Annual 41 North Film Festival to offer 20 films, music, special events Oct 31-Nov. 3 at Rozsa

A scene from ANGELIQUE'S ISLE, the 41 North Film Festival featured film, by filmmaker/producer Michelle Derosier, who will be a special guest at the festival on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Rozsa Center. (Photos courtesy Erin Smith, director, 41 North Film Festival)

HOUGHTON -- The annual 41 North Film Festival will be held from Thursday, Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s program features over 20 films from around the world, along with music, events, and special guests Anishinaabe filmmaker/producer Michelle Derosier and Michigan Tech alumnus actor/writer/producer Curtis Fortier.

A scene from HUMAN NATURE -- a provocative exploration of CRISPR’s far-reaching implications, through the eyes of the scientists who discovered it, the families it’s affecting, and the bioengineers who are testing its limits.

Delving into the complexities of editing the human genome is the new film HUMAN NATURE, to be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31. It will be followed by a Q and A with Dr. Caryn Heldt, Dr. Paul Goetsch, and Dr. Alexandra Morrison.

In PICTURE CHARACTER, Directors Martha Shane and Ian Cheney lead viewers on a deep dive into the ever evolving world of emojis, from their humble beginnings in Japan to mobile keyboards the world over.

The festival will present PICTURE CHARACTER (an Emoji
Documentary) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1. This informative and entertaining film covers everything from how emojis came into existence to how new emojis are added to the unicode system. To add to the fun, those who come in an emoji-inspired costume will be entered in a drawing for a prize. After the film, the Rozsa lobby will be the scene of music and emoji cookie decorating.

HONEYLAND is an intimate film that tells the story of Hatidze Muratova, the last in a long line of Macedonian wild beekeepers. The film will be followed by a panel discussion with Victor Busov and Kathy Halvorsen, Michigan Tech professors; and Melissa Hronkin, teacher of art at the Houghton Portage Public Schools, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College and Finlandia University.

Saturday, Nov. 2, will feature a full day of programming about our relationship to the environment. Films include ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH at noon, THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM at 2 p.m., HONEYLAND at 4 p.m. (followed by a panel discussion) and the featured presentation of special guest Michelle Derosier and her film ANGELIQUE’S ISLE at 7:30 p.m. -- inspired by the true story of Angelique Mott, an Anishinaabe woman who, with her husband, was abandoned by unscrupulous copper miners and left to die during the winter of 1845 on an island off of Isle Royale (today known as Mott Island).

Angelique and Charlie, in ANGELIQUE’S ISLE.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, Michigan Tech alumnus Curtis Fortier will be on hand at 1:45 p.m. to present and discuss some of his work as an actor/writer/producer. Fortier will be followed by a new docudrama about the life of information theorist Claude Shannon (THE BIT PLAYER) at 3:30 p.m.

The festival will close Sunday evening with MAIDEN at 7 p.m. -- the thrilling and emotional story of the first all-female crew to compete in the Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race.

See the full line-up of films and events at 41northfilmfest.org. The festival is free and open to the public. Tickets can be reserved at tickets.mtu.edu or by calling 906-487-2073 and will also be available in the Rozsa lobby prior to each film.

Click here for the complete Schedule of films and events.

Click here for links to descriptions of the films.