An Autumn Summer
Apr
13
12:00 PM12:00

An Autumn Summer

  • Celebration Cinema Mt. Pleasant (map)
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Kevin (Mark McKenna; Sing Street) and his girlfriend, Cody (Lukita Maxwell; Shrinking), are two months into his family's annual trip at their Northern Michigan home. Amid peaceful days and adventurous nights, Kevin and Cody awaken to reality: This time together will eventually end, and each moment may become a fleeting memory.Also starring Louise Barnes (Black Sails) , Katie Baker (The Mosquito Coast), Tony Horton, Jun Yu (Mulan).

Director: Jared Isaac

Runtime: 98 minutes

Not Rated

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Short Film Program
Apr
13
12:30 PM12:30

Short Film Program

  • Opperman Auditorium in Park Library, CMU (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

A collection of short films spanning a variety of genres made by independent filmmakers in the U.S. Including:

AN OLD FRIEND (Director: Nuk Suwanchote). An imaginary friend (Jason Faunt) finds out his sole purpose is to bring happiness to his child, only to discover his child is a 90 year old man (Tom Skerritt) on his death bed. Runtime: 14 mintues

SWATTED (Director: Ryan Dymkowski). Two young women find themselves cooped up at a middle America diner, under-slept, overwhelmed, and losing patience with one another as they grapple with their part in a ‘swatting accident.’ Runtime: 10 min

CALLS (Director: Brandon Keeton) A 911 call leads a new Police Chief to a cold case with a paranormal twist. Runtime: 20 minutes

AWAKENING (Director: Alex Culberson) After a quake on an asteroid mining facility, a deadly outbreak occurs, as Grimes, a soldier on the facility, must find his wife and a way out…alive. 9 min.

PAINT (Director: Callum Blue) The character in this movie, Jane (Heather Matarazzo; The Princess Diaries; Welcome to the Dollhouse) becomes aware that she is a character in a movie. Upon awakening, she learns to control the narrative of the story; transcend the limitations of “self” and ascend to a state of Divine consciousness. Runtime: 22 minutes

SOMETIMES I IMAGINE YOUR FUNERAL (Dir: Vince Dixon). As Max prepares to eulogize his sister Chloe just minutes before her funeral, he wrestles with the anger, frustration, and grief of losing her to an overdose, attempting to understand who Chloe was. Runtime: 11 mintues

THE CONCERT (Elizabeth Bourgeois). Farrah and Lisa hang out in Angie’s basement, waiting on her dad to give them a ride to their first big rock concert. Safe in their warm, wood paneled hang-out, they talk about boys and even rehearse their own fledging metal band – The Giant Feminist Electric Mares! But their fun and excitement is cut short. They face what so many women face. And they face it together. A realistic coming of age story that pulls no punches told from the girl’s point of view. Runtime: 8 minutes

RIGHT TO PRIVACY (Director: Julie Herlocker). After a women’s health doctor has a charged encounter with a volatile protester, she faces a moral dilemma she could never imagine. Runtime: 12 minutes

SAFETY STATE (Director: Jeanette L. Buck). In the dystopian near future, a gay and a lesbian couple form an unlikely friendship as they flee the midwest for safety in New England. Runtime: 15 mintues

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Flow
Apr
13
3:00 PM15:00

Flow

Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences. Animated. Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

Runtime: 85 min

Rating: PG

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K-12 Short Films
Apr
13
3:00 PM15:00

K-12 Short Films

  • Opperman Auditorium in Park Library, CMU (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Join us to see short films crafted by students in K-12 schools across the world. Including:

GUIDING LIGHT (Petaluma, CA)

AS OUR TIDES TURN (Interlochen, MI)

IN A BETTER PLACE (Marietta, GA)

FEVER DREAM (Commerce Township, MI)

TEA TALES: THE PEPPERMINT PERILS (Normandy Park, WA)

A SIMPLE MESSAGE (Downriver Detroit Student Film Consortium)

LADYBUG (Seattle, WA)

MELODY (South Austrialia)

THE RISE AND FALL OF HONG KONG CINEMA (Hong Kong)

HOW ETHNIC MINORITY FESTIVALS ARE BECOMING A PART OF HONG KONG CULTURE (Hong Kong)

QUESTIONS (Downriver Film Consortium)

THOSE LIKE US (Downriver Film Consortium)

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Animated Short Films
Apr
13
4:30 PM16:30

Animated Short Films

  • Opperman Auditorium in Park Library, CMU (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

A wide range of animated styles and storytelling made by professional and student filmmakers. Including:

THE EKSPATS-WE’RE GOING TO AFRICA (Dir: Ron Myrick). Bill Diamond, an earnest, unappreciated, down in the dumps business consultant is given a career-saving opportunity that forces him and his sheltered, all-American family to relocate to Nigeria. We join them on their journey as their minds and hearts open to the people, the culture, and the privileged family of the tycoon, Solomon Babatunde, who hired Bill’s firm. Runtime: 20 minutes

DISABLED: A LOVE STORY (Dir: Sheila M. Sofian) "Disabled" is an animated documentary that explores the relationship and struggles of Terry, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and her husband Jon, who has cared for her since her diagnosis.. Runtime: 13 minutes

LEARNING TO FLY (Dir: Sam Slowick). Learning to fly is a stop motion film by Sam Slowik featuring the adventure of Lego man and his rig friend, as they set out to learn how to fly. Watch as Lego man tries to fly and fail multiple times, but with the help and support of his friend Rig, he is taking to the skies in no time. Slowick is a 15-year old from Wisconsin.

BOY CUT (Dir: Cullen Burt, Abby Corbett, Indira Escobar, Shon Xiao) Something as simple as a haircut can mean so much to one person.This animated documentary tells the story of a child’s desire to control their own appearance.Directed and Animated by four students in USC's CTXA 470 Documentary Animation Production class. Runtime: 4 minutes

FINDERS KEEPERS (Dir: Caden Osojnak). Jack and Jinx, two friends in 1930s Cairo, work to uncover an ancient treasure. Soon, however, their plans are thwarted by a mysterious letter. Runtime 5 minutes.

PIZZA MAN (Dir: Nathan Miller). A pizza man accidentally delivers a pizza to a super villain's newly constructed fortress. The super villain mistakenly believes that the pizza man is a super hero due to calling himself "Pizza Man." The super villain then dishes out various traps and gizmos to prevent the pizza man from finishing his delivery. Runtime 5 minutes

VIOLATOR (Dir: MacLain Bowman). A man tries to survive by the skin of his teeth as he's pursued by a vicious bounty hunter. Runtime: 6 minutes

THE HITCHHIKER AT THE LONE OAK TREE: (Dir: Austin Saxon). When a driver picks up a hitchhiker, he will take him to a place few go out to venture. But once they reach the destination, will they be able to return? This is horror short that uses moving stills, rotoscoping, and traditional animation styles. Runtime: 10 minutes

TEASER TRAILER (Dir: JJ Gibson). TEASER TRAILER is a fast-paced, off-the-wall, cosmic horror-comedy that satirizes modern action movie marketing. The film takes the familiar stereotypes of classic film genres and turns them on their head to create something wild, crazy, and unapologetically silly. Runtime: 3 minutes

GONE DIPPIN’ (Dir: Noah Cecil). Runtime: 1 min

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I'm Still Here
Apr
13
6:00 PM18:00

I'm Still Here

  • Celebration Cinema, Mt. Pleasant (map)
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A powerful drama set in Brazil during a military dictatorship. The film follows Eunice Paiva (Fernanda Torres), a mother who must navigate the turmoil of her family after her outspoken husband is mysteriously taken away by the government, forcing her to fight for answers and protect her children in the face of an oppressive regime. Based on a true story, the film explores themes of resilience, family bonds, and the struggle against tyranny. Oscar Winner: Best International Feature Film

Director:Walter Salles

Runtime: 137 minutes

Rated PG-13

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Separated
Apr
13
6:00 PM18:00

Separated

  • Opperman Auditorium in Park Library, CMU (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Errol Morris confronts one of the darkest chapters in recent American history: family separations. Based on NBC News Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy, Morris merges bombshell interviews with government officials and artful narrative vignettes tracing one migrant family’s plight. Together they show that the cruelty at the heart of this policy was its very purpose. Against this backdrop, audiences can begin to absorb the U.S. government’s role in developing and implementing policies that have kept over 1300 children without confirmed reunifications years later, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

  • Director: Errol Morris

  • Length: 93 minutes

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Hard Truths (2024)
Apr
13
8:00 PM20:00

Hard Truths (2024)

  • Opperman Auditorium in Park Library, CMU (map)
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Legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh returns to the contemporary world with a fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous study of family and the thorny ties that bind us. Reunited with Leigh for the first time since multiple Oscar-nominated Secrets and Lies, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. Meanwhile, her easygoing younger sister, played by Michele Austin (Another Year), is a single mother with a life as different from Pansy’s as their clashing temperaments - brimming with communal warmth from her salon clients and daughters alike. This expansive film from a master dramatist takes us into the intensities of kinship, duty, and the most enduring of human mysteries: that even through lifetimes of hurt and hardship, we still find ways to love those we call family.

Director: Mike Leigh

Runtime: 97 min

Rated R

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Get Away
Apr
13
9:00 PM21:00

Get Away

  • Celebration Cinema Mt. Pleasant (map)
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The Smith family's much-needed vacation to the remote Swedish island of Svalta takes a dark turn when they arrive during preparations for a mysterious local festival that celebrates a dark history. Unsettled by the unfriendly locals and strange rituals, they try to make the best of their trip, stubbornly enjoying the island's isolation and natural beauty. However, as the festival looms closer, the family realizes something far more sinister is unfolding--especially when they discover that a serial killer is on the loose.

Dir: Steffen Haars

Starring: Nick Frost, Aisling Bea, Sebastian Croft

Runtime: 86 min

Rated R

Genre: Comedy/Horror

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The Featherweight
Apr
7
9:30 PM21:30

The Featherweight

Set in the mid-1960s, The Featherweight presents a gripping chapter in the true-life story of Italian-American boxer Willie Pep—the winningest fighter of all time—who, down and out in his mid-40s and with his personal life in shambles, decides to make a return to the ring, at which point a documentary camera crew enters his life. Painstakingly researched and constructed, the film is a visceral portrait of the discontents of twentieth-century American masculinity, fame and self-perception.

  • Cast: James Madio, Ruby Wolf, Kier Gilchrist, Stephen Lang, Ron Livingston

  • Director: Robert Kolodny

  • Writer: Steve Loff

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Short Documentaries
Apr
7
7:30 PM19:30

Short Documentaries

  • Opperman Auditorium/Park Library CMU (map)
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TAKE THE FIELD: MICHIGAN MARCHING BAND - David Parrella

RIPPLE - CASTING FOR CHANGE - John Curtis

THE LUMINARIANS: MAKING THE LUMINARY LOPPET - Amber Danger Johnson

I’M WITH THE BAND: THE KNOW OBSTACLES STORY - Allison Doxey

UNSEEN HEROES: CAREGIVERS IN AMERICA - Brianna Johnson & Leah Cerulli

UPON RETURN - Devan Jordan & Emily Sedgwick

OUR DAYS IN DONGSHI - Hsiang-Yu Li

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THE TASTE OF THINGS
Apr
7
6:30 PM18:30

THE TASTE OF THINGS

Destined to be remembered as one of the great films about the meaning, texture, and experience of food, this sumptuous, exceptionally well-crafted work, set in late 19th-century France, stars Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel (married, decades ago, in real life) as Eugénie, a cook, and Dodin, the gourmet chef she has been working with for 20 years. As they reach middle age, they can no longer deny their mutual romantic feelings, which have so long been concentrated in their passionate professionalism. This simple narrative—based upon Marcel Rouff’s 1924 novel La passion de Dodin-Bouffant, Gourmet—sets the table for a sublime, sense-heightening exploration of pleasure, in which the play of sunlight across a late-afternoon kitchen is as meaningful as the image of a perfectly poached pear or the crisp of a buoyant vol-au-vent. Director Trân Anh Hùng won the Best Director prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his bravura, scrupulously deployed feat of epicurean cinema.

Directed by Anh Hung Tran.

In French with English subtitles

Rated PG-13

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FOUR DAUGHTERS
Apr
7
6:30 PM18:30

FOUR DAUGHTERS

Between light and darkness stands Olfa, a Tunisian woman and the mother of four daughters. One day, her two older daughters disappear. Filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania invites professional actresses to fill in their absence.

Directed by Kaouther Ben Hania

In Arabic and French with English subtitles

Sponsored by Mid Michigan College as part of their Global Projects and Studies co-curricular programming for studying the Middle East. 

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PROBLEMISTA
Apr
7
6:00 PM18:00

PROBLEMISTA

Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in NY. As time runs out on his work visa, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country. Starring Tilda Swinton, Julio Torres, Isabella Rossellini, RZA, Greta Lee

Directed by Julio Torres.

Rated R

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Common Ground
Apr
7
4:00 PM16:00

Common Ground

  • Mid Michigan College Community Room (map)
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**This film is sponsored by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College Land Grant Office. All SCTC students and Saginaw Chippewa Tribal members will be admitted free of charge.**

COMMON GROUND is the sweeping and uplifting story of the pioneers of the “Regenerative Movement” who are forgoing the toxic seeds and sprays pushed by Big Ag in order to produce tremendous quantities of nutritionally dense food while bringing our entire ecosystem back to life.

By fusing journalistic exposé with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of the sustainable food movement, COMMON GROUND unveils a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system. The film reveals how racist practices forged our current farm system in which farmers of all colors are literally dying to feed us.

The film profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy—before it’s too late.

Directed by Joshua Tickell & Rebecca Harrell Tickell. Appearances by Laura Dern, Jason Momoa, Woody Harrelson, Ian Somerhalder & Donald Glover

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ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE LIKE SALT
Apr
7
3:30 PM15:30

ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE LIKE SALT

A lyrical, decades-spanning exploration across a woman's life in Mississippi, the feature debut from award-winning poet, photographer and filmmaker Raven Jackson is a haunting and richly layered portrait, a beautiful ode to the generations of people and places that shape us. The New Yorker called it “the directorial debut of the year.”

Directed by Raven Jackson.

Rated PG-13

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Girls Will Be Girls
Apr
7
3:00 PM15:00

Girls Will Be Girls

**Michigan Premiere**

In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance. But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself. Shuchi Talati’s debut film offers a sensitive and distinctive take on the fraught dynamics between mothers and daughters.  Fresh off it’s premiere at Sundance, this is GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS first screenings in Michigan.

In English and Hindi with subtitles.

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TROUBLED WATER
Apr
7
12:30 PM12:30

TROUBLED WATER

Two friends embark on an epic standup paddle journey through the Great Lakes and join a fight to shut down the most threatening oil pipeline in the country.

For as long as they can remember, lifelong friends Chris Yahanda and William Wright have spent their summers exploring the lakes and shores of Northern Michigan. Recently however, Chris and William noticed the lakes around them starting to change. And as the tensions build surrounding a particularly threatening oil pipeline, the two are determined to take action. Chris and William embark on an audacious 425 mile standup paddle journey down the coast of Lake Michigan to raise awareness and help protect their favorite place in the world.

Directed by Davis Huber.

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PERFECT DAYS
Apr
7
12:00 PM12:00

PERFECT DAYS

Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

PERFECT DAYS was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and for the Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Directed by Wim Wenders. Starring Kôji Yakusho (Named Best Actor at Cannes)

In Japanese with English subtitles

Rated PG

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