It's a new era for Milwaukee Film Festival – complete with a new stake in one of its key venues, a new spot on the calendar (Oct. 18 through Nov. 1) and, newly announced today, three new program categories: Das Kino, focusing on German films and the German experience in film; GenreQueer, highlighting LGBTQ+ stories across documentary and fiction; and Teen Screen, shining a spotlight on contemporary movies about teens and teen issues – programmed for and by teens.

Selections amongst the three new categories include "Transit," the latest from "Phoenix" director Christian Petzold; the comedy "Ideal Home" starring Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd; and the Slamdance award-winning hip-hop musical "My Name Is Myeisha."

Here are the film lineups for these inaugural programs. 

Das Kino

"3 Days in Quiberon"

In this black-and-white biopic, European screen star Romy Schneider matches wits with an ambitious German journalist in her final interview before her tragic death in 1982. 

"Bye Bye Germany"

Comedy, drama and mystery intertwine in this post-World War II tale about a band of Holocaust survivors selling "luxury" items to their guilt-ridden German town in order to escape the country to America. But as they get close to their goal, the group also begins to close in on one survivor's shady past. 

"In the Aisles"

A workplace drama about a quiet German superstore worker navigating the dramas and politics of his new job – as well as his blossoming relationship with the married worker from the shop's sweets department. 

"It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story"

Featuring interviews with Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and more, the documentary "It Must Schwing" shares the story of how two German refugees founded one of the most iconic jazz labels in the genre's history: Blue Note Records. 

"Transit"

German master Christian Petzold ("Barbara," "Phoenix") weaves another tale of identity in World War II, following a man attempting to flee France under the false name of a dead author – a perfect plan until he meets the author's wife while stuck in Marseilles. 

"Western"

A culture war brews on a small-town construction site as the rowdy German workers begin to clash with the unaccepting Bulgarian locals – with one soft-spoken and open-minded construction employee stuck in between both sides. 

GenreQueer

"Bixa Travesty (Tranny Fag)"

This Brazilian documentary follows transgender performer and activist Linn da Quebrada as her electric, nudity-filled shows empower audiences – and challenge the country's heteronormative attitudes. 

"Chedeng and Apple"

Chedeng, a widow who recently announced to her family that she's a lesbian, and her best friend Apple take to the road to find the former's first true love. The police, however, are hot on the duo's tail because Apple sliced her abusive husband's head off and brought it along on the trip, tucked away in a Louis Vuitton bag for safe keeping. A comedy!

"Ideal Home"

From the director of "The Craft" and "Hamlet 2," "Ideal Home" follows Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan as a carefree gay couple unexpectedly thrown into parenthood when a 10-year-old arrives on their doorstep saying he's Coogan's son. 

"Rafiki"

The first Kenyan film to show at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival – but banned in its native country – "Rafiki" tells the story of two teen girls whose early friendship is tested by their fathers' heated political race against one another and whose growing romance is tested by the country's intolerance for homosexuality. 

"When the Beat Drops"

Ever heard of bucking? The explosive underground form of dance gets its time in the spotlight thanks to this documentary, chronicling the art's origins in the Deep South as gay black men's response to exclusion through its growth into the mainstream. 

Teen Screen

"Blue My Mind"

A young woman undergoes unexpected changes during her teenage years beyond the usual stuff they teach you about in sex education – such as a vicious hunger for raw fish, a taste for salt water and unexplained bruises on her legs. Sounds like the perfect second course to follow last year's terrific cannibalism coming-of-age allegory "Raw" (now on Netflix).

"High Fantasy"

Shot entirely on an iPhone, "High Fantasy" takes four friends out on a camping trip in South Africa, only for all members of the party to swap bodies and face looking at life literally in another's shoes. 

"My Name Is Myeisha"

A winner at the Slamdance Film Festival, "My Name is Myeisha" uses the police shooting of a California teen – inspired by the real life 1998 shooting of Tyisha Miller – as the launching point for a hip-hop, spoken word musical, viewing her life and thoughts in her final moments in a flurry of art and expression. 

"Personal Statement"

In this documentary, three high school seniors serve as their classmates' guidance counselors, trying to push and support their entire class to get into college – even while their own futures in higher education aren't a guarantee. 

In addition to those three new categories, the Milwaukee Film Festival also announced several world premieres and one U.S. premiere scheduled for this year's celebration – two from its Spotlight Presentations category, one from its Latinx-focused program Cine Sin Fronteras and four from its locally cultivated Cream City Cinema group. 

The films premiering at the 10th annual Milwaukee Film Festival include:

"Ayotzinapa, el paso de la Tortuga"

In this sobering documentary making its U.S. premiere at the Milwaukee Film Festival, 43 student activists from Ayozinapa were violently detained by the local Mexican police and disappeared in what became known as the 2014 Iguala mass kidnapping. This film follows the case, the corruption throughout the police and the government, and the families seeking justice. 

"The First Patient"

In this world premiere, Milwaukee filmmaker Chip Duncan follows a group of first-year medical students as they prepare for a famed rite of passage amongst doctors: their first patient, a human cadaver to be dissected. 

"Invisible Lines"

88Nine Radio Milwaukee's acclaimed web series makes the leap from the computer screen to the big screen in this locally-made documentary, sharing frank conversations from participants across the city and across the economic, racial and gender spectrum about the place we call home. 

"Lake Michigan Monster"

Heard of the Lake Michigan Monster? I haven't either – but in this absurdist black-and-white Cream City Cinema selection, a kooky sea captain takes to the waters with a motley crew to find and hunt the aquatic beast. 

"This Little Light"

"This Little Light" shines a light on the enraging yet inspiring story of Wendi Moore-O'Neal, a Black Feminist organizer who loses her job after she marries her wife due to her non-profit employer's homophobic rules. 

"Sijan"

In this incredible true story, Capt. Lance Peter Sijan crash-lands during a mission over Laos, leaving him behind enemy lines in the harsh jungle for 45 days without food or water – and miraculously survived to earn the Medal of Honor. 

"Yen Ching"

This locally produced documentary follows a Chinese-American family as the clan's patriarch hopes to pass on the Chinese restaurant that gives the film its name – only to see his sons all pass, seeking out their own versions of the American dream instead of following the traditional, expected path.

For more information on the festival and tickets, visit Milwaukee Film's website.