RULES AND TERMS
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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AAFF PRESENTS
We’re once again partnering with The Michigan Theater for our monthly screening series, AAFF PRESENTS
What: Feature Films from the 60th Ann Arbor Film Festival in March, 2022.
When: First Thursdays through November at 7pm
Where: The State Theatre, Ann Arbor
Free for AAFF Members & MTF Gold Members,
$10.50 for Adults, $8.50 for Seniors, Students, and the Military
October 6th
elephant
After witnessing a murder of a young boy by a cop on her doorstep, Maria finds her mental health struggling. At thirty-seven, violence and death compound into a fear of the outside. As she self-isolates, she unpacks individual, collective, and generational trauma, her beloved community keeps her connected with frequent care visits. Directed by Maria Judice
The short film Freshwater by Detroit native dream hampton will immediately precede the screening of elephant.
Nov 3rd
Archipelago
A true animated film about invented islands. About a physical, imaginary, linguistic, political territory. About a real or dreamed country, or something in between. Archipelago is a feature film made of drawings and speeches that tells and dreams a place and its inhabitants, to tell and dream a little of our world and times. Directed by Felix Dufour-Laperrière.
What We Shared
Seven inhabitants of a de facto state on the Black Sea unfurl a web of stories about loss and displacement through the re-imaginings of dreams and memories of the 1992-93 war in Abkhazia. What We Shared employs emotive soundscape and imagery to produce a sensory reflection on artistic practice as a powerful binding force and an act of resistance to dominant power structures. Directed by Kamila Kuc.
June 2nd
Shari | Winner: Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film
The Shiretoko Peninsula is a special place, located in the northernmost part of Japan where rare, wild animals coexist with humans and drift ice reaches its coast touching the Sea of Okhotsk in winter. But for some reason, there is very little snow in the winter of 2020. The drift ice hasn’t appeared yet, either. Directed by Nao Yoshigai
July 7th
Looking for Horses | Winner: Best Documentary
A film about a friendship between the filmmaker and a fisherman. One lost his mother tongue because of a stutter, the other lost his hearing during the Bosnian civil war. They look for ways to communicate, while the camera mediates their growing bond. Directed by Stefan Pavlović
Sept. 1st
Rising Sun Blues (Rua Dos Anjos) | Winner: Eileen Maitland Award
Rising Sun Blues is a film built upon the encounter and shared film creation of two women. They narrate and witness personal stories while exchanging certain techniques of their respective crafts: sex work and filmmaking. In this scenario, they simultaneously become filmmakers and characters. Directed by Renata Ferraz and Maria Roxo