A moving portrait of traditional Finnish American culture in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, highlighting that fragile community of memory connecting ourselves with parents and grandparents. It uses the “biographical model” of folklore filmmaking to tell the story of Erikki Vourenmaa, a 92-year-old Finnish immigrant, and his family living near Ironwood, Michigan. This three-generation farm family works, celebrates, reflects, and grieves together. The film explores the meaning of family, ethnic history, aging and intergenerational bonds. It contrasts between the immigrant elder, his American-born son and the partially assimilated grandchildren to illustrate change and continuity in the "sauna belt" of the Lake Superior Region. As Dr. Sharon Sherman concluded, “Loukinen’s focus on the bonds between generations will strike emotional chords about family relationships and ethnic identity for numerous cultural groups.”
Two New York poets talk about art, poetry, and smoke in this French New Wave inspired short.
A tribute to the Alamo Drafthouse located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that was forced to close after three years when its lease was abruptly and unexpectedly terminated by its landlord. Employees and customers reflect on the impact the theater had made on its community in such a short amount of time.
The annual ice carving event and competition features over 100 statues carved from a blocks of ice. Visitors can watch artisans create their works from start to finish with tools of the trade including chainsaws.
The Michigan Beer Film explores the artistic and economic explosion of the Michigan craft beer industry in 2013. Shot over the course of 18 months, the film documents several breweries at different stages of the craft brewing journey, from a 1 barrel system to 800 fermenters. From Sawyer to Marquette, Leelanau to Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo to Detroit; craft beer is making an impact. The Michigan craft beer scene embodies an authenticity and determination that not only can Michigan connect with, but America as well.
Lake Effect is a two-year Michigan ski film highlighting the joys of backyard adventure and the shifting perspective of Mike King, a professional skier who for a decade has only sought adventure from the peaks of mountain tops in the far reaches of the West. In 2020 when Covid encouraged lockdowns & travel restrictions, Mike's life on the road came to a screeching halt. This abrupt change inspired Mike to take the hurdle as an opportunity to rediscover the unique, untapped terrain, ski culture, and the people thriving right here in his home state of Michigan. Throughout filming Lake Effect Mike realized you don't need to travel far to have an epic adventure. Rather some creativity, curiosity, and the willingness to walk out the door to the abundance that starts right in our backyards.
Locally Buzzed is a story of eight microbrew enthusiasts who took eight days out of their lives to drive around Michigan and interview brewers and people in love with Michigan beer, and Michigan. The crew collected over 40 interviews with beer fans from the tip of the U.P. to the streets of Detroit. This films goal is to shine a positive light on a state that has a dark cloud of negativity looming above it. Our goal is to show people this state has something very special to offer people. From the great beer to the great lakes and the great people Michigan is a very special state. Find out why Michigan is the great beer state along with being one of the top states in the nation.
A man hikes 550 miles across the North Country Trail in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from July through February, experiencing it in all of its seasons.
Two people go on a blind date
A few days before Christmas, a child goes to bed with dreams of sugar plums and Santa Claus in her head. But when she awakens, it isn't to the sound of the jolly one coming down the chimney.
A short film poem about transitioning to the next chapter of your life
This Traveltalk series short begins with a look at Michigan's major educational institutions, which started as agricultural schools. We then visit the fish hatcheries at Grayling, which are used to keep the state's numerous lakes and rivers well stocked. After a short look at Detroit, the car capital of the world, we spend several minutes at Greenfield Village, founded in 1929 by automobile magnate Henry Ford. Included in the tour are churches, a clock tower, and the homes of several famous persons in American history. Although some of the structures are reproductions, many of them are the actual buildings they lived in.
An in-depth look at one of college sports' fiercest rivalries, Michigan-Michigan State, and how this in-state battle has only grown to new heights over the past decade in both football and basketball.
A band of teenagers with clashing music tastes get more than they bargained for when the initiation of their newest member takes a demonic turn.
Two sisters, one white and one black, spend a week together at their famous father's summer home. A microscopic examination of the new American family unit, it's a deeply personal film about the human connections that bond us all together.
Mackinac Island, Michigan, is a tiny island in the center of the Great Lakes. Besides being a world favorite "Horse Drawn" and "Victorian Era" summer destination, the island holds another treasure few have ever seen: its wild, magical and beautiful winters. The 72-minute film Ice Bridge follows islanders' unique and quirky lifestyle throughout an entire year while tracing the formation of the spectacular phenomenon known as the "ice bridge" (a three-mile span of ice that allows islanders to cross to the mainland).
A small band of survivors accidentally finds a clever way to escape an incoming zombie horde.
“A Two Hearted Tale” is a heartfelt look at the history of the iconic trout label adorning Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, the Michigan-born beer that is the most popular IPA beer in America, and the label’s eccentric artist, Ladislav Hanka.
Follows a predominately Arab-American high school football team from Dearborn, Michigan during the last ten days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and unearths the story of a community desperately holding onto its Islamic faith while struggling to gain acceptance in post 9-11 America.
In 1963 at Michigan State University, Head Coach Duffy Daugherty chose 23 black men to play on the college team. From this move came legends Gene Washington, Bubba Smith, George Webster and Clinton Jones. Director Maya Washington, Gene Washington’s daughter, charts the legacy of her father’s career and influence, along with the impact the events of 1963 have shown in the present day.