Festival captures the imagination

Does the thought of seeing Arnold Schwartzenegger spouting one-liners in yet another overhyped, poorly acted and bewilderingly inane movie make you sick to your stomach?

If so, you might find solace in the offerings of the 36th Ann Arbor Film Festival, which features a refreshing and eclectic mix of experimental films, documentaries and animated shorts.

The festival showcases the efforts of talented filmmakers from across the United States and around the world. For many directors, the festival has been a springboard to recognition and financial backing.

Director Arthur Dong, whose documentary "License to Kill" will be shown at the festival, acknowledged the importance of the festival.

"They showed my very first film," Dong said. "As a young filmmaker, it was important to receive exposure. To know that people were watching my film was very encouraging."

Courtesy of Bugsby Pictures Tom Brown makes a break for fame in "Don't Run Johnny" showing at the Ann Arbor Film Festival.

More people will get a chance to watch Dong's work when an edited version of "License to Kill," which earned him the Best Documentary Award and the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival, airs on PBS in the future.

The festival, Dong said, has stayed faithful to the focus it held when he showed his earliest work.

"Ann Arbor accepted works of all kinds, especially experimental films," Dong said. "I've always followed the growth of the Ann Arbor Film Festival. The spirit of the festival is intact, as far as focusing on the art of film."

That attention to art is what many say distinguishes the Ann Arbor Film Festival from more commercial festivals such as Sundance.

"We're about experimental film," said Festival Director Vicki Honeyman. "We're not about distributors, contracts or Hollywood. We're about the film and the art."

In the past, the festival has shown the works of many up-and-comers, including George Lucas, Brian DePalma, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono and Gus Van Sant, director of the recent Oscar-nominated "Good Will Hunting."

PREVIEW
	The 36th Ann Arbor Film Festival

Of the more than 370 films submitted for consideration this year, 113 will be screened at the Michigan Theater during the six-day event. A selection committee viewed all the entries and decided which films would be shown to the public.

The festival attracts many participants because it is known internationally as a showcase for innovative films.

"The festival is really geared to 16 mm filmmakers," Honeyman said. "Many filmmakers enter here before anywhere else. It's very prestigious to be included."

One major goal of the festival, Honeyman said, is to reward the hard work of aspiring filmmakers. An awards jury will decide which films receive the $12,000 available in prize money.

Some of the notable entries this year include Dong's "License to Kill," an exploration of the psychological motivations of murderers who target gays.

"Human Remains," a documentary by Jay Rosenblatt, features still photographs and home videos of this century's most notorious dictators. The film is a disturbing look at the ridiculously banal personal lives of men like Hitler and Stalin.

"Don't Run, Johnny," a short film by Tom Brown, follows a gay man's exaggerated response to finding out he is HIV positive. The short is executed in an outrageously campy fashion similar to the "Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Teeming with interesting and imaginative works, the Ann Arbor Film Festival is the perfect place for those tired of the standard Hollywood fare.

03-17-98