Milwaukee Film Festival attendance grows for 2026, reveals 2027 dates

Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal SentinelThu, May 7, 2026 at 7:50 PM UTC

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The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival is a wrap, with a large uptick in filmgoers.

The festival's operating nonprofit Milwaukee Film reported in a May 7 news release that the festival – which ran April 16 to 30, at the Oriental Theatre (2230 N. Farwell Ave.) and Downer Theatre (2589 N. Downer Ave.) – drew 36,922 attendees. That's a 15.4% jump from attendance figures for the 2025 festival.

The Milwaukee FIlm Festival reported a 15.4% increase in attendance for 2026.

The festival featured 243 films this year across 284 screenings, a mix of 105 feature films (including 54 documentary features and 51 fiction features) and 138 short films, according to the news release. Milwaukee Film reported that 45% of feature films were directed by women or nonbinary filmmakers. Milwaukee Film also raised $163,605 through its REEL Impact Drive for operational costs, and welcomed over 114 filmmakers and film industry guests.

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"Milwaukee loves to celebrate as a community, and we are so honored to be part of its culturalfabric," Milwaukee Film Executive Director Susan Kerns said in a statement. "We look forward to doing it again next year when the Oriental Theatre celebrates its 100th birthday!”

Milwaukee Film May 7 also announced the dates for the 2027 festival. It will again take place at the Oriental and Downer theatres, from April 29 to May 13, 2027.

More: Milwaukee Film buys Downer Theatre, Milwaukee's oldest movie theater

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Film Festival attendance grows for 2026, reveals 2027 dates

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