Milwaukee Film Fest 2016

When:
September 22, 2016 @ 11:00 am – October 6, 2016 @ 11:45 pm
2016-09-22T11:00:00-05:00
2016-10-06T23:45:00-05:00
Where:
Movie Theaters all over Milwaukee
Contact:
Milwaukee Film Fest

MilwaukeeFilmFestival-1024x500WMSE is thrilled to sponsor the Milwaukee Film Festival taking place at theaters across Milwaukee – including The Times, The Oriental, The Avalon, The Downer, Fox Bay Cinemas. We are once again sponsoring the Sound Vision series. Go here for a complete listing of movies.

Sound Vision Series Includes –

FILMS

Bang! (2)

BANG! The Bert Berns Story
(USA / 2016 / Directors: Brett Berns, Bob Sarles)
Trailer: youtu.be/aDBuIhj8AWM
Responsible for penning and producing a litany of hits (“Twist and Shout,” “Under the Boardwalk,” and
“Everybody Needs Somebody to Love,” to name a few), Bert Berns’ meteoric rise from obscurity (a
childhood spent in the Bronx) to music royalty to made man (mob connections helped grease the wheels of
his music enterprise) is a story you have to see to believe (perfect for fans of MFF2015 selection The
Wrecking Crew). Interviews with rock royalty (Van Morrison, Sir Paul!) and vintage performances help round
out this rousing doc, perfectly timed with Berns’ 2016 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Iamtheblues

I Am the Blues
(Canada / 2015 / Director: Daniel Cross)
Trailer: vimeo.com/144133836
A travelogue and musical journey deep into the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, the juke joints of the
Mississippi Delta, and moonshinesoaked
barbecues of the North Mississippi Hill C ountry, I Am the Blues is
a moving tribute to the Delta blues. We visit musicians rooted in the genre’s heyday, many in their 80s, still
living in the American Deep South and touring the Chitlin’ Circuit. Packed with a wealth of frontporch
performances as virtuosic and passionate as when Delta blues was at its peak, this richly textured
documentary shows how deeply the blues is ingrained in Southern culture.

sharonj

Miss Sharon Jones!
(USA / 2015 / Director: Barbara Kopple)
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=t7eNSgCQzCI
Sharon Jones is no stranger to adversity: Blessed with a voice that crackles like a thunderbolt from the
heavens, she rose to stardom in the world of soul music at an age when most musicians would’ve given up.
But at the peak of her fame, her career is put on hold when she’s informed that she has pancreatic cancer.
Two time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple ( Harlan County, U.S.A.) brings us the personal story of Sharon’s
recovery, as she struggles to hold onto her band The DapKings
and make a triumphant return to the stage,
determined to come out the other side of her diagnosis as a soul survivor.

Princess shaw

Presenting Princess Shaw
(Israel / 2015 / Director: Ido Haar)
Trailer: youtube.com/watch?v=nMXGIch82ZU
In this real life Cinderella story, Samantha Montgomery cares for the elderly in New Orleans by day and, at
night, takes to the stage at local open mics as the aspiring singer Princess Shaw. She also records soulful a
cappella renditions of original compositions for a smattering of YouTube followers. Unbeknownst to her, in
Israel, the enigmatic composer Kutiman was combining her stirring vocals on YouTube with a potpourri of
crowdsourced instrumentals, bringing one of her songs to life in a way that’s about to go massively viral.
This is an immensely powerful story of social media bringing disparate people together in a crosscultural
exchange that just happens to make a dream come true.

SmartStudios_FINAL (1)

The Smart Studios Story
(USA / 2016 / Director: Wendy Schneider)
Trailer: vimeo.com/87298310
From its inauspicious beginnings as a warehouse space hastily converted into a recording studio to the
moment it finally shuttered its doors in 2010, Madison’s own Smart Studios carved out an important niche in
the history of alternative rock, providing a home to landmark recordings from The Smashing Pumpkins,
Death Cab for Cutie, and Nirvana, to name but a few. Ample VHS footage from the ’80s and ’90s of the
various acts that came through its doors combined with full cooperation from Smart Studios cofounders
Butch Vig and Steve Marker (also from the band Garbage) make this a vital piece of altrock
archaeology and Wisconsin music history.

ASongForYou_FINAL

A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story
(USA / 2016 / Director: Keith Maitland)
Trailer: vimeo.com/153631377
For over four decades, Austin City Limits has been a musical institution, the longest running
music show in TV history, a rollicking repository of some of our greatest musical acts (ranging from Willie Nelson to Ray
Charles to Radiohead) letting loose with unforgettable performances. This oral history crackles with the
energy of some of Austin City Limits’ finest sets as performers and admirers give testament to this
monument of music and bring its history to life, with more archival performances and interviews than we
could possibly list here (OK, we’ll try: Lyle Lovett, Wilco, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, St. Vincent, and so many
more).

sonita

Sonita
(Germany, Iran, Switzerland / 2015 / Director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami)
Trailer: youtu.be/B47MbpPuz7A
While young Sonita Alizadeh’s dreams will prove familiar to many audiences—she aspires to be a
worldfamous rapper and idolizes Rihanna—her circumstances are anything but: An illegal Afghan
immigrant living in the suburbs of Tehran, she must navigate a veritable minefield of struggles in pursuit of
her goal. As she pens bars that rail against the social injustice she witnesses as a young woman in Tehran,
her aspirations take a critical hit when her mother reveals plans to bring her home and sell her as a bride to
help pr ovide for her family. A vitally important breath of cultural fresh air, Sonita won both the Audience
Award and Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

stopmakingsense

Stop Making Sense
(USA / 1984 / Director: Jonathan Demme)
Trailer: vimeo.com/5804404
Milwaukee’s biggest dance party is back, as the best concert documentary of all time makes its way to the
Oriental Theatre for another year. Come ride the wave of energy as David Byrne kicks things off with a
blistering acoustic version of “Psycho Killer” and then slowly brings out his bandmates (including
Milwaukee’s own Jerry Harrison!) for a series of sonic crescendos. And while MFF’s most beloved annual
event isn’t a “Once In A Lifetime” opportunity, you can be certain that “This Must Be the Place” if you want to
experience this doc as you never have before.

POSTED BY:: Sidney McCain