The Wisconsin Film Festival showcases some of the best animation, documentary, narrative, and short films in the state, region, nation, and world. And of the more than 200 films the festival will screen this year, two of them are coming from right here in the Chippewa Valley. “Our landmark goal was to get into this one,” said Nick Holle, a writer, editor, and star of Illegal Use of Joe Zopp. “We were hoping to get the chance to show it in another city and in front of new faces.” The feature-length comedy premiered last fall, and was the first cinematic venture for Chippewa Falls-based production company Wut Wut Alma Moving Pictures. The film has played in three other festivals, but this one is the biggest, so the creators are excited to be on site for the screening at 10:15pm on April 3. The creators of 76% Chance, Sally Velleux and Volume One publisher/editor Nick Meyer, are likewise pumped about making the festival, given the whimsical creation of their four-minute short. “I got this bathtub and said, ‘Nick, I want to make a movie.’ That was a Friday afternoon, and by Sunday the whole thing was shot,” said Velleux, who created it as an art project for UW-Stout and now works as a part-time art teacher at DeLong Middle School. “The best thing is we get to attend these amazing films – like three or four a day – so I’m sure we’ll come back rejuvenated and inspired to make another one.” 76% Chance screens Sunday at 1pm, and can also be seen at VolumeOne.org. The annual festival draws upwards of 30,000 people, so some tickets may still be available, but you better move fast.

    Wisconsin Film Festival • April 2-5 • 10 theater locations throughout Madison • times vary • costs range from FREE to $7 • www.wifilmfest.org