Private Event for All-Access Weekend Passholders and Friday Day-Passholders. Must be 21+

Mingle alongside Filmmakers, Volunteers, and our Supporters and stay out till sunrise with Bugsy Sailor?

Delish offerings from the Atomic Acorn Kitchen Open till 11:00 pm

Festival Drink Specials

Sonic Stylings by DJ Marco

Screening Only / No Q&A / $10

Following two novice birders, Owen and Quentin Reiser, as they attempt a competitive "Big Year" in the U.S., racing to see the most species in a year while living out of a minivan, showcasing the raw, obsessive, and hilarious world of extreme birding as they learn to compete at the highest level.

Friday Night Gala Presented by Rare Bird Brewpub

Special Guests: Filmmakers Owen and Quentin Reiser

with birder Nate Crane and ornithologist Hannah Toutonghi

Grand Traverse Audubon Club and ambassadors from North Sky Raptor Sanctuary in Attendance

Following two novice birders, Owen and Quentin Reiser, as they attempt a competitive "Big Year" in the U.S., racing to see the most species in a year while living out of a minivan, showcasing the raw, obsessive, and hilarious world of extreme birding as they learn to compete at the highest level.

Pre-Show Book Signing Event with Owen and Quentin Reiser in collaboration with National Writers Series - Doors Open 6pm - Screening at 7pm

Limited Copies of “Field Guide to All the Birds We Found One Year in the United States” will be available for $20 until sold out. All proceeds benefit the artists.

Presented with support from Hannah Herrington-Mary Fitch Family Foundation

Midwestern filmmakers are defined by a resourceful DIY grit and often utilizing local talent and backdrops, all while being uniquely nice. How do they find the epic in everyday life? And how do they pull off such unpretentious storytelling? Find out and ask your own questions of our special guests in this casual meeting of Midwest minds.

Special Guests Rory McHarg (A Two-Hearted Tale), Lexie Garrett (The Wild Mile) and Tim Warmanen (The Humongous Fungus Among Us) —Moderated by Chris Loud, Writer/Producer and Co-Founder of The Boardman Review

Outdoor Tours and Experiences Sponsored by Kayak, Bike & Brew and TC Brew Bus

Friday Walking Street Art Tour hosted by TC Arts Commission
Friday 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm / Eighth Street Corridor Boardman Lake District

Limited to 25 Participants / Free to Festivalgoers

Detroit endured six decades of massive disinvestment, losing its primary industry in what is often described as the largest economic withdrawal in U.S. history. Its industry collapsed, its skyline dimmed. Yet the city’s spirit refused to vanish. Some call what followed the greatest comeback story in the nation. Others insist Detroit never left at all. Now, through the eyes of a two-time Emmy Award–winning filmmaker and the voice of a celebrated poet, comes a story told from the ground up.

Presented with support from Casamara Club

Special Guest: Filmmaker Stephen McGee

A quiet Upper Michigan town becomes the center of an international media frenzy after three scientists discover a record-breaking ‘Humongous Fungus’ living next door. Decades later, the town and the scientists continue to embrace the fungus as a growing symbol of community and wonder. Who will be crowned Mr. Fungi? Will there be a giant mushroom pizza? Will the ‘Humongous Fungus’ outlive us all?

Presented with support from Two Sons Pizza

Special Guest: Writer, Producer and Editor Tim Warmanen

It's theater of the mind! It's cinema for the ear! It's a Points North listening party! Join us as we turn off the silver screen and open the curtains of your imagination. This immersive audio experience will transport you through time and space, leaving you inspired by this great region. 

Presented with support from Interlochen Public Radio

Special Guests: Points North Podcast Producers Ellie Katz and Dan Wanschura

Can images truly mirror the soul? By exploring these diverse lives and dreams, these shorts invite us to create a global home, or simply remind us of what we seeking.

Presented with support from Green Brick Foundation

Special Guests: Filmmakers Jason Whalen, Maurice Champion and José Guadalupe Jiménez Jr.

A team of evolutionary biologists from the University of Idaho travels to the Galápagos Islands to solve the Earth’s biodiversity crisis. The twist? They aren’t studying the iconic tortoises or blue footed boobies on this storied archipelago—they are Snail Hunters, studying a more unlikely subject in the crucible of evolution.

Special Guest: Filmmaker Jim Aikman

Exploring how environmental education - and the people who teach with it - can help heal some of our most pressing social, emotional, and political divides. Through stories of resilience and reconnection, the film reveals why nature belongs at the heart of what it means to be truly educated.

Special Guests: Filmmaker James Parker and advocates Quilen Blackwell and Hannah Bonham Blackwell

Local Outreach Partnership with Grand Traverse Conservation District

Hosted by Peter Payette with Special Guests Aaron Peterson, Bill Thompson, and Bugsy Sailor in a look back and a vision forward, for the beloved act known as #freshcoasting

Presented with support from Interlochen Public Radio

Identity is the soul's unique map, providing the essential sense of belonging, purpose, and continuity that anchors our human existence. This is a celebration of That.

Presented with support from Green Brick Foundation

Special Guests: Filmmakers Jason Lindsey and Julián Trejo Bax with butterfly advocate Claudia Galeno-Sánchez

Local Outreach Partnership with Grand Traverse Conservation District

Outdoor Tours and Experiences Sponsored by Kayak, Bike & Brew and TC Brew Bus

Friday Historic Building and Tunnel Tour
Friday 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm / The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

Presented with support from The Minervini Group

Limited to 25 Participants / Free to Festivalgoers

In the Midwest, problem-solving is a quiet, collective triumph. It’s the "roll-up-your-sleeves" grit that turns a neighbor’s broken tractor or a frozen pipe into a shared victory. That steady, practical ingenuity offers a deep sense of purpose, rooted in community, resilience, and a genuine kindness for the world around us.

Presented with support from Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities

Special Guests: Filmmakers Nick Loud and Grant Piering and Lexie Garrett, House of Bug Productions

In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s coastline and the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he uncovered the vital nesting beaches of sea turtles. During his death-defying quest, he unravels mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ocean creatures – and sets out to save them from extinction.

It’s that restless, gritty part of us that looks at a locked door and starts picking the lock. It’s built to push back and demand better. The human spirit is our relentless inner drive to endure, create, and find meaning, even when facing life’s greatest challenges.

Special Guests: Producer Rachel Felder, Naturalist for Detroit Parks & Recreation and Biker/Philosopher Kiko Silvelet

Presented with North Ed Career Tech High School

If you've ever wondered how the future generation sees our world, our human condition, or what their sense of humor is then you won't want to miss this special selection of short films from the enormously talented Film and New Media program at our local North Ed Career Tech. Led by educator Zac Wendland, these students will surprise and delight you.

2026 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Winner

In the town of Churchill, Manitoba, a polar bear’s migration is transformed into a surreal spectacle of tourism, town safety protocols, and invasive human curiosity.

Presented by West Shore Bank

Living anywhere near the Great Lakes and all their connected inland seas and rivers means embracing a four-season lifestyle defined by vast freshwater horizons, sandy dunes, and world-class recreation that has to be felt to be truly appreciated.

Presented with support from Conservation Resource Alliance

Special Guests: Filmmakers Jason Whalen and Mike King with John Lutchko, Director of the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute at Northwestern Michigan College

Deep within us burns a restless fire, an innate hunger to shape the world. We are not mere observers; we are creators and catalysts. Driven by hope and unyielding spirit, let’s take action!

Special Guests: Filmmakers Christy Frank and Alex Goetz and documentary subject Laura Bartlett

Outdoor Tours and Experiences Sponsored by Kayak, Bike & Brew and TC Brew Bus

Friday Birdwatching with Nate Crane
Friday 8:30 am - 9:30 am / Logan’s Landing South Boardman Lake

Presented with support from Grand Traverse Audubon Club and Rare Bird Brewpub

Limited to 25 Participants / Free to Festivalgoers

Outdoor Tours and Experiences Sponsored by Kayak, Bike & Brew and TC Brew Bus

Friday Sunrise with Bugsy Sailor
Friday 6:00 am - 6:30 am / Grand Traverse Bay TBA

Presented with support from Interlochen Public Radio

Limited to 25 Participants / Free to Festivalgoers