This September, Milwaukee Film is thrilled to bring a slew of exciting screenings to both of our historic cinemas, all leading into the third annual Dialogues Documentary Festival, presented by Potawatomi Casino Hotel, which runs September 24-27, 2026. This month marks the return of beloved series like National Theatre Live and the ongoing Cinematic Sisterhood, plus the start of brand new series like Cinema Subpoena: Lawyers on Film and Exhibition on Screen. September will also feature a special one-night-only screening of The African Desperate, followed by a talkback about artist and filmmaker Martine Syms.

The African Desperate – September 10, 2026

Milwaukee Film hosts a special one-night-only screening of The African Desperate, presented in partnership with Sculpture Milwaukee and the Bronzeville Center for the Arts. It’s MFA grad Palace Bryant’s final 24 hours in art school, and she is not going to the graduation party! She needs to get back home to Chicago from Upstate New York, but that means surviving a hazy, hilarious, and hallucinatory odyssey, stumbling from academic critiques to backseat hookups.

The screening on Thursday, September 10, will be followed by a talkback about artist and filmmaker Martine Syms!

Exhibition on Screen – Starts September 12, 2026

Milwaukee Film invites audiences to see major art exhibitions from the comfort of the historic Oriental Theatre. This monumental series transports you into the world’s biggest art exhibitions from some of history’s greatest artists (Caravaggio, Frida Kahlo, and more). 

See the full line-up for Exhibition on Screen (all screenings begin at noon):

Cinematic Sisterhood: Dreams in Nightmares – September 16, 2026

August’s edition of Cinematic Sisterhood, presented by Tracey B. Thomas, brings the poetic new road trip film Dreams in Nightmares to the Oriental Theatre. After an abrupt layoff, Z embarks on a trip across the Midwestern United States in search of a friend who has seemingly disappeared off the grid. Traveling with her two closest friends, these three queer black femmes find their priorities tested as shapeshifting threats in each city expose (inter)personal and ideological fractures.

Director Shatara Michelle Ford is expected for a Q&A following the screening in dialogue with local filmmaker and poet, Dasha Kelly.

Cinema Subpoena: Lawyers on Film – Starts September 19, 2026

This brand new series, presented in partnership with experts from Foley & Lardner LLP, features four films wherein lawyers—and the law—are the star of the show. Each of these films has been accused of being “excellent” and “captivating”; previous witness testimony describes some of them as “among the best films of all time.” 

See the full line-up for Cinema Subpoena: Lawyers on Film (all screenings begin at 3:30 PM):

National Theatre Live – New Season Starts September 19, 2026

National Theatre Live films unmissable theatre live from Britain’s most exciting stages and screens it in thousands of cinemas around the globe, like the historic Oriental Theatre! Back by popular demand, our 2026 Fall season of National Theatre Live begins on September 19, and runs through November.

See the full line-up of National Theatre Live films here (all screenings begin at noon):