Ann Arbor Film Festival
The Ann Arbor Film Festival is a five night marathon, consisting of all manner of filmic expression and style. A sixth evening is taken up with a selection of the best of the fest, as chosen by a group of judges with sometimes dubious qualifications. But that's neither here nor there. The festival is great. For fourteen years it has provided an outlet for the work of creative filmmakers who would otherwise have no outlet.
Started by George Manupelli. who has been its director and chief guru since the very beginning, the A.A.F.F, has also been a vital force in bringing together these independent artists with the few distributors and theater owners who exhibit the so-called "underground film." The festival tour brings nine hours of highlights to colleges and museums across the country; this year it will be going to the Cannes Film Festival as well. This is a very fine thing indeed.
Film is an audience medium. The consummate film artist should have a strong relationship with his or her audience. Unfortunately, there are literally loads of good films that never reach substantial audiences. I can recommend the festival films that impressed me most, but few people in this area will have the opportunity to see them. The booking policies of most exhibitors don't allow for such unbridled madness. Few of these films have "commercial potential." But perhaps, in describing a sampling, I can wet your appetite for a future festival.
(If there is one. It seems that after fourteen years, Manupelli's feet are dragging and there is some question as to whether anyone is capable of filling his shoes and organizing "his" festival. A worrisome question. The films and the audience are both there. They represent the identity of the Film Festival, not George Manupelli. I don't mean to criticize him unfairly. He has maintained an oasis in the desert for fourteen years. So tell me, why should it dry up?)
Every year there are at least three or four excellent documentaries, and this year is no exception. "Lovejoy's Nuclear War" is Dan Keller and Charles Light's portrait of a modern day hero. Sam Lovejoy is an organic farmer and a prime mover in the anti-nuclear power plant movement in New England. He knocked down a weather tower at the future site of twin power plants that threaten to pollute the valley in which he lives. Through his action, he hoped to set back production on the plants and brine attention to the dangerous ruse of nuclear power. The film contains interviews with Sam, assorted experts on the dangers of nuclear power, and the townspeople, for whom the plants will provide power as well as employment.
"Hurry Tomorrow" by Richard Cohén is an engrossing study of what passes for life in a California Mental Hospital. One of the favorites this year, "Hurry Tomorrow" was awarded the second highest cash prize.
"Bear Creek" by Howard Bass is a beautiful nature documentary, capturing the sight and especially the sound of the wilderness, that, for my taste, could be about fifteen minutes shorter.
Animation is another area in which the film festival really delivers. Sally Cruikshank, who delighted the audience three years ago with "Fun on Mars," is back with "Quasi at the Quackadero," a romp through an amusement park for ducks. "Head," a maniac piece by George Griffin, an impeccable animator, defies description. Frank and Caroline Mouris created two masterful and frenzied pixillations: "Screentest," in which the jewelry and gloves of a transvestite are magically stripped and fly off screen, and "Coney," a fast-paced tour of Coney Island.
Films like these, with spirit and energy and an acute sense of style, you won't see after the coming attractions and before the feature presentation at your local theatre.
A Flair for humor also characterizes the yearly block of non-animated films. Among the best-loved and most-enjoyed was "33 Yo-Yo Tricks" by P. White. It's just as - the title says, brought off with perfection. Kevin Dole's “No Go Showboat" is the old obscure Beach Boys tune of the same title with synchronized visuals. The cast includes the cheerleading squad of' suburban Chicago's New Treer High School and the overall effect is one of pure joy.
"Yin Hsien," Michael Whitney's lyric T'ai Chi film, is a perfect example of the harmonious marriage of eastern and western styles; it also provides an exemplary portrait of a filmmaker in touch with his subject matter. And Hilary Harris' time lapses ot New York City, in her film "Organism," are nothing short of spectacular.
These and a number of the other films presented are inspiring, moving, and/or fun. I sit on the hard seats of the architecture auditorium tor extended periods of time to sec them. But, as a student of the technique and craft of film, I'm sorry to say that a respectable little portion of the program is bad. Unfortunately, this has been the case at every film festival, Ann Arbor and otherwise, that I have ever attended. The problem with the bad films in Ann Arbor, the ones that particularly irritate me, is the preoccupation with technique - not to make a statement, put across an idea, or effect an emotional response, but merely for its own sake. It is this plethora of "empty" films that makes the auditorium seats harder.
Technique is very important. Some films are lacking in that area and are on the level of home movies. It is vital for a filmmaker to learn to use his or her tools well. Like a musician - first there is the coming to terms with the instrument and the desire to play something in particular. Beyond that isa search-and-discovery process that transforms craft into art. The A.A.F.F. is very "Art is everything, everything is art” - oriented. Everything may be art, but everything isn't good or interesting art. Filmmakers can spend a lifetime over their optical printers, but if they don't have a relationship with their audience, they are merely self-indulgent, and maybe visually interesting for a few minutes. Ho-hum. Yawn. Film is not canvas. It moves and speaks. It's a spectacle and it's magic.
No article about the A.A.F. F. would be complete without a word about the one and only Fat Olesko. Every year she constructs a series of complicated, textured costumes in which she does comedy bits, backed by film and music. If her wit is sometimes tired, her costumes are always magnificent.
In closing, I would like to mention that Ann Arbor is the most efficiently organized festival I’ve attended. Projection is excellent, and they always start on time.
- Lisa Gottlieb