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2014 Milwaukee Underground Film Festival: Official Lineup

By Mike Everleth ⋅ May 1, 2014

Abstract blue and green logo for the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival

This year’s student-run Milwaukee Underground Film Festival will screen on May 1-4 at various locations on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus and off-campus at the Microlights Cinema. Once again, the festival will feature eclectic and amazing avant-garde and experimental short films in video, 16mm and 8mm formats.

The fest opens on May 1 with a screening of films made by this year’s three-member jury — David Witzling, Diane Kitchen and Scott Stark — followed by a special presentation of works from NYC’s LGBT screening series, “Dirty Looks,” including Michael Robinson‘s hilarious The Dark, Krystle, Luther Price‘s recently restored Home and Michael Lucid’s online video sensation Dirty Girls.

Other films to look out for are a pair of award-winning pieces: The May 2 at 2:00 p.m. shorts block will conclude with Jennifer Reeder‘s absolutely amazing A Million Miles Away, which took home the Best Short Film at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. Then, the May 3 at 4:00 p.m. shorts block includes Mike Olenick‘s mesmerizing Red Luck, which won the Best Looking Film award also at CUFF. (Read reviews of both short films here.) And paired with Red Luck is Lori Felker‘s sonic blast Scattered in the Wind.

There are also films by Aaron Zeghers, Kerry Laitala, Paul Clipson, Roger Beebe, Ben Russell and more to look out for.

The full Milwaukee Underground Film Festival lineup is below. For more info, including specific screening locations, please visit the fest’s official website.

May 1

5:00 p.m.: “Juror Screening”
Echoes of Information, dir. David Witzling
Everything is Normal, dir. David Witzling
Midnight Train to Twilight, dir. David Witzling
To the Inland Ocean, dir. David Witzling
Rosette, dir. David Witzling
ROOTS, THORNS, dir. Diane Kitchen
THE PENFIELD ROAD, dir. Diane Kitchen
Hotel Cartograph, dir. Scott Stark
Nocturnal Symmetries, dir. Scott Stark

8:00 p.m.: “Dirty Looks NYC: Three Years” (curated by Bradford Nordeen)
The Mother Show, dir. Tom Rubnitz (with Tom Koken and Barbara Lipp) (1981; edited 1991)
Extraordinary Pregnancies, dir. Chris E. Vargas (2010)
The Basket, dir. Narcissister (with Josef Kraska) (2013)
Butcher’s Vogue, dir. Charles Atlas (1990)
The Dark, Krystle, dir. Michael Robinson (2013)
Home, dir. Luther Price (1990-99)
O Happy Day, dir. Charles Lofton (1996)
Frenzy, dir. Jill Reiter (1993)
Dirty Girls, dir. Michael Lucid (1996/2000)

May 2

2:00 p.m.: “Films in Competition 1”
In Effluence accord; Emulsion, dir. Karissa Hahn
Microbiologist, dir. Travis Rademacher
Elsewhere, The Survivors, dir. Ali Aschman
Synthesis (yugen pt.1), dir. Paul Rabe
Stille Dag (Silent Day), dir. Aleksander Johan Andreassen
Current 1-3, dir. Sean Kafer
Waxing + Milking, dir. Alee Peoples
Ghost Poem, dir. Lindsay Greer
Living Fossil, dir. Sean Hanley
A Million Miles Away, dir. Jennifer Reeder

7:00 p.m.: “Films in Competition 2”
Peacock, dir. Alexander Stewart
Short, dir. Robert Todd
Nile Perch, dir. Josh Gibson
Lunar Phases, dir. Matt Rossoni
A Study in Natural Magic, dir. Charlotte Pryce
Light Year, dir. Paul Clipson
45 7 Broadway, dir. Tomonari Nishikawa
Let Us Persevere In What We Have Resolved Before We Forget, dir. Ben Russell

May 3

1:00 p.m.: “Pickle Surprise: The Eyes of Tom Rubnitz” (presented by Dirty Looks NYC)
The Mother Show (1991)
Frieda! (The Movie) (1980)
From the Files of the Pyramid Cocktail Lounge (1983)
Chicken Elaine (1983)
Made for TV (with Ann Magnuson) (1984)
John Sex: The True Story (1983)
Plastic Rap With Frieda (with Tom Koken + Barbara Lipp as “Frieda”) (1983)
Drag Queen Marathon (1986)
Hustle With My Muscle (1986)
Strawberry Shortcut (1989)
Pickle Surprise (1989)
Summer of Love PSA (1990)

4:00 p.m.: “Films in Competition 3”
Story of The Very Busy and Important Man, dir. Neil Gravander
In, Light In!, dir. Ken Paul Rosenthal
Jellybeans, dir. Scott Fitzpatrick
[deterritorialization], dir. Ben Balcom
[Phrases], dir. Ben Balcom
Red Luck, dir. Mike Olenick
Scattered in the Wind, dir. Lori Felker
Standards of Perfection, dir. Andrew Kim
Difficult Loves, dir. Paul Clipson

8:00 p.m.: “Films in Competition 4”
Massachusetts Farm, dir. Josh Baum
Waveland, dir. Cade Bursell
Doubt #2, dir. Josh Lewis
Sleeping District, dir. Tinne Zenner
Resistfilm, dir. Pablo Marin
With Pluses and Minuses, dir. Mike Stoltz
Will ‘o the Wisp, dir. Andrew Kim

May 4

3:00 p.m.: “Films in Competiton 5”
The Present Compendium: a Comprehensive Inventory of 24 Items, in 5 Volumes, in the instance of the Present Print, on the Occasion of it’s Present Screening, dir. Chris Hoag
Ice Survey: Tenney Park (Madison, Wisconsin), dir. Renato Umali
The Whale Story, dir. Tess Martin
Crux Film, dir. Alexander Stewart
Uncertain Ground, dir. Ian Nesbitt
Snow Globe, dir. Tony Porter
Hermeneutics, dir. Alex Dmitriev
Historia Calamitatum (The story of My Misfortunes), Part ll: The Crying Game, dir. Roger Beebe
Fall 1&2, dir. Aaron Zeghers
The Thief, dir. Ali Asch

7:00 p.m.: “Films in Competition 6”
Une Terre Familiere, dir. Marianna Milhorat
Osmoverse, dir. Daniel Larson
Tacoma, dir. Courtney Krantz
Conjuror’s Box, dir. Kerry Laitala
Death Songs and Car Bombs, dir. Brendan & Jeremy Smyth
Sjave Danu (Square Dance), dir. Silvia Las Fadas
Gente Perra (Dog People), dir. Anja Dornieden & Juan David Gonzalez Monroy
Second Hermeneutic, dir. Michael Michael A. Morris