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 ON TOUR
WHAT IS THE TOUR?
The Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) Traveling Tour presents a selection of standout and award-winning films from the most recent festival season, bringing the best of the AAFF to audiences around the country and across the globe. These curated programs travel to theaters, microcinemas, universities, and museums, offering audiences the chance to experience the bold, innovative cinema that defines the Ann Arbor Film Festival—beyond festival week in Ann Arbor.
The tour not only extends the reach of experimental and avant-garde film to communities that may have limited access to this form of art, but also provides meaningful exposure for the filmmakers whose work is featured. Each participating filmmaker is compensated for every tour stop, directly supporting their creative practice while introducing their work to new and diverse audiences.
A pioneer of the traveling film festival model, the AAFF first launched its tour in 1964 with screenings in Paris, Los Angeles, and Berkeley. Since then, the tour has showcased hundreds of influential films by artists including Barbara Hammer, Gus Van Sant, Sally Cruikshank, Don Hertzfeldt, Bill Brown, Ross McLaren, Paul Winkler, James Duesing, Martha Colburn, and Jay Rosenblatt. Today, the AAFF Traveling Tour continues to offer audiences around the world an engaging, thought-provoking encounter with the moving image as art.
HOW TO BOOK
For more information about booking the tour, including rates, please email us at tour@aafilmfest.org.
PROMOTION
To support your promotion of the AAFF tour program(s), we provide high-quality still images, a customized PDF for printing posters/flyers, customized digital assets, a PDF program summary to hand out to attendees, festival graphics, and copy. In addition, the AAFF promotes each tour stop on its website and monthly eNewsletter (more than 7,000 active subscribers), and will conduct basic press outreach to each tour stop's host city to help ensure media coverage.
64 AAFF Tour Stops
Northern Illinois University
Jack Arends Hall (Art Building)
330 Gilbert Drive, DeKalb IL 60115
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 12:00 PM
Program 2
William & Mary
Glenna Bowman MacKenzie Theatre
400 Landrum Dr., Williamsburg, VA
Wednesday October 14, 2026 7:00 PM
Program 2
Duke University with Shadowbox Studio
Skin and Bones Theater
118 W Parrish St, Durham, NC 27701
Saturday January 16, 2027 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Programs 1 and 2
Check back for more information about each program and tour dates
64 AAFF TOUR PROGRAMS
Program 1
Juggernaut | Neozoon
Berlin & Dresden, Germany | 2025 | 9
The Terri Schwartz Film Award for Parody and Satire
Tales of Lake Dian | Sylvie Denet
Aubervilliers, France | 2025 | 7
Best Experimental Animation Award
(0, ∞) | Mar Sudac
Los Angeles, CA | 2025 | 11
Lawrence Kasdan Award for Best Narrative Film
By the Way | Mahboobeh Kalaee, Ali Fotoohi
Tehran, Iran | 2025 | 7
Lawther/Graff No Violence Award
So Many Different Things | Sakshi Jain
New York, NY | 2025 | 3
Jury Award
Tooborac | Richard Tuohy, Dianna Barrie
Daylesford, Australia | 2025 | 9
Ken Burns Award for Best of the Festival
Faceless Hairy Cry | Paloma Schneideman, Sofia McIntyre
Auckland, New Zealand | 2025 | 9
Gil Omenn Art & Science Award
Evacuations | Lilli Carré
Glendale, CA | 2025 | 7
Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film
35 Days | Heidi Kumao
Ann Arbor, MI | 2025 | 7
CameraMall Best Michigan Filmmaker Award
Program 2
The Sky Was Candy | Anh Tú Nguyen
Stuttgart, Germany | 2025 | 3
Prix DeVarti for Funniest Film
As Told by a Corpse | Yace Sula
Philadelphia, PA | 2025 | 5
The Barbara Aronofsky Latham Award for an Emerging Experimental Video Artist
On the Inside We are Color | Elena Pardo
Mexico City, Mexico | 2024 | 12
Jury Award
Dead Name | Gina Kamentsky
Providence, RI | 2025 | 5
Barbara Hammer Feminist Film Award
My Dead Name is trying to kill me.
Au Hasard | Darren Dominique Heroux
Vancouver, Canada | 2025 | 9
Peter Wilde Award for Most Technically Innovative Film
Menders | Martha Barron Griffith
East York, Canada | 2025 | 4
The Eileen Maitland Award
I died in Irpin | Anastasiia Falileieva
Kyiv, Ukraine| 2024 | 11
Leon Speakers Award for Best Sound Design
A Kite Killed A Plane | Daniel Sharoni
Tel Aviv, Israel | 2025 | 5
George Manupelli Founder’s Spirit Award
Crystal Palace | Linda Izcali Scobie
San Francisco, CA | 2024 | 9
Susan Dise Best Experimental Film
Grandma Galya and Grandpa Arkadiy (Бабушка Галя и Дедушка Аркадий) |Anna Kipervaser
Ludlow, KY | 2023 | 4
Jury Award
Library Program
The Sky Was Candy | Anh Tú Nguyen
Stuttgart, Germany | 2025 | 3
Prix DeVarti for Funniest Film
Tales of Lake Dian | Sylvie Denet
Aubervilliers, France | 2025 | 7
Best Experimental Animation Award
Menders | Martha Barron Griffith
East York, Canada | 2025 | 4
The Eileen Maitland Award
On the Inside We are Color | Elena Pardo
Mexico City, Mexico | 2024 | 12
Jury Award
So Many Different Things | Sakshi Jain
New York, NY | 2025 | 3
Jury Award
By the Way | Mahboobeh Kalaee & Ali Fotoohi
Tehran, Iran | 2025 | 7
Lawther/Graff No Violence Award
Juggernaut | Neozoon
Berlin & Dresden, Germany | 2025 | 9
The Terri Schwartz Film Award for Parody and Satire
Evacuations | Lilli Carré
Glendale, CA | 2025 | 7
Chris Frayne Award for Best Animated Film
35 Days | Heidi Kumao
Ann Arbor, MI | 2025 | 7
CameraMall Best Michigan Filmmaker Award