Schedule

Sept. 23, 2021 Thursday

6:00 PM

Pere Marquette Depot
2h

Opening Night Party

Opening Night is brought to us by OUTDOOR ADVENTURES Celebrate the 15th Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival with a community of music lovers, film lovers, and filmmakers. Hang out in the beautiful Pere Marquette Depot and enjoy tasty snacks, fun drinks, a little music, and whole lot of lively conversation. And then join us at the State Theatre at 8:15pm for our first-ever Opening Night Shorts!!! Tickets are available for the party only, the party and the opening night film, or purchase an All Access Pass to get into every reception, music event, and film.

In this Program
Opening Night Party
2hEnglish Reception/Party

8:15 PM

State Theatre
2h

Opening Night Shorts

In this Program
Under the Lights
Miles Levin11mEnglish Narrative Short
Ellipse - Felixe
Alexandre Richard5mCanadaEnglish Narrative Short
Blocks
Bridget Moloney12mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
PHX
Jon Felson8mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Cerdita (Piggy)
Carlota Pereda14mSpainSpanish (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
We Got a Monkey's Paw
Aaron Pagniano9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Smelly Little Town
Zach Neumeyer26mEnglish Documentary Short
PEW! PEW! PEW!
Loren Dunn13mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

10:15 PM

Old City Hall
1h

This Pine Box

In this Program
This Pine Box
1hEnglish Music

Sept. 24, 2021 Friday

11:00 AM

State Theatre
1h 15m

Queens of Pain

Cassie Hay, Amy Winston1h 15mEnglish Documentary Feature
Three women at different stages of life - Suzy Hotrod, Evilicious, and Captain Smack Sparrow - struggle to balance their lives in New York City with the dedication and stamina needed to maintain their place on the world's best roller derby team.

11:00 AM

So Good! Gallery
1h 37m

Friday Morning Shorts

In this Program
Misfits
Ciani Rey Walker19mEnglish Narrative Short
Lockdown
Logan George, Celine Held13mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Sundays at The Triple Nickel
Jessica Colquhoun13mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
The Exit Plan
Angus Wilkinson14mGBEnglish Narrative Short
Soy Hombre
Juan Pablo Blanco24mMexicoSpanish (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
Slingshot
Robin Haig16mGBEnglish Narrative Short

11:00 AM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 31m

El Rey de la Fiesta (King of the Party)

Salomón Askenazi1h 31mMexicoEnglish Narrative Feature
Héctor, a man in his fifties with a good job and a family, is in the middle of a midlife crisis. His twin brother Rafael is his total opposite: a relaxed and eccentric life long partier who refuses to settle down. What if Héctor could be Rafael without anyone knowing? What would it do to him and those around him?

1:30 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 38m

Suzi Q

Liam Firmager1h 38mEnglish Documentary Feature
*Music Focused Documentary* Story of trailblazing American rock singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro, who helped redefine the role of women in rock 'n' roll when she broke out in 1973.

3:00 PM

MI Table
1h

Nick Scalise In-Studio Performance

In this Program
Nick Scalise In-Studio
1hEnglish Music

4:00 PM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 30m

Outstanding Crowdfunding Outreach

This is the next step after defining your audience with our Crowdfunding to Build Independence workshop: "If you build it, they will come" isn't true until you invite them! We’ll show you how to make that invitation irresistible for existing audiences and new ones alike. We’ll teach you how to approach marketing as pre-production, from leveraging your existing network to the best ways to reach your target audience via social media, email, and more.

In this Program
Outstanding Crowdfunding Outreach
1h 30mEnglish Workshop/Panel

4:15 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 15m

Events Transpiring Before, During, and After a High School Basketball Game

Ted Stenson1h 15mCanadaEnglish Narrative Feature
It's 1999 and the Middleview Ducks high school basketball team are about to play the most low-stakes game of their lives. As the team prepares for another certain loss, the dramas around the game become more of a focus than the score. Pot-smoking, existentialism, radical theatre kid protests, and a dog on the loose, all unfold before, during, and after the high school basketball game.

4:15 PM

State Theatre
1h 15m

Driftless

Harper Philbin1h 15mUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
Driftless is a feature-length drama about Nova Abbey, a park ranger at work during a state government shutdown on a busy 4th of July weekend, protecting the park from the people and the people from each other.

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 15m

Events Transpiring Before, During, and After a High School Basketball Game

Ted Stenson1h 15mCanadaEnglish Narrative Feature
It's 1999 and the Middleview Ducks high school basketball team are about to play the most low-stakes game of their lives. As the team prepares for another certain loss, the dramas around the game become more of a focus than the score. Pot-smoking, existentialism, radical theatre kid protests, and a dog on the loose, all unfold before, during, and after the high school basketball game.

6:45 PM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 37m

The Catch

Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer1h 37mEnglish Narrative Feature
*Suspense/Drama* A woman returns to her estranged family, and reconnects with a former lover. When the robbery they plan goes awry, she must choose between abandoning her family again or taking responsibility for the chaos she's created.

6:45 PM

State Theatre
1h 44m

Friday Evening Shorts

In this Program
A Gray One
Matt Enlow8mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Girls Are Strong Here
Scott Burkhardt16mUSAArabic, English (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
Dieorama
Kevin Staake11mEnglish Documentary Short
7AM Wednesday
Julie Herlocker10mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Feeling Flush
Erin Brown Thomas10mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Babs
Celine Held, Logan George13mGBEnglish Narrative Short
Relationship Deli
Ian Van der Werff4mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Fantasy Pony
Caitlin Carleton20mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

6:45 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 53m

The Penny Black

William J. Saunders1h 38mUSAEnglish Documentary Feature
Will, the estranged son of a conman, was left holding the bag, literally. His shady Russian neighbor, Roman, asked him to hold a million-dollar stamp collection, then swiftly disappears. Driven by fear and the desire to "do the right thing," Will goes on the hunt for Roman with the intention of returning the valuable goods. But when a significant piece of the collection goes missing, the filmmakers are forced to reexamine Will's capacity for honesty.

8:00 PM

MI Table
3h

Filmmaker Reception

**PASSHOLDERS ONLY** Time to give all our visiting filmmakers another warm Bay City welcome! Of course, that means drinks, snacks, music, and fun! All Access, Guest, and Sponsor pass holders are welcome to attend. Featuring the music of Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor !!!!

In this Program
Filmmaker Reception
3hEnglish Reception/Party

8:15 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h

Nick Scalise In-Studio Performance

In this Program
Nick Scalise In-Studio
1hEnglish Music

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 37m

The Catch

Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer1h 37mEnglish Narrative Feature
*Suspense/Drama* A woman returns to her estranged family, and reconnects with a former lover. When the robbery they plan goes awry, she must choose between abandoning her family again or taking responsibility for the chaos she's created.

9:00 PM

MI Table
1h

Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor @ Filmmaker Reception

Detroit Psych-Rock Sisters of your Sunshine Vapor are a Detroit psych-rock band known for their immersive records and DIY work ethic. The band's recent album "Good Goddamn" released is their fifth in 12 years under the SOYSV moniker. Their expansive career has been filled with extensive touring of North America and Europe all while maintaining the same original line-up. The COVID-19 locked down halted early progress on recording and the band was forced to work on new approaches to writing and collaboration. The result led to the band’s most poignant and melodic record of their career.

In this Program
Sisters of Your Sunshine Vapor
1hEnglish Music

9:15 PM

State Theatre
1h 22m

Martha : A Picture Story

Selina Miles1h 22mEnglish Documentary Feature
*Biography* In 1970s New York, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first images of graffiti at a time when the city had declared war on it. Decades later, Cooper has become influential to the global movement of street artists.

11:00 PM

State Theatre
1h 30m

The Last Porno Show

Kire Paputts1h 30mCanadaEnglish Narrative Feature
Wayne, a struggling method actor, inherits the city's last porno cinema from his estranged father, Al. Seeing this as an unconventional opportunity to reconcile their relationship, Wayne absorbs himself in the underworld of the pornography business. While running the cinema Wayne meets a cast of characters. Each character acts as a piece of a puzzle in helping Wayne rediscover the father he barely knew. But the old cinema turns out to be much more than Wayne anticipated.

Sept. 25, 2021 Saturday

11:00 AM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 38m

Suzi Q

Liam Firmager1h 38mEnglish Documentary Feature
*Music Focused Documentary* Story of trailblazing American rock singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro, who helped redefine the role of women in rock 'n' roll when she broke out in 1973.

11:00 AM

So Good! Gallery
1h 25m

Murmur

Heather Young1h 25mCanadaEnglish Narrative Feature
Donna has recently been convicted of Driving while Impaired and is ordered to perform community service at the local animal shelter. When an elderly dog is scheduled to be euthanized, Donna decides to take the dog home and quickly realizes his companionship can ease her loneliness. In a futile attempt to fill the emptiness she feels, Donna begins to take home more and more animals and she is soon in over her head.

11:00 AM

State Theatre
1h 30m

A Michigan Morning: Shorts (Saturday)

In this Program
Something Blue
Brennan Huizinga23mEnglish Narrative Short
Last Day for Videos
Chad Campbell8mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
Boxes for Rox
Chelsey Raegen Knapp5mUSAEnglish Animation Short
Burnt
Colton Fromhart5mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Replica
Christopher Jarvis11mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Fire Flower
Stephan Leeper6mUSAEnglish Animation Short
Ice Fishing in a Climate Crisis that Precedes a Global Pandemic
Peter Johnston9mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
The Way I See Maria
Jeremy Berkowitz9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

1:30 PM

State Theatre
1h 49m

Pinbox

Devin Cameron1h 34mUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
Socially out of touch Eddie is obsessed with old school pinball. When he's not fantasizing about 1970s pinball champs he's working as a repair man. After discovering a mysterious old pinball table, Eddie starts a quest to repair it and learn of the game's origins. As his focus deepens and his desire to fix the machine turns into paranoid obsession, he seeks out help to uncover the game's secrets. Is this the greatest game ever made?

1:30 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 51m

Saturday Afternoon Shorts

In this Program
The Other Morgan
Alison Rich14mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
A Fresh Perspective
Aaron Hosé12mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
Jeep Boys
Alec Pronovost20mCanadaEnglish, French Narrative Short
Limited Time Offer Act Now
Aaron Wertheimer9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Transfer
Sage Mears, Aaron Pagniano12mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Landgraves
Jean-François Leblanc23mCanadaEnglish Narrative Short
Porch Light
Julia Bergeron9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

3:00 PM

MI Table
1h

Kate Hinote Trio In-Studio Performance

In this Program
Kate Hinote Trio
1hEnglish Music

3:00 PM

Delta College Planetarium
1m

Full Dome Film Highlights

1mEnglish Documentary Short
Creating immersive experiences for the dome theater has become a popular new field for creative filmmakers. The wrap-around VR-like environment allows for transformative experiences in art, nature and storytelling. Here you’ll see a sampling of award-winning short pieces from world-recognized Fulldome Film Festivals, including the Jena Festival in Germany. Approx 40 minutes. FREE SCREENING. Limited seating.

4:15 PM

State Theatre
2h 2m

Vinyl Nation

Kevin Smokler, Christopher Boone1h 32mUSAEnglish Documentary Feature
A deep dig into the crates of the vinyl record resurgence to discover what an old technology says about our relationship to music and each other in a divided time in America.
Vinyl Nation & Panel Discussion

Following the screening of Vinyl Nation listen to the conversation as director & producer Kevin Smokler joins Jay Glysz of Lightning Licks Vinyl Preservation Society, Jim Gleason of Radio Wasteland (Midland), and Jordan Pries of Electric Kitsch (Bay City) in a panel discussion guided by Peter Rose-Barry, festival programmer.

Also in this Program
Vinyl Nation Panel
30mEnglish Workshop/Panel

4:15 PM

So Good! Gallery
2h 15m

Mother's Day

Travis Carlson2hUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
A Mother struggling with mental illness and financial strain mentions her plan to impulsively move across the country, again. Her Son learns with each question that he, alone, has literally one-shot to save his mother from a potentially deadly setback. We witness the true story of two complex minds fighting to find love, and their loved one, in the darkness.

4:15 PM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 31m

El Rey de la Fiesta (King of the Party)

Salomón Askenazi1h 31mMexicoEnglish Narrative Feature
Héctor, a man in his fifties with a good job and a family, is in the middle of a midlife crisis. His twin brother Rafael is his total opposite: a relaxed and eccentric life long partier who refuses to settle down. What if Héctor could be Rafael without anyone knowing? What would it do to him and those around him?

5:30 PM

Studio 23
2h

Festival Happy Hour

2hEnglish Reception/Party
All Access Pass Holders, Sponsors, and Guests are invited to attend the Saturday Happy Hour reception for great times, tasty treats, good tunes and the 6th annual Crowdfunding Rally!
Also in this Program
Crowdfunding Rally
30mEnglish Reception/Party

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 53m

The Penny Black

William J. Saunders1h 38mUSAEnglish Documentary Feature
Will, the estranged son of a conman, was left holding the bag, literally. His shady Russian neighbor, Roman, asked him to hold a million-dollar stamp collection, then swiftly disappears. Driven by fear and the desire to "do the right thing," Will goes on the hunt for Roman with the intention of returning the valuable goods. But when a significant piece of the collection goes missing, the filmmakers are forced to reexamine Will's capacity for honesty.

6:45 PM

State Theatre
1h 49m

The Sympathy Card

Brendan Boogie1h 34mEnglish Narrative Feature
Unlucky at love, Josie joins a lesbian soccer league in hopes of meeting more single women. She hits the jackpot in Emma and in a brief musical montage, the two fall in love and get married. When Emma's cancer takes a turn for the worse, she presents her new wife with a deathbed order: find someone new while Emma is still around to approve of her choice. Can a story with heart, humor, and a dying spouse have a happy ending?

6:45 PM

So Good! Gallery
2h 2m

Itchy Fingers

Anna Nilles, Marco Jake1h 47mUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
In this biting satire, an aspiring teenage comedian joins a theatre group and is cast to play a school shooter. Will this "funny man" be able to pull off such a heavy role? A film that satirizes the way buzz culture feeds national tragedies and reckons with the way social media shapes our engagement of violence and comedy.

6:45 PM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 38m

Saturday Evening Shorts

In this Program
Running Out
Avi Kaye9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
That Was Ray
Jordan Gorman, Brenten Brandenburg, Kaustubh Singh18mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
Immortal
Natalie Metzger, Robert Allaire11mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Sad Sally
Doug Purdy12mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Run
Emma Miranda Moore13mGBEnglish Narrative Short
Vanishing Louisiana
Adam Chitayat9mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
Repo
Aaron Rovner11mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
My Other Suit is Human
Andrew Paul Montague18mGBEnglish Narrative Short

8:00 PM

Empire Room
4h

Saturday Music Show

As all Hellions know, the best way to cap off a day of independent films is with a night of independent music. To that end, we give you the Hell’s Half Mile Saturday Music Night! Tickets are available for Saturday night or buy an All Access Pass!

In this Program
Ganser
Chicago1hUSAEnglish Music
The Blueflowers
Detroit1hEnglish Music
Physco
Cincinnati1mEnglish Music

8:15 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h

Kate Hinote Trio In-Studio Performance

In this Program
Kate Hinote Trio
1hEnglish Music

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
2h

Opening Night Shorts

In this Program
Under the Lights
Miles Levin11mEnglish Narrative Short
Ellipse - Felixe
Alexandre Richard5mCanadaEnglish Narrative Short
Blocks
Bridget Moloney12mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
PHX
Jon Felson8mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Cerdita (Piggy)
Carlota Pereda14mSpainSpanish (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
We Got a Monkey's Paw
Aaron Pagniano9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Smelly Little Town
Zach Neumeyer26mEnglish Documentary Short
PEW! PEW! PEW!
Loren Dunn13mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

9:15 PM

State Theatre
1h 23m

How To Stop A Recurring Dream

Edward Morris1h 23mGBEnglish Narrative Feature
Faced with a split custody break up, a family's older daughter kidnaps her hostile younger sister to embark on a journey to reconnect before they part.

Sept. 26, 2021 Sunday

12:00 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 49m

The Sympathy Card

Brendan Boogie1h 34mEnglish Narrative Feature
Unlucky at love, Josie joins a lesbian soccer league in hopes of meeting more single women. She hits the jackpot in Emma and in a brief musical montage, the two fall in love and get married. When Emma's cancer takes a turn for the worse, she presents her new wife with a deathbed order: find someone new while Emma is still around to approve of her choice. Can a story with heart, humor, and a dying spouse have a happy ending?

12:00 PM

State Theatre
1h 38m

Sunday Shorts

In this Program
Waffle
Carlyn Hudson11mEnglish Narrative Short
Making Samantha
T Cooper, Allison Glock-Cooper11mEnglish Documentary Short
Mother Tongue
Jessica Li12mAustraliaEnglish, Chinese Narrative Short
There will be MONSTERS
Carlota Pereda5mSpainSpanish (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
Sorry For Your Loss
Tina Carbone, Jaclyn Jasgur7mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Alina
Rami Kodeih25mUSAEnglish, German, Polish (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
Mind Mending
Markus Schröder17mGBEnglish, Portuguese (English Subtitles)Documentary Short
Life on Mars
Troian Bellisario12mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

12:00 PM

Delta College Planetarium
1h 22m

Martha : A Picture Story

Selina Miles1h 22mEnglish Documentary Feature
*Biography* In 1970s New York, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first images of graffiti at a time when the city had declared war on it. Decades later, Cooper has become influential to the global movement of street artists.

2:30 PM

State Theatre
1h 34m

Michigan Matinee: Shorts (Sunday)

In this Program
Buyer's Remorse
Karen Stefl, Garrett Jafano6mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
The Projectionist: Portrait of a Reel Artist
Peter Johnston7mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
Space Rocks!
Damien Donnelly3mIrelandEnglish Narrative Short
Daddy Baby
Steve Greist, Allie Long14mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
A Visitor
Bret Miller5mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
The Ring Light
Barret Bowman4mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Big Bons
Katherine Montgomery19mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
What Happened to Henry?
Andrew Acciaioli24mUSAEnglish Documentary Short

2:30 PM

Delta College Planetarium
2h 2m

Itchy Fingers

Anna Nilles, Marco Jake1h 47mUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
In this biting satire, an aspiring teenage comedian joins a theatre group and is cast to play a school shooter. Will this "funny man" be able to pull off such a heavy role? A film that satirizes the way buzz culture feeds national tragedies and reckons with the way social media shapes our engagement of violence and comedy.

2:30 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 37m

The Catch

Matthew Ya-Hsiung Balzer1h 37mEnglish Narrative Feature
*Suspense/Drama* A woman returns to her estranged family, and reconnects with a former lover. When the robbery they plan goes awry, she must choose between abandoning her family again or taking responsibility for the chaos she's created.

5:00 PM

State Theatre
1h 53m

The Penny Black

William J. Saunders1h 38mUSAEnglish Documentary Feature
Will, the estranged son of a conman, was left holding the bag, literally. His shady Russian neighbor, Roman, asked him to hold a million-dollar stamp collection, then swiftly disappears. Driven by fear and the desire to "do the right thing," Will goes on the hunt for Roman with the intention of returning the valuable goods. But when a significant piece of the collection goes missing, the filmmakers are forced to reexamine Will's capacity for honesty.

5:00 PM

Delta College Planetarium
2h 15m

Mother's Day

Travis Carlson2hUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
A Mother struggling with mental illness and financial strain mentions her plan to impulsively move across the country, again. Her Son learns with each question that he, alone, has literally one-shot to save his mother from a potentially deadly setback. We witness the true story of two complex minds fighting to find love, and their loved one, in the darkness.

5:00 PM

So Good! Gallery
1h 15m

Events Transpiring Before, During, and After a High School Basketball Game

Ted Stenson1h 15mCanadaEnglish Narrative Feature
It's 1999 and the Middleview Ducks high school basketball team are about to play the most low-stakes game of their lives. As the team prepares for another certain loss, the dramas around the game become more of a focus than the score. Pot-smoking, existentialism, radical theatre kid protests, and a dog on the loose, all unfold before, during, and after the high school basketball game.

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
2h 15m

Mother's Day

Travis Carlson2hUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
A Mother struggling with mental illness and financial strain mentions her plan to impulsively move across the country, again. Her Son learns with each question that he, alone, has literally one-shot to save his mother from a potentially deadly setback. We witness the true story of two complex minds fighting to find love, and their loved one, in the darkness.

7:30 PM

State Theatre
1h 31m

Golden Arm

Maureen Bharoocha1h 31mEnglish Narrative Feature
*Comedy* A tough lady trucker trains her wimpy best friend to compete in the National Ladies Arm Wrestling Championship.

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 23m

How To Stop A Recurring Dream

Edward Morris1h 23mGBEnglish Narrative Feature
Faced with a split custody break up, a family's older daughter kidnaps her hostile younger sister to embark on a journey to reconnect before they part.

Sept. 27, 2021 Monday

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 44m

Friday Evening Shorts

In this Program
A Gray One
Matt Enlow8mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Girls Are Strong Here
Scott Burkhardt16mUSAArabic, English (English Subtitles)Narrative Short
Dieorama
Kevin Staake11mEnglish Documentary Short
7AM Wednesday
Julie Herlocker10mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Feeling Flush
Erin Brown Thomas10mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Babs
Celine Held, Logan George13mGBEnglish Narrative Short
Relationship Deli
Ian Van der Werff4mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Fantasy Pony
Caitlin Carleton20mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
2h 2m

Itchy Fingers

Anna Nilles, Marco Jake1h 47mUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
In this biting satire, an aspiring teenage comedian joins a theatre group and is cast to play a school shooter. Will this "funny man" be able to pull off such a heavy role? A film that satirizes the way buzz culture feeds national tragedies and reckons with the way social media shapes our engagement of violence and comedy.

Sept. 28, 2021 Tuesday

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
2h 2m

Vinyl Nation

Kevin Smokler, Christopher Boone1h 32mUSAEnglish Documentary Feature
A deep dig into the crates of the vinyl record resurgence to discover what an old technology says about our relationship to music and each other in a divided time in America.
Vinyl Nation & Panel Discussion

Following the screening of Vinyl Nation listen to the conversation as director & producer Kevin Smokler joins Jay Glysz of Lightning Licks Vinyl Preservation Society, Jim Gleason of Radio Wasteland (Midland), and Jordan Pries of Electric Kitsch (Bay City) in a panel discussion guided by Peter Rose-Barry, festival programmer.

Also in this Program
Vinyl Nation Panel
30mEnglish Workshop/Panel

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 30m

The Last Porno Show

Kire Paputts1h 30mCanadaEnglish Narrative Feature
Wayne, a struggling method actor, inherits the city's last porno cinema from his estranged father, Al. Seeing this as an unconventional opportunity to reconcile their relationship, Wayne absorbs himself in the underworld of the pornography business. While running the cinema Wayne meets a cast of characters. Each character acts as a piece of a puzzle in helping Wayne rediscover the father he barely knew. But the old cinema turns out to be much more than Wayne anticipated.

Sept. 29, 2021 Wednesday

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 49m

Pinbox

Devin Cameron1h 34mUSAEnglish Narrative Feature
Socially out of touch Eddie is obsessed with old school pinball. When he's not fantasizing about 1970s pinball champs he's working as a repair man. After discovering a mysterious old pinball table, Eddie starts a quest to repair it and learn of the game's origins. As his focus deepens and his desire to fix the machine turns into paranoid obsession, he seeks out help to uncover the game's secrets. Is this the greatest game ever made?

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 15m

Queens of Pain

Cassie Hay, Amy Winston1h 15mEnglish Documentary Feature
Three women at different stages of life - Suzy Hotrod, Evilicious, and Captain Smack Sparrow - struggle to balance their lives in New York City with the dedication and stamina needed to maintain their place on the world's best roller derby team.

Sept. 30, 2021 Thursday

6:30 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 30m

A Michigan Morning: Shorts (Saturday)

In this Program
Something Blue
Brennan Huizinga23mEnglish Narrative Short
Last Day for Videos
Chad Campbell8mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
Boxes for Rox
Chelsey Raegen Knapp5mUSAEnglish Animation Short
Burnt
Colton Fromhart5mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Replica
Christopher Jarvis11mUSAEnglish Narrative Short
Fire Flower
Stephan Leeper6mUSAEnglish Animation Short
Ice Fishing in a Climate Crisis that Precedes a Global Pandemic
Peter Johnston9mUSAEnglish Documentary Short
The Way I See Maria
Jeremy Berkowitz9mUSAEnglish Narrative Short

8:45 PM

Virtual Experience (online)
1h 31m

Golden Arm

Maureen Bharoocha1h 31mEnglish Narrative Feature
*Comedy* A tough lady trucker trains her wimpy best friend to compete in the National Ladies Arm Wrestling Championship.