I Would Pay For Some of This

3/23: Eager eyes

In its 48th year, Ann Arbor Film Festival is the longest running experimental film festival in the world--or so they claim, and I am disinclined to investigate. I am generally intrigued by the ways that people use moving media to convey the human experience or the human imagination, so I am generally intrigued by the films at the festival. As many of you may or may not know, I tend to take advantage of freebies and have a good ear for good deals. So, I am volunteering 15 hours for the festival this weekend in exchange for a free weekend pass. I prepare my eyes for the avant garde and abstract.

(N.B. I am not preparing my eyes for the avant garde as Bunuel and Dali would:



Ew. I am sorry. Though the rest of "Un Chien Andalou" is strange and occasionally funny in its absurdity. Deemed a "classic" by many, I would hesitate to actually recommend unless you plan on partaking in a dialogue about cinema, theory, genre, and the avant garde in film. Basically, that film would be a crucial part of the primer for the AA Filmfest.)

3/24: Understanding the motion


The first screening I attended addressed the distinction between media in motion and a "movie." Using movement of and layering of slides on a projector, Daniel Barrow tells the story of a garbage man futilely trying to create art out of stalking and sifting through garbage. "Every Time I See Your Picture I Cry" draws heavily from the writings of Helen Keller to follow this alienated but highly reflective garbage man through his project of creating a personalized phonebook that incorporates a full page for each name entry: A sketch of the person, his or her phone number, and a few personal details based upon what the garbage man witness through a window curtain or deduces from the "personal detritus" in the garbage (e.g. losing lottery tickets, shattered porcelain dolls, etc.). The project's meaning (as well as art's meaning) comes into question as a serial killer begins following the garbage man and murdering the people for whom he has created entries; basically, the garbage man is creating a directory of the dead.

Barrow's one hour narration, playing with slides, and specialized and orchestrated soundtrack were a wonderful first venture into the festival. This was actually a sort of "easing-in" since there was a consistent narrative with concrete imagery. The medium helped create a ghostly ethereal quality that emphasized the seclusion and detachment the protagonist (and Helen Keller) must have felt. I recommend this performance piece should Barrow ever come to a museum, gallery, or cinema near you.

Shortly after Barrow's projected live animation, I attended the series of shorts sponsored by the Michigan Psychoanalytic Society. These pieces were a little more difficult to watch. The first two required more work on behalf of the audience to understand (read: "create") meaning from the abstract presentation of disconnected imagery, narrative, sounds, and colors. I think "The Presentation Theme" had something to do with the narrative of education and maturation--though that link will describe how it was about a Peruvian prisoner of war, so I guess that shows how much I actually understood the film. I found myself in the awkward position of being surrounded by people laughing though I was not sure a joke had been made. Strange. I suppose I also misinterpreted "On a Phantom Limb," because I thought it was about a woman coming to terms with herself and her feelings of monstrosity after going through serious surgery; that link will explain this was just a "story" about a woman melded with bird. Anyways, the film was thirty minutes and featured some violent imagery. I think I checked my watch at least four times before it was over.

The ensuing two ("Zephyr," and "Somewhere Only We Know") where playful but poignant. I thuroughly enjoyed both. "Zephyr" got me excited for Friday's animated series. "Somewhere" was my favorite of the series tonight. I found it especially meaningful in light of the recent slew of earthquakes. Oh how we can delude ourselves to think that material matters (like anything coming out of the entertainment industry) in fact matter most.

3/25: Catering to the people

I did not have the chance to catch too much of the fest today. As a matter of fact, I only saw about 45 minutes of the "Film Jam," the segment in which locals are encouraged to bring in their own films (formats range from DVD to 16mm) for a two hour screening. I left after two shorts so I could join my cousins in supporting my six-year-old cousin at her dance recital--at times, equally as experimental and interpretive.



I did, however, spend two hours volunteering today. I handed out voting ballots and manned the merchandise table. Pretty easy tasks that afforded me the opportunity to meet some neat people. But the real bonus of the night was the free swag: one glass of Espresso Love, 20-some-odd Hershey's kisses, stickers, two cupcakes (red velvet and carrot cake) from The Cupcake Station, and (drum roll please) three burritos from Chipotle. There are prospects of free fruit plates, more burritos, trays of cupcakes, and (more drum roll) Zingerman's bread.

I have never felt so good as I did warning a friend I bumped-into on the street not to hug me too hard lest she squeeze one of the burritos cocooned in my inner peacoat pockets. As a reward for her delicate embrace, I gave her one of my spare-ritos. Mmmm. Friendship fajita.

3/26: Moving and almost grooving


Today's music video competition was enjoyable as a summary of youtube videos that I have enjoyed or have missed but should have enjoyed. For instance, I was pleased to see a big-screen version of the video I posted yesterday. In a set with some difficult, epilepsy-inducing "visions," that video and the ensuing ones were my favorites:







After the music video showcase, I hurried to The Michigan Theater to catch Flying Lotus redub and remix (live) "Heaven and Earth Magic." And while I gave up trying to decipher the imagery, the thickly layered soundscape served as a constant reminder to pay attention to what was unfolding on the screen. Lotus continued to pull me back to the moment despite the confusing and distracting images. Perhaps most impressive, though, was Lotus's (and his sidekick Dr. Strangeloop's) clear knowledge of the film and the symbolism therein.

A few short hours later, C joined me for the animation series. Generally speaking, I am an absolute sucker for animated shorts. However, I am not sure I am at all a sucker for experimental animated shorts. My greatest complaint with the films I saw tonight and did not like was that they do not explore beyond the question: "What is art?" I am bored of this challenge. I am more interested in seeing how artists address this question while exploring a new medium or message-delivery-system in a relate-able way. I am impressed with creativity in approach, but why would someone display art in a public film festival if that art is not a relate-able piece.

There were a few that I did enjoy:







On a closing note for the day, I am again surprised with the swag: a tray of chocolate and coconut cupcakes.

3/27-3/28: A loss of patience/patients


To put it bluntly, I feel like I am enduring unnecessary pain by continuing my attendance to these screenings. While I watch other fest-goers leave screenings early, I feel empathy since I, too, am on the verge of epileptic seizure or near dozing-off from absence of action. Loud noises, bright flashes, and boring stagnance: Are these the mainstays of "experimental" film? Surely there is more to the genre.

I have no more gas in the tank when it comes to the festival. So, I am calling it quits. Sorry folks. I will not even be able to report on the jury-selected films. I am at that much of a wits end.

My closing reflections mostly revolve around the free burritos (two more today) and cupcakes. I do not know how to relate to this form of art beyond mockery, speculation, and rejection. Am I just incapable of grasping this higher art? Am I part of a riffraff?

I just like a good story.

Speaking of which, I promise I will try to put more photo essays on my blog. I think that is a form of writing that I find pretty engaging, and I think that my writing reflects a little more thought behind those pieces. Plus, I do not want to just make a blog with endless reviews. Give me a bit of time to generate some photo essay thoughts, and I will give you some original work.