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Back of the Envelope Travel Guide: Wisconsin Film Festival

November 7, 2007 at 3:00 PM | 0 Comments

Don't confuse Madison with the rest of Wisconsin. A small, blue dot amidst a sea of Republican reds on the election maps, this liberal outpost has more going for it than cheese. Home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the city also boasts its own film festival.

The Wisconsin Film Festival, now in its tenth year, features 150 films and runs April 3-6, 2008. The festival takes over ten downtown theaters, with genres such as documentary, shorts, narrative and experimental. Organizers even throw in restored classics, as well as the work of Wisconsin filmmakers. Events, like Star Wars stormtrooper invasions, are also part of the fun.

Festival organizers claim attendance numbers are growing--nearly 30,000 last year--and more well-known entries keep coming in. Last year, for example, the festival featured Wristcutters: A Love Story and Fay Grim, starring indie darling Parker Posey.

Our Back of the Envelope Guide

Where to Stay -- For a taste of the Midwest's strong Scandinavian heritage, head to the Naeset-Roe Bed and Breakfast. A fifteen-minute drive from Madison, the four-room inn also serves as a footnote in Norwegian immigrant history. Naeset-Roe was built in 1878 by the immigrant-architect Jens Naeset, who opened his doors to other Norwegians before they obtained work at such exciting places as the Mandt Wagon Factory.

Where to Grub -- Head back to Madison at night and fill up on carb-, fat- and cholesterol-heavy dishes at Dotty Dumpling's Dowry. Located several blocks from the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, the local favorite serves up traditional sandwiches, but look no further than the left-hand column on the menu's first page. With nine different hamburgers, each under $7, you'll have plenty of change left over to sample some of Dotty's 25 beers on tap. But, because Madison is a college town that's in session during the film festival, keep in mind that this student hot spot is likely to be loud, crowded and bustling at night.

Where to Drink -- Rather than hit up the Madison brew scene, take University Ave. around Lake Mendota to Middleton's Capital Brewery. Having taken top honors at the Beverage Testing Institute's World Beer Championship (number one in the U.S. and number seven in the world), brewmaster Kirby Nelson attracts beer freaks every year. Due to the state's chilly climate, the brewery doesn't keep regular hours until May, but visitors can still take tours every Friday and Saturday.

Related Stories:
· Wisconsin Film Festival [Official Site]
· Movie Set Travel: The Last Kiss [Jaunted]
· Film Festivals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: MandaRose]

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