Director's Cut Videos
Director's Cut Videos
Jim Theres, "The Hello Girls"
Premiered: June 29, 2018
They were known as the "Hello Girls" - American women fluent in French & English who answered the urgent call for telephone operators needed in France during World War I. They took oaths to join the U.S. Army Signal Corps, heading to war before most Americans arrived in France, connected 26 million calls & ultimately proved to be a critical factor in winning the war. And then they were forgotten.
T. Cochrane, L. Adrianopoli, R. Gerber - "Chasing Bubbles"
Premiered: June 22, 2018
A documentary about the journey & spirit of Alex Rust, a farm boy turned day trader who abandoned his yuppie life in Chicago, bought a modest sailboat, & set out to sail around the world. What followed was a 4 year adventure that took Alex to the farthest corners of the globe. 'Chasing Bubbles' is a story of one man's search for fulfillment by pushing everything in his world to the absolute limit.
Ryan Sarnowski - "Manlife"
Premiered: June 15, 2018
As the last crusading member of the utopian movement Lawsonomy, 90 year old Merle Hayden works tirelessly to spread the gospel and preserve the legacy of his Commander, Alfred Lawson. Lawson created the Direct Credits Society, an economic-reform movement that thousands joined. Nearly 60 years after Lawson’s death, Merle continues distributing Lawson’s writings hoping to find new followers.
Ryan Churchill - "The 60 Yard Line"
Premiered: June 8, 2018
The 60 Yard Line is based on a true story and centers around Packer fan Ben “Zagger” Zagowski and his best friend, Bears fan, Nick Polano who buy a house in the parking lot of Lambeau Field; the legendary home of the Green Bay Packers. The house, nicknamed The 60 Yard Line, comes in between Zagger and his longtime fiancé.
Wendy Schneider & Butch Vig, "The Smart Studios Story"
Premiered: May 25, 2018
If you’ve ever been touched by the music of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage, you’ve been touched by the music created at Smart Studios, the legendary recording facility founded by Butch Vig & Steve Marker. The Smart Studios Story tells the story of the pivotal Midwest link to the global rise of Alternative Rock in the 1990’s and the unassuming Madison, WI recording studio at its center.
Erik Ljung - "The Blood is at the Doorstep"
Premiered: May 18, 2018
In broad daylight , a Milwaukee officer responding to a complaint approached Dontre Hamilton, an unarmed black man coping with paranoid schizophrenia resting in a park. Minutes later, the officer shot Dontre 14 times. The absolutely riveting documentary “The Blood is at the Doorstep” digs deep into the case and its aftermath, following Dontre’s family and surrounding community for 3 years.
Director’s Cut: Wisconsin Film Festival 2018
Premiered: April 2, 2018
Wisconsin Film Festival organizers and a sampling of filmmakers preview the films people will be buzzing about at the annual festival in Madison.
Kurt Sensenbrenner & Colin Sytsma
Premiered: June 23, 2017
“From Mass to the Mountain” takes you to eastern Panama, where decades of government corruption and neglect have impoverished the region. But thanks to the tireless efforts of one priest to build infrastructure, protect watersheds, and conserve the rainforest, life is looking up for locals.
Marie Ullrich - "The Alley Cat"
Premiered: June 16, 2017
The Alley Cat is a road movie on a bicycle. Bike messenger Jasper leaves an alley cat race and goes on a physical and spiritual journey on her bike, through Chicago’s nighttime streets, to an emotion-filled destination.
Mac Smith - "Scout's Honor: Inside a Marching Brotherhood"
Premiered: May 26, 2017
This film looks into the intense subculture of the competitive marching activity known as drum and bugle corps. Performers spend countless hours of rehearsal and withstand intense physical endurance for months, all while living on the road and out of their suitcases. The reward for these members is simple: a shot at perfection come the Drum Corps International Championship in August.
Erik Crary - "Uncle John"
Premiered: May 19, 2017
John is a kindly, well-liked old man in a small rural town who has just killed a man named Dutch. Nobody in town would think to implicate John except Danny, Dutch's violent drunk of a brother. John's nephew Ben arrives on an impromptu trip to his hometown as his uncle struggles to evade Danny's growing suspicions and looming threats.