47th Ann Arbor Film Festival News

Photos from the festival

2009-04-13T17:52:00.003-04:00

See pictures from the festival in glorious color in the photo gallery.

Thank You, Thank You

2009-04-02T16:07:00.017-04:00

The 47th Ann Arbor Film Festival would not be possible without the passion, energy and contributions of many tremendous individuals and organizations. We'd like to give credit where credit's due and provide our heartfelt thank you to each of the following:

$10,000+ Bruce Baker & Genie Wolfson
$5,000 - $9,999 Steve Warrington & Courtney Mandrake
$1,000 - $2,499
Martha Darling & Gil Omenn
Larry Skiles
Lawrence Kasdan
Ron & Jill Donovan Maio

$500 - $999 Michael & Shannon Brown
Wendy Lawson
Matthew & Sonam Krichbaum
Jack Smith Marash
630 Club
Myrna Jean Rugg & Richard Cronn
Mary Cronin & John Johnson
Constance Crump & Jay Simrod
Gavin Eadie & Barbara Murphy

$250 - $499
Russ Collins & Deb Polich
Hubert & Ellen Cohen
John Dryden & Diana Raimi
Ruth Bardenstein & Jim Roll
John WC Baird
Nancy LaTendresse
Peter & Micki Drescher
Barry Miller & Enid Wasserman
George Fisher & Kari Magill
Frank & Gail Beaver
Peter Howell
Lindsay McCarthy
David Scott Follin
LeAnn & Joe Auer
Dr. John W. Farah
Bruce Curtis & Sara Tucker
Joanna Courteau
Deborah S. Greer
Ron Sober

technical director Tom Bray
special programming David Dinnell
out night programming Debra Miller
programming associate David Osit
filmmaker liaison Maisie Baubie
development associate Becca Keating
graphic design Ryan Molloy
graphic assistant Andrew Reaume
webmaster Charles Burney
housing coordinator Myrna Rugg
transportation coordinator Rick Cronn
green room coordinators
Constance Crump
Jay Simrod
green room decorations
Meghann Rotary
Mary Thiefels
after party coordinators
Bill Spencer
Meghann Rotary
film jam coordinator Forest Juziuk
festival photographers
Jes Rose
Brooke Keesling
Amanda Scotese
videographer Leslie Dreyer
aaff promotional videos
Martin Thoburn
Geoff George

aaff sponsor videos
Stephanie Frankiewicz
Emily Skaer
Steve Coy
Sean Darby

after party talent
DJ Bob Moir
VJ Leslie Raymond
Forest Juziuk
Aaron Lindell
Raj Mahal
DJ Billjax
David Osit
DJ Janks

main lobby installations
Bang! Productions, LLC
Jeremy Wheeler
Jason Gibner
Chris “Box” Taylor
Mike Taylor
John Redmond
Ayron Michael Nelson
Courtney Nock
Dustin Krcatovich
Steven Griffes

installation artists
Oren Goldenberg
Ted Kennedy
Leslie Raymond
Lisa Waud
Nicole MacDonald
Mary Thiefels
Meghann Rotary
Zack Weaver

board of directors
Bruce Baker (President)
Matthew Krichbaum (Vice President)
LeAnn Auer (Treasurer)
Myrna Jean Rugg (Secretary)
Tom Bray
Michael Brown
Russ Collins
Peter Howell
Heidi Kumao
Wendy Lawson
Lindsay McCarthy
Larry Skiles
Steve Warrington

advisory board
Alison LaTendresse
Bryan Konefsky
Chris Gore
Chris McNamara
Deanna Morse
Gary Schwartz
Jonathan Berkowitz
Ken Burns
Lawrence Kasdan
Leighton Pierce
Michael Moore
Morrie Warshawski
Richard Kerr

screening committee
Angel Vasquez
Becca Keating
Brooke Dagnan
Brooke Keesling
Chris Csont
Cory Snavely
Daniel Menzo
Gary Schwartz
Heidi Kumao
Mandira Banerjee
Scott Northrup
Shannon Buwalski

student interns
Maisie Baubie
Ryan Levin
Kelly Patrick
Bill Spencer
Meghann Rotary
Noah Stahl

michigan theater projection & stage staff
Dan Bruell
Dan Moray
Frank Uhle
J. Scott Clarke
Jim Pyke
Joe Ferdon
Rick Berthelot
Scott McWhinney
Walter Bishop

pre-screeners
Bruce Baker
Myrna Jean Rugg
Tim Pulice
Jon Moodie
Derek Kiesgen
Brian Hunter
Kim Demick
Forest Juziuk
Amy Nesbitt
Esther Kirshenbaum
Steve Warrington
Sandy Schopbach
Ryan Levin
Sonia Gill
Beca Fried
Kirk Ott
Claus Theile
Leland Austin
Danny Menzo
Rob Kirby
Denise Heberle
Al McWilliams
Ted Kennedy
Jeffrey Riber
Charlotte Young Bowen
Andrea Steves
Tim Furstnau

granting agencies & organizations
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts
The Michigan Council for Arts & Cultural Affairs
The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation
State Street Area Association
The Arts Alliance

afterparty venues
Arbor Brewing Company
\aut\BAR
Babs Underground Lounge
The Cavern Club
The Yellow Barn

opening night catering
Seva
Totoro
eat catering & chef services
Morgan & York
Schakolad

judges’ meals Angelo’s
Café Felix
Café Habana
Café Zola
Zanzibar

filmmakers’ dinner Casa Dominick’s

thank you for your support, encouragement, and inspiration
Adam Hyman
Amanda Scotese
Amy Nesbitt
Andréa Picard
Bruce Baker
Bryan Boyce
Bryan Rogers
Chris Holland
Chrisstina Hamilton
Dan Marano
Danny Plotnick
Deb Greer
Debra Miller
Esther Kirshenbaum
Frank Pahl
Genie Wolfson
Geoff George
George Manupelli
Graham Hamilton
Jeff Meyers
Jeremy Wheeler
John Hieftje
Josh Pokempner
Ken Burns
Laura Barnes Gabriel
Laurie Blakeney
Lawrence Kasdan
LeAnn Auer
Leslie Dreyer
Lynn Yates
Mark McElhatten
Mark Mothersbaugh
Martha Darling
Mary Thiefels
Michele Turnure-Salleo
Newcombe Clark
Rick Cronn
Ron Reed
Russ Collins
Sabine Gruffat
Sam Raimi
Sam Valenti
Steve Klein
Tamara Real
Terri Sarris
Tina Fey
Vicki Honeyman
Wendy Lawson

extra high fives to
Al McWilliams
Amanda Bynum
Becca Keating
Brooke Keesling
Charlie Burney
Chris Csont
Colleen Sherman
Constance Crump
Danny Drysdale
Danny Menzo
David Dinnell
David Osit
Forest Juziuk
Gary Schwartz
Heidi Kumao
Jay Simrod
John Roos
Jon Moodie
Jon Sajetowski
Katherine Weider
Katie McMahan
Keith Orr
Kim Demick
Laura Barnes Gabriel
Lee Berry
Martin Contreras
Marti Gukiesen
Michael Cox
Mom and Dad
Myrna Jean Rugg
Nicole MacDonald
Ruth Bardenstein
Ryan Molloy
Scott Northrup
Steve Warrington
Tim Pulice
Tom Bray
Zack Weaver

In-Kind partners
Grace & Wild
The Michigan Theater Foundation
PLAYgallery
UMMA
UM School of Art & Design
UM Digital Media Commons
Work • Ann Arbor

On-the-Scene: Festival Wrap-Up

2009-03-30T18:30:00.007-04:00

The 47th Annual Ann Arbor Film Festival came to a close last night. Just about anybody involved with the festival is pretty exhausted after days of organizing, drinking, dining, afterpartying, and viewing beautiful, hilarious, shocking, provocative, fascinating films. I could certainly use a good night's sleep, and still have a lot to do before heading back to Chicago, but wow, my brain's buzzing with ideas.

The entire film festival experience was incredibly inspiring. I would imagine that the quality of the films, the diversity of their mediums, the poetry of their expression, and the intensity of their stories has jetisoned many other than myself into this state of sleep deprivation mixed with creative overload. Beyond spending hours upon hours watching films and reflecting on them with discussions or the blog posts, really the most inspiring aspect of the AAFF was the obvious momentum in the community that it has generated.

It seemed that everywhere I went, people were super pumped about the festival and already churning out excited ideas for next year's fest. Eavesdropping here and there, I didn't even know how half these people were involved with the festival, but somehow they had contributed to it and thus felt like they were a part of it. I heard filmmakers from far-off lands gushing over the rarity of this level of community involvement. Executive Director Donald Harrison was a catalyst in connecting artists, designers, engineers, filmmakers, tech people, journalists, sponsors, board members, activists, and everybody else into an ever-growing movement that has been growing over the past year, in Ann Arbor and beyond, and ultimately culminated during the six days of the festival.

In closing, I'd like to address the AAFF:

Hey, Ann Arbor Film Festival

It was a blast--you're the best! Thanks for everything, and don't ever change (except of course next year will be even better).

See ya then! ciao, Amanda

p.s. Thanks for reading!

47th AAFF Awards - Complete Winners Announced

2009-03-30T14:34:00.014-04:00

Award Winners Announced for 47th Ann Arbor Film Festival!

Ken Burns Award for Best of Festival - $3,000 O'er the Land - Deborah Stratman

Gus Van Sant Award for Best Experimental Film - $1,000 LOUDTHINGS - Telcosystems

Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film -$1,000 Kempinski - Neil Beloufa

Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film [tie] - $1,000 [$500 each] The Collection - Keren Albala Retouches - Georges Schwizgebel

Michael Moore Award for Best Documentary Film - $1,000 On The Third Planet from the Sun - Pavel Medvedev

Edward Jones Audience Awards - $1,500 [$500 each]
RiP: A remix manifesto - Brett Gaylor
Skhizein - Jeremy Clapin
When It Was Blue - Jennifer Reeves

Kodak/Filmcraft Imaging Award for Best Cinematography - $3,000 [$1,500 of Kodak film; $1,500 of Filmcraft processing] ELEMENTs - Julie Murray

Tom Berman Award for Most Promising Filmmaker - $1,000 Kanizsa Hill - Evelyn Lee

The Barbara Aronofsky Latham Award for Emerging Experimental Video Artist - $1,000 Cataract - Alexis Eggertsen

Prix DeVarti for Funniest Film [tie] - $1,000 [$500 to each] Operated By Invisible Hands - Nicole Brending Video Terraforma Dance Party - Jeremy Bailey

The Detroit Make it Here Award for Best Michigan Filmmaker - $1,000 A City to Yourself - Nicole Macdonald

Peter Wilde Award for Most Technically Innovative Film [tie] - $500 [$250 to each] Lossless #2 - Rebecca Baron & Doug Goodwin Refraction Series - Chris Gehman

autFILM Award for Best LGBT Film - $500 Tommy - Tora Martens

Ghostly Award for Best Sound Design - $500 Mas Se Perdio (We Lost More) - Stephen Connolly

The Eileen Maitland Award - $500 Nora - Alla Kovgan & David Hinton

The No Violence Award - $512 Immersion - Richard Levien

Best International Film Award - $300 De Tijd - Bart Vegter

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS - $200 each Re-emerging Filmmaker Award: A Horse Is Not A Metaphor - Barbara Hammer Transfalumination Award: Studies in Transfalumination - Peter Rose Vision Award: Quiero Ver - Adele Horne The Hecklers Can’t Ruin It Award: 1859 - Fred Worden Life Force Award: Kassim the Dream - Kief Davidson The Perfect Kiss Award: Afterville - Fabio Guaglione & Fabio Resinaro

On-the-Scene: Sunday Sunday Sunday

2009-03-29T20:25:00.004-04:00

The overcast afternoon, and now freezing rain, plus not getting enough sleep for the last few days has made today a little bit sleepy and surreal. Though the jurors have headed to the airport and everyone’s a bit tired, the last day of the festival has brought in crowds all the same, especially for the Awards programs.

I just got out of the first showing this afternoon. City to Yourself, a grainy, poetic essay-like documentary of Detroit, commenced the program with the city's shocking problems and romantic decay. It was so entrancing that I didn’t realized that my massive popcorn ended up being pretty much gone after the film's 24 minutes. Nora, winner of the Eileen Maitland Award for the film that best addresses women’s issues, followed the tense life moments of a dancer in Zimbabwe. Surrounded by settings saturated with varied textures and colors, Nora, the main character, acted out emotions through expressive movements, bringing in a rarely scene artistic medium in the already very holistic realm of film.

The Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival goes to O’er the Land, which I watched early in the afternoon. Though it’s a longer piece (at 51 minutes) , I plan to head back to the theater in a short while to catch it again. I found that the beauty of the compositions—all shot in 16mm and even more captivating with the Michigan Theater’s incredible projection system—often mesmerized me to a point that I lost focus of the story. I would definitely blame that more on the sleepiness than the director. Filmmaker Deborah Stratman uses intense sound accompaniments--like the repeated blare of a fire alarm, bug noises in the forest, or empty silence--to drive her sequencing of painterly scenes.

In some scenes, themes of war, death, and destruction are juxtaposed with narration, the most striking being a dramatic story of survival told by a military pilot. For the most part, the camera stays still or slowly panning, such as with some beautiful shots of trees with rustling leaves and undulating branches, and on occasion suddenly makes jarringly sharp movements that punctuate the emotion of the story. Shots of humans seemed dehumanized and automaton-like—lines of marching band members or civil war re-enactors stiffly stream by the camera lens. I’m not one to re-watch much of anything, but I’m sure that a second viewing of O’er the Land will reveal much more depth and dynamism than the first, as any fine work of art should do.

On-the-Scene: Sat. Night RiP Fever

2009-03-29T15:08:00.006-04:00

Before RiP: A Remix Manifesto began, director Brett Gaylor noted the prettiness of the historic Michigan Theater, and encouraged the audience to let out some old-time movie theater spirit with applause, cheering, and booing. He even had us do a little practicing of each.

RiP: A Remix Manifesto, which recently screened in Austin, TX at South By Southwest, stitches together interviews with copyright law obeyers and disobeyers, animated sequences, and live footage of mash-up music artist Girl Talk, who we find is by day a research biologist by the name of Gregg Gillis. Incredibly pertinent for the times, this issue of copyright law (see more about the AAFF lecture from Thursday) could easily be presented densely and end up convoluted, but instead RiP is youthful, fun, and snappy while still thoroughly presenting the various dimensions of copyright law conflicts in the present times. Most intriguingly Gaylor proposes a parallel between Gillis' musicianship--in which he takes pieces of other people's songs and remixes it into a new work--with his career as a scientist, in which he takes bits from other scientists' research and tries to piece it together into a something new. Intellectual property laws protect scientists from being able to freely use others' work, and thus Gillis says that these laws stifle scientific discovery and advancement in the same way they limit artistic creation.

My favorite moments of booing: when we saw Paris Hilton having her picture taken with Gregg and when an archival news interview with Lars Ulrich complaining about Napster came on the screen. Moments of cheering: hearing Stanford professor Lawrence Lessig propose that we need to adapt the copyright law because it is outdated, mention of the Creative Commons (non-profit that wants to promote creative sharing of works of art and music), and the appearance of festival guest Mark Hosler of Negativland, who Gaylor described as a "professional sh_t disturber." For a Saturday night, a social issue documentary could have been a bit too dense, but Girl Talk's dance music, along with the audience's booing and cheering, kept it alive.

On-the-Scene: Saturday Afternoon

2009-03-28T17:55:00.008-04:00

It's a lively afternoon--I'm hearing a slightly aggro Bible enthusiast yell to Saturday strollers down State Street, occasionally inciting some fervid responses, and meanwhile a blues harmonica seems to be blaring from someone's parked car. Crowds keep forming around Harrod Blank's art car. It's parked out in front of Work Gallery along with some other installations special for the fest.

At 2:30 today Blank rolled up in this tree mobile, making a grand presentation to the crowd ready for his arrival at the Michigan Theater. The roots caught on the passenger door as it was opened, causing a little challenge to its functionality. Blank crawled out to cheering, and headed in to see Automorphosis, his documentary about art cars.

Automorphosis was way fun, dudes. On the most basic level, who cannot help but find joy in seeing cars shaped like a shark, a telephone, or a friggin' stiletto heel? Blank's characters revealed to us not just their kookiness or the intensity of their obsession, but all of the many reasons humans make and enjoy art. Some art cars were created out of a cathartic need to deal with emotional or physical challenges; others created for pure vanity and attention; and others made simply for fun. Art is also made to communicate a message of course, and one woman made art cars that addressed littering (crap all over it) and cigarette smoking (more aesthetically pleasing but disgusting car with neatly lined up cigarette butts arranged with pirate-style crossbones). One man spent 18 years meticulously crafting a VW with stained glass--he did it out of pure joy of working with tactile art. My favorite is a tie between the car covered with dancing plastic lobsters and Billy Big Mouth Basses singing along to the "Hallelujah Chorus" and the cheeseburger motorcycle, complete with a milkshake odometer.

On-the-Scene: New World of Cinema

2009-03-28T17:44:00.003-04:00

For this year’s theme of “New World of Independent Cinema” two local artists led walking tour exploring a hidden history of Ann Arbor through the concept of “patina,” the beautiful residue of time left on architectural surfaces. A substantial and varied group of 37 came this morning (I stumbled down there just in time for the 11am start). Our patinologists Timothy and Andrea took us down Tripper’s Alley, the graffitied walkway you pass through if you go out the back exit to the Michigan Theater.

They noted this spot as maybe the most photographed place in A2 and went through a little history. Graffiti supposedly started in the 1980s and then a big mural covered everything in 1991 (read side note about this below if you’re curious). Slowly new paint strokes, sprayed tags, and stencil art covered up the mural. Andrea gave us interesting scientific background on gum as we marveled at the dotted colors of the gum wall, and Tim told us all about “Killroy was here.” Tim and Andrea did an excellent job at engaging a large group and inspiring them to notice beautiful details of the cityscape that to some passersby may seem like annoying signs of neglect or decay. Tim pointed out his appreciation for spots where the city attempted to cover up graffiti but never get the color of the paint quite right, leaving a “cubist style” patina behind. I also appreciated Andrea's disclaimer for their stretch to connect patinas with chocolate at the end of the tour, since we ended with a free sample at Schakolad. A visitor asked them their names and Tim responded that their names were, "Pat Patina and Tina Patina"--good one. Anyway, the chocolate conclusion was some sort of a chemical connection that I couldn’t quite grasp, especially since chocolate in my belly was all I could quite think of at that point in the morning on an empty stomach.

Side note about Tripper’s Alley: The mural, much to the dismay of local artists and graffiti aficionados, covered the creations of hundreds of people in order to display a sort of paint-by-numbers style mural by one artist who wasn’t even an Ann Arbor resident. I've got inside info on the two people who were the first to deface the mural one very cold February night. They grabbed a can of white paint, which they had planned to splash against the walls of the mural, but since it had unexpectedly frozen they ended up smearing gobs of it over an image of a newscaster on a TV and some other random places on the massive mural. They broke the seal so that soon after local artists began covering it again.

On-the-Scene: Friday Night

2009-03-28T13:14:00.008-04:00

The afterparty at the Yellow Barn involved video projections, crazy art hanging everywhere, dancing, darkness, a packed porch, every kind of person everywhere, filmmakers getting down, and honestly I was too busy talking and getting in some social time after all the films and blogging that I didn't get too many pictures...

Come out tonight to the Cavern Club with DJ Bob Mair (10:30pm) and then the UM Museum of Art's Music Video Showcase at Midnight!

On-the-Scene: Lines Around the Block

2009-03-27T21:19:00.005-04:00

A audience of a packed house in the Michigan Theater laughed their way through six filmic animations by Don Hertzfeldt, a California-based artist best known for Rejected. When Rejected came on the screen, the crowd cheered--ctually, when any of the titles appeared enthusiastically yelling ensued.

I would imagine the audience was composed of a mix of devoted fans, curious viewers who had only seen Rejected, and a few people completely unfamiliar with work. I fall into the second category, and so I imagined that most of Hertzfeldt's work would be plain fun and involve stick figures doing and saying random things that would make me laugh. After viewing this program, I found that Hertzfeldt's style spans an impressive range, as do his talents as a storyteller, filmmaker, and visual artist. In Everything Will Be OK, and its second chapter, entitled I am so proud of you, moments in the story of main character Bill shift from sadly perfunctory to humorously charming. At the same time, I loved the lack of meaning in events that are supposed to be so meaningful: as Bill is about to die, he thinks about it as he would any other daily activity and ends up spouting out a word salad of sorts to his loved ones in the room. The timing of the humor in I am so proud of you lightens the somber tone without overshadowing the film's existentialist quality. This piece in particular made me think about how strange it is to be a human. And how strange it is to be sitting in front of a computer right now--I need to get going to the Dark Matter afterparty at the Yellow Barn. It's starting in a few minutes!

In the Q & A session, moderated by booking agent Gabe Levinson, a modest Hertzfeldt shared advice for future animators (work hard and do what you love), his intention with the humor in his films ("The humor is more like the sugar to help the medicine go down"), and talked a little about technique and the creative process. Hertzfeldt, whose tools are a pen, paper, and film cameras, lauded the joy of working with tangible materials: "You get the film back and its like Christmas," he said. When he shared that making new films takes a long time, I'm pretty sure he was referring more to the creative process than to his more "old-fashioned" technique, and in fact he says that digital would not help him create any faster anyway. Seeing the human touch so visibly in these films--whether through a crumpled piece of paper, the twitching curves of his animated drawings, or the black construction paper peepholes--adds, well, a human touch.

Out front, the crowds were a-waiting for the 9:30 program of animated shorts. More coming soon...

-Amanda

On-the-Scene: Friday Afternoon

2009-03-27T18:34:00.010-04:00

Just got out of 87 minutes of super close-up abstractions set to unusual musical sounds--it was the 3 o'clock Juror Presentation: Betzy Bromberg.

In a Darkness Swallowed, time is never constant: lines, shapes, and dots of organic matter, light, water, and darkness itself move in unsteady rhythms. Spaces between the notes of the soundtrack are sporadic and sounds vary from distorted tribal beats to hurried humming and whirring.

Experiencing this somewhat abstract expressionist film, I found my mind wandered in and out of focus--not because I was bored, but because viewing became a meditative experience. Coherent, verbal thoughts melted away during moments of frenetically quick time-lapsed shots or the languid panning of uncomfortably organic close-ups. Bromberg’s imagery tapped into what Gerry Fialka discussed in his lecture earlier this afternoon at Work Gallery. He mentioned a quote that said something like “Experimental film outs our inner dialogue.” It's as though experimental film can reach into the spaces between our more wordy and structured thoughts--like doing laundry, analyzing a situation, or responding to bodily needs and desires. Bromberg's film taps into these spaces, which we rarely vocalize, and carries the viewer into an alternate sense of time.

In the discussion afterwards, Bromberg shared some fascinating background on the making of Darkness Swallowed. She explained that when panning--such as with her husband's resin-based sculptures, which created the very organic forms--she could barely breathe because the movement of the camera on the tripod had to be so delicate. She had to remain incredibly still as she panned only a few inches, though it seemed like a greater distance on the film. She also touched upon her pacing of the film, stating that "It's about time slippage," and "My experience of the journey through the womb." She also emphasized that she wants viewers to have their freedom to see the film as they see it for themselves. I didn't catch any womb travel for myself, but the time slippage was inescapable for me--when the film finished, I couldn't figure out if ten hours or ten minutes had passed.

-Amanda

Join Us Friday Night!

2009-03-27T17:59:00.004-04:00

AAFF is the place to be tonight. You could begin your weekend with "An Evening with Don Hertzfeldt" at 7:00. After seeing new (and maybe one not-so-new) kooky and simple animations by the Academy-award nominated artist, he'll engage a surely curious and lively audience with a Q & A. Meanwhile the Screening Room will be hosting three beautiful shorts inspired by nature for "Mountains and Rivers Without End."

Cartoon fanatics will most likely stick around for the 9:30 program, "The Animated Forest," and at 10:00, "Canyon Cinema Presents" will dive into true cinematic art.

Then you could head on over to The Yellow Barn for "Dark Matter," a party group of three DJs equipped with cosmic jazz, afrobeat, soul, and film scores. Tonight they'll be screening a multi-projector film installation by Ted Kennedy, too.

And I bet you thought that's it for tonight? Nope. Not at all. Go to the State Theater for a midnight showing of The Great Rock n' Roll Swindle, the fake documentary about the Sex Pistols. And if you're keeping the rock n' roll (and rockin' filmmaker) spirit alive, you'll know where to go for the after-afterparty.

On-the-Scene: Remixing the Rules

2009-03-27T15:14:00.008-04:00

Panel discussions can sound like they might be incredibly boring, but you never know what you’ll get. It could be a few people with beefed up egos talking about how they know everything about big abstract ideas. You might have to listen to an audience member ramble about something totally irrelevant, only to find that they don’t even have a question at all. Or you can end up with panel members with an intriguingly diverse set of perspectives and an enraptured audience…

This was the case this sunny Thursday afternoon for "Remixing the Rules: Copyright and Fair Use." The four speakers were Craig Baldwin (Bay Area collage filmmaker), two lawyers from the State Bar of Michigan, and Mark Hosler of Negativland, an experimental band that got into a serious intellectual property mess in the ‘90s. I didn’t catch the entire event since I had just rolled into town, but the discussion centered around intellectual property and copyright law, the issue of measuring intellectual property as a commodity, and how to bring intellectual property laws into happy harmony in the global digital age. Hosler pointed out that with the internet, “We’ll have to accept the fact that you have no control over things the way we’re used to.” The lawyers noted that laws need to differentiate amateur and commercial work, so that a kid making silly videos in his basement can post on Youtube using a major label song and not be sued. On a similar vein, the ridiculous conflict between ASCAP and Girl Scouts over “Happy Birthday” was referenced, too. One of my favorite moments was hearing Hosler express his utter lack of faith in democracy and the legal system while sitting beside two lawyers (who kept their calm quite tactfully by the way). Oh, but also when he noted the irony of the fact that during their lawsuit over of a parody album of the group U2 they managed to land some “pro bono” help.

-Amanda

On-the-Scene: Thursday Recap

2009-03-27T12:50:00.011-04:00

Thursday was so action-packed, I’m expecting the next couple days to be crazy in the best sense. Late in the afternoon, George Manupelli, founder of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, spoke with his Boston accent and dry sense of humor to a crowd of hipster art school students. He shared some history of the beginnings of AAFF, which was born out of his drive to make an open forum for filmmakers outside of the New York scene. In addition to wanting to connect filmmakers with audiences, Manupelli wanted to inspire new films to be made with the creation of the festival back in the '60s. (Later in the evening part of his experimental film trilogy from the early ‘70s was screened.)

Out Night’s shorts program included a touching account of the father of a transsexual (The Bond by Michael T. Conner), a fun sexual exploration acted out by toy dolls (Operated by Invisible Hands by Nicole Brending), and a provocative triple-split-screen romance (Untitled Film Stills by Sam Icklow). In the Unexplored Territories program, I personally was most impressed by Danse Macabre (by Pedro Peres) and Let’s Get Married (Stephan Hillerbrand, Kirk Lynn & Mary Magsamen), two films on completely opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Danse Macabre poetically reveals a quiet, sensuous beauty in what would otherwise be horrifying images of death, like blood rushing in water, a body twirling on a noose, and flames eating at the remains of human bones. In Let’s Get Married, a narrator proclaims absurd statements, all concluding with “peanut butter and jelly,” while three faces--blurred from the other side of a pane of glass--gobble up peanut butter and jelly sandwiches shaped like faces. Sometimes the sandwiches turn into masks with human mouths and tongues and their Wonderbread faces moved like PBJ puppets. Ridiculousness is fun.

Later I played chauffeur: I grabbed Don Hertzfeldt’s manager from the train station, and then picked up Don and his friend at the Weber Inn, and then dropped them all off at the Fleetwood Diner after sharing my nerdy enthusiasm for how great Ann Arbor is (oh, I forgot to tell them about Fleetwood's hippie hash). Back at the theatre, things were wrapping up, and eventually the die-hards headed to the aut/ BAR for some afterpartying with stiff drinks.

-Amanda

On-the-Scene: Volunteer Voices

2009-03-26T21:02:00.003-04:00

Wednesday’s Juror Presentation highlighted the video and animation amalgamations of Emily Hubley. "Pigeon Within," one of the three shorts AAFF screened on Day 2 of the fest, is a short animation in which hand-drawn characters and objects move through empty city streets created with still photographs.

Drawn animations give vibrancy to the details that may otherwise go unnoticed, like a bird perched on a trashcan or a metronome on a coffee table. In each of the three films, Hubley's interesting characters question ideas of longing for a home and longing for companionship in a world where those comforts can sometimes be elusive. - Katie Barkel (festival volunteer/Michigan filmmaker)

On-the-Scene: AAFF's Mobile Photoblographer

2009-03-26T19:01:00.011-04:00

The festival is well underway, and I’ll be blogging for those of you who couldn’t make it, or will be coming for at least part of the festival, or are for some other reason attached to your laptop…

I just got in from Chicago, left straight after work (I’m temporarily teaching high school kids how to make videos). So since I’m arriving on Day 3, I’ve got no dirt on the opening night gala for you, but from the looks of the food line-up (Seva, Totoro Japanese Restaurant, Avalon Bread, and more) and beer from “ABC” (local lingo for the Arbor Brewing Company), it’s on par with the film festivals I used to frequent when I lived in San Francisco (where I met my good friend and festival director Donald Harrison in fact). But of course the opening night gala is not about checking out people’s outfits and stuffing face—the film line-up….woah, geez, holy…OK, let me digress for a moment. Honestly, anyone unfamiliar with Ann Arbor, or the state of Michigan, or the entire Midwest may assume AAFF would show movies about cows and corn fields, or crappy social change docs by hippy college students, or bad features made by hopeless, small town hicks (think American Movie). Just to clarify, the Ann Arbor Film Festival is seriously classy. It’s the country’s longest running independent film festival. It’s one of few Academy-Award qualifying film festivals. And it shows some of the top independent docs, narrative, and film art in the world. Over the decades it’s shown works by Kenneth Anger, Yoko Ono, Gus Van Sant, Andy Warhol, George Lucas and Devo. Filmmakers and/or guests this year include Sam Green, Don Hertzfeldt, Craig Baldwin, Mark Hosler, Emily Hubley, Barbara Hammer, Deborah Stratman, and surely many whose names you’ll be seeing more of in the future. Anyway, regarding the opening night, I’m personally bummed about missing Team Taliban, in which a young Muslim-American exploits the worst stereotypes of this ethnicity in order to pump up his image as a professional wrestler. Stories about someone you would never encounter in your regular life make for a nice change of reality.

And isn’t that the allure of watching film: it lets you escape the stress and banalities of normal life for a moment? American cinema blossomed during the Great Depression. Don’t want to totally state the obvious, but get off the computer and come out to the Ann Arbor Film Festival.

-Amanda Scotese “Mobile Photoblographer”

Free 16mm Hands On Workshop - Stop By. Shoot Film!

2009-03-21T17:02:00.005-04:00

As kids, we all held up our fingers in a box shape and peered through them like a director. Here's your chance to take that vision to celluloid. Discover the benefits and beauty of shooting motion picture film. You’ll talk with a top cinematographer, learn how to use a S16mm camera and film, then shoot your own scene - all in under two hours, and all for FREE!

Following the event, you will get a DVD of your footage sent to you, so you can see for yourself what film quality means. There’s no fee, but space is limited, so sign up is required. This experiential learning opportunity is brought to you by Kodak.

There are three workshops on Saturday, March 28th at 10 am, 1 pm, and 4 pm. To sign up, follow the instructions at: www.kodak.com/go/sbsf

Pioneers of the AAFF - Manupelli and Oleszko to Attend

2009-03-20T16:17:00.005-04:00

Pat Oleszko Opens for Bruce Conner Retrospective
Ann Arbor is in store for a rare treat on Saturday, March 28th, when Pat Oleszko, the fabulous and entertaining performance artist, returns to the Ann Arbor Film Festival. She’ll take the stage of the historic auditorium of the Michigan Theater at 7:00pm in "Gulliblurr's Travels: A Space Oddity." Her performance will precede Part I of an equally rare retrospective of the films of the late Bruce Conner.

Oleszko's performances during the early years of the AAFF are legendary and this year promises to provide another memorable performance adventure.

AAFF Founder George Manupelli
The visionary founder of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, returns to our 47th edition for a lecture and screening. Thursday at 5:10pm Manupelli takes the stage as the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitor for a free public lecture and audience Q & A. This is followed by Manupelli's avant-garde masterpiece Cry Dr. Chicago, screening at 7:30pm.

Filmmaker, painter, collagist, and activist George Manupelli is the founder of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. In 1963, while teaching at the UM School of Art & Design and collaborating with the ONCE Group, he established the Ann Arbor Film Festival as a counterpoint to the New York destination art world. Manupelli directed the festival for 20 years defining it with his aesthetic sense of festival as event and film as art.

Film Origins - That came from where?

2009-03-18T10:45:00.007-04:00

Where do the films in competition at this year's festival come from? Check out a map showing their origins! Mouse over each film reel to see the title of each film.

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Map courtesy of friend of the festival Cory Snavely.

An Evening With Don Hertzfeldt - Exclusive Spring Appearance

2009-03-13T14:11:00.004-04:00

The 47th AAFF gets a strong dose of Don and his wonderfully warped world of animation on Friday, March 27th at 7pm at An Evening With Don Hertzfeldt. This program features his latest animated and crafted epic I am so proud of you, the follow-up to his acclaimed everything will be ok (which took award honors at the 45th AAFF).

Classics from the Hertzfeldt collection be will seen in their cinematic majesty on 35mm at the historic Michigan Theater, providing an opportunity to fully appreciate Hertzfeldt's craft and meticulous attention to detail. The program concludes with an on stage interview and audience Q & A.

"I am so proud of you" has its regional premiere at Opening Night of the 47th festival, March 24th.

Advance tickets are now on sale (and recommended) for both programs.

The Animated Forest - Beware of what's in the woods!

Following Hertzfeldt's program, the 47th AAFF explores The Animated Forest, with short frame by frame films in competition on Friday, March 27th at 9:30pm. This program features memorable animations that provide an eye-popping ride across a vast landscape of techniques, styles and storytelling.

For full program details, advance tickets and to start exploring this year's "new world of independent cinema", please visit: http://47.aafilmfest.org/

Full Festival Program Announced

2009-03-13T13:34:00.007-04:00

The 47th Ann Arbor Film Festival explores “the new world of independent cinema," taking place March 24 - 29th. With 33 film screenings, daily free events, educational opportunities and multiple world premieres, adventure-seeking audiences will have ample opportunities to experience the full realm of independent cinema.

This year's Opening Night Gala, Tuesday March 24th, takes place from 6 – 8pm in the Grand Foyer of the historic Michigan Theater. The festivities kick off with live music, open bar, and catering from local favorites. Following the director's opening remarks, some of this year's most memorable short films in competition will screen starting at 8:30pm.

Over 125 films in competition from 20 countries will compete for $20,000 in awards at the 47th Ann Arbor Film Festival. Covering all lengths and genres of independent and experimental film, this year's festival explores a handful of resonant themes, including: the frontline battle for Fair Use in RiP: A Remix Manifesto, existential dilemmas in the Unexplored Territories program, evolving definitions of home and identity with You Are Here, strong female voices rising above crisis in Terra Firma, and utopian goals gone awry in Beyond the New World.

Special presentations at the 47th AAFF include a live multimedia presentation by legendary culture-jammer Mark Hosler of Negativland, a double-retrospective tribute to the late Bruce Conner, one of the most influential filmmakers and artists of the 20th century, and the ever-surprising and animated Craig Baldwin joins us to present his film, “Mock Up On Mu.”

The founder of the AAFF, George Manupelli, is also making a special appearance this year. On Thursday, March 26th, he will give a free public lecture in the Michigan Theater with Penny W. Stamps series, followed by a screening of his avant-garde classic "Cry Dr. Chicago."

For full program details, advance tickets and to start exploring this year's "new world of independent cinema", please visit: http://47.aafilmfest.org/

A Film Festival Experience to Remember

Consider making the 47th AAFF a destination this year, whether you live down the road, across the country or overseas. We promise all the charms of a top university town, high value for your travel dollars and a memorable adventure through the wild, rewarding terrain of independent and experimental cinema.

Full festival passes are $95 for six-days of screenings, events, performances and parties. AAFF hotel rates range from $55 - $99 night. And you can even catch the free 24-hour public re-opening of the Univ. of Michigan's Museum of Art on March 28th.

This is going to be an AAFF year to remember and we invite you to join us.

47th Trailer in Full HD Color

2009-03-05T12:07:00.010-05:00

Our 30-sec animated video with music by Mark Mothersbaugh reveals the creation of the "New World of Independent Cinema," as animated by Martin Thoburn.

(Music: Mark Mothersbaugh, Publishing: Mutato Muzaki/ Warner Chapel)

The full 47th festival program is now online here.

Welcome!

2009-02-25T20:51:00.002-05:00

Hello, and welcome to the website for the 47th Ann Arbor Film Festival! Here you'll be able to see a full listing of our programs, buy advance tickets, and find out information that will make your time in Ann Arbor all the more enjoyable (even when you're not watching films).

A few sections of this site you should take note of:

How to Festival breaks down the important information you need to know if you plan on attending the festival. It tells you how to get to venues, where you can find good eats, and where to go when it's time to catch some shut-eye.
The Schedule allows you to see what programs will be screening each day of the festival in chronological order.
The Films section allows you to search for films based on specific criteria. If you're looking for a Documentary, Short Films, or something Family Friendly, this is where you should go.

So take some time to check out what we have in store for you this year, do a little cross referencing with your personal calendar, and get ready to explore the New World of Independent Cinema!