The Kids Are Alright: Young filmmakers at screenings this week
Young filmmakers are showing their work at Mills Folly Microcinema, West High School (tonight), and the Communication Arts Showcase (Saturday, May 2).
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, April 29–May 4, 2026
Monday posts feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.
As you can probably sense from the delay for this week’s post, I’ve been a little short on time this week. So the Now Playing list below is bare bones, with some trailers for new films but not my usual snarky comments. But I do want to point out some events tonight and Saturday which will feature work by young filmmakers.
First up, tonight’s Project Projection screening at Mills Folly Microcinema, 7:00pm at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100. I talked about this showcase for local film and video last week, and tonight’s edition will feature several familiar filmmakers if you’ve attended past Project Projection screenings. But I want to point out two young filmmakers who will screen their work tonight as an introduction to this post’s theme: young filmmakers showing their work this week.
Sherif Newegy (“Shico”) is a Madison West High School student who is already a veteran of Project Projection screenings. He has also presented a program of his recent experimental films at Side Room Cinematheque at Aftershock Games. Sherif continues to expand his visual vocabulary with his more recent work, and I particularly admire his interest (and ability) to explore the texture of his images with limited technical means. Tonight, Sherif will screen a new experimental short, Aversion, which he describes as a “wrestling match between body and mind.”
More on the narrative end of the spectrum, Keason Griffin will present a 10-minute excerpt from a feature film project which draws inspiration from popular genre filmmaking (and a popular horror franchise), Five Nights at Freddy’s 3: The Mangle Project. “When I was 11, I started making movies and as the years went on, I have improved and had more fun with my projects,” Keason explains in his program note, “I am excited to show this.”
Filmmaker Gretta Wing Miller (whose work will also be featured tonight) explained to me, “I worked with [Keason] a few years ago in an after school video program at Goodman Center and he understood the concepts instantly. He was the prime mover in several productions! Keasion was the winner of $1K ‘scholarship’ from my neighbor Karen Faster’s film fest at Barrymore two years ago.”
Unfortunately, our screening tonight is at the same time as another screening of work by young filmmakers, which I only found out about at the last minute. At Channel3000.com, Corey Moen provides an overview of an inaugural festival of short documentaries about local history produced by students at Madison West High School.
“Students in four sections of U.S. History Honors at the Madison Metropolitan School District’s West High School will premiere 12 local history documentaries for “Our City, Our Voices,” as part of the school’s first-ever Youth Media project collaboration with PBS Wisconsin,” Moen explains. The screening will begin at 6:30pm tonight at West High School. I hope to follow up on this story and see if there might be a way to set up another opportunity to see the films.
Finally, another set of filmmakers will present their work at the Communication Arts Showcase on Saturday, May 2, 7:00pm, at the Union South Marquee Theater. I’m hoping to attend this screening, but if you want to attend too I would advise getting there early. Student filmmakers have a lot of friends who want to see the film, too!
The program will feature a range of projects from Communication Arts courses at UW-Madison. But the Showcase concludes with two new 30-minute films produced in the capstone film production class, Com Arts 659, taught by Erik Gunneson. Each year the class is split into two groups, who form production companies to produce the films. This year’s films are Fragile, produced by Redacted Pictures, and What it Takes produced by Fluorine Films.
If you want to get a behind the scenes look at these films, take a look at the Instagram accounts for Redacted Pictures (@redacted.pictures) and Fluorine Films (@fluorinefilms), and check out the links in each of their Instagram bios for opportunities to donate funds for their production budgets.
Be sure to support local filmmaking, even just by attending screenings of local work!
Now Playing In Madison: April 29–May 4, 2026
Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays. Another Now Playing source that posts on Wednesdays is The Horizon Line Madison.
Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).
Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory
PROJECT PROJECTION: LOCAL FILM AND VIDEO, Wednesday, April 29, 7:00pm, 111 S. Livingston Street, Suite 100.
See notes above.
UW Cinematheque
The following films and events are scheduled to play at UW Cinematheque between Thursday, April 30, and Sunday, May 3, 2026, listed in chronological order:
THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, 4070 Vilas Hall, Friday, May 1, 7 p.m.
Terry Gilliam, USA, 1989, 126 min.
COMMUNICATION ARTS SHOWCASE - MAY 2026, Union South Marquee Theater, Saturday, May 2, 7 p.m.
Note location, Union South Marquee Theater. Co-presented by Wisconsin Union Directorate Film Committee. See notes above.
Commercial Theaters:
AMC Theatres
Flix Brewhouse
Marcus Theatres (Palace and Point)
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: MAY 3 at AMC.
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: MAY 4 at AMC.
ANIMAL FARM at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
Hmm, Orwell adaptation distributed by faith-based distributor Angel. Interesting mix. Directed by everyone’s favorite motion-capture actor, Andy Serkis.
BILLIE EILISH - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT: THE TOUR EARLY ACCESS at Palace.
BUSBOYS at Palace.
CABIN FEVER at AMC.
CASA GRANDE at AMC.
DEEP WATER at AMC, Palace, Point.
DESERT WARRIOR at AMC, Point.
DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, THE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
DRAMA, THE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
EK DIN at AMC.
ERUPCJA at AMC.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE at AMC.
FIGHT CLUB 4K REMASTER at AMC.
FUZE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
HOKUM at AMC, Palace, Point.
HOPPERS at AMC, Palace, Point.
I SWEAR at AMC, Point.
LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
LORNE at AMC.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Palace.
METROPOLITAN OPERA: EUGENE ONEGIN, THE at Palace, Point.
MICHAEL at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
MOTHER MARY at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
NORMAL at AMC, Palace, Point.
ONE SPOON OF CHOCOLATE, RZA’S at AMC.
I’ve seen this (it was the Mystery Movie this past Monday), and I have some thoughts. But for now, go ahead and read Rob Thomas’s review.
OVER YOUR DEAD BODY at AMC, Palace, Point.
PAST LIVES at AMC.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE: JOHN & YOKO LIVE IN NYC at Point.
PROJECT HAIL MARY at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
SECRET FLIX at Flix.
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 35TH ANNIVERSARY, THE at Palace, Point, Flix.
SPEED RACER at AMC.
STORY OF EVERYTHING, THE at Palace, Point.
SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE, THE at AMC, Palace, Point, Flix.
THAT TIME I GOT REINCARNATED AS A SLIME THE MOVIE: TEARS OF THE AZURE SEA at AMC, Palace, Point.
THREE AMIGOS! at Flix.
WHISPER OF THE HEART 4K at AMC.
WINTER HYMNS at Flix.
Return engagement for this Wisconsin’s Own film that played at the Wisconsin Film Festival.
YOU, ME & TUSCANY at AMC, Palace.
Have you used the Now Showing in Madison listings at least once to find something interesting to see? Have you discovered a film that you didn’t realize was playing in town? Please consider supporting these efforts directly by clicking the “Buy Me a Popcorn” button and making a modest donation on those occasions when you find this resource valuable to your moviegoing in Madison.
Looking Ahead:
Local filmmaker Michael Doyle Olson has started what he hopes to be a comprehensive, collaborative public calendar of alternative film screenings in Madison. It is still a work in progress, but check it out at www.mdo.me/film.
Side Room Cinematheque
Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for screening details, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.
Cinesthesia at Madison Public Library Central Branch
MENACE II SOCIETY (Allen & Albert Hughes, 1993), Wednesday May 20, 6:30pm.