09-10.Sept/2016
Comedy Sportz
420 S 1st St, Milwaukee

18th MKE Short Film Festival
"BEST LOCAL FESTIVAL!"

Wild Wild Horses Directed by Jennifer Morrison
watch film here: https://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi1331606809
Return to Sender Directed by Sergio Espino
Cleanse Pest, Rest Directed by Esteban Uribe
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/156125626
Liquor & Blood Directed by Maximillian Olmsted and Jordan Johnson
Sisters Directed by David Chontos
watch film here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154137665254727
3 daYs Directed by Chris Marks and Gilly Petrovic
The Last Day Directed by Ross Bigley (Out of Competition)
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/179839975
Phantasms of the Living Directed by Jean-Sébastien Bernard
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/108026
RJ Baxter's Swagnificent Odyssey Directed by Michael Sapieja
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/165469519
Act II Directed by Edward Pronley
watch film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGZ05ANru3A
Gorilla Directed by Tibo Pinsard
Short film directed by and starring Jennifer Morrison (Once Upon A Time, House). The film is scored to the debut EP, 'Ordinary Life', from the band, Wild Wild Horses. The film also stars Rose McIver (iZombie, Masters of Sex) and Geoff Stults (7th Heaven, Enlisted, Grace and Frankie). The short film captures the tension of a couple who are haunted by a 'ghost' of their past.
Gertrude Pepper has spent the last few years shut in her own home, afraid of the world outside her front door. One day a mysterious package arrives up on her door step and begins to challenge her reality.
A homophobe waiter not only abuses the clients but also his co-worker; a simpleton and lonely teenager whose job consists in offering snacks, dressed in a chicken costume.
In Top Hat Balloon's Liquor & Blood two thieves are on the run after their latest stick-up. Written and directed by Jordan Johnson and Max Olmsted. Music by Eric Momou. Starring Theo Olmsted, Eric Momou, and Max Olmsted. (Viewer Discretion is Advised)
Part exercise of passion, and part love letter, ‘Sisters’ is a fragment of some lost, tragic opera. Trapped in the ruins of their former glory, a pair of performers bound together and abandoned by time rise up to sing once more. Conjured up by the song to which it’s set, the film represents a sincere vision of inspiration derived from the music of Karin Dreijer Andersson (Fever Ray). It is the confluence of a variety of abstract concepts, from the fragility of modern technology, to the cruelty o
Debauchery and happenstance conspire to manifest an accidental hero trapped in a history doomed to repeat itself.
2016 Best Film/Audience Favorite
Gorilla
Hollywood, 1947. Henry Corso performs as a costumed gorilla on horror movies and adventure movies. For Jungle Jenna, he must terrorize the leading actress lost in a cardboard jungle scenery. But scaring the woman he desires is going to be particularly tricky for the gorilla man.
2016 Best Cinematography
3 daYs
Debauchery and happenstance conspire to manifest an accidental hero trapped in a history doomed to repeat itself.
*Click on any picture or title for more info
A troubled young child’s life is plagued by her, extremely jealous, imaginary best friend, Karen.
Papa Legba has put forth a cursed pistol to wreak havoc.
This dance film is a fairy tale about a snow bird which is born in Winter. The bird has lost her way in the forest so due to her confusion and loneliness, she would like to return to the egg, however, the egg is already broken. There is no way for her to get out of the forest and she doesn't know where to go. What she can do is just dance while waiting for something invisible to guide her.
The Ojibwe youth learn through the always present aura of an elder that the choices they make do matter. Life on the Lac Courte Oreilles reservation presents itself as a wall; that most do not pass. Often during times of trouble, looking to the 7th generation for their teachings is a must. Mikwenim establishes place and identity while exposing our personal comfort in avoiding the issues that affect our community.
The short opens with our protagonist making a sandwich and receiving a call from his friend, inviting him out to a new gay bar in town. The protagonist refuses and insists on going out on a date with someone he just met on the internet, in order to get over his ex. The friend taunts him and warns him to be safe. Our main character gets ready for his date, despite not liking how anything looks on him, and takes a couple drinks to work up the courage. He arrives to “Gymstud’s” home and realizes th
Sometime in the future, the war lasted for a long time. In order to runaway the battle, a young deserter hided in the wildness for years. One day, he saw a vague figure in a far distance, so he decide to follow the figure and see whats going on...
Maxine “Max” Collier goes out for her routine morning and normally peaceful jog. Not too long into her jog she gets into somewhat of a verbal altercation with a man and a woman who looks to be harassing another younger woman. Just as the man threatens Max an really good friend from Max's childhood comes to her rescue Jackson “Jack” Ripley as a good friend should, but later on Jackson reveals his true colors.
Two Rivers is a story about the destructive relationship between Dirke (Mark Borchardt) and Emma (Melonie Gartner). Dirke is a troubled individual who can’t hold down a job. Haunted by his own demons and coupled with an explosive temper, Dirke is a force to be reckoned with. Dirke’s uncontrollable attitude also spills into his relationship with Emma, a long-suffering woman. Dirke’s abusive way leaves her cold and broken. Emma neither has anything left to give to their relationship nor any place
Rue takes a walk through the woods and stumbles upon a gruesome discovery that will cause him to have to fight for his life. Will he make it out alive, or will the woodsman seal his fate?
The Forgotten Fable of Papa L's .38 Special Directed by Rubin Whitmore II
Karen Directed by Champ Robinson
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/181428711
Mikwenim: Remember Your Choices Directed by
Lac Courte Oreilles of Ojibwe Nation/Darren Cole
watch film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAuXk2OH13w
Hell Date Directed by Marcelo Martinez
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/167067416
Deserter's North Directed by Xinhao Liang
Two Rivers Directed by Melonie Gartner
ThreeSixFive Directed by Ken Lawrence
Snow Bird Directed by Sangsun Choi
A Walk Through the Woods Directed by Trez Gee
2016 Judges
Intrusion Directed by Jon Banach
watch film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbLWiO498IE
Summer Texts Directed by Marc Kornblatt
watch film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjRlYdEE_H8
Our Eagles Directed by Emily Tope
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/120253831
Forest Products Directed by Eric J. Nelson
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/147773254
The Quilting Queen Directed by Mark Winter
Summertime in Eternity Directed by Vito Valenti
watch film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SftqhZt33Ew
Buddies Directed by Tyler Danielson
The Master Directed by RJ Dawson
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/144712588
Frame of Mine Directed by Matthew Simonis
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/150110288
Everything Directed by Daniel Hanna
watch film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uumPxbe5B0g
The Painted Lady Directed by Stephanie Bollag
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/183528866
A troubled, introverted teenage boy has to face the consequences of his inner demons, when a house intruder invades his home.
An old guy and a dude half his age taunt each other with text messages that culminate into a face-to-face confrontation.
Since its inception in 2009, the Decorah Eagle Cam has become the most-viewed live stream in internet history. Working with the camera's operator—the Raptor Resource Project—this short film explores the phenomenal popularity of a bald eagle family in the small town of Decorah, Iowa.
Tiny parasols sprout up like fungi across a beautiful wooded landscape in this hybrid stop motion/time-lapse short film.
An unexpected artist and their personal journey of self discovery and their race against time.
It's about the trap of human drama and maybe transcending it.
The brief story about my Grandmother, and the pets she has accumulated.
Marc, a timid student novelist, seeks to pass his graduate review in order to graduate. Professor Strauss, absolutely unconcerned for Marc's graduation plans, doesn't feel he's ready. Marc must decide to be pushed over or to push back.
A Russian pudding addict interrogates a snack pack to discover the faults of his past. A 5 minute short narrative shot as a school project at The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
2016 Festival Film
Frame of Mine
Frame of Mine is a Horror/Suspense film about a naive man who develops an unconventional and unnerving relationship with a subject at work
2016 Festival Film
The Quilting Queen
The unlikely story of an unlikely artist and their creative journey.
An awkward young man and a devious old man are the only guests of an internet meet-up group for men with beards
Cremate the body, find a spot, spread the ashes. Routine. But for Delilah, her Japanese culture demands she honor the ashes by keeping them for 35 days. What to do with your mother’s remains for 35 days? Delilah and her mother were inseparable: best friends and favorite confidantes. So why should that stop after death? At the film’s outset, you witness Delilah navigate her new life with her dead mother’s ashes: in a beautifully decorative urn. Inseparable, as in life, Delilah and her mother pic
In the dynamic 1980's of Eastern Europe, Venus and Julia were a beautiful spy team with the CIA, until a simple pick up job goes horribly wrong. Thirty years later, Julia gets the shock of her life when she spots Venus rising up out of the foaming waters of a Florida beach. Questions from the past come slamming into the now for Julia, who must make the right choice for the both of them. The past is never past.
Based on a true story of a woman's horrifying life changing experience.
We know we’re not supposed to meet our idols, but what about the people who molded our childhood? The ones who helped us fall asleep at night, the ones who our parents introduced us to, to learn life lessons. Surely those characters must be true at heart? Wrong. One journalist goes on a once in a lifetime journey to interview some of the most iconic nursery rhyme stars ever born. But he soon learns that some stories are best left untold. Follow this modern day Narrator into the worlds of belov
In this episode of 'The Ringmaster' serial, Larry, an everyday schmo retains the services of the mysterious Ringmaster, Luke Coppersmith. Can the mystical Ringmaster put the pathetic Larry Lumpner into Center Ring? Will Larry get the respect and attention he deserves and realize personal and career success? Will the spectral, magical Ringmaster leave him on a tightrope between what is and what could be?
Thomas Thumb Jr. is unlike any other man. He has a giant thumb for a head and he'll do whatever it takes to achieve the American Dream.
AMANDA is married to CRAIG, a terminally ill man. She has been by his side, bathing and feeding him for the past seven years. She cares for him day in and day out, the weight of it all taking a toll on her life and her marriage. But their marriage was broken long before the disease, and those cracks have never gone away. Now, frayed by a life in stasis, Amanda realizes it's time to make a choice. A meeting with a stranger becomes Amanda's final chance to regain her hope.
A young girl growing into adulthood relates a dress-buying experience to a representation of her transition.
Beard Club Directed by Jon Salimes
The Urn Directed by Kristopher Lencowski
watch trailer here:https://vimeo.com/138575215
Venus Rising from the Undertow Directed by Karen Lindholm-Rynkiewicz
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/131491663
ThreeSixFive Directed by Ken Lawrence
Life Outside The Rhyme Directed by Rusty Cwiklis
watch the film here: https://vimeo.com/165389075
The Ringmaster Directed by Chris Mier
The Life and Times of Thomas Thumb Jr Directed by Ryan Fox
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/127315743
Muscle Directed by Heidi Miami Marshall
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/211719206
The Dressing Room Directed by Shannon McInnis
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/150070173
Closed Mondays Directed by Henry Willette
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/156088030
Snow Bird Directed by Sangsun Choi
Cartolina Directed by Kevin Przybylinski and Sheila Teruty
watch film here; https://vimeo.com/231316051
Modern Age Amour Directed by Casey Malone
watch film here: https://vimeo.com/135277544
Screen: Righter Directed by T.C. De Witt
The Hodag Directed by Hadrien Royo
Nasty Directed by Prano Bailey-Bond
watch trailer here: https://vimeo.com/143139109
the good boy Directed by A. L. Lee
watch trailer here: https://vimeo.com/130654034
Awards handed out at the close of the festival.
When a reclusive, small town museum guard unwillingly befriends a young patron, their shared appreciation of the museum's modest contemporary art collection sparks an unlikely friendship that forever changes the gallery's low attendance. Filmed on location at the Haggerty Museum of Art in Milwaukee, WI by Marquette University students.
This dance film is a fairy tale about a snow bird which is born in Winter. The bird has lost her way in the forest so due to her confusion and loneliness, she would like to return to the egg, however, the egg is already broken. There is no way for her to get out of the forest and she doesn't know where to go. What she can do is just dance while waiting for something invisible to guide her.
After receiving the same postcard in the mail three days in a row we start to question reality and what fate it holds, Is it now or was it then is what you will be asking after delving into this David Lynch inspired take on "Through the Looking Glass". Shot on the Super 8mm Film in the Rare Max 8 format, Cartolina will be a real treat for the film geek in all of us.
Unplug. Connect. Dream.
On June 10th, Chad Halvorsen brought together a team of Firmament alum and some new friends for the 2016 Milwaukee 48 Hour film Project. What followed was a weekend of indie romance, Michael Bay hero shots, slow-mo running, and cre-a-tivity! This is "Screen: Righter".
It is the story of eleven-year-old Amy, a girl who encounters the mysterious Hodag and believes, at all costs, that it is real. Unfortunately, her father is the kind of man who doesn't believe in magical creatures lurking around the forest. And so Amy sets out to prove that the Hodag really exists.
2016 Best Wisconsin Film/ Best Director/Best Ensemble/Audience Favorite
Screen: Righter
A young woman rushes to her love, but the two woman are having a difficult time coming together as an inspired producer injects his ideas into the story.