Hell's Half Mile Film & Music Festival

09/13/2026

🎬 CLOSING NIGHT at Hell’s Half Mile!

We’re wrapping up the 20th Annual Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival with a movie that feels tailor-made for an HHM audience.

EDIE ARNOLD IS A LOSER
📅 Sunday, September 27
⏰ 7:30 PM
📍 State Theatre, Bay City
🎞️ 73 minutes

Timid dork Edie accidentally finds herself in the spotlight after starting a punk band with her fellow “turds” at an all-girls Catholic school.

Suddenly, she’s an icon to the losers, a problem for the hot girls, a headache for the nuns, and somehow caught up with the ho****st altar boy you’ve ever seen.

Yeah. It’s that kind of movie.

EDIE ARNOLD IS A LOSER is loud, ridiculous, rebellious and packed with the kind of comedy that gets even better when you’re watching it with a theater full of people losing it together.

And keep an eye on Edie’s outrageously funny best friend Frances, played by standout McKenna Tuckett.

Come close out four days of movies, music, filmmakers, late night adventures in downtown Bay City with us!

EDIE ARNOLD IS A LOSER
Directed by Megan Rico & Kade Atwood
Written by Megan Rico

🔥 Sunday night. 7:30 PM. State Theatre. One last HHM movie together.

09/12/2026

We're so very excited to have Ducks Ltd performing at the 20th Annual Hell's Half Mile, Saturday, September 26th at the Jefferson Building!!

Hailing from Toronto, Ducks Ltd. - band crafts tightly wound guitar pop that pairs bright, jangling melodies with the restless energy of post-punk and power pop. Led by Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis, the band channels the sharp hooks and chiming guitars of ’80s college rock while singing about anxiety, isolation, and the strain of navigating an increasingly unstable world. Their latest album, Harm’s Way, turns those tensions into a brisk, exhilarating collection of songs…. music that sounds breezy and triumphant even as unease churns beneath the surface. Road-tested, relentlessly catchy, and built for movement, Ducks Ltd. will bring a rush of ringing guitars, breakneck rhythms, and bittersweet hooks to Hell’s Half Mile.

Ducks Ltd will be performing along with Snorkeler from Nashville, and DogFace from Mount Pleasant! Don't miss this fantastic night of live music!

STREAM/ORDER:https://found.ee/ducksltd_hw"Train Full of Gasoline...

09/11/2026

OPENING NIGHT at Hell’s Half Mile is going to be something special. 🎬🎸

We’re kicking off the 20th Annual Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival at 6:00 PM with our Opening Night Party at the Pere Marquette Depot, the official start to four days of independent film, live music, filmmakers, artists, and everything that makes HHM what it is.

Then we head to the State Theatre for CRYSTAL CROSS, a darkly funny, deeply human road movie about two broken strangers, faith, music, desperation, and the strange ways we keep each other moving forward.

Writer, director, composer, and lead actor Richie Follin will be joining us in Bay City for a Q&A immediately following the film.

And then the night crosses over from film into live music.

After the Q&A, head a couple blocks over to Old City Hall, where Richie takes the stage with his band GUARDS, bringing their infectious indie pop and rock sound, big hooks, and cinematic energy to our Opening Night after party.

This is exactly the kind of night Hell’s Half Mile was made for: gathering together, experiencing a filmmaker’s work on the big screen, talking about its creation with the audience, and then watching that same artist plug in a guitar and continue the night through music.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

🥂 OPENING NIGHT PARTY
6:00 PM • Pere Marquette Depot

🎬 CRYSTAL CROSS
8:15 PM • State Theatre
88 minutes
Q&A with Richie Follin following the screening

🎸 GUARDS
10:15 PM • Old City Hall

Featuring an original 15-song soundtrack written by Richie Follin, Crystal Cross stars Rubyrose Hill, Richie Follin, Lukas Haas, Missi Pyle, Samantha Robinson, Luke Baines, Kayla Anjali, Eric Kelly, David Lowe, and Barbara Williams.

One party. One movie. One filmmaker. One band. Three venues. One hell of an Opening Night.

20th Annual Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival
September 24–27 • Downtown Bay City

09/08/2026

We’re proud to present Mabuhay, a Michigan-made feature from Detroit writer/director Aronjonel Villaflor at the 20th Annual Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival.

An artistically inclined college sophomore struggles to balance her own dreams with the traditional expectations of her Filipino mother. When an unexpected reunion with her estranged cousin challenges the boundaries of her young adulthood, she begins to discover what it means to define success on her own terms.

Set against a Metro-Detroit backdrop, Mabuhay explores themes of community, Filipino-American identity, family, and the search for representation — asking what happens when we finally give ourselves permission to pursue the parts of who we are that have been waiting to be seen.

A beautiful and deeply personal debut feature from an emerging Michigan filmmaker.

🎬 Mabuhay
📍 Friday, September 25
🕡 6:30 PM
📌 Delta College Planetarium

🎟️ Tickets available now at https://hhm20.eventive.org/schedule/6a95f803e5cb2fa33e0af805

09/04/2026

We're SO very excited to have Snorkeler make their way from Nashville to Bay City to play Hell's Half Mile on Saturday, September 26th at the Jefferson Building! 🔥🔥🔥

Hailing from Nashville, Snorkeler is the indie-rock project of Canadian-born songwriter Curtis Heimburger, formerly of Mom Rock. Built on tight grooves, distorted garage-rock guitars, and massive, singable choruses, Snorkeler balances offbeat riffs and biting sarcasm with an undercurrent of genuine vulnerability. The songs wrestle with fading friendships, creative frustration, emotional burnout, and the stubborn drive to keep reaching for something better. On the debut EP No Power, Heimburger transforms those uncomfortable realities into cathartic anthems…. music that can sound playful and triumphant even when everything feels hopeless. Backed by a full live band, Snorkeler will bring an explosive mix of raw emotion, infectious hooks, and dance-floor energy to Hell’s Half Mile.

Directed by Sammie GaynorVideographer - Jason PauliBass - Ava Co...

09/04/2026

🇦🇺 FROM AUSTRALIA TO BAY CITY! TEENAGE VERTIGO IS COMING TO HHM!

We’re excited to welcome TEENAGE VERTIGO to the 20th Annual Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival, and even more excited that two of the filmmakers are making the trip from Australia to join us!

Writer/director Adam Lang and writer/lead actor Liam Ridolfi will be in Bay City for HHM, taking part in Q&As following the film and joining us for all the festivities throughout our four-day festival.

🎬 TEENAGE VERTIGO

After learning that he’s about to become a father, reckless teenager Fylo drifts through a turbulent day of denial, panic and bad decisions before facing the realities of growing up.

You have two chances to see it at HHM:

📍 Saturday, September 26 at 4:00 PM
State Theatre

📍 Sunday, September 27 at 12:00 PM
Delta College Planetarium

And when you see Adam and Liam around Bay City during the festival, be sure to give them a proper Hell’s Half Mile welcome! They’re traveling a long way to spend the weekend with us, and we can’t wait to have them here.

Watch the trailer below. 🎥

🔥 HELL’S HALF MILE FILM & MUSIC FESTIVAL
September 24–27, 2026 | Downtown Bay City

09/01/2026

Hey Hellions! Check out this fundraiser for the Antique Toy & Firehouse Museum located in Downtown Bay City! A great event for a great cause coming up on 9/14!!! HHM has provided them with 2 All Access Passes to give away. ;)