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Experimental Tuesdays: A Brief History of Chasing Storms

February 10 | 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

A tornado funnel forms beneath dark storm clouds over an open rural landscape.

Date & Time
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 (7–9 p.m.)

Location
UWM Union Cinema

A Brief History of Chasing Storms presents a history of the tornado as both a destructive weather event and an American icon. Local monuments to past tornadoes intertwine with mythologies of settlement and displacement. An amateur storm chaser questions his own agency and fate. The CEO of a Wizard of Oz-themed storm shelter company describes a growing market in a world of increasing weather uncertainty. Unfolding episodically, questions of memory, inequality, colonization, climate change, and disaster capitalism arise as the film examines legacies of weather within the region colloquially known as “tornado alley.”

Curtis Miller is a filmmaker and artist based in Chicago, IL. His work often takes the American Midwest as both site and subject. His films have screened internationally at Visions du Réel, IDFA, DMZ Docs, Glasgow Short Film Festival, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Antimatter, EXiS, and the Chicago International Film Festival, as well as the Hyde Park Arts Center, Gallery 400, and the Renaissance Society, among others. In 2025, he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” A Brief History of Chasing Storms is Miller’s first feature.

The artist will be present for a Q&A after the program.

A Brief History of Chasing Storms directed by Curtis Miller 70 minutes, 2025, 16mm & 4K video

Experimental Tuesdays is a FREE weekly screening series that features the most celebrated work of contemporary and historical artist-made film and video. The series seeks to present films and artists that explore the creative and critical potential of moving images. This series amplifies marginalized voices by hosting artists that represent diverse populations, such as LGBT, Native American, Black and Latinx artists. Hosted by the Department of Film, Video, Animation & New Genres, and presented in partnership with UWM’s Union Cinema, this series is a bedrock of the Milwaukee arts landscape. Experimental Tuesdays has recently hosted the work of Silvia das Fadas, Courtney Stephens, Simon Liu, Helena Wittman, Jessica Bardsley, Suneil Sanzgiri, Mary Helena Clark, Angelo Madsen Minax, and Rhayne Vermette to name a few. This screening series is free and open to the public.

UWM Union Cinema

2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Milwaukee, WI 53211