A new benefit of membership in 2011 is FREE monthly members-only screenings of films like you'd see in the Milwaukee Film Festival. It's like a teeny tiny film festival each month so you don't miss the fest so much. All screenings are at the Landmark Oriental Theatre on Milwaukee's East Side. Sound like fun? Join Milwaukee Film as a member today. 

Next Screening

BEING ELMO

February 29, 7:00 PM
USA / 2011 / 80 min. / dir. Constance Marks, Philip Shane

Being Elmo brings you the incredible story of Kevin Clash who, as early as 10-years-old, began building and performing with puppets in the hopes of one day working with his idol, Jim Henson. Directed by Constance Marks, this film illustrates the perseverance, talent, and little bit of luck that it took for Clash to achieve his dream. Both uplifting and insightful, Being Elmois that special kind of documentary that makes you believe in the magic of childhood.

MEMBERS: please RSVP to Kristopher Pollard at membership@milwaukee-film.org by Monday, February 27 to reserve your tickets.

Past Screenings

THE INNKEEPERS
January 25, 7:00 PM
USA / 2011 / 100 min. / dir. Ti West

As an aging hotel prepares to close for good, its last two employees, Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) are determined to prove the longstanding legend that the hotel is haunted. The final days of the hotel bring odd guests, and when the basement is the last place to check for paranormal activity, Claire and Luke may be too far into the hotel's sordid past to stop their investigation. Director Ti West (House of the Devil, MFF 2010) delivers a creepy, slow-burning ghost story that hearkens back to such classic horror films as The Haunting and House on Haunted Hill, while creating a contemporary niche of its own.

Award-winning director James Marsh (Man on Wire) takes the viewer on an emotional journey of the life of one very special chimp, Nim, who became the focus of a radical experiment in the 70's. Can an ape learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child? Fascinating and heartbreaking all at once, this film explores the barrier between animal and human. And if that barrier can be broken, at what cost to all involved?

NORWAY / 2010 / 88 MIN / DIR. ANNE SEWITSKY

VINCENT WANTS TO SEA

GERMANY/2010/96 MIN/DIR. RALF HUETTNER

Most seaside vacations do not involve stealing cars, tricking doctors or outrunning angry politicians, but Vincent's not taking an ordinary road trip. The young Tourette's sufferer has escaped from a mental hospital with his obsessive-compulsive roommate and anorexic, pot-smoking dream girl. Whether speeding through the Alps or wheedling their way out of prison, the motley travelers take life by the horns, determined to see how far they can get despite the labels they wear. In addition to dominating the German box office, this crowd-pleasing dramedy nabbed the best picture prize at the country's 2011 film awards.

ANOTHER EARTH

USA / 2011 / 92 MIN / DIR. MIKE CAHILL

Rhoda Williams, a bright young woman recently accepted into MIT's astrophysics program, aspires to explore the cosmos. John Burroughs, a brilliant composer, has just reached the pinnacle of his profession, and is about to have a second child with his loving wife. On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, tragedy strikes, and the lives of these strangers become irrevocably intertwined. Estranged from the world and the selves they once knew, the two outsiders begin an unlikely love affair, which reawakens them to life. But when one of them is presented with the opportunity to travel to the other Earth and embrace an alternative reality, which new life will they choose? In this auspicious debut, director/co-writer Mike Cahill offers a taut, superbly conceived science-fiction romance that marks the emergence of the multitalented actor/co-writer Brit Marling. Marrying character with high concept, ANOTHER EARTH lures audiences to go where no one has gone before. –Sundance Film Festival

PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

(USA / 2011 / 91 MIN / DIR. ANDREW ROSSI)
June 29, 7:00 PM

In the tradition of great fly-on-the-wall documentaries, the film deftly gains unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom and the inner workings of the Media Desk. With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers all over the country going bankrupt, Page One chronicles the transformation of the media industry at its time of greatest turmoil. Writers like Brian Stelter, Tim Arango and the salty but brilliant David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent, while their editors and publishers grapple with up-to-the-minute issues like controversial new sources and the implications of an online pay-wall. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism is thriving—Page One gives us an up-close look at the vibrant cross-cubicle debates and collaborations, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching that brings the most venerable newspaper in America to fruition each and every day.

THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER 
(ISRAEL, GERMANY, FRANCE, ROMANIA / 2010 / 103 MIN / DIR. ERAN RIKLIS)
May 25, 7:00 PM

This award-winning, touching tragic-comedy follows the HR manager of Israel’s largest bakery who finds himself the unlikely chaperone of the body of a young Russian woman as he sets out to save the reputation of his business. Eran Riklis, the acclaimed director of The Lemon Tree (MFF 2009) and The Syrian Bride, brings a poignant and personal approach to a story that speaks to the ever-present threat of violence in Jerusalem. Winner of five Israeli Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival.

POTICHE 
(FRANCE / 2010 / 103 MIN / DIR. FRANCOIS OZON) 

April 27, 7:00 PM
 

Set in 1977 in a provincial French town, POTICHE is a free adaptation of the 1970s eponymous hit comic play. Catherine Deneuve is Suzanne Pujol, a submissive, housebound ‘trophy housewife’ (or “potiche,”) who steps in to manage the umbrella factory run by her wealthy and tyrannical husband (Fabrice Luchini) after the workers go on strike and take him hostage. To everyone’s surprise, Suzanne proves herself a competent and assertive woman of action. But when her husband returns from a restful cruise in top form, things get complicated. Gérard Depardieu plays a former union leader and Suzanne’s ex-beau who still holds a flame for her. Acclaimed writer-director François Ozon (“Swimming Pool,” “Under the Sand,” “Time to Leave,”) who had previously directed Ms. Deneuve in the international hit "8 Women", twists the original play on its head to create his own satirical and hilarious take on the war between the sexes and classes.

FAREWELL
(FRANCE / 2009 / 112 MIN / DIR. CHRISTIAN CARION)
March 30, 7:00 PM

1981, the height of the cold war.  Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet, "Tell No One"), an ordinary French engineer based in Moscow meets with KGB Colonel Grigoriev (Palme d’Or and Golden Bear winner Emir Kusturica, "Underground" ) is thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information in history.  Ronald Reagan called it “one of the most important espionage cases of the 20th century.” Based on the astonishing true story. Directed by Christian Carion, the Academy Award® nominated filmmaker of "Joyeux Noël" (Merry Christmas).

CARLOS
(FRANCE, GERMANY / 2010 / 265 MIN / DIR. OLIVIER ASSAYAS)
February 23, 7:00 PM

From the early 1970s until his capture in 1994, Carlos the Jackal was the world's most notorious and deadly celebrity terrorist. French filmmaker Olivier Assayas ("Summer Hours"; "Irma Vep" ) mounts a fast-paced, epic, three-part dramatic biography, starring Edgar Ramirez as the sophisticated, intelligent and egotistical assassin.