Freep Film Festival: How to watch the films after the fest

Detroit Free Press Staff
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Freep Film Festival, in its 10th year, concluded a successful five-day run last Sunday, featuring documentaries in theaters and streaming at home.

Filmgoers bought or reserved nearly 5,600 tickets for screenings of 27 feature films and short film programs, many of which were available to stream throughout the festival.

“Whether it was the films, the post-film conversations or the events geared toward our local filmmaking community, our audiences showed up in force to support great documentary storytelling and storytellers," said Kathy Kieliszewski, the festival's artistic director.

Some films have a path to distribution, while others are seeking distribution, and several are available to stream now.

We asked filmmakers to tell us where their films are headed. Here's what they told us about what's next for their documentaries:

'Being Mary Tyler Moore'

With unprecedented access to Mary Tyler Moore’s vast archive, “Being Mary Tyler Moore” chronicles the screen icon whose storied career spanned 60 years. Weaving Moore’s personal narrative with the beats of her professional accomplishments, the film highlights her groundbreaking roles and the indelible impact she had on generations of women who came after her.

What's next: The documentary is coming to HBO.

‘Being Satori Circus ~ A Performance Documentary in Five Acts’

"Being Satori Circus" - A Performance Documentary in Five Acts tells the story in an unusual, hybrid, non-fiction/fiction narrative style of the history of this artist, while keeping some of the mystery intact.
"Being Satori Circus" - A Performance Documentary in Five Acts tells the story in an unusual, hybrid, non-fiction/fiction narrative style of the history of this artist, while keeping some of the mystery intact.

For 34 years, artist Satori Circus has enlightened and astonished audiences in metro Detroit with his unique style of theatrical performance art. “Being Satori Circus ~ A Performance Documentary in Five Acts” tells this story in a narrative that fuses nonfiction and fiction storytelling and keeps the artist’s mystery intact.

What's next: The filmmakers are submitting the film on the festival circuit. Look for updates at facebook.com/BeingSatoriCircusDocumentaryFilm.

'Coldwater Kitchen'

Brad Leonard prepares a multicourse meal at Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater, Michigan. Leonard is a student in the food tech program, a unique culinary class designed to teach the intricacies of fine dining cuisine. The program is the subject of the documentary "Coldwater Kitchen," which had its Michigan premiere at the 2023 Freep Film Festival.

For 30 years, soft-spoken chef Jimmy Lee Hill has run a highly regarded culinary training program out of a prison in Coldwater, Michigan, offering incarcerated men a renewed sense of purpose through the craft of fine dining while demonstrating the life-changing potential that trust and compassion can offer the incarcerated.

What's next: The film is screening at festivals across the country; filmmakers are planning community screenings and seeking distribution. Learn more about the film's next steps at coldwaterkitchen.film.

'Daron, Daron Colbert'

Living on the edge of one the most polluted ZIP codes in the United States, an actor prepares for a role.
Living on the edge of one the most polluted ZIP codes in the United States, an actor prepares for a role.

While navigating a hardscrabble existence in the oft-neglected southwest Detroit neighborhood of Delray, aspiring actor Daron Colbert unspools stories of his past through audition tapes in this short film.

What's next: The film plays Prismatic Ground Festival on Sunday in New York, a festival that features experimental film founded and directed by Inney Prakash, former Freep Film Festival shorts programmer.

'Detroit: The City of Churches'

The Rev. Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins, of St. Joseph Shrine is featured in the new documentary "Detroit - The City of Churches," along with a number of landmark Detroit houses of worship.
The Rev. Canon Jean-Baptiste Commins, of St. Joseph Shrine is featured in the new documentary "Detroit - The City of Churches," along with a number of landmark Detroit houses of worship.

Detroit, at one time, had more churches per square mile than any other city in the country, serving a population of multiple cultures and many faiths. Through interviews with 17 different spiritual leaders of some of the city's most historic churches, viewers of “Detroit: The City of Churches” gain a deeper understanding of the role spirituality plays in Detroit’s rich, diverse history.

Watch the film: The documentary is available to rent or buy at detroitthecityofchurches.vhx.tv.

'Elmore Leonard: But Don't Try to Write'

Elmore Leonard in the documentary "Elmore Leonard: But Don't Try to Write," about the prolific author's career.
Elmore Leonard in the documentary "Elmore Leonard: But Don't Try to Write," about the prolific author's career.

Elmore Leonard, author of more than 40 novels, is renowned in the literary community. From his westerns and early novels of crime based in his hometown of Detroit and South Florida, through his complex and virtually plotless later work, Elmore Leonard dissected America.

Watch the film: Rent or buy the film on Amazon or watch it online on PBS with a donation.

'Locked Out'

Set in Detroit, "Locked Out" takes us into the lives of courageous, Black women who face evictions, predatory lenders and the inequities of traditional banking, as they build a movement to fight housing injustice.
Set in Detroit, "Locked Out" takes us into the lives of courageous, Black women who face evictions, predatory lenders and the inequities of traditional banking, as they build a movement to fight housing injustice.

Set in Detroit, “Locked out” takes us into the lives of courageous, Black women who face evictions, predatory lenders and the inequities of traditional banking. They are part of a movement to battle housing injustice as the racial gap in home ownership widens, most affecting women of color.

What's next: The filmmakers are taking the documentary on the festival circuit. Its next stop is in June at the American Black Film Festival in Miami.

'Make Me Famous'

The documentary "Make Me Famous" looks into the life of Detroit-born artist Edward Brezinski, a charismatic painter on the fringe of success who challenges the art world.
The documentary "Make Me Famous" looks into the life of Detroit-born artist Edward Brezinski, a charismatic painter on the fringe of success who challenges the art world.

"Make Me Famous" is an investigation into the life of Detroit-born artist Edward Brezinski, a charismatic painter on the fringe of success who thwarted his career with antics that roiled New York City's art elite. This film is an intimate look at the art world’s attitude toward success and failure, fame and fortune, notoriety and erasure.

What's next: The film screens May 24 in New York City at the Alamo Drafthouse. Then, the filmmakers say, on to its theatrical premiere June 22 in New York, then July 10 and 11 in the Los Angeles area.

'Out of the Woodwork'

In northern Michigan, sawyer Dan Baker is obsessed with wood and the state’s forests. In this short documentary, the filmmaker shows how his preoccupation comes with a cost.

Watch the film: On YouTube at youtube.com/watch?v=bj1LKlxmPvE.

'Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story'

Photographer Corky Lee is the subject of a film on his work documenting the every day lives, the triumphs and struggles, of Asian Pacific Americans.
Photographer Corky Lee is the subject of a film on his work documenting the every day lives, the triumphs and struggles, of Asian Pacific Americans.

For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee tirelessly documented Asian Pacific Americans and kept a relentless record of their everyday lives, celebrations and struggles. Director Jennifer Takaki’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man who produced a vast collection of compelling photographs that tell the Asian Pacific American story for generations to come.

What's next: The filmmakers are working on a theatrical screening of the film in New York City in the fall, and are planning community screenings. Learn more about the film's next steps at photographicjustice.com.

'Unforgettable: A Celebration of Michigan's Upper Penninsula by Bicycle'

Title card for the film Unforgettable: A Celebration of Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Bicycle.
Title card for the film Unforgettable: A Celebration of Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Bicycle.

In spring of 2021, a group of bikepackers set out to ride the perimeter of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula — about 1,600 miles. Part of the festival's shorts program that explored Michigan's Up North, this 42-minute film joins the crew on a journey of exploration, suffering, triumph and natural beauty.

Watch the film: The short documentary is available on Vimeo at vimeo.com/710360318.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Freep Film Festival: How to watch the films after the fest