Screenings of The Round Barns of Vernon County, Maz-zo-man-nee, and Before You will be accompanied by their respective directors
“Wisconsin’s Own” is the best part of the Wisconsin Film Festival. Sure, being the early bird for Sundance darlings and enjoying the fruits of restoration programs offer thrills in their own right, but the selections by Wisconsin’s filmmakers shine brightest in part because they play directly to this state’s midwestern pride.
In its third “year,” the Pinney Library’s “Pinney Mini” festival will once again drum up excitement for locally-produced cinema with a trio of short films from last year’s Wisconsin Film Festival. David Weber Macasaet and Shahin Izadi’s mini-doc “The Round Barns of Vernon County” uses the dryness implicit in the study of the state’s circular barn architecture as a jumping-off point for the Cheyenne Valley’s checkered past with cultural homogenization and race relations. “Maz-zo-man-nee” ruminates on a haunting canoe trip courtesy of Milwaukee’s Juniper Tar rockumentarian Jon Salimes. The crown jewel of Pinney’s FREE preview however is “Before You,” a dreamy navigation of The 414s director Michael Vollmann’s Malickian memory palace and the birth of his child via iPhone 4S.
Each respective director is slated to make an appearance to discuss their film (with festival coordinator Ben Reiser in tow to answer any 2015-pertinent questions). Given that Vollmann’s mini-doc about Milwaukee hackers was picked up by CNN at Sundance, it should make for a fine opportunity to ask what Wolf Blitzer’s like in person.
- The “Pinney Mini” Film Festival is FREE and open to the first 50 attendees with refreshments provided by Willy Street Co-op. Doors open at 5:30p. Show starts at 6:00p.