About this program

Let’s head to the Upper Peninsula. Featuring breathtaking scenery and deeply personal stories, these two shorts spotlight northern Michigan’s bounty of outdoors activities – and opportunities for pushing yourself to the limit.

AFTER THE FILMS: On Thursday, Jim Schaefer, an executive editor at the Free Press, talks with the filmmakers. On Sunday, Mandi Wright, a Free Press staff photographer, talks to the filmmakers.

The program features the following short films:

Lake Effect

‘Lake Effect’

Professional freestyle skier Mike King departs the mountains out West for his homeland of Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s not thrilled about missing the winter in more well-known slope hotspots, but he rediscovers Michigan’s thriving ski culture and unexpected possibilities provided by the state’s terrain. Prepare to go airborne. Directed by Mike King. (2022)

Unforgettable: A Celebration of Michigan's Upper Peninsula by Bicycle

‘Unforgettable: A Celebration of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula’

In spring of 2021, a group of bikepackers set out to ride the perimeter of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula – approximately 1,600 miles. Join the crew on a journey of exploration, suffering, triumph and unrivaled natural beauty. Directed by Aaron Peterson. (2022)

WHEN + WHERE

7:30 p.m. Thurs., April 27, Michigan Science Center (Toyota Engineering)

5 p.m. Sun., April 30, Michigan Science Center (IMAX)