COSPLAY GONE WILD. One of the films featured at MidWest WeirdFest this year is Hundreds of Beavers: "In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers." (Submitted photo)

Returning to Eau Claire for its seventh year comes the MidWest WeirdFest film festival. Held at the Micon Downtown Cinema, 315 S. Barstow St., it’s a cinematic celebration of all things fantastic, frightening, paranormal, and just plain weird. Taking place March 3-5, there is plenty to see, from movies to short films, but there is much, much more behind the grand scheme of things.

Dean Bertram, the mastermind behind the festival, and creator of other international film festivals, gave us the run-down regarding the history and growth of MidWest WeirdFest. Originally from Australia, where his beginnings in film festivals had arisen, Dean took a leap for the U.S. realizing just how weird various stories and lore were in the States.

WHO'S THE BEAST? The festival will include the world premiere of The Bigfoot Trap: "A journalist's life is changed forever when he's locked inside of a Bigfoot trap by an insane Sasquatch hunter. But is the biggest threat to his survival the hunter, or something big and hairy lurking in the woods?" (Submitted photo)

This jump was a wonderful success, as we are upon the seventh year of the festival. With such success, the audience may wonder, where do these new films and stories come from? “When the film festival debuted,” Bertram says, “there were around 180 submissions from all over the nation for us to choose from. Now, in 2023, there were over 650 submissions.”

“With the growth of the festival,” he continued, “the submissions tend to get stronger, and with more filmmakers adding to the mix, the quality is constantly improving.” This year, the festival will premiere around 16 movies and a large number of short films, showing the best of what the submissions had to offer.

With an audience that comes from all over the nation, just as the film submissions do, it has to be asked, why Eau Claire as a venue location? But this question quickly turned into, why not Eau Claire? “The downtown is fantastic mixed with restaurants and bars,” Bertram said. “The college town vibe sets a wonderful tone, and many compliment the area from the beginning.”

Additionally stating praise for the venue, explaining that “The Micon Downtown Cinema has always been very generous to the film festival and all it beholds. They are extremely supportive of the arts and consistently tend to our needs.”

With all of this said, it’s likely you’re on the edge of your seat, eager to head down to the Micon to take in the weird. Tickets are available at midwestweirdfest.com and at the Micon Downtown Cinema.

THAT'S NOT ONE OF OURS. The festival will also feature the world premiere of Accidental Truth: UFO Revelations. (Submitted photo)