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AAFF NEWSLETTER: SEPTEMBER 2011

AAFF 50th: Retrospective Screening Series

  • Screening #1: Alice Anne Parker

  • George Kuchar 1942-2011 | Jordan Belson 1926-2011

 

AAFF 50th: Retrospective Screening Series

Starting September 22nd, the AAFF launches a monthly, five-part Retrospective Screening Series at the Michigan Theater. These one-time, not-to-be-missed programs present rare and influential films from five decades of ground breaking AAFF exhibition. The AAFF is bringing in guest curators and filmmakers for these memorable screenings, including:

September 22nd - films by Anne Severson (see below)

October 20th - Mark Toscano, from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

November 30th - Filmmaker David Gatten (45th AAFF juror)

January 25th - Toronto filmmaker Mike Hoolboom (37th AAFF juror)

February 22nd - Robert Gardner’s feature-length documentary Forest of Bliss, which played at the 24th Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1986

The series is supported by the UM Institute for the Humanities and presented in partnership with the Michigan Theater.

For more details, times and advanced tickets check the AAFF website.

50th Retrospective Screening #1

Alice Anne Parker (Anne Severson)

Our series begins with five 16mm films by Alice Anne Parker (a.k.a. Anne Severson). Parker is best known for her 1970 film Riverbody, which won Best Film at the 9th AAFF, and her 1971 film Near the Big Chakra, a landmark influential feminist film which provoked a near-riot during its screening at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1972.

Parker will be in attendance and interviewed by artist and UM Art & Design professor Holly Hughes following the screening. Along with presenting her own works, Parker will show additional films from Gunvor Nelson, Robert Nelson and Jay Cassidy that screened at the AAFF in its first decade.

When: September 22nd @ 7:30pm

Where: Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor

Tickets: $10 general admission; $7 for students, seniors and Michigan Theater members; $5 AAFF members

Advanced tickets are recommended: aafilmfest.org.

 

We are deeply saddened by the passing of two influential San Francisco filmmakers last week. George Kuchar and Jordan Belson, though from different eras, have both left their mark on the film world.

George Kuchar influenced generations of filmmakers and artists. A major figure of the SF Bay Area underground film community for over 40 years, George created more than 200 films and videos. His work was exhibited at the Ann Arbor Film Festival several times, beginning in 1976 with his 16mm films Carnal Bipeds and Remember Tomorrow, and most recently his video I, of the Cyclops, which won the award for best editing at the 46th Ann Arbor Film Festival in 2008. Kuchar was also a special guest at the 30th AAFF where he presented a program of his 8mm videos. To read more about George's life and legacy, here is Paul Vitello's article for the NY Times.

Abstract filmmaker Jordan Belson's work has influenced many makers over the past half century. Belson screened five of his films as part of the AAFF in the 1970's including: Meditation (1971), Chakra (1972), Light (1973), Cycles (1975, made with Stephen Beck), and Music of the Spheres (1977). Belson's work has screened at the Tate Modern, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and venues worldwide. To read more on Belson's lengthy career read Margalit Fox's NYTimes article here.

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