We recently received a major distinction at the International Film Festival Summit in Las Vegas. During his keynote address, Variety president and publisher Charlie Koones named the Ann Arbor Film Festival in a list of “10 Film Festivals We Love,” a list that was pulled from over 6,000 festivals around the world. In addition to the AAFF, the list (not ranked) included industry heavy-hitters such as Cannes, Toronto and Telluride.

You can read more about this at CinemaTech

Labels: awesomeness

The Ann Arbor Film Festival announced today that it has settled a federal lawsuit, filed by the ACLU on its behalf, against the State of Michigan. In exchange for the state legislature repealing unconstitutional restrictions on arts funding, the AAFF and ACLU agreed to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit.

The new guidelines for arts funding, resulting from the AAFF’s lawsuit, mirror the National Endowment for the Arts guidelines, which have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. These flexible guidelines state that “Artistic excellence and artistic merit are the criteria by which applications will be judged, taking into consideration general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the people of this state.”

"This decision isn't only a victory for artistic freedom of expression, but a reminder to stand up and ensure that our government is held accountable for the power they wield,” said Christen McArdle, AAFF Executive Director. “We are pleased that arbitrary guidelines will no longer be used to deny artists their creative rights.”

Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, one of the AAFF’s prominent supporters, shared his thoughts about the lawsuit, “I am thrilled by this decision--it protects us all, even those who might be inclined to limit this great Festival's free expression."

To recover financially, the Ann Arbor Film Festival recently launched its Endangered fundraising campaign, a creative and participatory online call to action for people worldwide to contribute support. The campaign seeks to offset the financial hardship created by this prolonged funding controversy by raising $75,000 by the end of January 2008. Supporters of the Endangered campaign have already contributed more than ½ the monies needed. The campaign has generated public awareness both locally and nationally about this critical issue.

To read more about the history of the AAFF's censorship controversy, visit:
http://www.aafilmfest.org/about/censorship/

To read the Agreement to Dismiss, visit:
http://www.aclumich.org/pdf/aaffdismissal.pdf

To read the complaint, visit:
http://www.aclumich.org/pdf/aaffcomplaint.pdf

Labels: censorship controversy, endangered campaign

The video for Act of Audacity #2 is now online!
See Giant Animals from the AAFF vs. Detroit Derby Girls in
bone-crunching, techni-colorized, cinematic glory.
Witness snow badminton at its finest!



This Act of Audacity took place December 7, 2007 in Ann Arbor, MI as part of the Ann Arbor Film Festival's Endangered fundraising campaign. Upon reaching the campaign's second goal of $35,000, festival employees Chris and Donald suited up as Yellow Dog and Brownie Bear for the most peripherally-challenged adventure of their lives. Facing the fearsomely awesome Black Eyed Skeez and Crash Baby, the match was a shuttlecocked free-for-all. No animals were harmed in the making of this film.

To vote for the third and final Act of Audacity, performed by AAFF Executive Director Christen McArdle, join us in support of the Endangered campaign. We need everyone in the cultural kingdom to help us reach our 3rd and final goal of $75,000. Help us preserve an icon of independent cinema and non-commercial media!

Labels: act of audacity, endangered campaign

We hit our 2nd fundraising goal of $35,000, our supporters have voted, and we have a winner - Giant Animal Badminton!

Friday, December 7th at 12:30pm we will perform Act of Audacity #2. Fearless festival employees, Chris and Donald, will square off as giant animals in a heated badminton match vs. two of Detroit's finest roller derby girls: Black Eyed Skeez and Crash Baby. Local coffee maniac and roaster John Roos will be our high-octane referee calling the match.

If you happen to miss the live action, make sure to catch the video when it's posted on our Acts of Audacity page December 15th.

This Act of Audacity is part of the AAFF's Endangered fundraising campaign. To learn more, donate and vote for Act of Audacity #3 (performed by Executive Director, Christen McArdle), please click here.

Labels: act of audacity, endangered campaign