By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published May 14, 2015 at 7:06 PM

While the Milwaukee Film Festival is still 133 days away (but who's keeping track?), the exciting news is already getting started. This morning, Milwaukee Film announced that the newly renovated Avalon Theater in Bay View will be added to the lineup of venues for its upcoming seventh annual film festival.

The Avalon – located at 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. – was closed for almost 15 years before it was purchased, redone and opened once again to the public last December. 

"At Milwaukee Film, our mission is really to celebrate not only film, but also our amazing city, and so we’re thrilled to have another historic Milwaukee theater involved," said Milwaukee Film artistic and executive director Jonathan Jackson, in a press release. "The Bay View community has long been a strong supporter of the festival, and we’re excited to bring films directly into their neighborhood at the gorgeously renovated Avalon."

The 2015 Milwaukee Film Festival will now stretch across five theaters in the area, with the Avalon joining the Oriental Theater, the Downer Theater, the Times Cinema and the Fox-Bay Cinema Grill. All of this should mean more movies and more opportunities to see them come when the festival gets up and running this fall. And more movies is never a bad thing. 

In addition, Milwaukee Film announced that festival passes and ticket six-packs are now on sale. The ticket packages – whose prices will increase as the festival approaches – are currently available exclusively through Milwaukee Film's website. The official box office will then open to the public on Thursday, Sept. 10 – or Wednesday, Sept. 9 for Milwaukee Film members. For more information on ticket package information, prices, membership or additional sale dates, visit Milwaukee Film's website

The seventh annual Milwaukee Film Festival hits the big screen on Thursday, Sept. 24 and continues through Thursday, Oct. 8.