Do objects retain a spark of life from their owner after that person dies? This question catapults a dynamic brother-sister filmmaking duo on an odyssey to excavate their deceased grandma Annette’s unassuming Newark home of 71 years. Toothbrushes, tax documents, three vacuum cleaners—her motley collection of stuff becomes a universe unto itself, springing to life in the cinematic playground of this innovative documentary. In ELAN and JONATHAN BOGARÍN’s inventive hands, the white clapboard house transforms into a magical-realist landscape replete with animated 1950s dresses and mysterious visits from physicists and fashion conservators. And when they discover a 1972 cassette tape and use actors to lip-sync intimate family conversations, it’s like a new dimension cracks open from the netherworld. In 306 Hollywood, fragments of a modest life mingle mystically—creating a profound meditation on memory bursting at the seams with love. --Sundance Film Festival

Cass (OMARI HARDWICK) is a handsome USC grad stalled in his career and getting lost in the alcohol- and drug-infused world of LA club promotion. On the night of the 2016 presidential election, he meets Frida (MEAGAN GOOD), a beautiful, spirited Midwestern visitor dealing with a difficult breakup and their chemistry is undeniable. Director and Ann Arbor native QASIM BASIR has created a visually sensuous, dream-like film unspooling in real time, seemingly in one continuous take, that transports you to a singular moment in time when the texture of life seemed to drastically change. A Boy. A Girl. A Dream. effortlessly holds a full spectrum of emotion—panic, embarrassment, attraction, vulnerability, despair, anger, companionship, and disorientation—all inside a single slice-of-life film about two people meeting each other for the first time.

MICHIGAN PREMIERE! Lexington, Kentucky, 2004: Spencer and Warren dream of remarkable lives beyond their middle-class suburban existence. They head off to colleges in the same town, haunted by the fear they may never be special in any way. Spencer is given a tour of his school’s incredibly valuable rare book collection and describes it all to Warren. Suddenly, it hits them—they could pull off one of the most audacious art thefts in recent history. Buoyed by an exceptional cast, BAFTA Award–winning documentary director BART LAYTON makes a brilliant leap into the world of fiction, cleverly utilizing elements of nonfiction to propel the narrative. A true story, American Animals is both a thrilling heist film and an existential journey of four misguided young men searching in all the wrong places for identity, meaning, adventure, and the kind of life that movies are made about. --Sundance Film Festival, 2018

Working the graveyard shift at the reception desk of a sleepy maritime motel promises little excitement for teenage Mia — until one night she becomes the sole witness to an assault on two schoolgirls by a middle-aged man. Fearing the consequences of speaking up, Mia decides to keep quiet on the matter. Twelve-year-old victim Wen, however, quickly realizes that the violence she endured that night is only the first in a litany of troubles. With seemingly nowhere to run, Mia and Wen find themselves caught in an ever-tightening net that they alone can free themselves from. This second feature from the brilliant Chinese writer-director VIVIAN QU whisks us away to a small seaside village where tranquility is torn asunder by a terrible crime. A modern noir focused on complex female characters, Angels Wear White possesses a distinctive slow burn that may prove to be Qu's signature. - Toronto International Film Festival, 2017

The Best of the Ann Arbor Film Festival 2018 shorts. Shorts Descriptions Coming Soon!

MICHIGAN PREMIERE! What happens when your nation is swallowed by the sea? With the harsh realities of climate change looming, the low-lying Pacific nation Kiribati must find a new solution for the survival of its people. With sweeping cinematography, Anote’s Ark interweaves two poignant stories. ANOTE TONG, endearing president of the island, races to find options—advocating in international climate negotiations and even investigating building underwater cities. At the same time, warm and sharp-witted SERMARY, a young mother of six, tackles every struggle with humour. She must decide whether to leave the only culture she knows on the island and migrate to a new life in New Zealand.

Michigan Premiere! A critical smash at Cannes this year, this is a gripping moral conundrum featuring two young Tunisians. When Mariam, a young Tunisian woman, is raped by police officers after leaving a party, she is propelled into a harrowing night in which she must fight for her rights and her dignity, even though justice lies on the side of her tormentors. Employing impressive cinematic techniques and anchored by a tour-de-force performance from newcomer MARIAM AL FERJANI, Based on a true story, Beauty and the Dogs tells an urgent, unapologetic, and important story head-on. A rare, startling film from a female Tunisian director, it's a striking critique on a repressive society and a forcefully feminist rallying cry.

Ann Arbor, Michigan is the prototypical college town—a small city with a massive research university, a tradition of political radicalism and Michigan Stadium, the largest in the United States and the home of University of Michigan football. With a capacity of 107,601 the entire population of Ann Arbor fits in the stadium, which fans affectionately call “The Big House.” Michigan football goes back to 1879, and is known for its distinctive winged helmet and its fight song “The Victors.” But this direct-cinema documentary eschews gridiron grandeur to look closely at all the labor—from the cooks to the cops to the cleaners—that goes into hosting 100,000 people. Shot against the backdrop of the 2016 election and the rise of Donald Trump, it presents a microcosm of America by showing everything but the game.

It’s 2017 in Bisbee, Arizona, an old copper-mining town just miles from the Mexican border. The town’s close-knit community prepares to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Bisbee’s darkest hour: the infamous Bisbee Deportation of 1917, during which 1,200 striking miners were violently taken from their homes, banished to the middle of the desert, and left to die. Townspeople confront this violent, misunderstood past by staging dramatic recreations of the escalating strike. These dramatized scenes are based on subjective versions of the story and “directed,” in a sense, by residents with conflicting views of the event. Deeply personal segments torn from family history build toward a massive restaging of the deportation itself on the exact day of its 100th anniversary. -Sundance Film Festival

The Blackness Project is a feature-length documentary film about culture and race from the perspectives of African-Americans and other minorities. The film was inspired by conversations about the “Whiteness Project,” a similar documentary discussing race and the perceived loss of white privilege by white Americans. The main purpose of The Blackness Project is to bridge the gap between white and black Americans with in-depth interviews on race. We have a desire to share voices that may not have been heard, to elevate the power of inclusion and encourage a serious conversation and community led solutions.

Collin (Tony Award-winner DAVEED DIGGS (Hamilton)) is trying to make it through his final days of probation for an infamous arrest he can’t wait to put behind him. Always by his side is his fast-talking childhood bestie, Miles (RAFAEL CASAL, who co-wrote the script with Diggs), who has a knack for finding trouble. They grew up together in the notoriously rough Oakland, a.k.a. “The Town,” which has become the new trendy place to live in the rapidly gentrifying Bay Area. But when Collin’s chance for a fresh start is interrupted by a life-changing missed curfew, his friendship with Miles is forced out of its comfortable buddy-comedy existence, and the Bay boys are set on a spiraling collision course with each other. --Sundance Film Festival, 2018

MIDWEST PREMIERE! Cemal, Kenan, and Suzi are siblings who have grown apart since leaving the tiny village where they grew up, and going their separate ways. When an unexpected call from their estranged father demands they return to the village immediately, Cemal, the eldest, is tasked with convincing his brother and sister to take a road trip back to the places and memories they have been working so hard to forget. As they try to confront their shared past, they’ll have to contend with each other’s peculiarities and get to know one another all over again, even as the strangest elements of all await them in the village. Director TOLGA KARAÇELIK crafts a wildly inventive dark comedy that’s as thoughtful as it is surprising. Butterflies defies expectation at every turn, balancing playfulness and razor-sharp writing with an incredibly heartfelt look at family bonds that defy time and distance. --Sundance Film Festival

A former arm-wrestling champion raised in the U.S. returns to South Korea for a tournament that could return him to glory, but he finds his life complicated by the appearance of the biological family he never knew. Stars Dong-seok Ma, Kwon Yul and Ye-ri Han.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! Dive into exciting adventures, vibrant colors and exquisite storytelling with this timeless collection of 11 animated films from 9 countries. Chase a kite into a mysterious cave, soar with a flock of birds, discover the way to wake up a whole town, swim with a magnificent Orca, and discover all the things that make you special! Shorts Descriptions Coming Soon!

Alan Rudolph hit a high note with this utterly seductive and knowing L.A. story, popular at the Quad in its initial run. On the night shift, “The Love Line” radio host GENEVIÈVE BUJOLD offers romantic counseling, which she herself could use given unresolved issues with erratic lover KEITH CARRADINE, his other lover LESLEY ANN WARREN, her married lover PATRICK BAUCHAU, and his frustrated wife RAE DAWN CHONG. The title song and others are performed on the soundtrack by TEDDY PENDERGRASS.

These five films pack a lot of talent into one shorts program! Directed entirely by well-established Arab and Arab American women, and each with a strong female lead, these five shorts celebrate the talent, creativity and power of Arab filmmakers. Shorts Descriptions Coming Soon!

From revolting against an oppressive dictatorship to protecting one's family, these are the everyday heroes that keep us safe and give us hope. Take a cinematic journey through Iraq, Qatar, Lebanon and more as we examine and celebrate our everyday heroes. Shorts Descriptions Coming Soon!

A young cargo ship captain named Gao Chun (Qin Hao) pilots his boat up the Yangtze River and ponders the recent death of his father in this allegorical drama from director Yang Chao. During the trip, he encounters numerous symbols representing China's past, present and future, including a mysterious woman who is present at every port along the way. The woman, he soon learns, is some sort of magical being who seems to grow younger as the ship inches closer to the source of the Yangtze.