UNSPOOLED. The new film festival hosted by UW-Stout, the Unspooled Film and Animation Festival, is slated for May 12-14. (UW-Stout photo)

A brand new film festival is hitting the Menomonie scene this May thanks to UW-Stout. After retiring the 4:51 Film Festival, which was held for the fourth and final time in 2019 and was not revived after the pandemic, the Unspooled Film and Animation Festival is filling a gap for student and community filmmakers – and viewers – alike.

Slated for May 12-14, the all-ages, three-day festival will allow both professionals and students to submit and view work, while also giving them a chance to network. Jonathan Wheeler, a lecturer at UW-Stout and director of Unspooled, explained how the new festival fits into the area – and stands out.

“In planning the Unspooled Film and Animation Festival, we wanted to strike a balance between the two by inviting both students and professionals to submit films/animations; carving out specific days in the event for each,” Wheeler explained. “Unspooled can be a place for these two groups to come together in appreciation, in partnership, and in a love for the craft.”

Recognizing the area’s other film fests, such as the Red Cedar Film Festival and the Chippewa Valley Film Festival in particular, Wheeler said those festivals are geared toward professionals while Unspooled hits the student demographic. Other UW-Stout opportunities for students to showcase their efforts include the Senior Show Night and Best of Design Biennial Show, but those are not specifically film- or animation-oriented.

“From the student side, they can benefit from the authentic film festival experience by having their work measured by a professional-level rubric,” Wheeler said. “From the professional side, they can benefit from participating in an event that showcases the up-and-coming generation of storytellers.”

By mid-March, Unspooled had already received about 85 submissions via Film Freeway, with final selections a work in progress through the submission deadline, April 28. Wheeler said after the submission deadline passes, the panel of jurors – made up of students, faculty, and professionals – will screen films/animations and judge them based on a rubric, taking into account production, story considerations, and more.

Andrew Nosal, a senior at UW-Stout majoring in video production, is producing a narrative short film that fuses animation and live-action, a project that has found its way thanks to collaboration with co-produce Delaney Hoffman and the dozens of volunteers – including university staff and students, and actors out of Eau Claire. Nosal said he is most excited to watch others’ work and get inspired.

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THIS IS A COMMUNITY YOU WANT TO BE PART OF. FOUR YEARS IN, THIS IS THE BEST DECISION I’VE EVER MADE.

ANDREW NOSAL

UW-STOUT VIDEO PRODUCTION STUDENT

“As a creative, showing your work off to an audience is the finish line. It’s an incredible honor and reward for all of the hard work you’ve put in. But time after time, my favorite part of the festival is actually watching other people’s work,” Nosal said. “The energy in the room is always so infectious … we all want each other to succeed.”

Both Nosal and fellow Stout film student, Payton Kosiorek, pointed to one key driver in their motivations to create and study film: they are storytellers. Though each had their own reasons, Nosal describing the sort of human vulnerability captured best by film and Kosiorek connecting back to his childhood, each urged others to attend or submit to Unspooled.

“The hardest thing to do when in this field is taking that first step,” Kosiorek said. He is also the festival's student ambassador and will have a short documentary in the running. “We will support any film that’s submitted (and accepted), and you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of people who have dedicated their lives to film and understand the challenge of making a film.”

Sharing similar sentiments, Nosal said, “Give it a chance. I promise everyone’s hearts are in it. We are all here to boost one another up and celebrate each other’s work.”

Tickets to Unspooled go live on Monday, April 3, with early bird pricing offered until April 8.

• Weekend Pass: $40
  • Early Bird pricing: $30
• Film Screenings by Day (specific screening(s) only): $10
  • Early Bird pricing: $8

Keynote speakers will be featured on May 12 and 13, the 12th welcoming director Andrew Hunt (The Infernal Machine (2022), Level (2017), and more), May 13th’s speaker is yet to be announced.

Most of the festival's showings and events will take place on campus at Harvey Hall Theatre while a couple of events will be held at Brewery Nonic in Menomonie and on Sunday, May 14, from 8:30-10pm, there will be free all-ages films shown at Wilson Park.

Visit the Unspooled Film and Animation Festival website to learn more and sign up for a ticket sale alert, and learn more about the Video Production studies at UW-Stout.