Nine Special Programs to Watch at the 64th AAFF

February 22, 2026

Top Left: Still from Whispering Pines and Beyond Top Right: Still from Chris & Heather’s 16mm Big Screen Blowout Button Left: Still from The Scene of the Crime: The Films & Videos of Ken Camp & James Robert Bake Button Right: Still from Train of Thought: Experimental Animations from the RCA Archive

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is excited to present nine Special Programs as part of the 64th festival. These curated programs offer a rich and varied cinematic experience, from rediscovered underground work to contemporary, boundary-pushing works from around the world.

Wednesday, March 25

Picture (Re)Start: Scouting Grounds

5:00 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

This special program revisits films first encountered at the Ann Arbor Film Festival by Ron Epple through Picture Start, the regional distributor he founded in 1981. Restored in partnership with Chicago Filmmakers, these selections highlight the shared legacy of queer, animated, and experimental filmmaking at the heart of AAFF.

Thursday, March 26

Whispering Pines and Beyond

9:15 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

Shana Moulton’s Whispering Pines series blends feminist sensibilities with surrealist imagery, exploring consumerism, technology, and self-help culture through her alter ego, Cynthia. Moulton will also give AAFF’s free Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker talk at 5:30 PM.

Friday, March 27

Train of Thought: Experimental Animations from the RCA Archive

3:00 PM | Michigan Theater Screening RoomA 40-year retrospective from the Royal College of Art, featuring abstract, poetic, and formally innovative works by both established and emerging animators, including Run Wrake, Petra Freeman, and Jonathan Hodgson.

The Scene of the Crime: The Films & Videos of Ken Camp & James Robert Baker

5:00 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

A rare screening of restored short films and a feature from two long-overlooked LGBTQ+ collaborators whose work spans decades of innovative moving image art-making.

Chris & Heather’s 16mm Big Screen Blowout

9:00 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

A fast-paced, humorous program of vintage 16mm trailers, TV commercials, and music clips edited in the duo’s signature bumper-to-bumper style.

Saturday, March 28

Randgefinder: A Nonet

3:00 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

Nine artists' works exploring change, perception, and the awe-inspiring movements of nature, time, and memory.

Total Mobile Home and The Birth of Microcinema

5:30 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

Filmmakers Rebecca Barten and David Sherman present a live cine-essay reflecting on their influential DIY microcinema venue in 1990s San Francisco, offering insight into underground film culture.

Sunday, March 29

The Heirs of Oscar Micheaux: Films from the Ann Arbor Black Film Festival

12:00 PM | Michigan Theater Screening Room

Celebrating Black storytelling in experimental cinema, curated from entries to the Ann Arbor Black Film Festival and featuring emerging Black artists with bold, personal perspectives.

Out Night 25th Anniversary

2:30 PM | Michigan Theater Main Auditorium

Marking 25 years of AAFF’s Out Night, this program presents six historic award-winning LGBTQ+ short films, illustrating the evolution of queer voices across the festival’s history.