RULES AND TERMS
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The Ann Arbor Film Festival is open to experimental films as well as films that demonstrate a high regard for the moving image as an experimental art form, no matter the genre. Each year the AAFF selects 100-145 shorts and features for exhibition in the awards competition portion of the festival.
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Films previously submitted may not be re-entered unless there has been a significant change to the edit. Later versions of a film may be reviewed and/or selected at the programmer's discretion.
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Short and feature-length entries are accepted.
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Short films run no longer than 60 minutes. Feature films run 60 minutes or more.
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Entries not in English should have English subtitles.
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Works in progress may be submitted, but are juried in the same pool as all other submissions.
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Work must be contemporary - completed within the last three years.
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Entry fees are per film entered, and must accompany the entry form for confirmation. Entry fees are non-refundable.
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Make checks and money orders payable to the Ann Arbor Film Festival.
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The Ann Arbor Film Festival does not give waivers or discounts.
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Entries are accepted via secure online screening and 16mm only. We do not accept DVD, VHS or video data files for screening purposes.
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16MM
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If you would like the festival to preview a 16mm print of your film, please contact the festival directly at submissions@aafilmfest.org to make arrangements.
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Submit Your Proposal for the 58th AAFF
OFF THE SCREEN!
Artists, please submit your proposals to the Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) for Off the Screen!,
an intermedia series to be held during the upcoming 58th AAFF (March 24–29, 2019), featuring:
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expanded and live cinema performances
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new media installations (including virtual and augmented reality)
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educational salon sessions
Bring us your challenging and aesthetically potent works of art, and be part of a meaningful ongoing conversation about the culture of the moving image.
Expanded cinema performances could include, but are not limited to:
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projector experiments
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live performances that interface with film or screen
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VJ sessions and immersive environments for afterparties
New media works of all sorts are considered for display during the festival week in various locations throughout Ann Arbor. Possible venues include storefront windows, galleries, and the Michigan Theater lobby. Salon session formats could include:
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lightning talks (Pecha Kucha–style brief presentations)
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process demos or lessons; concise “how-to” presentations by makers on technique
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moderated conversations
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panels, workshops, and guided discussions
(Please, no academic papers or TED Talks.)
Examples of past activities include:
• “High-Fructose Cinema and the Movie Industrial Complex:
Radicalizing the Technology of Representation in a Domestic Kind of Way,” an anarchic lecture by Bryan Konefsky, of Experiments in Cinema
• “Swarm House,” a birdhouse microcinema installation presented by artist Laurie O’Brien
• Wenhua Shi’s "Senses of Time," a site-specific installation depicting the lyrical and poetic passage of time
• A student roundtable discussion that brought together students from Texas and Michigan to discuss girls and video games
• A “16mm Etching and Digital Manipulation Workshop” by Russell Sheaffer and Aaron Michael Smith
• Many more
Good Evening Gumm performing at the Ann Arbor Art Center. Posters in the background are part of Radical Media//Radical Democracy: The Future Has a Past, an exhibition by David Olson.
The audience consists of the general public, filmmakers, writers, teachers, and film programmers. Artists are especially encouraged to propose a presentation that intentionally engages participants with material that complements the general content of the festival.
If you wish to conduct an activity or presentation, please submit a 400-word proposal for a work within one of these categories:
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an expanded cinema performance
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a new media installation
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a Salon Session
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Typically 5 to 45 minutes
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If your session requires a different time frame, please note the proposed length in your proposal
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For all types of proposals, please include:
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a title and short description of the proposed activity or installation, including length (if applicable) and exhibition history (if applicable)
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the intended audience
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a detailed description of the technical requirements, including equipment needed, whether artist-supplied or to be shipped (please include shipping requirements)
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space requirements
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a 75-word bio
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an overview of previous work
Venue information
For Off the Screen!, the Ann Arbor Film Festival traditionally partners with a variety of venues, including such spaces as:
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the Stamps Gallery at the University of Michigan (U-M)
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Space 2435 at the U-M’s North Quad complex
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117 Gallery at the Ann Arbor Art Center
In addition, artists have the opportunity to present their intermedia work in storefront windows in the community and at the Michigan Theater.
Costs and Benefits
Off the Screen! participants will receive a full 57th AAFF pass. Our hope is that other expenses will be covered through support from the presenters' institutional affiliates. We have very limited resources, but lots of desire to accommodate innovative, experimental works. Feel free to contact us with questions.
Please Note
Artists selected to participate in OTS! 57 are not eligible to be selected for OTS! 58.
Details
Please submit your proposal here.
Proposals are due: Monday, October 1, 2018
Results will be announced: Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Festival dates: March 26–31, 2019
Please direct any questions to: leslie@aafilmfest.org
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