Avelina, a short film and the directorial debut of Eau Claire native Reanna Madson, will be showed at the Wilson Park bandshell in Menomonie as part of a community screening portion of the Red Cedar Film Festival on July 31 at 9pm. (Submitted photo)

Looking to explore and expand the art of film in the Valley, the Red Cedar Film Festival routinely brings some of the most interesting, eye-popping, and thought-provoking films from around the world to Menomonie for four days of movies, big and small.

After going virtual in 2020 due to the pandemic, the fest is ready to host some in-person, protocol-followin’ screenings starting July 29 through August 1 indoors at the historic Mabel Tainter theater and outdoors at the Wilson Park bandshell just a short walk away.

A lengthy submission process yielded dozens of great movies from around the world – as far as Ireland, India, France, the U.K., Canada, and as close as Menomonie itself. There are dozens of short films presented in chunks across the four days, alongside feature-length action thrillers, horror flicks, gripping documentaries, student films, comedies… the list goes on.

The Red Cedar Film Festival kicks off Thursday July 29, with a two-hour compilation of international short films. Another highlight of the day is All Its Name Implies, a documentary screening July 30 about the resiliency of a California town destroyed by wildfires.

July 31 will feature The Yellow Wallpaper, a film by Menomonie’s Kevin Pontuti. A particularly cool panel discussion that night will focus on trends in women-led film productions, with a panel full of women from different industry backgrounds: including directors, producers, and actors.

At 9:30pm on July 31, head over to the Wilson Park bandshell for a community screening of 13 short films in the open air, which includes Avelina – a short film and the directorial debut of the Chippewa Valley’s own Reanna Madson.

The festival wraps on August 1 with the screening of UW-Stout and student short films, followed by the awards presentation for Best Narrative Feature, Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Midwest Roots, Best Student Short, and Best Animated Short.

Learn more about the Red Cedar Film Festival and how to score tickets at redcedarfilm.org.