Block 8-Made in Michigan

About This Program

A selection of mixed shorts made either in Michigan or by a Michigan filmmaker.

Salamander

Director: Paul Rothman

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 14 min, Color

A guy walks into a bar before closing time and overstays his welcome.

Great Lakes Connection: The film was shot on location at the Mayfair Bar in Haslett, Michigan. The cast and crew all live in the area.

Instagram

Storage

Director: Christopher Watkins

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 6 min, Color

A man who accidentally killed his friend tries to move on.

Project Website 

Rosetta

Director: Ellison Winterstein

Narrative Short, United States, 2022, 18 min, Black and White

Four Cold War spies who are trying to obtain vital intelligence find themselves suspects in a dangerous mystery.

Great Lakes Connection: The film was produced in East Lansing, Michigan by an all-Michigan-native cast and crew.

Project Website  Twitter  Facebook  Instagram

GRBBR

Director: Pete Johnston

Narrative Short, United States, 2023, 12 min, Color

After being laid off from her tech job, a young woman fights her way through the increasingly terrifying world of gig work.

Great Lakes Connection: This film was shot in Okemos and East Lansing, Michigan! All filmmakers and cast are from the mid-Michigan area.

Saving Our Theatre

Director: Dan J. Korhonen

Documentary Short, United States, 2023, 21 min, Color

This film explores the challenges facing three Upper Michigan theatre groups and how they plan to survive and provide value to their communities as cultural hubs.

Great Lakes Connection: Three Upper Peninsula theater groups in Negaunee, Marquette, and Calumet are the subject of the documentary.

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Not as We Do

Director: Carolyn Klarecki

Narrative Short, United States, 2022, 10 min, Color

When a struggling new mother takes on the project of digitizing her family’s home videos, she gets a troubling new perspective on her own upbringing.

Great Lakes Connection: The writer/director was born, raised, and attended film school in Michigan.

Lake Effect

Directors: Mike King, John O’callaghan

Documentary Short, United States, 2023, 36 min, Color

For a decade professional skier Mike King sought adventure only from the peaks of mountain tops in the far reaches of the west. In 2020 when COVID encouraged lockdowns and travel restrictions, King’s life on the road came to a screeching halt.

This abrupt change inspired him to reconnect with the unique terrain, ski culture, and people who were thriving right here in his home state of Michigan. Over the course of making the film King realized that you don’t need to travel far to have an epic adventure.

Great Lakes Connection: This is a film about a professional skier returning home to Michigan and rediscovering the amazing winter community here. Also the film includes some winter surfing in the Great Lakes.

Project Website  Instagram