ELY — The Ely Film Festival returns to Ely’s Historic State Theater and the Greenstone Cinema March 11-15, bringing more than 30 filmmakers from across the country to a community that has become known, in indie film circles, for the warmth of its audience.
“A lot of film festivals are really focused on filmmaker connection,” said Lucy Soderstrom, the festival’s program director, during a preview event at the Tuesday Group this week. “I think it’s very cool that our festival has such an emphasis on community and filmmaker connection.”
This year’s lineup spans feature films, shorts blocks, and a robust schedule of Q&A sessions, after parties, and community programming with Indigenous filmmakers and themes featured prominently throughout the week.
Festival director Ryan Bajan, who has co-directed the program for several years, noted in his welcome letter that more than a third of this year’s films come from Indigenous filmmakers, and that the Indigenous Youth Film Day, now in its fourth year, will bring students from area schools to a full day of curated programming on March 12.
Among the highest-profile guests is Eva Thomas, director of “Nika & Madison,” a feature about two young Indigenous women on the run after defending themselves from a police assault. Thomas’s short film debut, “Redlights,” premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
“Having Eva Thomas come to town is a little bit like the Ely Film Festival punching above its weight,” Soderstrom said. “These are people who are operating at a very high caliber, and they’re choosing to come here.”
Also attending is Maggie Lemere, a National Geographic Explorer and videographer whose film “Land of Canaan” offers an intimate portrait of Palestinian olive farmers and their fight to preserve ancestral land. Lemere previewed an unfinished version of the film for a group of Ely community members last year during a visit to town and returns this week for the completed film’s screening Wednesday evening.

The schedule
The festival opens Wednesday, March 11, at 3 p.m. with the Creative Expressions Shorts block at the State Theater, followed by the feature “The Only Way Out Is Through” in the Greenstone Cinema at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday evening features “Land of Canaan” at 6:30 p.m. and “His Monster” at 7 p.m. in the Greenstone, with director Erich Cannon in attendance.
A potluck dinner at the Ely Folk School, associated with the Union Palestine Solidarity Group, will run from 5 to 6:15 p.m. Wednesday for those looking for a meal between screenings. An after party at Insula Restaurant follows the evening’s films, with the kitchen staying open late — a rarity, Soderstrom noted with a laugh, that the community should acknowledge.
Thursday marks Indigenous Youth Film Day. The Dibaajimowin Shorts block opens at 10 a.m. at the State Theater, featuring films including “Unraveling the Ribbon,” about the cultural and political significance of the Native American ribbon skirt, and “Tiger,” directed by Justin Deegan, a filmmaker whose work has screened at Sundance and earned widespread attention in the independent film world. Director Leya Hale, a 2025 Bush Fellow and multiple Emmy Award-winning producer from the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota and Diné Nations, will be in town for her short documentary “Bdote: A Birthing Island” and for the feature “Medicine Ball,” screening Thursday afternoon.
While students have lunch at the Ely Community Center with live music by Keith Secola and Gary Farmer, a public panel on Indigenous athletes in Minnesota will run simultaneously at the Ely Folk School, led by longtime basketball coach Chris Jourdain.
Thursday evening features the Opening Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in the State Theater, including an Anishinaabe drum ceremony, followed by “Nika & Madison” at 7:30 p.m. and “Silly Little Wounds” in the Greenstone, the latter directed by Vanessa M.H. Powers, an award-winning filmmaker who has attended the festival since its earliest years and returns this year with what Soderstrom described as her first feature-length film. An after party follows at the Boathouse Brewpub.
Friday opens with a passholder breakfast and a downtown Ely history walking tour led by Jess Edberg of the Dorothy Molter Museum, departing from the theater at 10 a.m. The day includes the Neighborly Shorts block at 3 p.m. featuring films about the Ely Folk School, the Ely Folk School’s Adventure School, Iron Range steelworker layoffs, and the Boundary Waters wilderness debate with a filmmaker representative from every single film in attendance. The evening’s headliner is “Remaining Native,” a coming-of-age documentary following 17-year-old Native runner Ku Stevens, whose great-grandfather escaped an Indian boarding school on foot at age 8. The film screens both Thursday afternoon, with a live Q&A with Chris Jourdain, and Friday at 7 p.m., with a pre-recorded Q&A from director Paige Bethmann. A Darker Side Shorts block, described as “light horror,” follows in the Greenstone at 7:30 p.m., with an after party at the Frisky Otter.
Saturday features the Nourishment Shorts block at 10 a.m., followed by a mixer at Potluck Kitchenware. Afternoon screenings include “Land with No Rider,” a documentary about the last remaining cowboys in southwestern New Mexico, and “Plastic People,” a feature documentary on the health threat of microplastics. The Relational Shorts block at 4:30 p.m. is, Soderstrom said, perhaps her favorite block of the festival. The evening closes with “Observer” at the State Theater and “Enongo” in the Greenstone, the first feature-length film of any genre in history to have an all-Black-women animation team.
The festival closes Sunday, March 15, with an invitation-only award ceremony at the Grand Ely Lodge, followed by public screenings of “Her/Mine” and “Battersea,” both exploring family legacy and estrangement, and the closing film “Maah Daah Hey: Together,” a documentary about an epic mountain bike race in North Dakota’s Badlands.
Audience members can vote for both a feature and a short film throughout the weekend. Votes for multiple different films are encouraged, though organizers ask attendees not to vote for the same film more than once. Winners will be announced after the final screenings Sunday.
Several blocks are already selling out. The Saturday afternoon Relational Shorts block has limited availability, though it replays Wednesday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. in the Greenstone. A full list of encore screenings is printed on the back page of the festival program, available at Ely’s Historic State Theater and at downtown sponsor storefronts.
Festival passes and individual tickets are available at elyfilmfest.org.
Filmmakers in attendance will be identifiable by yellow lanyards throughout the weekend. Soderstrom encouraged community members not to hesitate to approach them.
“The feedback from filmmakers is that they love it,” she said. “Do what we do best here in Ely.”