5 Southeast Michigan-made films to check out at this year's Ann Arbor Film Festival

This story is part of a series about arts and culture in Washtenaw County. It is made possible by the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Destination Ann Arbor, Larry and Lucie Nisson, and the University Musical Society.

Five films by Michigan-based filmmakers will screen at this year’s Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF), which will take place March 26-31 at various venues in downtown Ann Arbor.
 
Founded in 1963, AAFF is known as the oldest experimental film festival on the continent. Now in its 62^nd year, the festival received close to 3,000 submissions this year from a total of 92 different countries. But at least a handful of those films were directed by filmmakers closer to home, with roots in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Dearborn, and Detroit. AAFF Executive Director Leslie Raymond says she thinks this year’s program is "going to be the best one yet."
 
Here's a look at the Southeast Michigan-made films that will be featured at this year's festival.
 
1. "Really Good Friends"
Director: Adam Sekuler (Detroit, Mich.)
Screens 8:15 p.m. on March 26 at the Michigan Theater (Main Auditorium)
 
According to Raymond, this documentary short is a "really well-made" film about a woman in her sixties. Sekuler told an interviewer that the woman at first "presents rather innocently as your run of the mill older woman, but as she unpacks her bag, she upends all the assumptions that the audience brings with them into the film based solely upon how she looks."

A still from "Really Good Friends."
 2. "A Dreaming Angel"
Directors: Phoebe Gloeckner and Aliyah Mitchell (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
Screens 9 p.m. on March 27 at the State Theatre
 
AAFF will host the world premiere of this film by Aliyah Mitchell and the award-winning graphic novelist/cartoonist Phoebe Gloeckner, an associate professor at the University of Michigan Penny Stamps School of Art and Design. The film traces Gloeckner’s 10-year relationship with the Chavez Caldera family from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Raymond says Gloeckner "does a great job at bringing to the screen the lives of these folks who struggle with … hardship."

3. "Velleity"
Director: Brandon Fecteau (Detroit, Mich.)
Screens 9:30 p.m. on March 28 at the Michigan Theater (Main Auditorium)
 
AAFF will host the world premiere of this experimental narrative film by Brandon Fecteau, who recently graduated from the Detroit-based College for Creative Studies. Raymond describes Fecteau as "an emerging artist," and says "it's just great to see students go on and keep making work." "Velleity" uses mixed media to explore the concept of transformation.

A still from "Velleity."
4. "Kyubabe"
Director: Ben Willis (Dearborn, Mich.)
Screens 5 p.m. on March 29 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (Helmut Stern Auditorium)
 
"Kyubabe" is one in a cluster of experimental music videos in competition at this year’s AAFF. Raymond describes the film as "very handmade. It's the opposite of what you expect in a commercial music video … so it’s a good fit for us."

5. "Becoming Fossil"
Director: Petra Kuppers (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
Screens 3:30 p.m. on March 30 at the Michigan Theater (Main Auditorium)
 
AAFF will host the world premiere of this film by a University of Michigan disability culture activist professor. The film's synopsis says it "invites viewers to become time travelers through kaleidoscopic sensations of touch and elemental change," as they "travel backward and forward in time … [and through] climate emergencies." Raymond calls the film "a really beautiful piece" and "a visual poem."

A still from "Becoming Fossil."
This year’s AAFF will offer both in-person and online viewing options. Details on the festival’s schedule are available on its website, where festival passes and individual tickets are also available for purchase.

Natalia Holtzman is a freelance writer based in Ann Arbor. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and others.

Film stills courtesy of AAFF.