The Farmington Film Festival will celebrate both international and homegrown cinema when it hits the Farmington Civic Theater Thursday through Sunday.
The festival, now in its 11th year (and formerly the Greater Farmington Film Festival), kicks off Thursday with “Cinema Paradiso,” director Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1998 love letter to cinema, and on Saturday will screen the Detroit documentary “Resurgo,” filmmaker Stephen McGee’s 20-years-in-the-making portrait of the Motor City.
The program also includes showings of “The World According to Allee Willis,” the 2024 documentary about the late Detroit songwriter behind the “Friends” theme song and Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September”; “You Had to Be There,” a 2025 documentary about the Toronto comedy scene and its influence on American pop culture; short film programs highlighting both Michigan and international filmmakers; a local filmmaker panel; and a free screening of the 2016 animated hit “Sing” for the kiddos.
“We wanted to bring a variety of films and provide something for everyone,” says festival programmer Brandon Walley. He’s been hunting for selections to plug into the fest since October, and he locked in the programming on Feb. 1.
Walley, who is also a programmer at the Ann Arbor Film Festival, says the festival encourages audiences to see things “they normally wouldn’t see.”
“It draws in and strengthens community,” says Walley, who resides in Detroit and was raised in St. Clair Shores. “I’m a true believer in the communal aspect of watching cinema together. It hits differently, it’s a whole different experience.”
Clare Cooney, who has been running the Farmington Civic Theater for eight months, is excited to host the festival at her theater. The fest has been held across various venues for the last several years, and this year’s festival marks the first time it’s been exclusively held at the Civic since 2019.
The festival is “a perfect fit” for the theater, says Cooney, who says it is her goal for the theater —which originally opened in 1940 — to show a mix of titles to audiences.
“The secret sauce that I’ve found is variety is the spice of life,” says Cooney. “I try to keep a year-long festival vibe at the theater, showing movies that are a little special, a little different, a little offbeat.”
agraham@detroitnews.com
Farmington Film Festival
Thursday-Sunday
Tickets $10 per screening, or $55 for a festival pass
Farmington Civic Theater, 33332 Grand River Ave, Farmington
thefct.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Farmington Film Festival includes Detroit doc ‘Resurgo,’ more
Reporting by Adam Graham, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
