After 15 straight days of non-stop films and events, we have reached the final day of the 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival. Now, we could sit here and be sad that the Festival is coming to an end OR we can do what we do best - make today the best day yet and go out on the highest of high notes! We're opting for the latter and, with that in mind, are highlighting not one, not two, but THREE different and exciting films for everyone to check out today.
Up first is our official closing night film, The Apollo. Much how our opening night film I Want My MTV tracked its subject's formation and cultural significance, our closing night film works as a nice bookend to that by examining the legendary status of Harlem's Apollo Theater. Blending archival footage with candid behind-the-scenes footage of the theater's staff and featuring interviews with the likes of Smokey Robinson and Jamie Foxx, The Apollo is a testament to the theater's importance both in the Black community and American culture as a whole. We are also lucky to be joined by producer Lisa Cortés for this screening for a post-film Q&A!
Anyone looking for an unforgettable blend of film and live performance won't want to miss Everything is Terrible: LIVE! at 8 at The Oriental. Everything is Terrible! is perhaps best known for their large collection of VHS tapes (including over 26,000 copies of Jerry Maguire that will one day live as a pyramid in the desert) that have been re-edited and uploaded to their website since 2007. Look forward to a crazy blend of puppets and costumes and never-before-seen videos for this one-of-a-kind performance!
Finally, we have Atlantics. Now, if you're thinking to yourself, "wait a minute, I didn't see this in the Program Book. What's this all about?" First of all, you are both very observant and correct! Atlantics was one of our TBA titles announced after the Program Book was released (along with films like Marriage Story and The Lodge) and we're very excited to have it as part of the Festival. The film follows a teenager (Ada) who's stuck in an arranged marriage after her true love (Souleimane) is lost at sea. But when Souleimane returns to haunt her and her town, an unforgettable tale of love and possession ensues. The film won the Grand Prix Award at this year's Cannes Film Festival and filmmaker Mati Diop was the first Black female director ever in competition at Cannes. The film screens at 7:15 at the TImes Cinema.
We hope everyone's had a great time seeing films and connecting with their fellow movie-goers at this year's Festival! Let's get out there and enjoy the final day of the Festival before we do it all over again next year!
Note that today's showings of The Apollo and Everything is Terrible: LIVE! are Premium Screenings and 6-packs, 10-packs, and vouchers cannot be redeemed for these screenings!
Tickets for today's screenings can be purchased at any of our Festival box office locations starting one hour before the venue's first screening.
Posted by: Milwaukee Film