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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STAFF
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Leslie Raymond
Executive Director - leslie [at] aafilmfest.org
Leslie Raymond joined the Ann Arbor Film Festival as its executive director in August 2013. In September 2019, Raymond’s leadership role expanded to include festival programming. Prior to her position with AAFF, as a teaching artist and educator, she founded the New Media Program at University of Texas at San Antonio and served as an assistant professor of art in digital video and new media art at Oakland University, where she was recognized with an Innovations in Teaching award. Raymond is a Film Festival Alliance board member, and a third-generation American of Chinese and Jewish descent. She holds a BFA in film/video from the Rhode Island School of Design, MFA in new genres from the University of Michigan School of Art & Design, and also studied film, video, and new media art at the Art Institute of Chicago.

R. Thomas Bray
Technical Director - tech [at] aafilmfest.org
Tom Bray has been the Tech Director since 2006, bringing the festival from analog film and video formats to be well positioned in the digital age. He has a broad and deep understanding of the production, aesthetic and IT aspects of event staging, media integration, and related technologies. This enables him to spark any project to excellence through knowledge, experience, and insight. He is a Converging Technologies Consultant at the University of Michigan Duderstadt Center; an adjunct assistant professor at the U-M Stamps School of Art & Design; and a member of the National Association of Broadcasters, New Media Centers, and Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, where he has been the Chair for the past two years. Bray received a Research Technical Staff Recognition Award for providing technological support for U-M faculty research and artistic projects for more than 25 years, effectively bridging the gap between academics across campus and the technological resources they need to enable research and programmatic goals. And he is often heard saying: “I have been father to only a small number of creative projects, but midwife to thousands."

Scott Boberg
Deputy Director - scott [at] aafilmfest.org
Scott Boberg joined the Ann Arbor Film Festival as its Deputy Director in August 2022. Boberg has been an administrator, curator, and educator in non-profit arts organizations, including the Santa Monica Museum of Art, the University of Wyoming Art Museum, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. With a focus on contemporary film, music, and visual art, Boberg developed exhibitions and public program series at the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati; the Aspen Art Museum; and the Toledo Museum of Art. In Toledo, he presented a silent film and live music series, outdoor screenings, and exhibition-related film series on topics ranging from the automobile, dance, and elections to families, mummies, and Shakespeare. Born in Hollywood, Boberg studied film and poetry at the University of California, Berkeley.
BOARD
Damani Partridge [Chair]
Darcy Ann Hall [Vice Chair]
Matthew Graff [Treasurer]
Francyne Stacey [Secretary]
Martin Fischhoff
Chrisstina Hamilton
Katherine Johnson
Johannes von Moutke
Veerendra Prasad
Jay Sandweiss
Liz Seger
Paul Schutt
David Whitinger
Michelle Wright
ADVISORY BOARD
Ken Burns
Lawrence Kasdan
Bryan Konefsky
Amanda Krugliak
Heidi Kumao
Michael Moore
Chris McNamara
Deanna Morse
Rashaad Newsome
Scott Northrup
Terri Sarris
Barbara Twist
MORE INFORMATION
SUBMISSIONS: submissions@aafilmfest.org
TOUR: tour@aafilmfest.org
VOLUNTEERING: volunteers@aafilmfest.org
PRESS: scott@aafilmfest.org
Phone: (734) 995-5356
Email: info@aafilmfest.org
MAILING ADDRESS
Ann Arbor Film Festival
P.O. Box 8232
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48107