Wednesday, April 8
Opening Night: First Feature (Special Screening)
Intrepid student filmmaker Thomas Reilly-King will do anything to complete his first feature film, aptly titled ENDURING DESTINY. Searching for fame in a production spanning several years, the unflappable writer/director/actor calls in every favor and spends every last dime to realize his vision and bring his hero’s story to the big screen. Screens with the short film UnrepAIrable and the feature film Enduring Destiny.
- Wed, April 8 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Thursday, April 9
Red Carpet Premiere Party
Capital City Film Festival is turning Sweet Sixteen, and we’re celebrating the only way that makes sense: on the red carpet.
- Thu, April 9 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church
‘Otherworldly’ Shorts
Explore a twisted cosmic gumbo of sci-fi, thriller, horror, and experimental shorts that defy labels. Selections include: Anino, Aptitude, Mantis Stream! Like & Subscribe, The Story of The Cricket Queen, Mr. Mittens, God forgive me, and Missing Rhythms
- Thu, April 9 8:30 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
Friday, April 10
Global Shorts
From the bold to the intimate, we’re certain that this globe-trotting collection of dramatic shorts will stay with you long after you leave the theater. Selections include: Talisman, All In, Gallina, Choice, Octopus, Cinco, and Place under the sun.
- Fri, April 10 5:30 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
The Big Picture
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* The true story of an abandoned IMAX theater and the community of cinephiles who brought it back to life. Forgotten for over a decade, it becomes the beating heart of a radical grassroots cinema movement. Screens with the short film End of the Line.
- Fri, April 10 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
BOOMERANG! A Live Reading
*FREE EVENT* CCFF and The Robin Theatre invite you into a one-night-only celebration of Black film: a live, on-stage reading of the legendary rom-com Boomerang. This performance blends live readings with moments from the film on the big screen with an abbreviated score and director narration for an experience that feels part screening, part theatre, part behind-the-scenes -- and ALL fun.
- Fri, April 10 7:30 PM
- The Robin Theatre
Artists in Residence
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* Purchasing a house together in 1950s NYC, three female artists--Lois Dodd, Eleanor Magid and Louise Kruger--defied societal norms and prioritized their art over traditional roles as wives and mothers. A heartfelt celebration of independence, creativity, and the enduring strength of women artists. Screens with the short film Terra—Joy.
- Fri, April 10 8:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Quality Scary Presents: Paranormal Activity (Rita’s Edition)
*FREE EVENT* Quality Scary's Rita has been telling us for years that the original Paranormal Activity wasn't the whole story, no we have proof! Newly unearthed footage finally completes the story as Rita endures the worst AirBnB stay of her life. Join us for the world premiere of Paranormal Activity: Rita's Edition! Rita herself will be in attendance to answer your questions about her cautionary tale of a short-term rental gone awry.
- Fri, April 10 8:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
Orange Torches
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* Coasting on wasted potential, an eccentric father spends the week with his twelve year old son. This portrait of dysfunction navigates divorce, scuba diving, skate culture, and addiction, all in the backdrop of blue collar Minnesota. Screens with the short film Shoot, Shovel, and Shut Up.
- Fri, April 10 8:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Edie Arnold is a Loser
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* Timid dork Edie makes waves when she starts a punk band with her fellow "turds," becoming an icon to the rest of the losers at her Catholic school while pissing off the hot girls, the nuns, and the horniest altar boy you've ever seen.
- Fri, April 10 10:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
Saturday, April 11
Family Friendly Shorts
*FREE EVENT* Selections include: Dear robot, A Gift Undelivered, Disorder of Gearwheel, Friends, Becoming, Who knows what's on the plate?, Green Summer, Single Use, Feel The World, LOOK AT ME, and Underworld.
- Sat, April 11 9:30 AM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
ReelAbilities Shorts
ReelAbilities celebrates disability, promotes inclusion, and advances accessibility through film. The short films in this program have been curated in partnership with the ReelAbilities Film Festival. Selections include: Comedy Against the Odds, Salsa, The Art of Weightlessness, Sleepyhead, Turn Up the Bass, Unholy
- Sat, April 11 11:00 AM
- Riverwalk Theatre
‘Just a Vibe’ Shorts
What’s that emotion you can feel without words? What’s that mood that comes from the atmosphere? There’s something about the world that these filmmakers have captured, but whatever it is, it’s just a vibe. Selections include: Kind Mother, Lempicka Trên Mái Nhà (Rooftop Lempicka), Crac!, When night ends, Hatchlings, Grace and the Red Glow, and Ka-Pew
- Sat, April 11 12:30 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Our Knotted Gun
Gun violence is the number one cause of death among young people in the US. Confronting this crisis requires a change in conversation, and this screening pairs a film made by student journalists with a special preview of a docuseries work in progress, alongside a panel of local activists.
- Sat, April 11 1:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
The Mia Chinni Trio + Session
*FREE EVENT* The Mia Chinni Trio is made up of MSU Jazz Program students - each month they come together for an epic community jam at the Robin! This special edition will feature the Trio performing a set of jazz standards originating from historically influential films. A jam session will follow where audience members can bring their own instruments and participate.
- Sat, April 11 1:00 PM
- The Robin Theatre
The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* Based on a true story. Set in suburban NY in 1984. Julie Gornick hosts a charismatic, larger than life Spanish exchange student. As he starts hooking up with the girls in her class, Julie falls in love with him. Or what she thinks is love. Screens with the short film Be Safe.
- Sat, April 11 2:45 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
The Chaplain & The Doctor
Filled with warmth and humor, this buddy film follows two unlikely allies working to bring curiosity, connection, and compassion to a broken healthcare system - one patient at a time. Screens with the short film Forever in the Mountains.
- Sat, April 11 3:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Sun Never Again
*U.S. PREMIERE* Vid, a father grappling with the threat of a corporate iron ore mine near his home, finds hope and resilience through his young son's imagination, which infuses their grim reality with optimism, fairy tales, and mysticism.
- Sat, April 11 5:30 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Comedy Oddities
You’ll either be rolling in your seats or picking your jaw up off the floor from the sheer, unadulterated absurdity that these comedies have to offer. Selections include: yer smackin, Buddies, DIY, MAGNET BRAIN, Hyperburn, The Last Fry, Robbers, and Halfway Haunted.
- Sat, April 11 5:30 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
CCFF x Filmetry
*FREE EVENT* FILMETRY: A Festival of Poetry and Film is an annual collaborative art-making endeavor that pairs filmmakers with poets to create exciting new pieces of work. This year’s theme is climate change.
- Sat, April 11 5:30 PM
- The Robin Theatre
American Comic
*MICHIGAN PRIMERE* In this mockumentary satire of the modern American stand-up comedy scene, a camera crew follows two up-and-coming comedians who, despite being from opposite sides of the cultural divide, are nearly identical in their shittiness. Screens with the short film Ana Sees Her Dad.
- Sat, April 11 8:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Rising Through the Fray
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE // DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE* Indigenous Rising skates to claim their space on the roller derby track as the first borderless team in the sport. Screens with the short film The Bridge Swim: Conquering the Mackinac Straits.
- Sat, April 11 8:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
Animated Shorts
Come be amazed and bewildered by this eclectic mix of international animation. Selections include: Butterfly Kiss, Line 12, 16:9, The shoe, Following The Line, thóo-kong-á, Gaze at you, Draft Paper, LOST&FOUND, Furry-Anxi, and Anyone lived in a pretty how town.
- Sat, April 11 8:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Big City Pizza
*MIDWEST PREMIERE* As tension rises in the big city for the Omniball Championship, Boney, a skeleton pizza delivery man starts his shift. Animated entirely from Boney’s POV in one continuous, unbroken take, we follow his delivery route where every stop is weirder than the last. Screens with the short film Metal.
- Sat, April 11 10:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Sunday, April 12
Documentary Shorts
Selections include: Sunday Mornings at the Beach, Finding A Way - Revitalizing Nature in America's Heartland, Nothing in Particular (Unboxing Video), Broken Flight, Dinosaur Fish, The Deep Dive, and Branching Narratives: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of the Tappan Oak.
- Sun, April 12 11:00 AM
- Riverwalk Theatre
CURTIS FROM DETROIT! An Afternoon with Curtis Chin
*FREE EVENT* Join the CCFF, Capital Area District Libraries, and MSU Libraries for an afternoon with Great Michigan Read's featured author. Curtis Chin is the author of the award-winning memoir, "Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant."
- Sun, April 12 1:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Wood Street
*MIDWEST PREMIERE* Two unhoused men turned community leaders— John and LaMonté —organize their neighbors in the face of displacement, addiction, and a failing social system. Screens with the short film Fretail.
- Sun, April 12 3:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Symphonic Cinema
*FREE EVENT* CCFF’s original concert series Symphonic Cinema features a live musical score accompanying film on the big screen. This year’s installation of Symphonic Cinema re-imagines the original score for the animated feature Animal Farm (1954) by Joy Batchelor and John Halas, set to a new soundscape composed by Timothy Blackmon Jr. with support from the Loud Pack.
- Sun, April 12 7:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, April 14
Exploring Joy as Resistance and Our Natural Connections
*FREE EVENT* Presented in partnership with LCC's Take a Stand! Sit In! initiative and Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council's NEA Big Read, this event features short films centered on the themes of joy, resistance, nature, hope, courage, and connection. Selections include: A Full Body Act, Reclaiming Bear River, Becoming Air, Organic Network, and A Sparrow's Song
- Tue, April 14 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Michigan Made Shorts
Showcasing some of the best short film storytelling our state has to offer, these films call the Mitten State home. Selections include: Game of 21, Tomato Soup, Waves, Invaluable, Recesses, Shadow, Cuff, Lovechild, and Un Día Normal (A Normal Day).
- Tue, April 14 8:30 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, April 15
Third Coast Waves
*FREE EVENT* CCFF and All of the Above Hip Hop Academy are joining forces to present: Third Coast Waves – an evening celebrating the dynamic history and culture of hip hop, Lansing’s own Golden Era, and local efforts to make waves in the industry.
- Wed, April 15 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
- Wed, April 15 8:30 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
Thursday, April 16
Desire: The Carl Craig Story
An intimate portrait of legendary techno producer, DJ and record label creator Carl Craig and an ode to his beloved city, Detroit. Raised in a middle class African American family, Carl's parents fostered his artistic pursuits, even if that meant breaking with his family's tradition of pursuing higher education.
- Thu, April 16 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
- Thu, April 16 8:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Sanctuary
Friday, April 17
Joybubbles
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE // OPEN SCREENING: OPEN AUDIO DESCRIPTION AND OPEN CAPTIONS* A boy discovers he can control the global telephone system by whistling a magic tone. Born blind and yearning for connection, his early obsession with the telephone sparks a subculture that shapes the future of hacking and technology.
- Fri, April 17 6:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
‘Pride in Motion’ Shorts
Pride is more than a summer festival and LGBTQIA+ is so much more than an acronym. These shorts explore the nuances, beauty, and heartbreak of those of us who exist within the LGBTQIA+ spectrum around the world. Selections include: Fadeaway, AGAPE, ...and Release, Old Dykes, Cuming Out, and Las Cosas Que Brillan
- Fri, April 17 6:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Midwest Experimental Moving Image
*FREE EVENT* What experiments in film and video are being done in the Midwest? Find out at this screening presented in collaboration with the MSU Broad Art Museum!
- Fri, April 17 7:00 PM
- The Robin Theatre
‘Film Imitates Life’ Shorts
Every film was once a story waiting to be told. Whether they come from a lived experience or the mind of a writer, these shorts hold up a mirror that lets us learn more about ourselves and each other. Selections include: Public Freakout, There's A Devil Inside Me, Comets, Serenity, The Polar Bear Plunge, and If You Die I'll Kill You.
- Fri, April 17 8:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
On a String
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* Isabel (Isabel Hagen) is a young, Juilliard-trained violist still living at home with her parents in the heart of NYC. She’s trying to make a living playing gigs with her friends but when her toxic ex-boyfriend reappears, who also happens to be the Philharmonic's "newest, hottest cellist," he informs her of a viola opening in the prestigious orchestra. Nothing can go wrong, right?
- Fri, April 17 8:15 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
CCFF x NOCTURNE presents: REBLOOM
Featuring Sero, Rinbossanova, NO.AH, and IZOTROPE. Melt away the daily drudge with Lansing’s Nocturne DJ collective for this special benefit show for a local farming co-op.
- Fri, April 17 9:30 PM
- The Avenue
The Misadventures of Vince and Hick
*MIDWEST PREMIERE* A recently released-from-prison car thief gets roped in with an overly ambitious con man and must help him deliver a prized car to a dangerous kingpin within 24 hours. Screens with the short film Parlay
- Fri, April 17 10:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Saturday, April 18
Short Films from Iran
Bold cinematic visions and urgent storytelling from Iranian filmmakers. Selections include: The Third Dream, The Tortoise, The Translator, Little Soldier, Deform, Like Friend, Like Deer, Nest, and SUMMER TRIANGLE
- Sat, April 18 12:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Documentary Mediums
Not quite shorts, not quite feature length... these incredible stories are mediums - and just like Goldilocks, we think they're just right. Selections include: Is That All There Is?, The Last Puestero, and On Healing Land, Birds Perch (ÐÁT LÀNH CHIM ÐÂU).
- Sat, April 18 12:00 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Jake Blount’s Afrofuturist Salon
A powerfully skilled musician and music scholar, Jake Blount speaks ardently about the African roots of the banjo and the profound and often under discussed ways Black people and culture have influenced the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana.
- Sat, April 18 1:00 PM
- The Robin Theatre
Yalla Parkour
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* In her relentless pursuit of a memory that reinforces her sense of belonging, Areeb crosses paths with Ahmed, a parkour athlete in Gaza, sparking in a journey where conflicting aspirations intersect. Nostalgia meets with ambition, and the weight of a confined past meets with an unpredictable future. Screens with the short film The Life of a Human Firecracker.
- Sat, April 18 2:30 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Another German Tank Story
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* While an American film crew shoots a war series in a former sugar factory in Germany, the residents of the nearby village of Wiesenwalde chase their personal dreams - until a sudden power failure threatens to disrupt all plans and a tank stands in front of the mayor's house. Screens with the short film A Little Grace.
- Sat, April 18 2:30 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
When We Get There
*WORLD PREMIERE* After their mother passes away, Cal and Ty embark on a cross-country trek to meet their father. Along with Cal’s girlfriend, Ellie, and a new guitar named Stevie, they are forced to navigate uncertain futures on a 2000-mile journey. Screens with the short film What We Carry.
- Sat, April 18 4:30 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
Closing Night Feature: A Sad and Beautiful World
*MICHIGAN PREMIERE* In this sweeping love story that spans three decades of passion, heartbreak, and hope, Nino and Yasmina find themselves drawn together by a magnetic relationship. As they face an impossible choice between love and survival, they must decide if they want to build a family and chart a path to happiness in Lebanon, despite the tragedies ravaging the country.
- Sat, April 18 7:15 PM
- Riverwalk Theatre
NIGHTSHADE: Official CCFF Afterparty ft. Petal Supply
Dim the lights and step into a glowing garden of sickening beats and ineffable fun for the Capital City Film Festival Afterparty.
- Sat, April 18 9:00 PM
- Central United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall