LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Capital City Film Festival, the largest yearly celebration of independent film in Lansing, returns this week beginning with a special preview event on Wednesday and a premiere party on Thursday.
Each year, the festival honors artists and filmmakers not just from Michigan but from across the United States and around the whole world.
And it’s not just film screenings, the Capital City Film Festival packs a unique blend of live concerts, hands-on media events, and fun parties that happen in multiple venues across Lansing.
This year, Capital City Film Festival is kicking off the proceedings at the former Sears location in the Frandor Shopping Center. The festival is using the building as its flagship venue, where a massive projection screen will be used to show films.
A preview event is being held on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the former Sears, featuring a screening of the short film “Chop! Chop!” and “Hundreds of Beavers,” a supernatural winter epic about one a fur trapper’s quest to defeat a pack of beavers. The film’s director, Mike Cheslik, will be in attendance.
The Red Carpet Premiere Party event is on Thursday at 6 p.m. and features a global art exhibit curated by the festival called “Creativity in the time of COVID-19: Art for Equity and Social Justice.” A screening of “Just a Vibe,” an anthology of short films, will happen at 7 p.m. in the venue’s special theater room.
Capital City Film Festival then continues on Friday at 6 p.m., with multiple screenings at the former Sears building and the Lansing Public Media Center. “Everybody Wants to Be Loved” will be at the Sears location, and “The Sun Rises in the East” will be at the Lansing Public Media Center. Both screenings will have filmmakers in attendance.
Friday also features screenings at both locations at 8 p.m. Sundance Film Festival Best of Fest winner “Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out” will be at the former Sears, and “Jack Has a Plan” is being shown at the Lansing Public Media Center.
The festival is packed with more screenings, concerts and other events that continue on Saturday, and into next week through Saturday, April 15. For a full schedule, visit capitalcityfilmfest.com/schedule.
For a list of films that are being screened, visit capitalcityfilmfest.com/selections. A map page that includes directions to each venue is available at capitalcityfilmfest.com/map.
