"The Wheel" and other shorts in...The Milwaukee Show!

Wheel from John Roberts on Vimeo.

I checked out The Milwaukee Show last night at The Oriental downtown, part of the shorts program for the Milwaukee Film Festival. Alone in the balcony, with my large Coke and popcorn, listening to the organ dude playing near the stage, in the main theater of the 84-year-old Oriental Theatre...truly enjoyable experience.

Now - the films. I'm not gonna rain on anyone's parade here. Creativity is creativity and the amount of work it takes to make a film is mindboggling. That being said, some films I enjoyed better than others. Some I thought, "hmmmm....really?"

My favorites of the bunch:

The Wheel - by John Roberts, steampunk meets Tim Burton, my favorite of the evening. Roberts has a future in filmmaking. Here's a short article on the making of the film.

Missed Connections by Susan Kerns & Kara Mulrooney, Internet dating set to music at The Gobbler (if you're from WI, you get what I mean, sort of)

Documenting Westphal by Kurt Raether, funniest one of the bunch, a 73-year-old man intent on running for the governorship of Wisconsin is documented on film. One thing that puzzled me was the filmmaker seemed to be apologizing for the film (during the Q&A following), like he didn't know what he was in for and regreted getting involved with the guy. That's dumb - you got a great movie out of it. Stupid.

Don't Go by Michael Hawkins-Burgos, comedy about a houseguest who comes - and goes.

Everday by Blyth Renate Meier, doc short on the everyday ritual a cancer patient goes through, poignant, moving, tugs at your heart

You can read about all the shorts in The Milwaukee Show here. Unfortunately for you, Thursday's screening was the only screening.