MILWAUKEE — The Oriental Theater is buzzing with special screenings as October nears its end.
The latest festival for Milwaukee Film to present is the Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival. It’s one of only a handful of Muslim film festivals in the country that showcase Islamic culture and highlight its local communities.
Founder of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition Janan Najeeb started the festival in 2015. She wanted to create a way for people to gain a better understanding of the Muslim community and Muslim issues. Najeeb tells WTMJ the films are especially important now while violence continues in the region of Gaza.
“Using film as an art form is a phenomenal way to reach people that are not going to necessarily read a book or come to a lecture,” said Najeeb.
Plus, every film screening comes with an opportunity like a director talk-back or panel discussion for film-goers to learn more after the film.
Sunday is the last day of the festival. Two films are still being screened: “Harka” at 4:00 p.m. and “Draw Me Egypt” at 7:00 p.m.
And if you missed Thursday’s premiere of The Wisconsin Muslim Project, a photo gallery with videos and biographies is available online.
The Oriental Theater is soon screening what might be the antithesis to “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” A series of seven movies dubbed “The Exes Tour” will include films starring one of Swift’s ex-boyfriends.
Since the Eras Tour movie can only be shown Thursday through Sunday, The Oriental Theater is filling in the rest of the week with the Exes series.
Tuesday, Oct. 24th starts out with “Zodiac” starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The Halloween-adjacent theme continues with Taylor Lautner in “Twilight,” Tom Hiddleston in “Crimson Peak” and several more Gyllenhaal movies. “Dunkirk” starring Harry Styles closes out the Exes series on Nov. 1st.
Speaking of Halloween, the theater is also screening an assortment of classic horror films as the day of haunting approaches. You’ll find everything from “Scream” to “Scooby Doo” to “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”