CCFF25 is coming at ya, Lansing
- Jennifer Berggren
- Mar 28
- 4 min read
Year after year, Capital City Film Festival brings our little city together. With absolutely on-point film and event programming, I love to brag about this festival to anyone who will listen. Back in 2018 and 2019, while I was freelancing, I got thrown in deep to film and edit highlight videos for each year of CCFF before I truly attended as an audience member. Now, I've gone to the festival for a few years without a camera in my hand, just a pass and a list of events and screenings from the schedule.
For 2025, I'm back in the mix, and Wondergold Pictures is a sponsor of Capital City Film Festival! Find our team of videographers around town with the CCFF volunteers and staff, we'll be there capturing the magic. ✨🎥
Here’s our absolutely delightful promotional video for CCFF25
Animated by the talented Kirk Mason.
As an audience member and a filmmaker of sorts myself, I'm looking to get re-energized and inspired to create the kind of work that I dream of making. I cannot express enough how important independent film is. Studios and streaming platforms and production companies starve the humanity from the media we create. They make it look simple to work in this medium and condense complex narratives into easy-to-swallow bites for you to consume. I'm hoping to get you to join in these next two weeks and take some time in our community and with this programming.
A good documentary makes me feel the weight and importance of the work we do as filmmakers and I can keep going. When I get independent film into my consciousness, I feel human and connected. If you want to see what I've been watching lately, here's my Letterboxd profile.
Find a film topic to watch that inspires you to be kind of citizen you want to be. Go look at the things you care about and see them reflected through the lens. Sit with grassroots filmmaking with imperfections and reasonable budgets and real stories.
My favorite section of the festival is the documentary shorts. They are the perfect length for my ADHD. Each year, they hit on social and environmental problems and the things I care about deeply, or will soon after watching.
My favorite thing about video as a medium is that it is multi-dimensional. It engages our eyes and ears, but most importantly, our consciousness. And, we have the opportunity to engage at events like this. CCFF hosts filmmakers, artists, creators, and thinkers; all the people in our community who care in the same ways I do.
You gotta show up, friends!
There are truly some delightfully enticing films, panel discussions, and events this year. Here are the ones I am looking forward to the most...
The Capital City Film Festival events you'll find on my calendar:
Wed, April 2 @ 2:30 PM
Central United Methodist Church
This party is one of my favorites each year, come out and say hi!
Thu, April 3 @ 6:00 PM
Central United Methodist Church
A documentary about the war that evangelical Christianity has waged against abortion since the 1970's. This topic matters to me as an ex-Christian or what we call "exvangelical" who is now pro-abortion and see abortion access at a health care essential and a human right.
Sat, April 5 @ 3:30 PM
Impression 5 Expansion
Our friends at Lansing Facts are hosting a sweet pop-up bar with some gothic overtones, come to this if you have a good sense of humor and enjoy talking over movies with strangers and friends.
Sat, April 5 @ 6:00 PM | Central United Methodist Church
The Invisible Mammal
Sunday, April 6, 2025 @ 4:00 PM | Stage One
Exploring Environmental Justice with Artists, Activists, and Scientists
Wed, April 9 @ 6:00 PM | Central United Methodist Church
‘Pride in Motion’ Shorts
Fri, April 11 @ 5:45 PM | Impression 5 Expansion
Documentary Shorts (my fave every year!)
Sat, April 12 @ 1:00 PM | Stage One
Closing Night Feature: Firebreak
A film showcasing a training program created to solve the problem of hiring faced by incarcerated firefighters who were trained during their time in prison and can't get hired post-release. I'm looking forward to hearing more from the panel after, hosted by Tashmica Torok and her Popaganda Podcast.
Sat, April 12 @ 7:30 PM | Central United Methodist Church
The festival takes place April 2-12 in Lansing, MI. Check out the full schedule to pick your own line-up. We’d love to see you around! You can get individual event tickets or a festival pass. Some of the events are free of cost entirely, too.
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