The Wisconsin Film Festival has been steadily growing and earning increased recognition since its inception four years ago. In 1999 two UW-Madison students, James Kreul and Wendy Weger, created the festival. That year there were free screenings of 30 films. In 2000, the festival acquired a professional director in Mary Carbine, who is organizing this year’s festival as well.
Last year, the festival attracted filmmakers and investors from across the globe. There were screenings of 110 films from 21 countries, as well as roughly 60 filmmakers and speakers offering their insight into the current industry. It was estimated that there were more than 14,000 people in attendance.
This year there will be 149 films screened and 12 scheduled programs with film dignitaries both local and international.
The festival is a public program of the UW-Madison’s Art Institute and is sponsored by such diverse parties as The Madison Jewish Community Council and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Every year there are countless film festivals held worldwide. The Wisconsin Film Festival hopes to distinguish itself as a festival for the filmmakers.
“Our goal and our mission is to be a high-quality, filmmaker-friendly festival. We have no ambitions to be a Sundance or Toronto, we want to distinguish ourselves by debuting films and providing educational opportunities,” festival director Mary Carbine said.
The festival features a diverse set of programming running the gamut from dramatic to comedic.
The sold-out independent film “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” by Tex Hauser is an example of the unique spectrum of films coming to Madison for the festival. Hauser created a concept called “Refried Flicks.” The idea is to take awful public-domain films and completely re-dub them in new dialogue, effectively creating an entirely new story.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” takes the 1950s science fiction film “Killers From Space” and creates a new storyline where gay aliens come to earth and try to turn everyone gay. There is original music, as well as swipes at the Bush administration.
The film has previously played at The Boston Underground Film Fest and Belgium Film Festival, and its screening here will be its Midwest debut.
“We work with a lot of films in the public domain and these are some of the worst films ever made. We just want to entertain people, and it should be a lot of fun for the college market.”
Hauser is hoping to expand the concept into a television series in the future.
“We would love to do that, there are a whole bunch of movies in the public domain that we would like to do. It’s a lot of work, and really no one had ever done it before.”
Furthermore, Hauser proves that not everyone in the industry is only concerned with money. When asked if he expects to make a profit from the film, Hauser said, “I don’t know and I don’t really care. I think it’s a really fun movie, and I think that we’re going to entertain a lot of people, and that’s all we really want to do.”
Madison has always been the location for the Wisconsin Film Festival. Carbine explained the reasoning behind the locale.
“Madison is a great spot and a college town. Having the festival here creates a rich audience of students and people interested in a challenging and cutting-edge experience,” she said.
The Wisconsin Film Festival will take place in Madison April 4-7. Tickets are available from the Wisconsin Union Theater Box Office, 800 Langdon Street, or by phone at 265-2933. The prices are $7 for the general public and $4 for students with a valid ID.
