*** RE: COVID-19 ***
2nd Update: We will NOT be cancelling or postponing our Festival. However, since our September festival will be operating according to future Local and State guidelines, in consultation with our venue partners we are preparing for three festival scenarios:
1. A Live, In-Person festival more-or-less as we have had in the past, with all due safety precautions.
2. An Online festival, if our locality is under a Stay at Home order during our event dates.
3. A Hybrid festival, with limited safe live events and some online programming for everyone else.
Until then, stay safe, friends. - DTK
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What’s your Genre?
The Threadbare Mitten Film Festival is an eclectic and eccentric celebration of genre cinema, here in the tell-tale heart of Michigan.
We won't push you into a box:
Horror, Sci-Fi, Contemporary Western, Neo-Noir, Absurdist Comedy, Fantasy, Splatterpunk, Magical Realism, Creature Feature, Psychological Thriller, Modern Samurai, ZomRomCom, Exploitation and Grindhouse, Road Trip, Documentary and Mockumentary, Experimental and Non-Narrative... whatever weird quirks spark your camera rolling, genre or inter-genre, we want to give you an exhibition home to exorcise them with an appreciative audience.
(...and if being pushed into a box is your thing, well ok, show us that!)
As the Michigan Film and Digital Media Office said:
"Think of the Threadbare Mitten Film Festival as the anti-genre, but all-genre film festival, if that makes any sense. Truly a grassroots festival if ever there was one."
- June Newsletter 6/12/18
We categorically reject festivals that require filmmakers to sort their submissions by genre. It’s our job to categorize films, not yours! Just submit your work according to duration and we’ll take it from there. We take great pride in our thematic programming, sequencing every film block like the songs on an album. Every year’s festival is guaranteed to be different than what came before, based upon the characteristics of the films we receive. Our Festival Director leads the Judging Team, and personally watches every submission.
FOURTH EDITION: This year we’re about TransFOURmations! We’ve seen a lot of changes here in Michigan’s film community, in Lansing, and in our beloved REO Town, which continues hosting our two-night-and-all-of-a-day festival. We’re keeping our traditions alive in this fourth year, including screenings at our festival's home in the beautiful Robin Theatre and other venues, a Friday night Film.Craft.Beer VIP Party, Filmmaker Q&As, and free Community Screenings. As always, this year’s hand-crafted Jury and Audience Award trophies will be revealed at the Festival.
New to this year, we’ll be putting together a special program for the theme of TransFOURmations, so whether you’ve got body-horror transmogrification or spiritual revelation, show us some kind of transformation for extra consideration.
More details to come as we negotiate with additional venues and partners for this year's festivities!
See our Wall of Fame for past years' Award Winning films: www.threadbarefilmfest.com/awards
ABOUT US: We are passionate filmmakers, dedicated to growing our film community and providing a viewing experience worth the time and effort of everyone involved from ourselves to the filmmakers and the ticket buyer. We respect the film and the filmmaker, the cast and the crew, as does our audience. We support local film, student film, international film, diverse voices, and quality craft regardless of budget or questionable content. We take an expansive view of what a genre festival can be, pushing the boundaries of expectations to include some of the most gripping documentaries we've seen (about the only thing we DON'T want are straight-up 'indie' dramas and serialized content that does not provide its own complete narrative). This is neither a vanity exercise nor a party for ourselves, and we do not screen our own films or just shower our friends with prizes. We strive for quality of image and sound regardless of venue.
OUR HOME: Located just off of Lansing's downtown core, REO Town represents the heart of creative revitalization and the artistic community. Saddleback BBQ, the REO Town Diner, Blue Owl Coffee, Sleepwalker Spirits and Ales, the REO Town Pub, the Rusty Mug, along with an assortment of shops, are right here on Washington Avenue under the Three Stacks. It truly is a small town within the Capital City.
Laurels and unique locally-crafted Trophies, made by a different artist every year, for each of 10 Award Categories:
Juried Category Awards:
Best Short Short
Best Short Film
Best Feature Film
Stranger than Fiction
Audience Awards:
People Pleaser
Michigan Masterpiece
Juried Special Recognition Awards:
A+ Student Filmmaker
Bloody and Brilliant
Subversive Selection
and a mystery Special Jury Award to be announced at the Festival