The 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival begins Thursday, Sept. 28. And there will be 297 films shown over the course of the 15-day festival.
One film is "The Blood is at the Doorstep." It follows Dontre Hamilton family's search for justice after a Milwaukee police officer shot and killed Dontre in downtown Milwaukee in 2014.
"The film itself looks at that incident and how the justice system treated this incident but really puts the spotlight on the family," said the Festival's artistic and executive director Jonathan Jackson.
The film is one of the Spotlight Presentations and the Hamilton family will speak to the audience after the screening.
Michael Cera stars in another film called "Person to Person.” It's one of six films featured in the festival's newest program, American Independence.
Jackson said, "(The film) is set in New York and it sort of runs to its own beat. It's a very funny film."
One of the films in the Competition program is "Manifesto" and it stars Cate Blanchett.
"She literally plays 14 different characters in the film," Jackson said. "She reads and translates different artistic manifestos over time."
More than 100 actors and filmmakers are scheduled to come to the festival for post-screening Q&A sessions with the audiences. The list includes Larenz Tate of "Love Jones", New York City Ballet ballerina and documentary subject, Wendy Whelan, and Rebecca Carpenter, director of Requiem for a Running Back and daughter of a former NFL Packer.
The Milwaukee Film Festival runs Sept. 28 - Oct. 12. Visit mkefilm.org for more information.
