Milwaukee International Film Festival sues Milwaukee Film Festival
Fortis et al. accuse Abele et al. of theft and computer crimes
No related
When it became apparent almost a year ago that the Milwaukee International Film Festival was folding, the movie-lovin' fur started flying between all parties involved. Lengthy reports were filed by Bruce Murphy at Milwaukee Magazine and Mark Metcalf at OnMilwaukee.com, and the picture painted of Sheperd Express publisher and MIFF founder Louis Fortis was one of a shadowy, dictatorial overlord siphoning money for his paper.
Fortis, along with other Shepherd Express/MIFF folks, including Dave Luhrrsen and Matt Astbury publicly defended themselves and their festival. Then, the drama faded, the new Milwaukee Film Festival stepped in, and it seemed that all the accusations of wrong-doing on either side had quieted. Now Michael Horne of Milwaukeeworld is reporting that Fortis has filed a lawsuit against Milwaukee Film, Inc., charging the organization and its founders (like Chris Abele, head of the Argosy Foundation, a former funder of Fortis’ festival) of theft, unjust enrichment, and computer crimes. Fortis claims that Abele, in particular, usurped the festival from him through nefarious means. In a statement published on the MIFF website, Fortis makes his position clear:
"Dave Luhrssen and I spent six years putting our hearts and souls into creating a world-class film festival for Milwaukee, and through a series of unlawful activities by the defendants, they destroyed a very successful festival."
Looks like it’s going to get uglier after all. Decider doesn’t know who did what—we’ll let the courts sort that out. But we think all this drama would make a great documentary, don’t you?
