The Elk Rapids
Film Festival

The Legend of the Elk Rapids Film Festival

In 2014, after too many drinks and years of summer vacations together in Elk Rapids, Michigan, two best friends—Scott and Dan “Dusty” Graves—hatched what their wives universally declared “the dumbest idea ever”: a film festival. Which, of course, meant it absolutely had to happen.

That first year, Scott and Dan braved the mosquitoes, the skepticism, and a screening of Old School that would go down in history as “Boobs Over the Lake.” It was scrappy, it was ridiculous, and it was perfect. A cultural movement was born.

What started as an act of defiance grew into something none of them could have predicted. Robert “Roscoe” McLeod joined the following year, completing the founding trio. By 2016, Dusty had designed the first official t-shirt—the festival was no longer just an idea, it was a brand. In 2020, facing COVID uncertainty, the wives—Erin, Bonnie, and Nancy—staged a programming coup, introducing the “Tom Cruise era” and the festival’s first outdoor screening. They didn’t just accept the festival; they made it their own. Sometime in the early 2020s, Roscoe’s brother Scotty joined the ranks, becoming an integral part of the festivities and proving that the best traditions are the ones that grow.

The years that followed brought legendary moments: Jaws screened on a water trampoline in 2021, a private Top Gun: Maverick screening via party bus in 2022, and “aggressively” nautical attire on a rented yacht in 2023. The 2024 80’s Revival introduced Todd Aldrich’s lakefront performances, and 2025 inaugurated Solset—the Holcombs’ surprise new home—as the festival’s permanent sanctuary, complete with custom Ron Burgundy orange bathrobes.

Over a decade in, the Elk Rapids Film Festival is more than movies. It’s three families, a growing circle of friends, and a tradition that starts planning every January because the anticipation is half the fun. It’s laughter, too many drinks, and the knowledge that summer isn’t complete without a week in Elk Rapids celebrating the films—and friendships—that matter most.

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