One of my favorite clichés is, “Every Day is a Holiday.” Every year in Madison about this time, it becomes more than a cliché because the Wisconsin Film Festival (WFF) is upon us!

One of my favorite things to do is talk about the WFF (happening April 9-16, 2026)  on PBS Wisconsin on our annual Wisconsin Film Festival episode of Director’s Cut. I’ve done about a dozen of these particular episodes and look forward to them every year as we get to talk about all the outstanding films playing in Madison during this unique and ambitious film festival.

In case you’re wondering what that our preview looks like, here is a preview of the preview.

Joining me in the studio to discuss this movie lover’s event once again are several filmmakers whose works will be shown on the big screen. But, kicking things off are Mike King and Ben Reiser. Mike is the festival’s artistic director and Ben is director of operations. They are both swell guys who offer an overview of the festival which includes filmmakers who will be making personal appearances, restored films that you can see in 35mm and some of Wisconsin’s Own artistic offerings.

Our second guest is writer and director Nathan Deming, who is no stranger to Director’s Cut. Not only does he make an appearance, he brought along two cast members from his film Winter Hymns. Winter Hymns shows us a day in the life of a palliative care doctor played by Colleen Madden of American Players Theatre (APT). In addition to having Nathan on the show, I’ve worked with both of these outstanding artists. Deming was nice enough to cast me as a mega church founder in his film Speaking In Tongues and I got to share the screen with Colleen in the film Aquarians. Another APT actress Sarah Day, who is also in the cast, joined us for the interview as well.

The Man in the Sky Won’t Let Me Sleep is a short horror film from the prolific Laura Reich. Laura is a Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, native and joined the show from Los Angeles. Reich is making a name for herself in the film world by making her own films in various genres. She’s also worked in TV production as well. The Man in the Sky Won’t Let Me Sleep follows Ismail, who is visited by a stranger after watching an infomercial. The result for Ismail is sleepless nights. Reich uses some great lighting and real locations in Los Angeles that make the film pop.

Laura Dyan Kezman and William Howell took a seat on the Director’s Cut couch and spoke passionately about their powerful film CYCLE. The film tells the story of the death of Ty’Rese West, an 18-year-old Black teenager who was shot and killed by a Mount Pleasant police officer. Kezman produced the film with Howell, who provided a connection to Ty’Rese’s family which helped provide a more intimate telling of this tragic story. Howell is a cinematographer and editor who had a music video background primarily, and talked about his transition into documentary filmmaking. Kezman and Howell are a good filmmaking team and CYCLE will no doubt stay with audiences long after they leave the theater.

Mye Hoang is a cat lover, and that definitely comes across in her documentary 25 Cats From Qatar. Her documentary was investigative and courageous as she followed a group of multinational animal rescuers with the help of a Milwaukee flight attendant. I had no idea there were so many stray cats in this foreign country but check out this film, which shows at least a few of them getting a new home.

Next up, Steve Donovan and Matt Streiff. Steve’s short film, Appenzellertag (glad I don’t have to try to pronounce it again) was inspired by Matt, who brought a four liter bottle of Appenzeller Alpenbitter (a Swiss liqueur) back to New Glarus, Wisconsin, after a trip to Switzerland. The duo brought the bottle to the set as a prop but I did not have a swig because I don’t drink during working hours – and I’m pretty sure the bottle was empty. I have no idea how Appenzeller Alpenbitter tastes but if I were to try some, I would want to do it with Steve and Matt, who had a lot of fun making the film and were equally as fun on the show.

To wrap things up, Ben and Mike came back to help us close the show and remind us even more about what the biggest university-sponsored film festival in the world has to offer: narrative feature films, documentaries, shorts, experimental flicks, restored classics, great Q&As and the work of Wisconsin filmmakers.

So, join 30,000 of your fellow film enthusiasts and try your best to see as many of the 130+ films you can. That’s right, movie fans, everyday truly is a holiday at the Wisconsin Film Festival. Make sure you tune in at 8 p.m. Monday, April 6 (or stream on the free PBS app!) for this preview of the WFF on PBS Wisconsin, your home for independent film!