AAFF at A2 Summer Festival

Ann Arbor Film Festival Shorts Light Up the Ann Arbor Summer Festival Screen

Each June, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (A2SF) transforms the city into a vibrant hub of music, performance, and outdoor cinema. This year, cinephiles are in for a special treat: short films from the 63rd Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) will screen ahead of three classic commercial features. These experimental gems, originally showcased in March 2025 at the 63rd AAFF, continue the festival's legacy of innovation and artistry by bringing boundary-pushing shorts to an even broader audience.

Here’s a look at the three shorts—each under 10 minutes—that will kick off three of A2SF’s summer movie nights with humorous, unusual, and thought-provoking flair:

Film still from Simulacrumbs by Joanie Wind

June 18: Simulacrumbs by Joanie Wind, Detroit, MI | 2024 | 6 min

Precedes: Office Space

Opening the series is Joanie Wind’s Simulacrumbs, a vivid meditation on authenticity in an age of artificiality. A lone character, swaddled in quirky nostalgia, searches for satisfaction in the everyday—only to discover a disturbing hollowness. As she peels back the layers of her curated reality, her sense of self unravels. Wind crafts a visually rich and psychologically charged short that lingers long after its brief runtime.

Watch the trailer

Film still from Pinocchio in 70mm by Gina Kamentsky

June 25: Gina Kamentsky’s Pinocchio in 70mm, Providence, RI | 2024 | 3 min

Precedes: Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Gina Kamentsky delivers a playful yet poignant reinterpretation of a familiar tale in Pinocchio in 70mm. Here, the wooden puppet dreams not of boyhood, but girlhood, and of transcending the synthetic world around her. With a retro-cinematic touch and layered gender subtext, Kamentsky's short bursts with style, humor, and heart in just three minutes.

Watch the trailer

Film still from Fotorevolte by Jule Körperich

June 26: Fotorevolte by Jule Körperich, Bremen, Germany | 2024 | 6 min

Precedes: The Goonies

Closing the series is Fotorevolte, a mind-bending commentary on media oversaturation by German filmmaker Jule Körperich. In a world buried in digital imagery, reality begins to fracture—displaced by an avalanche of photos, ads, and pixelated illusions. When the virtual becomes unmanageable, the film imagines a dystopic purge of the internet, leaving only chaos behind. Visually experimental and conceptually dense, this short challenges the audience to reconsider their digital lives.

No trailer available

Don’t Miss These One-of-a-Kind Pairings!

This summer, the Ann Arbor Film Festival returns to the outdoor screen with a rare collaboration: select short films from the 63rd AAFF will play before beloved features at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s movie nights. While this kind of pairing has happened in years past, it’s been a while—and we’re excited to bring experimental cinema back to this lively, open-air setting. Whether you saw these films in March or are discovering them anew, it’s a perfect chance to share the AAFF experience beyond the theater. Bring a friend, a family member, or someone who’s never been to the Festival—these short films offer a compelling introduction to the inventive, boundary-pushing spirit that defines AAFF. Settle in early, and help us reintroduce adventurous filmmaking to the summer crowd.

All screenings are free and take place outdoors at Top of the Park (Ingalls Mall 881 N. University Ave. Ann Arbor). Films begin at dusk.