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The Ely Film Festival is larger than ever, longer than ever, has a day devoted to Indigenous filmmakers, and includes two showings of a movie shot right here in town.
Those are among the highlights of the third annual event, which starts Wednesday, March 12 and runs through Sunday, March 16.
But even after the festival ends, there’s an opportunity for encore performances.
“We added some showtimes the Wednesday and Thursday (March 19-20) after the festival technically ends,” said film festival director Jacob White. “Last year we sold out some of our showings within a couple of days and this adds an opportunity to see some of those films.”
The festival also starts a day earlier than it did in 2024.
“We’re actually showing movies on Wednesday,” said White, during a presentation to the Tuesday Group earlier this week.
The opening night lineup includes a 7 p.m. showing of Boundary Waters, the feature film produced here in 2023 and dubbed “a coming of age feature drama.”
Director Tessa Blake will be attending a Saturday, March 15 showing of Boundary Waters and is also set to speak at the festival’s awards ceremony, set for the following day at the Grand Ely Lodge.
The March 12 opening night festivities also include a Boundary Waters cocktail hour prior to the showing, and an after party at Insula Restaurant.
After parties are also in the works both the Friday and Saturday of the film festival, at Frisky Otter and the Boathouse Brewpub.
Passes remain on sale for the entire festival, and can be accessed online at the theater’s website (www.elystatetheater. org) under the film festival icon.
“What is a festival pass?” asked White. “It gets you access to the entire week of movies, so from Wednesday through the following Thursday, you can get one ticket to every movie we’re showing.”
Individual passes are $100 and a couple’s pass goes for $190. The festival also sells a $210 group pass, which includes two tickets to all showings plus discounted tickets for anyone else in the same party.
The website also allows for advance purchase of tickets for individual showings during the event. Tickets for individual showings are available for $16.
Festival organizers received over 200 submissions to be included in this year’s festival, and both the main theater and the smaller Greenstone Cinema, with showings beginning at 3 p.m. the first two days and as early as 10 a.m. the ensuing three days.
The festival includes 109 films, although some showings include a collection of several short films.
“It’s not possible to see everything, unfortunately you have to pick and choose,” said White. “I know in past years people have loved the newspaper we put out (printed by the Ely Echo) and the centerfold that has our schedule at a glance.”
One of the focus areas of this year’s festival includes contributions from Indigenous filmmakers, with both feature films and a block of short films, particularly on March 14, when an Indigenous Students Day program involves over 100 students and educators from six area schools.
The festival was the brainchild of White, who attended film school at New York University, and has been making films since age 15. A native of Tennessee, his ties to Ely sprung from working several summers at Northern Tier scout base.
“I love media and story telling, and I’m more captured by films devoted to new ways of seeing the world,” said White.
White attended a film festival in Duluth, which helped inspire him to start a similar event here.
“I saw so many films there made by Minnesota filmmakers or about topics of interest to Minnesotans and I thought ‘Wow, Ely people would love this and eat this up,’” White recalled.
Ely’s Historic State Theater also made for a natural venue.
“Some of our board members from the very beginning said they wanted the theater to be a hub for the arts, to host all types of different events, that maybe we could do concerts and musicals and live events and maybe who knows we’ll have a film festival someday,” said White.
White took the idea, ran with it and has quickly come up with an event that brings people to Ely.
“We brought a great team together to contribute to that and Ely came out in major support,” said White.
More than 45 filmmakers will be in town for the event.
“A lot come and book their own lodging, spend money in town,” said White. “What’s so cool we may have a short film block with one filmmaker maybe doing this for 10 or 20 years and this is their calling card as a director and they’ve got a $25,000 budget and a crew and right next to them may be a filmmaker on a shoestring budget or doing it on weekends when them and their buddies are free. What a cool opportunity, to showcase your work next to other professionals, to network with them.”
