Every week, Kristopher Pollard from Milwaukee Film and Radio Milwaukee’s Dori Zori talk about movies — because that’s what you do when you’re Cinebuds.
The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival is coming up in just over two weeks, and if you’ve never been, it’s kinda incredible! From April 16 - 30, hundreds of films will be shown across five screens at The Oriental and The Downer theaters on Milwaukee’s very fashionable East Side.
So, with 250 short and feature-length documentary and fiction films from near and far to choose from, where does one even start making that schedule? Anything co-signed by Milwaukee Record, America’s #1 source of news and entertainment (#facts), will always make the top of my list. It’s great to see them back again for the 12th year as the sole sponsor for the Cinema Hooligante program. Think “Midnite Movies” and offbeat films.
This year’s lineup includes stories about misfit youths, a possessed vacuum cleaner, and an entire story set in a toilet. Check out this week’s episode as we welcome Milwaukee Record’s Matt Wild to the pod as our very special guest. Make sure you listen all the way through if you wanna find out what movie makes Matt Wild cry the most, and then come hang out with the best people at a Cinema Hooligante film.
‘Cinema Hooligante’ schedule
A Useful Ghost
Fri, April 17 @10pm
Sun, April 19 @6:30pm
Thurs, April 30 @6:45pm
March is mourning his wife Nat who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has returned by possessing a vacuum cleaner. Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Critics' Week, this film smartly plays with tones and social comments while revisiting classism and oppression throughout Thailand's history. From ambitious and creative newcomer Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke comes a genre-smashing amalgamation of fantasy, horror, romance, comedy, art house and everything in between.
Black Zombie
April 18 @8:45pm April 22 @6:30pm April 24 @9:45pm
From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, BLACK ZOMBIE unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance. This documentary is for all walks of life, horror fans or not, as it digs into common misconceptions around one of fiction's most popular tropes and leaves you with a firm grasp on what "zombies" are and represent outside of fiction.
Bouchra
April 21 @11pm
April 26 @7:15pm April 27 @9:45pm
Nine years removed from coming out as queer, Bouchra (who, yes, is a coyote) navigates the concrete jungle of New York City in search of inspiration, while also navigating a long distance relationship with her mother. Using vivid 3D animation and adapted from real phone calls made by the filmmaker's families, this singular, autobiographical debut blends documentary techniques with inventive narrative play. As Morocco’s first animated feature, BOUCHRA turns personal history into bold cinematic storytelling.
Burn
April 17 @10:30pm
April 20 @9pmApril 23 @9:30pm
When runaway teen Ju-Ju is embraced by a tribe of misfit youths in Kabukicho, she finds belonging for the first time—until betrayal and despair twist her haven into a prison, and she’s left with one way to take back control. "While it contains some harsh, bleak truths, there’s an empathy for these kids that’s palpable, and it’s the sense that Nagahisa cares about Ju-Ju that makes it work." (Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com)
F*cktoys
April 18 @10:00pm
April 26 @7:45pmApril 28 @10pm
Part-time sex worker, full-time chaos magnet, AP is convinced the universe has it out for her… and she might be right. In F*CKTOYS — the wild, unfiltered debut from writer/director/star Annapurna Sriram — AP seeks a cosmic reset after a swampy tarot reading (courtesy of NOLA bounce icon Big Freedia) tells her she needs $1,000 and a lamb sacrifice to lift her curse. Armed with neither, she sets off on a bizarre quest with her ex-turned-bestie Danni (SPOILER ALERTS’s Sadie Scott) through Trashtown, USA — a dystopian, neon-drenched sprawl of assorted oddballs, bondage cops, and strip clubs galore.
Flush
April 18 @11:30pm
April 24 @11:59pmApril 29 @10:30pm
When middle-aged coke fiend Luc goes to confront his ex at the club where she works, determined to win back her love, he somehow finds himself wedged firmly in a toilet, effectively trapping him in a bathroom stall—not to mention the heap of coke that he stole from the bar’s resident dealer. When he's found, it sets off an increasingly crazy series of circumstances that veer from the hilarious to the intensely grotesque.
Flytrapper
April 23 @8:30pm
April 29 @10pm
Crystal's life of extremely aggressive rap music, jet-skiing, and nefarious activities in the lush Northwoods is upended by a visit from her estranged best friend, Melonie, who is digging into the past. But even as the situation becomes increasingly unstable, she can’t help but stay as the two rekindle their friendship. Featuring a crew of MFF alums, this world premiere showcases writer/star Georgia Lee King as one to watch.
Hokum
April 22 @11pm
April 25 @11:30pmWhen novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past. An homage to THE SHINING with an Irish lilt, Damien McCarthy's follow up to ODDITY cements him as a fresh new voice in the horror landscape.
Mārama
April 25 @8:45pm
April 29 @9:15pm
1859, North Yorkshire. When young Māori woman Mary arrives from New Zealand, she’s trapped as governess to a wealthy whaler’s granddaughter. Living among her ancestors’ stolen artifacts, she uncovers Sir Cole’s horrific crimes. Embracing her Matakite powers, Mary becomes Mārama and must save Anne and avenge her family by destroying him. Taratoa Stappard's feature debut brings gothic vibes rivaling Robert Eggers' NOSFERATU infused with a dark history more frightening than any jump-scare.
Obsession
April 17 @9pm
After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for, but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price. "A simple, well-trodden concept transforms into a shocking and unsettling descent into abject horror in Barker’s capable hands, ensuring that his latest is destined to become horror’s latest, well, obsession." (Meagan Navarro, Bloody Disgusting)
Saccharine
April 18 @9:45pm
April 21 @10:15pmApril 24 @10pm
Lovelorn medical student Hana joins an obscure weight-loss craze (eating human ashes), but her desperate pursuit of control unleashes a haunting force tied to the dead she devours. As physical transformation dances with supernatural terror, this eerie Australian horror interrogates body image, compulsion, and the dark cost of getting what you want fast.
Severin Presents: A Bay Of Blood
April 17 @11:59pm
A wealthy countess is murdered for her bayfront real estate, leading to the systematic slaughter of ruthless developers, greedy heirs, and bad neighbors. After he established the giallo genre with BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, Mario Bava once again forever altered the horror landscape with A BAY OF BLOOD, bursting onto the scene as the first slasher film. Arrive early for the Severin Films blu-ray booth and get a free, branded barf bag for the screening (while supplies last).
Shorts: The Best Damn F*:#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Shit.
April 18 @11:59pm
April 25 @9pmApril 29 @10pm
Enter a f*#@ed up world of chaos, creeps, and gallonsssss of pus. <3 From twisted intimacy to surreal transformations, wild late-night humor to gnarly nightmares, these eight films push boundaries, dare discomfort, and guarantee you’ll leave the theater wide awake. It's an after-hours party for festival-goers 18+.
