Sound Vision Program – MFF26
Musician Tom Waits said it best: “I always thought songs are movies for the ears and films are like songs for the eyes.” The Sound Vision series showcases highly entertaining films about musical personalities, movements, history, and performances.
Presented by: Lacey Sadoff Foundation
Sponsored by: WMSE 91.7 FM
The Films
Bright Beautiful World: The Infectious Joy of Pat McCurdy
Documentary
Local
Guests in Attendance
Over more than 50 years and 12,000 performances in Milwaukee and beyond, Pat McCurdy has cultivated a fiercely loyal fan…
Over more than 50 years and 12,000 performances in Milwaukee and beyond, Pat McCurdy has cultivated a fiercely loyal fan base and a reputation for spreading infectious joy. He may not be a household name, but to those who know him, Pat is unforgettable. BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL WORLD is an uplifting portrait of an artist who found success on his own terms—and of the deep, decades-long love affair between a musician and the fans who keep showing up.Community Partner: Milwaukee Theater District
Broken English
Documentary
Drama
BROKEN ENGLISH is a hybrid, genre-bending portrait of the inimitable singer, songwriter, and icon Marianne Faithfull. Co-directors Iain Forsyth and…
BROKEN ENGLISH is a hybrid, genre-bending portrait of the inimitable singer, songwriter, and icon Marianne Faithfull. Co-directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard introduce us to the Ministry of Not Forgetting, a fictitious research facility where Tilda Swinton and George MacKay delve into Marianne Faithfull’s life and career. Faithfull's dynamic presence is complemented by rich archival footage and performances by the singer herself, as well as Beth Orton, Courtney Love, Nick Cave, and Suki Waterhouse.
El Canto De Las Manos (Song of the Hands)
Documentary
Open Captioned Screening
Live ASL Interpretation
Closed Captions Available
Renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel partners with Coro de Manos Blancas, a choir of deaf performers in Venezuela, to stage Beethoven’s…
Renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel partners with Coro de Manos Blancas, a choir of deaf performers in Venezuela, to stage Beethoven’s opera FIDELIO. As the choir prepares for their innovative performance, the film follows them through auditions, rehearsals, and personal stories of resilience in the face of anti-deaf discrimination. With music expressed through sign language, this film delivers a moving portrait of an often-overlooked community, celebrating the transformative power of art and self-expression.Community Partner: A Right Path WellnessASL interpreters made possible by the following generous donors: Joanne Doehler David Roberts and Gary Kampe Leslie Hayes Mark Blumenberg and Beth Jaworski Mark and Wanda Staples John and Jean DiMottoPeggy Ann Mary and Tom Avery Pam and Bob Klein
If These Walls Could Rock
Documentary
Closed Captions Available
Multi-MFF alum Tyler Measom returns to the Festival with IF THESE WALLS COULD ROCK—the untold story of the Sunset Marquis—the…
Multi-MFF alum Tyler Measom returns to the Festival with IF THESE WALLS COULD ROCK—the untold story of the Sunset Marquis—the legendary West Hollywood hideaway where rock stars checked in, passed out, and made history. Featuring a Hall of Fame lineup including Ringo Starr, Cyndi Lauper, Morrissey, and Dave Grohl, the film dives deep into the debauchery, music, and magic that made the Marquis the heartbeat of rock 'n roll for over six decades.Community Partner: Milwaukee Preservation Alliance
Newport & the Great Folk Dream
Documentary
Before Coachella and Woodstock, there was Newport. From 1963 to 1966, the famed Newport Folk Festival brought together the likes…
Before Coachella and Woodstock, there was Newport. From 1963 to 1966, the famed Newport Folk Festival brought together the likes of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, and more. Rare and previously unseen archival footage captures this charged moment when freedom songs met work songs, tradition met innovation, and the spirit of protest filled the air. This earnest documentary by Robert Gordon and Joe Lauro is filled with poignant melodies that reveal how music can illuminate struggle, inspire courage, and keep democracy alive.Community Partners: Jewish Museum Milwaukee, Thelma Carol Wine Merchants
Peter Asher: Everywhere Man
Documentary
Closed Captions Available
Blending documentary and musical memoir, this film tells the extraordinary life story of Peter Asher—pop star, producer, manager, and confidant…
Blending documentary and musical memoir, this film tells the extraordinary life story of Peter Asher—pop star, producer, manager, and confidant to legends from Paul McCartney to James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, and more—across six decades at the heart of rock and roll history. Featuring rare archival footage, intimate interviews, and never-before-heard stories, the film offers an illuminating portrait of a man who helped shape the soundtrack of multiple generations.Community Partner: Gallery 218
Public Access
Documentary
An unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York's underground…
An unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York's underground capture a world of creators who transformed our TVs into groundbreaking spaces for self-expression that continue to shape debates around platforms, power, and free speech. PUBLIC ACCESS is the untold story of the channels that shattered norms, subverted media, defied censors, and provoked battles over free speech fortelling our world today.
Stop Making Sense
Documentary
Closed Captions Available
Closed Audio Description Available
One of our most sacred MFF traditions returns! Make sure all aisles are clear for dancing as Jonathan Demme's essential…
One of our most sacred MFF traditions returns! Make sure all aisles are clear for dancing as Jonathan Demme's essential concert documentary chronicling multiple nights of propulsive performance from the iconic Talking Heads (including magnetic frontman David Byrne and Milwaukee's own Jerry Harrison) is sure to burn down the house once again. A24's new restoration of this iconic film gains momentum like a runaway freight train, the show (and Byrne's iconic suit) only gets bigger as it rolls along.
Summer Tour
Documentary
Few American demographics are more easily caricatured than Deadheads, those swirling, dosing, hippie-dressed vagabonds. But in his infinitely sweet and…
Few American demographics are more easily caricatured than Deadheads, those swirling, dosing, hippie-dressed vagabonds. But in his infinitely sweet and wise documentary, director Mischa Richter offers us the Deadheads as complex, self-aware, and resourceful members of a wandering commune, one that’s admirable for its kindness and care. SUMMER TOUR flows along like a Dead song, riffing and jamming along the way. The film presents a certain irresistible logic to the Deadhead way of life.
The Last Critic
Documentary
Closed Captions Available
Sixty years and a million records ago, Robert Christgau invented Rock music criticism. Now in his eighties, Bob is still…
Sixty years and a million records ago, Robert Christgau invented Rock music criticism. Now in his eighties, Bob is still at it—amazingly with the same vigor, wit, and masterful craft that has defined his expansive and trailblazing career. But in a world where albums are increasingly irrelevant, print is dead, and algorithms have eclipsed critics, this playful documentary asks: What happens next—for Bob, but also for music criticism as a whole??
The Reed Sisters: An American Story
Documentary
THE REED SISTERS: AN AMERICAN STORY traces the life and times of the legendary Reed Sisters. Spanning nearly fifty years,…
THE REED SISTERS: AN AMERICAN STORY traces the life and times of the legendary Reed Sisters. Spanning nearly fifty years, this "From the Vaults" style doc blends candid interviews with the sisters, friends, and fans, handmade dioramas, and a treasure trove of unforgettable archival footage from their iconic DIY variety show. A fun and fascinating dive into the wonders of 1970s public access TV with some surprising—sometimes unsettling—twists and turns.
The Way We Move
Documentary
Open Captioned Screening
Live ASL Interpretation
Amber Galloway is a star ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter who specializes in live music interpretations. Amber teaches her art…
Amber Galloway is a star ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter who specializes in live music interpretations. Amber teaches her art to share her life’s mission: making music accessible to the Deaf community. As the film unfolds, we learn about Amber’s painful past and the lives of her students, as they come together and forge life-long bonds. THE WAY WE MOVE is a powerful film about music, Deaf culture, connection, and resilience.Community Partners: Skylight Music Theatre, Independence FirstASL interpreters made possible by the following generous donors: Joanne Doehler David Roberts and Gary Kampe Leslie Hayes Mark Blumenberg and Beth Jaworski Mark and Wanda Staples John and Jean DiMottoPeggy Ann Mary and Tom Avery Pam and Bob Klein
We Are Fugazi From Washington, D.C.
Documentary
WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. is a collection of crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows, and rare archival footage that pays…
WE ARE FUGAZI FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. is a collection of crowd-sourced, fan-recorded live shows, and rare archival footage that pays tribute to Fugazi’s prowess as a live act—for old fans to remember and for a new generation to discover what they missed. From the director of HEAVY METAL PARKING LOT, this film celebrates the fans and their cameras, as much as the band itself—a collision/collusion of the ephemeral moment on stage and the moments captured on camera.Community Partners: Feral House, Lion's Tooth
You Had To Be There
Documentary
Comedy
The 1972 Toronto production of GODSPELL is legendary for launching many illustrious careers including Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner…
The 1972 Toronto production of GODSPELL is legendary for launching many illustrious careers including Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner and more, and ignited a comedy revolution. With its deft mix of engaging interviews, animated recreations, and other inventive means of compensating for the scarcity of original archival materials, YOU HAD TO BE THERE brings this special time back into the present with an irrepressible sense of joy.Community Partners: Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Theater District
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