6 film festivals in Milwaukee worth checking out in April
Chris ForanApril may or may not bring showers to Milwaukee, but it's definitely bringing a bumper crop of film festivals.
And some of them are free. Here's a tip sheet.
Latin American Film Series
This festival, presented by the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, is in its 40th year at the UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. The series is showing 14 movies from more than a dozen countries from April 6 to 14. Admission to all movies in the series is free.
Highlights include: "Another Story of the World": Uruguay's submission for this year's best foreign-language film Oscar centers on a scheme to get a friend out of prison by concocting a heroic backstory for his family, showing at 9:15 p.m. April 6; "Cuba's Forgotten Jewels," a documentary about a Jewish family's flight from Nazi-occupied Belgium to Cuba, 5 p.m. April 8; and "500 Years: Life in Resistance," the final film in filmmaker Pamela Yates' Resistance Trilogy about the struggle against oppression in Guatemala, 7 p.m. April 9.
Info: uwm.edu/clacs
Marcus CineLatino Milwaukee Film Festival
Marcus Theatres' second annual festival celebrating Hispanic culture and tradition runs April 11-15, with an opening-night premiere of "Overboard," a remake of the 1987 comedy with Mexican star Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris, at the Bistroplex at Southridge, 5210 S. 76th St. Proceeds from the premiere screening benefit the Aurora Cancer Care Spanish Clinic.
The rest of the CineLatino festival is at the Marcus South Shore Cinema, 7261 S. 13th St., Oak Creek. Movies showing April 12-15 include Oscar winners "The Shape of Water," "A Fantastic Woman" and "Coco."
RELATED:Oscar winners, 'Overboard' premiere highlight Marcus' CineLatino Milwaukee Film Festival
Info: marcustheatres.com/cinelatino.
Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Film Festival
Milwaukee's plucky horror film festival finds a new home this year at the Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet St., April 13 to 15, with a mix of full-length feature films, shorts programs, North American premieres and made-in-Milwaukee debuts.
This year's lineup also includes a program of short films by women filmmakers, a collection of Wisconsin-made horror shorts and a "Twisted Dreams Spook Show," with live performances.
Twisted Dreams is a juried film festival, and this year's event is bringing in a real ringer: Lloyd Kaufman, co-founder of low-budget/high-over-the-top horror studio Troma Entertainment — the folks who brought you, among other classics, "The Toxic Avenger," "Class of Nuke 'Em High" and "Tromeo and Juliet." (He's also very active, and very entertaining, on Twitter: @lloydkaufman.)
Screenings start at 7 p.m. April 13, and at noon April 14 and 15.
Info: twisteddreamsff.com and timescinema.com
Milwaukee Underground Film Festival
This student-run film festival, which receives submissions from around the world, is a work in progress; organizers are still raising money via an Indiegogo site for this year's event. The film festival opens with a free program starting at 7 p.m. April 19 at UWM Union Cinema and runs through April 22 at venues to be announced.
Info: milwaukeeundergroundfilm.org
Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival
Organized by the Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition, the fourth annual film festival shines a light on the diverse cultures and experiences of the Muslim world. The festival kicks off April 22 with a 2 p.m. screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary "Last Men in Aleppo" at UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Other movies in the festival, which runs through May 7, include "By the Dawn's Early Light," a documentary focusing on former NBA star Mahmoud Abdul Rauf (formerly known as Chris Jackson), April 23 at UWM Union Cinema and May 3 at Marquette University's Weasler Auditorium; and "Arranged," about the friendship of two female teachers, one Muslim and the other Orthodox Jewish, who are both entering arranged marriages, May 7 at UWM Union Cinema.
Admission to all seven of the movies in the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival, also showing in venues at Cardinal Stritch University and Alverno College, is free.
Info: mmfilmfest.com
Italian Film Festival
The long-running festival, one of 12 such Italian film celebrations around the country, returns to UWM Union Cinema April 27 to 29 with eight movies running the gamut from comedy to documentary.
Among the offerings, showing in Italian with English subtitles, are "Cucini," a documentary celebrating the culinary flavors of Naples, showing April 29; "Friends by Chance," about an unlikely friendship, April 28; and "The Order of Things," an immigration thriller, April 29.
Admission is free.
Info: italianfilmfests.org/milwaukee