Take A Peek Inside The 2025 Red Cedar Film Festival
dig into great films from local, international filmmakers and animators
The seventh annual Red Cedar Film Festival is rolling in with a medley of 59 cross-genre films for cinephiles in the Chippewa Valley to enjoy. The festival will be held from July 17-20 at The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts (205 Main St E.) in Menomonie.
This year’s festival will feature local, regional, and international works submitted by filmmakers from all over the world, the festival’s website reads.
Peter Galante, founder and director of the Red Cedar Film Festival — and also a filmmaker in his own right — said the fest began some seven years ago, when he was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.
“We were basically looking for ways to encourage filmmaking, economic development for the city, and increase enrollment and visibility for Stout,” Galante shared. “A film festival is a really excellent way to bring people into town and raise money that we could donate to Stout; provide scholarships or buy equipment for the university.”
In the years following, Galante said the festival continued to operate “on a shoestring.” However, this year the organizers established a nonprofit group titled the Red Cedar Film Festival Foundation (RCFFF) to raise more money through the festival.
“Our goal is still to donate to Stout,” Galante said. “But we first need to make some money to do so.”
“The whole experience is pretty special. Between the films and the beautiful theater, it’s just a really fun time.”
SUSAN JAKOBER
PRESIDENT OF THE RED CEDAR FILM FESTIVAL FOUNDATION (RCFFF)
Today, the Red Cedar Film Festival is coordinated by several foundation members and volunteers from around the community.
Susan Jakober, the president of RCFFF, said her role oversees the “mechanics” of the film festival. One new aspect of this year’s event will be the inclusion of a “director’s lounge” in the downstairs portion of The Mabel Tainter. There, Jakober noted, filmmakers and viewers can meet and discuss the films shown.
“In the past, these filmmakers would watch each other's films, and then, get up in the aisles and in the back of the theater and talk and exchange ideas in between film blocks,” Jakober said. “We created the director's lounge so that people can have that space to talk about the films.”
Another new addition to the festival itinerary will be a Thursday night premiere party and international film screening at Brewery Nønic (621 4th St. W., Menomonie).
Six international film submissions will be screened at the brewery during the party, Galante said. “The owners of The Brewery Nønic are very supportive of film,” he remarked.
2025 Red Cedar Film Festival schedule:
Thursday, July 17:
- 5pm – Premiere Party at Brewery Nonic
- 6pm – "Global Voices" / International Shorts showings
Friday, July 18:
- 4:30pm – "Midwest Roots" / Heartland shorts showings
- 7pm – "Midwest Roots" / Heartland drama showings
- 9:30pm – Cinema of Trauma and Healing showings
Saturday, July 19:
- 11am – World of Animation showings
- 2pm – Heartland documentary showings
- 5pm – "Date Night" / Romantic drama showings
- 8pm – Free community cinema night
Sunday, July 20:
- 11am – "Next Frame" / Student spotlight showings
- 2pm (approximately) – Festival awards
Applications to submit films to the Red Cedar Film Festival opened in January of this year, with the final deadline to submit on May 1. While entry fees vary by film category, they begin at $30-$45 for early applicants, and the cost increases with each proceeding deadline.
Once all the submissions are in, Galante dedicates months to the selection and curation of each film to place in the festival’s schedule. “I just literally sit at the desk and watch films all day long — sometimes 10 to 12 hours of watching films,” Galante said. “It's incredible.”
After each film is selected, Galante organizes the chosen submissions into genre-corresponding “blocks.” According to Galante, the block categories for this year’s festival are as follows:
At 6pm on Thursday, July 1, the premiere party at Brewery Nønic will feature Global Voices, which is the festival’s international film segment and Galante’s personal favorite. The showings will highlight diverse perspectives and cultures.
At 4:30pm on Friday, July 18, the first showings for the Red Cedar Film Festival will begin at The Mabel Tainter. The segment is set to include Midwest Roots, a locally-focused block highlighting six regional films with strong connections to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the broader Midwest.
“We try to have a balance between international and local film,” Galante said. “Midwest Roots places focus on directors who have a direct connection of some sort to the Midwest.”
Midwest Roots will be divided into “Heartland Shorts” and “Heartland Dramas,” and feature titles such as "Grave Expectations," a dramedy about childhood trauma unearthed, "Blunt Force," a work about an assassination gone awry, and the full-length drama "Princess," which examines the nuances of mother-daughter relationships.
The second block Friday night is titled Cinema of Trauma and Healing. Galante said the block will feature nine award-winning international short films exploring “emotional resilience, recovery, and the human experience through challenging narratives.”
"I just literally sit at the desk and watch films all day long – sometimes 10 to 12 hours of watching films. it's incredible."
Peter Galante
Festival founder & director, on film selection process
Beginning at 11am on Saturday, July 19, a block entitled World of Animation will celebrate several styles of animated storytelling. This segment will include "Jilly and Juno," which was made by a group of UW-Stout students and blends both 2D and 3D animation.
At 2pm that same day, five nonfiction films will encompass the Heartland Documentaries block, focusing on real-life stories from the American Midwest. One of the films in that category is entitled "Honk For Peace," and follows anti-war protests in Chippewa Falls.
At 5pm, the festival will transform into a “date night” theme for its Romantic Drama block. The two films in this segment are relationship-centered and tell stories of strength and self-discovery.
At 8pm, the festival will open for free admission and show a family-friendly film entitled "St. Nick of Bethlehem."
“This film has a fun twist, and will really just be a great time for all ages,” Galante said.
The final block of the festival will take place at 11am on Sunday, July 20. The Next Frame — Student Spotlight block will focus on student films. Two of the films in this category — "She Wants to Go Dancing" and "Three Chicken Dinners" — were created or shot by Ethan Kulinski, a UW-Stout alumnus and our video producer here at Volume One Magazine.
Galante and Jakober both said they look forward to this year's festival and all it will offer for community members.
“The whole experience is pretty special,” Jakober said. “Between the films and the beautiful theater, it’s just a really fun time.”
For more information about the Red Cedar Film Festival schedule blocks, or to purchase tickets, visit redcedarfilm.org.
