Censorship Controversy

Summary

In December 2007, the Ann Arbor Film Festival achieved a victory to protect free speech and defend a healthy climate for the arts with successful settlement of its federal lawsuit vs. the State of Michigan. Under the terms of this settlement the state legislature has repealed unconstitutional arts funding restrictions and replaced them with guidelines mirroring the National Endowment for the Arts, which have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Whole Story

In early 2006 an essay written by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy – a group that is opposed to all state funding of the arts – used the frequently provocative films we screen at the Festival to attack all public arts funding.  The essays says, “one person’s highpoint of artistic achievement may be deemed a cesspool of silliness by another,” and then goes on to name several films that were screened at the AAFF.

After the essay was published, a small group of state legislators, claiming that taxpayer dollars were going to fund “pornography” at the Festival, used Michigan’s Constitutionally-questionable arts funding restrictions in a political grandstanding maneuver that singled out the Ann Arbor Film Festival for special treatment.  Our past-due funding was pulled and they attempted to pass new legislation preventing the AAFF from receiving any future state arts money.

In response, the Festival’s board of directors voted unanimously to forego state arts money as long as the questionable restrictions were in place.  The board felt it was more important to uphold the Festival’s artistic integrity and protect the expression of its exhibiting filmmakers than it was to accept dollars that limited artistic expression. But the decision wasn’t an easy one.  The AAFF had been getting money from the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs for over ten years and, until the Mackinac Center published its essay, no one had ever found our films problematic before.  We are an international festival and we take pride in the diversity of people and ideas that we draw to Michigan and take “on the road” with our national tour.  All of us at the Festival believe in protecting the rights of our participating filmmakers and that they should be allowed the full range of Constitutionally protected speech to express their artistic vision.

In March 2007, the Ann Arbor Film Festival – working in conjunction with the ACLU of Michigan – filed suit against the state of Michigan to overturn arts funding legislation that we believed was unconstitutional according to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.

In December 2007, the State of Michigan agreed to repeal its restrictions on arts funding, and the AAFF and ACLU agreed to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit. The new guidelines for arts funding, resulting from the AAFF’s lawsuit, mirror the National Endowment for the Arts guidelines, which have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. These flexible guidelines state that “Artistic excellence and artistic merit are the criteria by which applications will be judged, taking into consideration general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the people of this state.”

"This decision isn't only a victory for artistic freedom of expression, but a reminder to stand up and ensure that our government is held accountable for the power they wield,” said Christen McArdle, AAFF Executive Director. “We are pleased that arbitrary guidelines will no longer be used to deny artists their creative rights.”

Economic Benefits & Cultural Tourism

Ann Arbor Film Festival’s Contribution to Michigan’s Culture and Economy

According to the June 2006 Economic Impact of Arts and Culture Report (pdf), a healthy arts community is an asset for economic development and helps attract the educated, creative work force that businesses and states seek to attract.  As a local Festival that attracts work, artists and audiences from countries all over the world, the Ann Arbor Film Festival is a prime example of that.

While the overwhelming majority of small, community arts organizations in Michigan rely on their local communities and audiences to support their work, the AAFF is an economic engine that brings money into the state from across the United States and the globe.  For example, in 2006, the Ann Arbor Film Festival received over $58,000 in submission fees – our single largest revenue line – yet only 5% of those fees came from Michigan filmmakers.

But the festival does more than draw money into the state through submission fees from the international filmmaking community.  We bring audiences as well.  In the past two years, the AAFF hosted 79 filmmakers from outside of Michigan – 14 from outside of the United States.  In fact, at the 44th Ann Arbor Film Festival, we hosted filmmakers from five continents.  And we know there are more – non-filmmakers who come from all over the world to attend the Festival – we just don’t track them.

Christen McArdle, the Executive Director of the AAFF, talked about attending our filmmakers’ reception the Saturday of Festival saying,  “I was sitting at a table with filmmakers from Rwanda, the United Kingdom, Canada and New York. None of them had ever been to Michigan before; all were having a great time and enjoying the festival, and all of them talked about coming back.”

Visitors to the AAFF spend time and money at local restaurants, hotels, clubs, bars and retail stores and when they return home, they’ll tell their friends, neighbors and family members about the wonderful experience they had in Michigan.

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is the oldest festival in North America showcasing independent and experimental film.  As a non-partisan festival created to celebrate film as an art form, we exhibit work that challenges ideals, pushes techniques and styles in artistic expression, and celebrates cultures and countercultures from around the world.  Since our founding in 1963, we have screened works by filmmakers like Kenneth Anger, Brian DePalma, Barbara Hammer, George Lucas, Yoko Ono, Gus Van Sant, Will Vinton and Andy Warhol.

And while our programming has represented a wide variety of viewpoints over the years – including those of the far left and far right and avant-garde and mainstream themes – and we are justifiably proud of the role we’ve played in bringing alternative viewpoints and glimpses into other cultures to Michigan, we’ve also played a key role in bringing visitors to Ann Arbor and dollars into the state and local economies.  Your support in continuing to help us do so is both needed and greatly appreciated.