Midwest Film Festivel – Day 1: Shift the Story July 23, 2026

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A day dedicated to the power of storytelling to move culture, shift perceptives, and spark real change through impactful films, conversations, and community engagement.

Tickets:
General Admission: $85.43

Student/Senior: $25.42

DAY 1 – SHIFT THE STORY

BLOCK 1: Matters of the Heart

Time: 11:00 am

Love shapes us in ways both visible and unseen. This collection explores the many dimensions of love—its tenderness and complexity, its joys and burdens, and the enduring ways it connects us to one another.

Films Included:

Skate or Die — Directed by Alexander Aquilera

*Normal — Directed by Shannon Guyton

*ABEL — Directed by Brian Zahm

*Bye the Lake — Directed by Harsh Gagoomal

Little Big Sister — Directed by Alaa Al-Shameri

*Your Tomorrow Will Be My Song — Directed by Fernando Saldivia Yáñez

*BMA Nominee

BLOCK 2: What We Carry

Time: 2:00 pm

Films Included:

*Tame — Directed by Will Schneider

Lluvia — Directed by Nathan Suggs

*Glory/Us — Directed by Jet Harris

Puzzles — Directed by Brett Eitzen

Roadside Delivery — Directed by Columbus E. Nkwocha

Ridgeview — Directed by Jon Gollner

*Feed the Horses — Directed by Patricia Frontain

*CAKE — Directed by Erick Juarez

*BMA Nominee

DAY 1-FEATURE-1

TIME: 5:00pm

Kemba (Directed by NAACP Image Award Nominee Kelley Kali) Run time 1hr 58, 30 Min talk back

Kemba is a story of friendship forged in confinement, justice pursued across decades, and the power of a promise kept. A true-story following Kemba Smith Pradia, a college student whose life is upended after a relationship leads to a federal conviction and a sentence of more than two decades under mandatory sentencing laws. After years in prison, Kemba is granted clemency by President Bill Clinton. While incarcerated, she meets Michelle West, a Detroit, Michigan native serving a life sentence. Kemba makes a promise to fight for Michelle’s freedom. Years of relentless advocacy followed, helping bring national attention to Michelle’s case and ultimately contributing to her grant of clemency under the final act of the Biden administration in 2025. An NAACP Image Award nominee, the film stands as a testament to loyalty, resilience, and the long arc of freedom. Join us as we welcome our Midwest girl Michelle, HOME!

BLOCK 3

TIME: 4pm

Watermelon Pictures Presents: Feature Film: Traces of Home Directed by: Colette Ghunim

In Traces of Home, in Co-Production with Kartemquin Films and funded by Latino Public Broadcasting and the Sundance Film Institute, filmmaker Colette Ghunim embarks on journeys with her parents to find the ancestral houses they were forced to flee as children in Mexico and Palestine. What begins as a desire to connect to Colette’s cultural origins reveals an internal quest to heal her disconnect with her parents — and, ultimately, with herself.

BLOCK 4

TIME: 7:30pm

KTQ Shorts Retrospective: 60 Years of Kartemquin Films

Presented as part of Kartemquin Films’ 60th Anniversary, this special retrospective honors six decades of documentary storytelling rooted in social inquiry, civic engagement, and Chicago’s evolving cultural landscape.

The program brings together Trick Bag, ’63 Boycott, and a DVID micro-documentary to trace interconnected threads of race, education, and community across generations of KTQ filmmaking. Spanning archival work and contemporary reflection, these films embody Kartemquin’s enduring commitment to documenting lived experience and engaging audiences in urgent social dialogue while meeting the larger spirit of Midwest Royale: honoring legacy while actively expanding the future of Midwest storytelling.

Following the screenings, a moderated conversation with filmmakers and collaborators will further explore the historical resonance of these works and their continued relevance today.