Blog

Wildwood Film Festival’s annual showing will feature a range of films in almost every genre, from comedy to documentary to action and even music videos. Founded in 2001, the film festival’s mission is to promote and showcase Wisconsin film talent. “We try to show people that just because you’re in Wisconsin, it doesn’t mean you can’t produce things at a professional level,” says festival co-founder Jason Buss. “When we started, it was the people around us that inspired us.” This inspiration from local talent laid the groundwork for the festival’s emphasis on Wisconsin talent. According to Buss, short films will “always have a place” at the festival due to the amazing quality and subject matter. For the majority of the festival’s history, it has only shown short films. However, they’ve expanded to include longer feature films as well. This year, the two feature-length films, both produced by Wisconsin filmmakers, will include a documentary about Betty White and a feature film shot entirely in the Fox Cities area. Boasting the tagline “Celebrating Wisconsin Film Talent,” the festival’s criteria for showing films is that one of the film’s top creative personnel (actor, director, writer, etc.) is or has been a Wisconsin native. “Our tongue-in-cheek version is, “If you’ve ever lived in Wisconsin and are proud enough to admit it, and made a movie, send it to us,” Buss says. “We feel Wisconsin is pretty special and we’d like to highlight that.” The Festival will take place March 22 and 23 in the Kimberly-Clark Theater at the Fox Cities PAC. Tickets and film information can be found on their website at wildwoodfilmfestival.com. -KY