This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Patty Williamson: This year we have a relationship with the Ziibiwing Center and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. We have two films, both documentaries, that are going to screen for free at the Ziibiwing Center and both of them really deal with issues of Native American and indigenous culture and history and both really deal with residential schools and the history there. One is an independently produced documentary and another is one that was backed with a studio. And both of those are playing on the Wednesday and Thursday nights of the festival. For free at 5:30 at Ziibiwing to allow people to actually learn more about that history. But also on a similar topic, we have a free screening at Veterans Memorial Library on the Saturday of the festival. So that's April 12th and that free screening is a film called Missing from Fire Trail Road which deals with the case of a missing indigenous woman in Washington state, probably five years ago and it really not just gets into her case as a missing person, but the larger issue of missing and murdered indigenous women across the country and what a crisis that is.
David Nicholas: And then we see the (the) growing trend of either independent smaller production out of the mainstream studio industry that are now becoming these major award winners are even some of those films, the (the) award winners still harder to access in a market like mid-Michigan so that even if the thing picked up three or four Oscars couple of weeks ago, this is now a place where you're trying to bring people out to see it, because maybe it didn't get a run through areas like this and (and) surrounding areas, maybe up in, (in) central and Northern Michigan in general.
PW: I think that's true. Some of the films that we have, that is the case. So, one of the films, for example, would be, “I'm Still Here.” It was a film that won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, but certainly it didn't have a run here or in most of Central Michigan, really in most of Michigan. It's one of those films that a lot of people didn't get a chance to see before the Oscar ceremony took place, but (it) it's a great film. It's a political drama. It's based on a true story. And I think people will really enjoy it. It's going to be playing at Celebration I think four different times, five different times. I think it's playing every day of the festival. In fact at a different time, so you'll have plenty of chances to be able to catch it.
DN: And the festival, the 22nd annual Central Michigan International Film Festival, runs April 9th through the 13th at the venues that our guest Dr. Patty Williamson, has as just mentioned, Celebration Cinema, Mid-Michigan College, Opperman Auditorium, The Platform, Veterans Memorial Library, Ziibiwing Center. All of the information on the where, the when, details, probably a link if you still want to volunteer. It's all there at cmufilmfest.com. Patty, thank you so much. Congratulations on yet another, it looks like very interesting cross section of film and a lot of good nights out for folks that want to sample some of these offerings. Thank you for joining us.
PW: Thanks, David. I'm so happy that you allowed us to share information about the festival.
