Doc-UWM

Heavy Is the Crown may be centered on Vaun Mayes, but this film was built through the voices, trust, time, and experiences of many people.

Community members. Young people. Families. Activists. Educators. Law enforcement. Elected officials. Students. Filmmakers.

And so many people who opened a door and allowed us to listen/ to their stories.

The film was produced through doc|UWM, a group of/ multiple students learning what it means to make a documentary in collaboration with a real community and about issues that matter.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who trusted us with their stories.

Now we're getting ready to share the film with an audience.

🎬 HEAVY IS THE CROWN
📅 September 27, 2026
⏰ 4:30 PM
📍 Oriental Theatre — Abele Cinema

Milwaukee Film's Documentary Dialogues Film Festival
Featuring a post-screening Q&A and talkback with filmmakers and participants.

We hope to see you there.

https://gofund.me/c3454c6ec

HEAVY IS THE CROWN — WORLD PREMIERE ANNOUNCEMENT

After years of filming, listening, learning, and working alongside Milwaukee communities, Heavy is the Crown is finally coming to the big screen.

🎬 HEAVY IS THE CROWN
📍 Milwaukee Film’s Documentary Dialogues Film Festival
📅 Sunday, September 27, 2026
⏰ 4:30 PM
📍 Oriental Theatre — Abele Cinema

Directed by Sean Kafer and produced through Mackenzie Savin and doc|UWM, Heavy is the Crown, follows Milwaukee community activist and violence prevention specialist Vaun Mayes as he works alongside people directly affected by violence, systemic neglect, and polarizing approaches to policing.

Beginning with the 2016 police shooting of Sylville Smith, the film asks difficult questions about what safety really means — and what it takes to build safer communities through trust, accountability, care, and sustained engagement.

At its heart, this is a film about Vaun, the people he works with, and a Milwaukee community determined to find another way forward.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A and talkback with filmmakers and participants from the films.

Come be part of the conversation and celebrate our community.

🎟️ September 27 | 4:30 PM | Oriental Theatre

Summer Film

Sturgeon rearing at Riveredge Nature Center in Saukville with Mary Holleback

Lake Sturgeon took center stage today. Our SURF fellows presented their latest production research for "Sturgeon Stories," proving that documentary is a vital tool for environmental discovery.

Feeling grateful for collaborators like Anahkwet (Guy Reiter). He’s been instrumental in helping doc|UWM connect with sturgeon stories across communities.
On Friday at Peshtigo Lake, we turned the camera toward him so he could share his own knowledge and perspective.

We interviewed Wisconsin DNR sturgeon expert Aaron Schiller as sturgeon begin their spring run upstream. Early detections show the fish passages are working and the story is just beginning.

We’re grateful to John Gurda for sharing his time and insight with docUWM for our Sturgeon Stories documentary.