Arts & Culture
Central Wisconsin Film Festival brings contemporary culture
The Pointer
bhaig870@uwsp.edu
The third annual Central Wisconsin Film Festival, hosted by the Arts Alliance of Portage County, will be held Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8. The event will feature award-winning short independent films from Wisconsin directors.
The festival will also feature 10 films, including an award-winning documentary, several short humorous narrative films, creative animation/music mixes and several contemplative narrative films from Wisconsin filmmakers that explore contemporary issues.
The most prestigious film coming in to the festival is a documentary by Madison directors Greta Wing Miller and Aarick Beher.
The production, entitled “Keeping the Lights On,” looks at the impact on a Vernon County community when the Dairyland Power Cooperative needed a place to dump the ash scrubbed out of their coal processing plant.
Their analysts calculated that the best location for the landfill was the acres-wide indentation in the hills several miles down the road, home to several century-old family farms.
Essentially, the film passionately illustrates the dilemma faced by the providers of electrical power, the Wisconsin farmers who fought to save their land, and the question of coal now facing our state.
The Central Wisconsin Film Festival also showcases emerging and established independent film and video makers.
Established in 2006, the festival supports film and video makers that demonstrate a high regard for moving images as artistic expression. Their intent is to promote understanding, tolerance, entertainment and social awareness while providing a stimulating and enriching cultural experience within central Wisconsin.
The 90-minute program will open Friday, Nov. 7, at 7:30 p.m. at the Jensen Center in Amherst. On Saturday, Nov. 8, the program will be shown at 7:30 p.m. at the Ben Franklin Junior High School auditorium.
Admission to the film festival is $7, with tickets available at the door as well as in advance from the Information and Ticket Center (346-4100) and the Jensen Center (824-5202). Refreshments will be available at both venues.
