The film “Big Vs. Small” focuses on a wave surfer and free-diver. It will be part of the annual 41 North Film Festival scheduled for Nov. 3-6 at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

By Journal Staff

HOUGHTON — The annual 41 North Film Festival — showcasing topics from hockey to volcanology — will be Thursday through Sunday at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton.

The festival again offers an opportunity for people to gather together and watch films from around the world that explore a range of issues, ideas and personalities.

Along with over 20 films — both features and shorts — there will be special guests, educational panels and other attractions.

This year the festival is free and open to the public.

“The festival has something for everyone,” said Erin Smith, 41 North Film festival director, in a news release. “This year’s cast of characters includes artists and art thieves, hockey players and range riders, big wave surfers and social justice warriors, scientists and bird lovers, as well as a beleaguered laundromat owner who finds herself in the metaverse.”

High school students are the focus of two films in the program. “Hockeyland” follows high school players on the Iron Range in Minnesota, while “Boys State” offers a timely tale about the lessons of civic engagement. Two Michigan stories, “Bad Axe” and “The Sentence of Michael Thompson,” examine social justice issues closer to home.

Reid Davenport, who won Sundance’s 2022 U.S. Documentary Directing Award and has cerebral palsy, provides viewers with a literal point of view on his daily encounters with ableism in “I Didn’t See You There.” A panel discussion will follow on disability and being looked at without being seen.

Indigenous land rights and culture are taken up in several films this year. Kalvin Hartwig, Michigan Tech alum and Anishinaabe producer/filmmaker, will be in attendance with his award-winning short film, “This Is Who I Am.” Hartwig’s film will screen with “The Territory,” an on-the-ground look at the fight against deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

Also joining the festival virtually this year is director Emelie Mahdavian and Finnish filmmaker Minna Dufton. In Dufton’s film, “Big vs. Small,” Portuguese big wave surfer Joana Andrade seeks the help of Finnish free-diver Johanna Nordblad to overcome her fear of drowning. Across the world and inland to cattle country, filmmaker Emelie Mahdavian follows two women range riders working a season on a remote Idaho mountain range. Both directors will participate in virtual question-and-answer sessions following these films.

Several films focus on scientific research. The opening night film, “Fire of Love,” profiles French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft. “The Human Trial” looks at cutting-edge diabetes research, and “All That Breathes” examines the effects of ecological collapse in New Delhi through a story of two brothers who open a bird hospital in their basement.

Michigan Tech researchers and community members will participate in question-and-answer sessions following these films.

The full line-up of films and events can be found at https://41northfilmfest.mtu.edu/2022/. Michigan Tech students will need to bring their HuskyCard, but no ticket is necessary for others attending the festival this year. Major sponsorship for the festival is provided by the Department of Humanities, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the College of Sciences and Arts, and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

The 41 North Film Festival showcases award-winning independent films and filmmakers from around the region, country and world.

Its mission is to provide Michigan Tech students and the surrounding community with an opportunity to see new films that are currently in distribution and under discussion, as well as the chance to interact with filmmakers, producers and other industry professionals about the art and business of cinematic storytelling.