The weeks between the end of the summer movie season and the start of the big-ticket holiday and Oscar-bait movie season are a perfect time to check out distinctive and off-the-grid movies you might otherwise miss.
That’s where film festivals come in.
Each fall, Milwaukee has a harvest of film festivals, curated programs of movies that, while each has a different focus, provide one experience in common: discovery.
Here, in order of occurrence, is a quick guide to four of this fall’s film festivals in the Milwaukee area.
Milwaukee International Short Film Festival
What you will see: 75 short films — all but four of them local premieres (and a few world premieres), showing in five blocks of films, plus two more blocks of shorts making up the third Milwaukee Illuminate Film Festival. Among the film blocks is the festival’s 10th “Voices Heard” program, featuring works by local filmmakers of color (1 p.m. Sept. 6). The juried festival also has in-person and online filmmaker panels and an awards ceremony (following the 7 p.m. Sept. 6 block).
When: Sept. 5-7
Where: Avalon Theater
How much: Tickets for each shorts program are $11, available at ntg-wi.com and at the Avalon box office during the festival.
Info: milwaukeeindependentfilmsociety.org
Dialogues Documentary Festival
“It’s Dorothy” explores the cultural legacy of “Wizard of Oz’s” girl in the ruby slippers, Dorothy Gale. The documentary is showing at the 2025 Dialogues Documentary Festival in Milwaukee.
What you will see: Milwaukee Film’s second Dialogues Documentary Festival will show more than 30 documentaries and documentary shorts programs, with talkbacks and Q&A’s with filmmakers and local experts. The full lineup is expected to be announced Sept. 3.
When: Sept. 18-21
Where: Oriental and Downer theaters
How much: Ticket for individual films and programs go on sale Sept. 3 for Milwaukee Film members and Sept. 4 for the general public; ticket prices are to be announced. All-access passes are available now for $65, $50 for Milwaukee Film members.
Info: mkefilm.org/ddf
Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival
What you will see: Organized by the Muslim Women’s Coalition, the 10th annual Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival will show a range of movies exploring and celebrating the Muslim experience around the world.
When: Oct. 2-5
Where: Oriental Theatre
How much: Ticket prices to be announced
Info: mmwconline.org/milwaukee-muslim-film-festival
Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival
Jacob Fortune-Lloyd and Blake Richardson star in “Midas Man,” one of the movies showing at the 2025 Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival.
What you will see: Five movies exploring a range of Jewish experiences around the world, from a drama about Beatles manager Brian Epstein (“Midas Man”) to a movie about a seamstress who moves into a neighborhood of Holocaust survivors in the 1950s (“Soda”). Four of the movies also will be available to stream at home after the festival.
When: Oct. 26-30 (streaming titles available Nov. 3-9)
Where: Marcus Theaters’ North Shore Cinema
How much: $12 in advance, $14 at the door; $18 per movie for post-festival streaming access
Info: mkejewishfilm.eventive.org
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about 4 fall film festivals in Milwaukee
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