Milwaukee Celebrates International Women’s Day with “Wonder Woman”

Maelee Colby sat in a darkened theater looking up at the large screen in front of her. Thankfully, she’s tall for her age so she could see over the other movie-goers who crowded into the theater around her.

After the movie ended, Maelee came home and told her mother that Wonder Woman (2017) was the best movie she’s ever seen.

Flash-forward to 2019, Maelee now sits in a similar movie theatre with popcorn on her lap and a soda in front of her. Maelee starts waiting for a special screening of Wonder Woman to begin.

Maelee and her mother, Mallory Colby, attended a special screening of Wonder Woman along with dozens of other film-goers at Milwaukee’s Oriental Theatre on Friday to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Colby and Maelee both watched Wonder Woman separately when it first came out in 2017. “We wanted to see it because we haven’t see it together. It’s so special here.”

The Film Girl Film Festival partnered with Milwaukee Film and No Studios to show Wonder Woman in 70mm film.

Andrea Thompson, the Film Girl Film Festival’s founder, worked to put together a project in celebration of International Women’s Day. For her, a newly-formatted 70mm version Wonder Woman was an excellent choice.

“I myself can think of no better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than a screening of a film that wholeheartedly embraces what Wonder Woman has come to stand for namely, compassion, and the dedication to fighting injustice in whatever form it may take,” Thompson wrote on the Film Girl Film Festival’s website.

The Film Girl Film festival is the only female-focused film festival in Wisconsin. Thompson attended college in Milwaukee and wanted to build something in the city. Many female-centric film festivals run in Chicago, where Thompson now lives. She wanted to bring a similar film festival to Milwaukee that could start small and grow big.

For past three years, people in Milwaukee grow more and more aware of the event each year, according to Thompson. “It’s great to give women a voice to not stay quiet,” Thompson said.

Three years later, Maelee changed her opinion on Wonder Woman. It’s a good movie, she said, but it’s not the best anymore. “It’s changed,” Maelee said. “I’ve changed. The world’s changed.”