)

The Wrong Guy

FRI, APRIL 5 • 3:45 PM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART

SAT, APRIL 6 • 8:45 PM • CHAZEN MUSEUM OF ART 35MM • Narrative • Canada • 1997 • 92 MIN

Director: David Steinberg Cast: Dave Foley, David Anthony Higgins, Jennifer Tilly Dave Foley stars as an innocent man convinced he’s wanted for murder in this giddy wild goose chase. Passed over for a promotion, corporate lackey Nelson Hibbert goes on a board-meeting tirade in which he publicly vows to kill his boss. The problem is, someone really does kill his boss, and when Nelson discovers the fresh corpse, an absurd amount of circumstantial evidence points the finger at him. Nelson goes on the lam, but what he doesn’t realize is the cops already solved the case—no one is actually looking for him. Based on a sketch Foley wrote for The Kids in the Hall, this ridiculous spoof of man-on-the-run thrillers was cowritten by golden-age Simpsons writer Jay Kogen. In a better world, The Wrong Guy would’ve launched Foley’s movie career as a comedic leading man. Instead, it was damned to never receive a theatrical release in the US, but it has since become a cult favorite. Don’t miss this chance to catch “the funniest comedy of its era that’s exceedingly difficult to view” (Screen Slate). “Brilliant… just a very well done, stupid, silly, awesome movie” (Reggie Watts, Vulture). “Consistently funny… a clever, winning little cinematic orphan eminently worthy of critical and public rehabilitation” (Nathan Rabin, The AV Club). 35mm print courtesy University of Toronto Media Commons Archives. (MK)

YYannick

SUN, APRIL 7 • 6:30 PM • BARTELL THEATRE

MON, APRIL 8 • 5 PM • FLIX BREWHOUSE, CINEMA 7

Narrative • France • 2023 • French with English subtitles • 67 MIN

Director: Quentin Dupieux Cast: Raphaël Quenard, Pio Marmaï, Blanche Gardin

In a sparsely attended Parisian theater, a play is interrupted by an audience member who’s had enough. But Yannick is no ordinary heckler— convinced he could do better, he vaults onstage and tries to fix the show. Yannick may be correct that the play stinks, but it quickly becomes apparent that he’s hilariously wrong about everything else, tossing off nonsensical suggestions to the bewildered cast, who have no choice but to comply once their hijacker pulls out a pistol. Raphaël Quenard gives an utterly inspired performance as the bonehead provocateur, exuding doofus charisma no matter how far he gets in over his head. In his rapid-fire run of seven films over the last five years, Quentin Dupieux has become cinema’s leading absurdist, dashing off screwball delights like Deerskin (WFF 2020) and Incredible But True (UW Cinematheque 2022), all of which he directed, wrote, shot, and edited himself. (This film’s music, however, consists of vintage tracks by Ethiopian pianist Emahoy Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou). With Yannick, Dupieux somehow manages to have it both ways, providing catharsis for anyone who’s ever suppressed the urge to boo a pretentious performance—and at the same time, vindication for anyone who’s ever been forced to placate an unsatisfied customer who has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about. Just don’t take any cues from Yannick at our screenings. (MK)

Presented with support from UW-Madison Department of French & Italian

PRESENTED BY UW-MADISON DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION ARTS

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