Shorts, 91 min, Not rated
Documentary shorts of life around the Great Lakes region.
Directors: Scott Krahn, Robb Fischer
Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 14 min, Color
It’s another Friday night at Burnham Bowl. Strikes, spares, gutter balls. With no shortage of trash-talking and victory-dancing.
But the group that’s making all the noise isn’t just another bowling league. The Milwaukee Beer Barrels Blind Bowling League is an eclectic mix of visually-impaired and sighted bowlers with a simple focus: making friends, having fun, taking life one frame at a time.
Friday Night Blind is the warm, quirky, inspiring story of three visually-impaired bowling friends and the way they roll.
Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot in Wisconsin. All crew and cast are from Wisconsin.
Director: Maya Wanner
Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 10 min, Color, Student Project - Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (Documentary MFA Program)
A small noodle factory on the South Side of Chicago comes alive with one man’s memories, family history, and pride as he meditates on the tension between cultural preservation and assimilation.
Great Lakes Connection: This film was produced in the Chicago area, features a subject who lives in Chicago, and is directed by someone who grew up on the shores of Lake Erie in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.
Director: Corey Adkins
Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 13 min, Color
Who would have thought a ship could sink twice? That’s exactly what happened to the wooden steamer A.A. Parker.
However, on September 19th, 1903, Lake Superior finally claimed the vessel. Miraculously no one lost his life. You’ll learn how the crew of the Parker was saved in a brave rescue mission.
Then, when almost 100 years later, the steamer was discovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, they were surprised by the way it sits on the bottom of Lake Superior.
The film also pays an emotional tribute to a diver who loved exploring the bottom of our Great Lakes.
Great Lakes Connection: The filmmaker works at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Director: Corey Adkins
Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 12 min, Color
On November 27th, 1872, the schooner barges Jupiter and Saturn broke their tow lines and went aground west of Whitefish Point. Fifteen people died that day, fifteen souls who were never seen again.
This special mini-documentary looks back on that tragic day. Also, you’ll meet a family who finally found out what happened to their ancestor on the day he died over 150 years ago in the Great Storm of 1872.
Great Lakes Connection: The filmmaker works at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
Directors: Elizabeth Cherry, Sawyer Thiebaut-Near, Mariah Vongphachanh
Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 29 min, Color, Student Project - Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan
Explore the riches of the rocks of the Great Lakes State with Mark Jager in the third installment of Mystic Michigan. Jager, the author of the Mystic Michigan book series, returns to host this docuseries which explores the many beautiful geological formations across the state of Michigan. Jager unravels the rich beauty, history, and spirituality surrounding the glorious geology of the Mitten State.
Great Lakes Connection: The film features stories about geologic formations across Michigan.
Director: Kristin Lee Ojaniemi
Documentary Short, United States, 2022, 13 min, Color
Like the landscape in much of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Ewen-Trout Creek School District is a quintessential rural setting, dotted with the weathered structures of once-bustling family farms. One of these buildings is anything but typical; it’s where a decades-long dynasty of championship-caliber high school basketball teams began.
This western U.P. high school, with fewer than two dozen students per grade, has built a basketball tradition that has captured the eyes of sportswriters and the dreams of young ballplayers for generations. And it all began in a unique gymnasium known as The Barn.
Great Lakes Connection: The documentary takes place in a small community in the western Upper Peninsula.
Sunday, Sep 17, 1pm
Soo Theatre
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