Milwaukee Film

Started in 2009 as a film festival that occurred for 11 days each fall, Milwaukee Film now operates 365 days a year as one of the nation’s leading nonprofit arts organizations dedicated to entertaining, educating, and engaging our community through cinematic experiences.

Our goal is to make our community a more compassionate and equitable place for everyone to live. Milwaukee Film does this by enriching, entertaining, educating, and engaging others through film.

We aspire to realize our mission through six programmatic areas of focus: the world-class Milwaukee Film Festival; year-round operation of the Oriental Theatre, a historic cinema palace; Cultures and Communities, a year-round program focused on celebrating and engaging traditionally marginalized communities; Youth Education; Artist Services; and Adult Enrichment & Engagement. We are raising the bar on what can be expected of a film culture organization and the breadth and depth of our work is unparalleled.

We believe films and film-going are powerful vehicles for social change and personal introspection. The heartbeat of our work is our understanding of how to leverage the uniquely universal and accessible artistic medium of film as a community convener and a catalyst that drives people to think, discuss, and interact as they experience issues and perspectives that are different than their own. We are committed to artistic excellence through seeking out high-quality, culturally relevant films that offer opportunity for discovery, learning, reflection, and entertainment. We are a leading cultural institution in Milwaukee that is driven by and remains true to our community.