2025 Benson Film Festival

It’s the return of the Benson Film Festival!

The Benson Film Festival celebrates film, art, and community. The vision of this festival is to incorporate neighborhood artists and businesses, highlight filmmakers, and create an immersive and connective experience for the community. The Benson Film Festival aims to bring local, national, and international artists & filmmakers together right here in the Benson Creative District!

The festival is presented by Authento Creative in collaboration with the Benson Theatre.

Dates: April 25-27, 2025

We offer two types of festival passes:

• All-Access Pass
• Day Pass

All-Access Passes grant you entry to every film screening, every mixer/party, and award you special perks and discounts around Benson. Day passes get you into film screenings on the day of your choosing.

All Access Passes on sale starting March 1st, 2025! On the ticketing site, select a date for the festival (it won’t matter which date) and then you can purchase your All Access pass, good for all days!

Check out this year’s film selection here: https://www.bensonfilmfest.com/films

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday, April 24

6:00 pm: Reel Connections @ Krug Park

Friday, April 25

Benson Theatre doors open 5:00 pm

5:00 pm: Red Carpet Happy Hour

6:15 pm: Opening Presentation

-Ben Matukewicz & Michael Hennings

-Maddie/Jason, Benson Theatre

6:30 pm: Short Stacks (57:14)

-The Rug Hustler (15:45)

-Found and Lost (6:38)

-IS IT LIKE, A DATE?!? (8:48)

-The Events of That Night, As Best I Can Remember (9:10)

-Cry Night (8:55)

-The Protagonist Gene (8:22)

7:30 pm: Filmmaker Q&A (15:00)

-Lauren Vana

-Tony Bonacci

-Kyle Leland Cullerton

8:00 pm: Community Conversation – Benson Creative District

-Annie Butler, Executive Director

8:30 pm: Feature Film

-Midwinter (1:35:05)

10:00 pm: After Party @ Beercade / St. Andrew’s

Saturday, April 26

10:00 am: Saturday Morning Cartoons (57:35)

-Gold Rush Daze / 1939 (7:10)

-Betty Boop: Minnie the Moocher / 1932 (7:46)

-Casper: The Friendly Ghost / 1945 (9:20)

-Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur / 1939 (7:52)

-Superman: The Mechanical Monsters / 1941 (10:14)

-Popeye: Taxi-Turvy / 1954 (6:02)

-Bugs Bunny: Falling Hare / 1943 (8:27)

11:00 am: Doc Block (59:30)

-Surviving the Spectrum (29:47)

-Voices of Tomorrow (14:25)

-Empty Desks (9:57)

-Dirt (5:09)

12:00 pm: Filmmaker Q&A

-Sally Nellson, Andy Marinkovich

-Ike Somanas

12:30 pm: Short Stacks (1:01:21)

-Rose, Mary, and Time (35:00)

-The Forest of Souls (5:00)

-RADIO CAESIUM (21:21)

1:30 pm: Community Conversation – Benson Theatre

-Maddie Radcliff, Executive Director

-Jason Levering, Programming Director

2:15 pm: Documentary Feature

-The Instrument in Six Movements (1:19:13)

3:35 pm: Filmmaker Q&A

-Joshua LaBure

-William Raynovich, Rebecca Reneike

4:00 pm: Afternoon Break – lobby closed

4:00 pm: Afternoon Mixer @ Legend Comics & Coffee

Benson Theatre doors re-open 5:00 pm

5:00 pm: Happy Hour Mixer

6:00 pm: Music Performance

-COWGIRL EASTERN

7:00 pm: Feature Film

-The Meaning of a Ritual (1:24:00)

8:45 pm: Short Stacks (51:36)

-Atomic Zombies (26:00)

-Bone Town (6:04)

-Lupe Q and the Galactic Corn Cake (4:23)

-Bobby Haden Church (15:09)

9:45 pm: Filmmaker Q&A

-Christine Burright

-Darrick Silkman

-Jameel Harleston Whitlock

10:00 pm: After Party

-The Sydney

-$10 / free w/ All-Access Pass

Sunday, April 27

10:00 am: BFF Green Team Community Cleanup

Benson Theatre doors open 10:45 am

11:00 am: Student Film Block (1:02:34)

-Spectrum of Consumption (19:25)

-Sew Lucky (10:14)

-The Thing with Feathers (24:03)

-Solace From Beyond (8:38)

12:00 pm: Student Filmmaker Q&A

-Colleen Kelley

-Hannah Pedersen

12:30 pm: Documentary Feature

-Bring Them Home (1:25:48)

2:00 pm: ULTRACinema (57:00)

3:00 pm: Documentary Feature

-Willa Cather (46:10)

3:45 pm: Filmmaker Q&A

-Ingrid Holmquist

-Willa Cather Foundation

4:10 pm: Experimental Block (41:06)

-ATLS (11:24)

-You Don’t Mess with James (4:16)

-BOOKANIMA: Dance (7:31)

-Valley Street – Sorry Gaze (2:48)

-Viscerate (9:58)

-Dazed in a Detour (4:19)

4:50 pm: Filmmaker Q&A

-Matthew Fuentes James

-Joi Katskee

5:00 pm: Closing Reception @ Benson Brewery