A small Michigan town and its biggest annual ritual are heading to theaters just in time for the holiday itself. ABRAMORAMA has acquired North American theatrical rights to Andrew Shea and Melissa Shea’s documentary “Flag Day,” with the film set to open in New York on June 12 before expanding to additional cities nationwide. The rollout lands two days before Flag Day on June 14, giving the release an obvious symbolic charge.
Set in Three Oaks, Michigan—described as home to the country’s largest Flag Day parade—the film unfolds over Flag Day weekend and follows a cross-section of residents as they prepare for the annual event. Veterans, local business owners, marching bands, and volunteers all become part of a broader portrait of a town gathering around a shared civic tradition, with the filmmakers framing the doc as both an affectionate community study and a look at how identity and belonging get negotiated in a politically divided America.
The Sheas’ statement leans into that idea of observation over thesis. “Flag Day began as an effort to listen closely to a community coming together around a shared tradition, and to better understand what that ritual reveals about who we are,” they said, adding that they hoped a theatrical release would let audiences experience those stories collectively.
Abramorama, meanwhile, called the film “beautifully observed” and “deeply resonant,” positioning it as the kind of nonfiction storytelling the distributor wants to champion right now. That fits the film’s verité approach, which the release describes as a ground-level portrait of civic life, one that holds both the warmth and the strain of contemporary American community.
The film opens in New York on June 12 and expands to more cities after that. Watch the trailer below.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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