Rosa Parks to 'Reading Rainbow': 4 things to look for at Milwaukee Film's Cultures & Communities Festival

When Milwaukee Film began promoting the return of its Cultures & Communities Festival to in-person screenings and events last year, it was just as the delta variant of COVID-19 was spiking.

"We just could feel it that people weren't ready to come back," said Geraud Blanks, chief innovation officer for Milwaukee Film. "And this year, at least we feel the energy. We'll see what that results in, but at least the energy is so much different."

The 2022 Cultures & Communities Festival, which runs Sept. 14-18, focuses on issues of identity, health, equity and inclusion, with more than 30 films and more than a dozen in-person events around Milwaukee. The movies are showing primarily at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave.

RELATED: Milwaukee's fall film festivals: A quick user's guide

Tickets for individual screenings are $10, $8 for seniors 60 and older, $6 for kids 12 and younger, and $7 for Milwaukee Film members. There's also a virtual component, with all titles available as part of a $125 all-access pass.

This year's festival has a number of big gets, starting with its opening- and closing-night movies (see below), and an eclectic mix of documentary and fiction films, including "Kaepernick & America," a documentary exploring the impact of the activism of former NFL star and Milwaukee native Colin Kaepernick; "Liquor Store Dreams," a portrait of a pair of Korean American children trying to bridge the divide with their immigrant parents; and "I Didn't See You There," in which a disabled filmmaker explores how the culture makes people with disabilities invisible.

This year's festival comes at a time when Hollywood seems to be starting to realize the value, and box-office potential, in movies that show people of color with agency and power. "The Woman King," a historical epic starring Viola Davis as a leader of warrior women in 19th-century Africa, opens during the festival's run, on Sept. 16. Not far behind: "Till," the story of the fight for justice following the lynching murder of Emmett Till, in theaters Oct. 21; and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," the much-anticipated Marvel sequel, Nov. 11.

“It's an exciting time. 'The Woman King.' I mean, I don't know — 20 years ago, would this movie have gotten made?" Blanks said. " … I'm excited about this festival, but I'm also excited about the context within which this festival exists."

The Cultures & Communities Festival is about more than movies, Blanks pointed out. There are more than a dozen in-person programs scheduled during its five-day run, including a session on food justice with James Beard Award winner and activist Bryant Terry (Sept. 15) and a conversation about the hit series "P-Valley" with one of its stars, J. Alphonse Nicholson (also Sept. 15).

For a full schedule, go to mkefilm.org/ccf. 

Here are four things to look for at this year's Cultures & Communities Festival.

1. Opening-night movie: 'The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks'

The documentary about the civil rights activist had its world premiere in June at the Tribeca Film Festival. When Blanks heard about it, he reached out directly to co-director Yoruba Richen, who has had several movies screen under the aegis of Milwaukee Film and had been to the festival.

"I contacted her and said, ‘What do I have to do to get this?’ And she was, like, ‘Done.’”

Cultures & Communities Festival goers will be among the first to see the documentary; it's only been screening at a handful of film festivals before it's streaming on Peacock in October.

"The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks," based on the biography by Milwaukee native Jeanne Theoharis, is showing at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 and 4:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Oriental. (The Sept. 15 screening is free for students with ID.)

2. Closing-night movie: 'Butterfly in the Sky'

He was a star in "Roots" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation," but LeVar Burton has had his biggest impact as the host of "Reading Rainbow," the book-centric kids show he hosted for a quarter-century. "Butterfly in the Sky," a documentary that also had a premiere this year at Tribeca, gives him and the show their due. It's showing at 5 p.m. Sept. 18.

3. Pop-up cinemas

This year, the festival made a concerted effort to line up sponsors for its free pop-up screenings, which play a big role in bringing the festival to the communities it's addressing, Blanks said.

“The idea of the pop-up cinemas is that we can take the experience to you,” he said.

The three pop-up screenings, with events before and after, are at:

• Latino Arts, 1028 S. Ninth St., showing the Cantinflas comedy "El Barrendero," starting at 4 p.m. Sept. 15.

• COA Youth & Family Centers' Goldin Center, 2320 W. Burleigh St., showing "Encanto" at 4 p.m. Sept. 16.

• Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, 2100 E. Kenwood Blvd. on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus, in collaboration with Sherman Phoenix, showing "Boss: The Black Experience in Business," 6 p.m. Sept. 16.

4. More free screenings 

Thanks to outside sponsorships, several movies showing in the festival are screening for free at the Oriental. They include:

• "The Exchange: In White America, Kaukauna & King 50 Years Later," Milwaukee broadcasting veteran Joanne Williams' documentary on a student-exchange program between Black and white schools and its legacy, 6 p.m. Sept. 15.

• "The Loyola Project," a look at the Chicago college basketball team that broke racial barriers in 1963, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15.

• "When Claude Got Shot," the documentary following a Black Milwaukee native's journey through the juvenile justice system after he was shot by a teenager in a carjacking, 12:30 p.m. Sept. 16. It's a victory lap for the movie, which last weekend won an Emmy for exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking.

RELATED: In 2014, he was shot in an attempted carjacking in Milwaukee. In 2021, his story is hitting the film festival circuit.

RELATED: Mural inspired by 'When Claude Got Shot' documentary illustrates peace, community for North Avenue neighborhood

Contact Chris Foran at chris.foran@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cforan12.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 4 things to see at Milwaukee Film's Cultures & Communities Festival