UW-Parkside Celebrates Local Student Filmmakers at Cinema Showcase

Published: May 4, 2023

Kenosha, Wis. –  The University of Wisconsin-Parkside will host an all-day film showcase event on Saturday, May 20, beginning at 11 a.m. The event titled Cinema Showcase @ Parkside will take place in the Rita Tallent Picken Center for the Arts and Humanities. The event will feature short films created and directed by local high school and college-level filmmakers and is free and open to the public.  

The showcase will conclude At 6:30 p.m. with a screening of the full-length documentary film Messwood. Messwood highlights two Milwaukee high schools – Messmer, which is largely Black and Shorewood, which is largely White. These schools sit just a mile apart on the same stretch of road. In 2001, both were short football players and decided to combine forces as one team colloquially known as Messwood. The film picks up the story decades later against the backdrop of a nation’s painful racial reckoning. The team comes under the leadership of a unique coach who struggles to guide the students to victory on the field amidst protests in the streets.  

The film is co-directed by up-and-coming documentary filmmaker Emily Kuester whose work was recently featured in the Milwaukee Film Festival. After the screening, Kuester will discuss her journey as a filmmaker and take questions from the audience.   

Cinema Showcase @ Parkside is an opportunity for the community to celebrate local student filmmakers, for students to connect and discuss their work with others, and for aspiring filmmakers to hear from a professional about how she broke into the business. We hope you will join us for a day of spectacular cinema! 


The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is committed to high-quality educational programs, creative and scholarly activities, and services responsive to its diverse student population, and its local, national, and global communities. We are a dynamic learning community grounded in academic excellence and focused on student success, diversity, inclusion, and community engagement. The campus serves as a premier comprehensive public institution and a destination of choice, serving as a focal point of local, regional, and global progress.


Media Contact:

Dr. Anjuli Brekke
UW-Parkside
Assistant Professor
Communication Department
brekkea@uwp.edu  

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