2024 Wolf Tree Official Selections

Events

Wolf Tree Film Festival is proud to announce our Official Selections for 2024! 🎉

*_{CW: Some films included in this festival contain mature content that may be inappropriate for young viewers and may be triggering for others. Viewer discretion is advised.}

Boogie Bob & Chuck Berry

_{Directed by Geri Alumit Zeldes}

This documentary dives into the remarkable career of Bob Baldori, known as “Boogie Bob” by his peers. Both a musician and attorney, Baldori was a member of the band “The Woolies” and toured with Chuck Berry, the Father of Rock n Roll.

Madina

_{Directed by Kevin Coval}

Madina is an unconventional love story of connection and self actualization, as Madina takes a leap into who she always hoped to be, a writer of culture.

Not Him

_{Directed by Sarah Young}

When her husband turns strange and violent, a wife becomes convinced he is possessed. But will anyone believe her?

Peabrain

_{Directed by Steve Blackwood}

A former soap opera actor contends with his father, an assisted living resident with alcoholic dementia, and reflects on his earlier relationship with him.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

_{Directed by Vanessa M. H. Powers}

Mrs. Clemens is determined to be the perfect wife and mother, keeping her son happy and house sparkling while her husband is away at war. When Tommy has had a bad day, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is just what the doctor ordered!

Sydney G. James: How We See Us

_{Directed by Juanita Anderson}

Visual artist/muralist, Sydney G. James, addresses the status of Black women in society, police brutality, family and community through bold brushstrokes and hues that evoke the complexities of Black reality, joy, pain, and resilience. Inspired by personal experiences, current events and her hometown of Detroit, she invites conversations with family members and fellow artists as she creates a new work on canvas and transforms vacant walls into creative spaces.

The Devil Wants a Promotion

_{Directed by Jordan M. Ketter}

The devil is sick of his life in hell so he comes to the surface to try and be an angel once more.

Tin Can

_{Directed by Pat Battistini}

J.C. came to America as an illegal immigrant when he was just a child. Now, as an adult, he’s still an illegal alien but has managed to persevere and prosper working as a rodeo clown. However, after a series of unfortunate events, J.C. finds himself down on his luck and in search for a new happiness.

What If

_{Directed by Julian Fellah}

Kids share their thoughts on a better society in this heartwarming and sincere film that turns comedic.

Wolf Tree Focus: Eric Ebner

Uncategorized

Perpetual Plastic

🏆 Wolf Tree Best Documentary Award Winner (Perpetual Plastic, 2022) and Marshall local, Eric Ebner, has gone on to win awards at various film festivals including the first prize at the National Geographic Ocean Plastic Innovation Challenge. He’s also directed other amazing films such as The Bull, Nuestros Muertos, Opening The Earth: The Potato King and more.

Check out his website here:

WEBSITE

And check out his past YPC Spotlight:

YPC SPOTLIGHT

The Bull

Nuestros Muertos

Opening The Earth: The Potato King

Happy Hours @ The Franke: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Events

Every last Thursday of the month, join us at 5:30 for an evening of fun! Free admission and no cover. Bust out your favorite ugly Christmas sweater and help us kick off the holiday season with this screening of the classic 80’s comedy movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Chat with your friends, quote along with the movie, and enjoy some delicious food from Pastrami Joe’s in our intimate Downstage Club. There will be prizes, trivia, holiday beverages, and more! Bring your friends and let’s get our Christmas on!

Learn more at: https://thefranke.org/events/national-lampoons-christmas-vacation/

Date & Time: Thursday, November 30, 2023 at 5:30PM – 8:00PM EDT

Location: The Franke Center for the Arts (214 E Mansion St, Marshall, MI 49068-1151)

Happy Hours @ The Franke: 80’s & 90’s Karaoke

Events

Every last Thursday of the month, join us at 5:30 for an evening of fun! To kick off this event series, join us for 80’s and 90’s karaoke. St. Samuels food truck will be onsite serving delicious meals and appetizers. The bar will be pouring your favorite cocktails, and you’ll have a chance to unwind with your friends in The Franke Center’s Downstage Club! So dust off your favorite power ballads come on down. No tickets or cover charge required!

Learn more at: https://thefranke.org/events/80s-and-90s-karaoke

Date & Time: Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 5:30PM – 8:00PM EDT

Location: The Franke Center for the Arts (214 E Mansion St, Marshall, MI 49068-1151)

Wolf Tree Film Festival 2024

Events

Independent filmmakers – submissions are now open for #WolfTreeFilmFestival2024!

Key Dates

Deadline for Submissions: NOVEMBER 12, 2023
Filmmaker Notification Date: DECEMBER 11, 2023
Wolf Tree Film Festival: JANUARY 20, 2024

The Franke Center for the Arts is gearing up again for the popular community event, The Wolf Tree Film Festival (The Youngish Professionals Committee). The submission site, FilmFreeway.com, is now open for entries.

Everyone is welcome to attend, including cinema fans as well as industry professionals. The Wolf Tree Film Festival is in its 6th year and is set for January 20, 2024 at 7:30pm ET. The festival will once again showcase short films (under 30 minutes) set in the Great Lakes region or that include themes or topics related to the region, as well as the work of filmmakers who reside in or grew up in the Great Lakes region.

This year’s event will again include screenings of each selected film, a meet and greet with the filmmakers and an awards presentation. Selected films will include a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, documentary and others.

Submissions can be submitted at the button below. Deadline for the submissions is November 12th.

SUBMIT HERE

Wolf Tree Film Festival 2024

The Franke Center for the Arts is gearing up again for the popular community event, The Wolf Tree Film Festival (The Youngish Professionals Committee). The submission site, FilmFreeway.com, is now open for entries.

Everyone is welcome to attend, including cinema fans as well as industry professionals. According to the Franke Center’s Event Manager Cathy Bovitz, “It’s exciting to see these events continue to grow in the number of submissions and the level of talent each year. We’re thrilled to be able to showcase a variety of short films in Marshall for our community to enjoy, and The Franke Center is becoming a favored venue for filmmakers. We hope to continue to spread the word and encourage even broader participation.”

The Wolf Tree Film Festival is in its 6th year and is set for January 20, 2024 at 7:30pm ET. The festival will once again showcase short films (under 30 minutes) set in the Great Lakes region or that include themes or topics related to the region, as well as the work of filmmakers who reside in or grew up in the Great Lakes region.

Submissions can be submitted at https://filmfreeway.com/WolfTreeFilmFestival.

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting Wolf Tree 2024: Underhill Agency – Farmers Insurance, Green Scene, Party Time, Copper Athletic Club, and terraNOVA Collective.

FATF 2023: Norman Light And Friends

Events, Spotlights

Guess who’s returning to #FridaysAtTheFountain? Marshall local and fan-favorite: Norman Light!

Performing at previous FATF’s with Chameleon and Rae of Light, we’re excited to have him close out this year’s event by bringing back Norman Light & Friends. The only thing guaranteed is that there’ll be a night of good music, with fantastic musicians. Playing songs that everyone knows from a wide range of genres, every show brings a different line-up that makes each experience unique and memorable. Don’t forget to join us for our last show at the fountain – August 18th at 7pm EST!

Please give a warm welcome to FATF alum, Norman Light & Friends, and we’ll see you August 18th at 7pm EST!

THE YPC: What kind of music/instruments do you enjoy playing the most?
NL: Favorite instrument – guitar of course 🙂 And music? I love playing songs from all eras and all genres. I like playing a mix so that the youngest kid will find a song they like, all the way up to the grandparents enjoying the music together.

THE YPC: What is your funniest memory about playing a show or being on tour?
NL: Too many to remember, but so many funny times driving back and forth to Florida with my band Rae of Light.

THE YPC: What are you most excited about for FATF?
NL: Praying that we actually play at the actual fountain. We’ve been scheduled twice before: once it got canceled, and the other we relocated to Dark Horse. Still a great show/venue, but not the fountain!

THE YPC: What is your biggest achievement thus far?
NL: Writing our own songs that we’re proud of.

THE YPC: If you could make an instrument out of a piece of food, what would it be?
NL: A pineapple-tar.

MORE INFO

FATF 2023: The RockShow

Events, Spotlights

The RockShow: The Ultimate Tribute to Journey must be seen and heard to be believed. This fun 80s rock tribute band will take you back to the days when Journey topped the charts playing all your favorite hits. When the band takes the stage, you will see and hear why fans all over the nation are raving about their Journey experience as Tommy K’s remarkable ‘Perryesque’ vocal performance will leave you amazed that it is not Steve Perry himself. Levi Goodwin (bass/vocals) and Chris Bartnikowski (drums/vocals) round out the Journey Tribute. The RockShow also performs covers from a variety of different 80s rock bands. Come rock out with us and The RockShow – August 4th at 7pm EST!

Get ready to rock out 🤘with The RockShow at FATF on August 4th! But first, let’s go on a little Journey with them in this interesting interview:

THE YPC: What kind of music/instruments do you enjoy playing the most?
TRS: Performing the music of Journey.

THE YPC: What is your favorite thing or special memory about Michigan?
TRS: Opening up for many National Artists such as Great White, Eddie Money, April Wine, Whitesnake, Tesla, Blue Oyster Cult, Firehouse, Ratt, The Guess Who, and many more!

THE YPC: What are you most excited about for FATF?
TRS: It will be our first time in Marshall in about 5 years.

THE YPC: What is your biggest achievement thus far?
TRS: Fremont Street, Las Vegas. (3 times) and opening up for many National Artists.

THE YPC: If you could compose a movie soundtrack, what sort of film would it be?
TRS: I (Tommy K) actually wrote the music for a documentary on the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes by Ric Mixter called “DEEP SIX” Titanics of the Great Lakes. It aired on PBS and is available online to purchase.

MORE INFO

FATF 2023: Grace Theisen

Events, Spotlights

Grace Theisen is an Americana/Blues artist originally from Kalamazoo. Grace won Cari Cole’s Best New Artist of 2021, was named “Artist To Watch” by Local Spins in 2022, and was one of the “Top 10 Bands Heating Up The Summer” by Revue. From her 3rd EP, Dance With The Shadows, the Down To The River official music video won Best Americana Video & The Audience Choice Award at the 2022 Michigan Music Video Awards. Her newest single, “Wild Wild Woman”, is out now across all streaming platforms. Be sure to join us July 21st at 7pm EST for the highly anticipated performance of rising Americana/Blues artist, Grace Theisen!

Please give a warm welcome to rising artist (and Michigan native) Grace Theisen, in our pre-FATF interview, and see her live – July 21st at the Brooks Memorial Fountain!

THE YPC: What kind of music/instruments do you enjoy playing the most?
GT: Well obviously acoustic guitar because that is what I play but I am learning bass right now which has been a blast to learn! I LOVE swampy/blues slide guitar and that is my next venture to learn.

THE YPC: What is your funniest memory about playing a show or being on tour?
GT: In March I toured with my girlband, The Rebel Eves, and for the longest time people thought our name was actually “Therapy Elves” because our website (www.therebeleves.com) does look like that when the letters are so close together. We thought it was so hilarious and so accurate as to what our band is all about so we designed a summer festival t-shirt around it that will come out in July when we go on tour!

THE YPC: What are you most excited about for FATF?
GT: To expose Marshall to my incredible trio featuring the percussion queen herself, Carolyn Koebel and my main guitar Maestro, Adam Main!

THE YPC: What is your biggest achievement thus far?
GT: While it hasn’t happened yet. We get to play Frederick Meijer Gardens on June 6th which feels like a super huge honor. But also at the end of the day the fact that I get to call “playing music” my full-time job feels like a really huge deal considering Covid almost knocked out our entire industry. I am very new to pursuing this as I ran a nonprofit for almost all of my twenties so it’s only been the last 3 years that I have seriously pursued music as a career.

THE YPC: If you could make an instrument out of a piece of food, what would it be?
GT: Oh hands down I would make a guitar out of Werthers! They are my favorite candy… I literally eat them every night because, yes, I am 80 years-old in my soul.

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FATF 2023: Zion Lion

Events, Spotlights

Zion Lion is the “baddest band to hit the Kalamazoo music scene”. FATF fans may remember them from last year’s series. Our crowd was up dancing and having a great time! The members are a combination of several bands from the Kalamazoo area that crossed each other’s path along the way and decided to form what we believe to be the right mix of reggae, African zouk, mucosa, zoukous, and some Afro-Latin influences. Mark your calendars for July 7th at 7pm EST as Zion Lion returns to FATF with good vibes and good times!

Who are the members of the “baddest band to hit the Kalamazoo music scene”? Find out in our interview with Myra Atkinson (lead vocalist & steel pan for Zion Lion), and catch their exciting performance at FATF July 7th!

THE YPC: What kind of music/instruments do you enjoy playing the most?
ZL: We love playing reggae and socca. For me it’s the steel pan.

THE YPC: What is your funniest memory about playing a show or being on tour?
ZL: We were headed to a festival in Kentucky and one of our former members from Africa asked if we could stop and get Kentucky Fried Chicken.

THE YPC: What are you most excited about for FATF?
ZL: Love the ambience of the fountain in the background while performing!

THE YPC: What is your biggest achievement thus far?
ZL: Opening up for international reggae acts that we only dreamt of.

THE YPC: If you could make an instrument out of a piece of food, what would it be?
ZL: A carrot into a flute.

MORE INFO