By John Ghose
For the Daily
Question: What do George Lucas, Brian DePalma, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono and the guy who created the California Raisins have in common? Answer: They all submitted work to the Ann Arbor Film Festival as budding artists before becoming the colossal stars they are now.
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Ann Arbor Film Festival Tonight through Sunday Michigan Theater |
Instead of the usual natural disasters, aliens and pneumatic babes with guns, the Fest offers heartbreaking documentaries, intriguing personal narratives, challenging experimental pieces, inventive animation, and more than likely, a fair share of stinkers. Coupled with Mariachi dancers, folk musicians, short skits, a silent auction, and free discussions with the judges, the Film Festival promises to be a goldmine for wannabe bohemians acting hip to impress their dates. (Of course, plenty of real bohemians are sure to surface as well.)
The Ann Arbor Film Festival was founded in 1963 by filmmaker/artist George Manupelli at the University's School of Art. Now independent of the University, the highly respected festival, played only in 16mm film, continues to attract top independent and experimental filmmakers, drawing international entries from France, Austria, Australia, England, and Germany, along with various domestic entries from locations across the U.S. and Canada, and even some homegrown talent here in Ann Arbor, including the University's Dan Tice.
Unlike mainstream film festivals like Sundance, the Ann Arbor Film Fest does not aim to lure in big commercial studio execs. Instead, it provides an outlet for all the deserving avant-garde expression that receives little attention.
"In our festival, there are no rules," said ringleader Honeyman. "The artists are not working within the constraints of Hollywood. For them, a story can be told with just images - their canvas is the film."
Jane Wagner and Tina DiFeliciantonio of New York City are a pair of such castle-building visionaries that embody the Film Fest's boundary crossing art. Their documentary, "Girls Like Us" was shown on the festival's opening night yesterday, and will most likely be chosen among the festival's winners and re-screened Sunday.
Already a surprise winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, sans the commercial pigeonholing typical of that festival, this hourlong documentary trails two high school girls growing up in low-income New Jersey. The girls' heart-breaking stories are traced amidst footage and dialogue covering topics such as sex, pregnancy, and boyfriends. With a poignancy reminiscent of "Hoop Dreams," audiences watch as the worlds of these stargazing teenagers joyously and tragically ride the crescendos of life.
Other noteworthy festival films include Jennifer Reeves' experimental narrative "Chronic" (Thursday, 7 p.m.), James Duesing's digital animation "Law of Averages" (Friday, 9:30 p.m.), Charlotte Lagarde's documentary "Swell" (Saturday, 7 p.m.), and hometown boy Dan Tice's narrative "Thank You For Not Smoking" (Saturday, 9:30 p.m.).
Reeves' "Chronic" examines how a female victim of abuse wrestles with her tragedy, and is a film Honeyman described as "incredible." Duesing's brief but brilliant "Law of Averages" stands its ground against other computer-generated animations such as Pixar's "Toy Story." Duesing, a pioneer of CG animation and a Hollywood heretic, refuses to compromise his vision by working under Lucas' ILM or Pixar, and insists on his independent status. Lagarde's "Swell" is a unique documentary straight out of Los Angeles about women surfers since the '50s, and Tice's piece closes out the Film Fest on the final evening.
The Fest is a non-profit organization comprised of an amiable group of dedicated film lovers led by Honeyman. After receiving nearly 350 entries, ranging from one minute to two hours each, a selection committee screens all the entered films in their entirety (a rarity among modern film festivals) over the span of six breakneck weeks, eventually whittling down the pool to about 100 films to be shown. Needless to say, the committee must be driven by genuine artistic love to accomplish this trying feat. The 24 total hours of selected film is then played to audiences at the Michigan Theater, where an awards jury of filmmakers, critics, and educators (Columbia professor Jeffrey Scher and filmmakers Barbara Klutinis and Louise Bourque reside this year) decides where to allocate the $11,000 of prize money. Endowments include the Lawrence Kasdan (creator of the "Big Chill" and University alumus) Award for Best Narrative Film and the Roger Moore (creator of "Roger and Me" and Michigan native) Award for Best Documentary Film. The winning films are then re-screened on Sunday, March 16th (a best bet for interested patrons short of time) and compiled to represent the Ann Arbor Film Festival in a national tour of schools, museums, and other film venues.
Sadly, Congress' cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts three years ago have subsequently trickled down to the artists. Honeyman said these cuts have produced noticeable burdens on the festival's entries and participants. Honeyman also said that technological, postal, and rental costs have soared, and in order to keep the festival afloat, much of her time is now devoted to private grant raising. Without support from the community, festivals like this one will no longer save budding artists from our nation's humdrum economic slavery. Without this festival, films like "The Thin Blue Line" and "Stranger Than Paradise" may never have been created, and Ann Arbor Film Fest devotee Gus Van Sant may never have envisioned his "Drugstore Cowboy."
Dan Tice's film "Thank You For Not Smoking" shows at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Charlotte Lagarde's "Swell" shows Saturday at 7 p.m.