Lights, Camera, Great Lakes: Wolf Tree Film Festival returns bigger and bolder

 Editor’s note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave’s On the Ground Calhoun County series. All photos for this story are courtesy Wolf Tree Film Festival unless otherwise noted.

MARSHALL, MI — Inside the Franke Center for the Arts in Marshall, filmmakers from throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes Region gather annually to be honored for their work at the Wolf Tree Film Festival.

Now in its 8th year, the 2026 event is being moved from January to April 11 so that weather won’t be as much a factor in getting the filmmakers and audience members to the Franke Center, says Cathy Bovitz, Event Manager for the venue and co-producer of Wolf Tree with Marshall’s Youngish Professionals Committee (YPC).

“There’s so much talent in Michigan and the Great Lakes Region for film,” she says. “We wanted to showcase that, and at the same time, we had a couple of filmmakers who came out of Marshall, like Eric Ebner, who has done some beautiful documentaries and short films.”

Ebner’s documentaries have been screened around the world, helping raise awareness and support for ocean conservation, the fight against plastics, and indigenous knowledge,” according to his website. His film, “And the River Rises,” had its world premiere during the 2024 Manhattan Film Festival.

“That Wolf Tree became a nod to that spirit here in Marshall during a wild time when people were kind of looking out for each other. The kind of wild we’re dealing with now has changed, but we’re still looking out for each other and giving people another reason to come to Marshall.” — Cathy Bovitz

“What makes our festival unique is that we put out a call for submissions on FilmFreeway,” Bovitz says. “There are all kinds of festivals globally put on that site.” These include the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the Toronto Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival.

FilmFreeway keeps a percentage of the submission fees, with the remainder going to each of the festivals it represents.

“Our submission fee is $5 because we don’t want money to be a barrier for entry,” Bovitz says.

To qualify, all submissions must be connected to the Great Lakes region — whether by setting, thematic focus, or creators who live or grew up in this distinctive area. Films are welcome up to 30 minutes in length, and music videos, up to 6 minutes.

“We embrace all styles and storytelling approaches, inviting fresh voices and visions says the FilmFreeway information for Wolf Tree.

“In the beginning, we had primarily Michigan filmmakers,” Bovitz says. “Now, we have filmmakers come from areas like Toronto, Chicago, New York, and Minnesota. As long as it borders the Great Lakes, it counts.”

In addition to awards for films, Wolf Tree also includes a Michigan Music Video Awards (MMVA) section. The MMVAs were rolled into Wolf Tree the Festival after a separate event didn’t achieve the commercial success organizers had hoped for.

“The MMVAs used to be a standalone show. We would bring in musicians. The first year, we brought in ‘The Accidentals’ and had music videos around that. We had award categories including Best Country, Pop, and Video. It was a lovely event, and we had a lot of fantastic feedback from musicians and filmmakers, but we didn’t have as much commercial success with that.”

The MMVA component no longer includes live performances, and like the film portion of the festival, award recipients come up on stage to introduce their work, with award presentations coming at the conclusion of the festival.

In addition to awards decided by a committee of filmmakers, audience members also have the opportunity to weigh in with an Audience Choice Award, which typically doesn’t match up with a film the committee has chosen, Bovitz says.

Making the cut

Every year since Wolf Tree began, submissions have increased. Bovitz and YPC won’t know how many will be received until after the January 11 deadline.

She says the increase is due to word-of-mouth among filmmakers, including those who are students. Student filmmakers represent about 15 percent of all submissions.

“The call for submissions goes to a lot of film schools. We’ve gotten quite a few from film schools in Chicago lately. Usually, the student work isn’t as refined as the professional work, so we have a separate student category each year. One year, a student film ended up being the “Best of Festival”.

Award recipients are selected by a committee of 10 that includes filmmakers familiar to Bovitz and YPC and non-filmmakers. Members partner up into groups of two and are assigned 20 or so films to watch.

“From there, each duo narrows it down to between three and five films. They explain why they selected particular films and talk about specific things that stood out to them, like the acting or scriptwriting,” Bovitz says. “We all get together and talk about it as a group, and from there we decide on the Top 20. Then we narrow it down even further.”

The result is two hours worth of award-worthy content shown on the big screen at the Franke Center.

“One thing that sets our festival apart is that we have the filmmakers introduce their own work,” Bovitz says. “If a filmmaker is unable to attend in person, they’re asked to provide a video introduction.”

Before the film screenings, a dinner is held for the filmmakers and their guests.

“A lot of networking happens between them, and they sometimes go on to collaborate,” Bovitz says.

The dinner is followed by a public reception at the Franke Center’s Down Stage Club, which gives “people who are interested in learning more about what’s involved the opportunity to come and ask questions,” she says.

A script for success

Bovitz became involved with the Film Festival in 2020 after joining the Youngish Professionals Committee (YPC), which co-produces Wolf Tree with her.

YPC was “started by a group of individuals in Marshall to develop support opportunities that inspire action, promote engagement, and unlock opportunity for their greater community,” says information on its website.

“Back when it started, it was intended to be a place for young professionals in the area to give them something to do through providing social opportunities and ways to connect and network and retain those professionals here in our area,” Bovitz says. “We were going really strong and then during COVID we took a big hit.”

Like so many groups and organizations during the Pandemic, YPC members utilized Zoom as a way to maintain Wolf Tree, which is one of their two signature events. The other one is “Fridays at the Fountain,” a summer concert series that features live bands and concerts at the Brooks Memorial Fountain downtown.

The name “Wolf Tree” has its origins in that fountain, Bovitz says.

“Back in the early days of Marshall, there was a tree in that fountain circle area,” she says.

The first settlers in the area sought refuge in the heights of the trees as wolves and bears roamed the dirt lane and forest that would one day become the city’s downtown, says information about the Film Festival.

“Later, a platform was built in the large oak’s branches where it is said a sentry, seeking the faint glow of wolves’ eyes, would hunt, eager to protect the village from threats hidden in the darkness below. It is a wild history, a bold story, and a great homage to the films that will be featured at this exciting annual event.”

The Franke Center seats 260, and Bovitz is hoping that every seat will be filled.

“That Wolf Tree became a nod to that spirit here in Marshall during a wild time when people were kind of looking out for each other,” Bovitz says. 

“The kind of wild we’re dealing with now has changed, but we’re still looking out for each other and giving people another reason to come to Marshall.”