The Best of the Rest

July 16, 2015

Film Fests Around the State

The Traverse City Film Festival is in good company. Each year, Michigan plays host to more than three dozen film fests of various sizes and genre focuses, from the very specific (like the annual Arab Film Festival in Dearborn or the Tulipanes Latino Film Festival in Holland) to fests that specifically keep things local, like the October Made In Michigan Film Fest held in Frankenmuth.

Here’s a shortlist of some of the most notable.

The Ann Arbor Film Festival

March aafilmfest.org Focus: all the avant-garde and art films you can handle Started in 1963, Ann Arbor's fest – as might be expected in this already artistic city – has played host to films by the likes of Gus Van Sant and Andy Warhol, with 150 films from two dozen countries screened during festival week. This fest is often the jumping off point for directors making their Midwest rounds, hitting as many smaller fests as they can.

Freep Film Festival

(Detroit) March freepfilmfestival.com Focus: Motor City movies and the people that make them Presented by the Detroit Free Press (hence the name), this fest aims at screening films about, or relevant to, Detroit and the surrounding region, with a heavy emphasis on documentaries. This one’s especially notable for the fact that every screening includes "content beyond the film" – so you’ll always get to take part in a discussion, meet-andgreet or party.

Waterfront Film Festival

(Grand Rapids/South Haven) September waterfrontfilm.org Focus: independent filmmaking of all genres, including animation With the goal of showcasing films in the "Middle Coast," this unassuming, casual four-day fest has become a filmmaker must-stop in the Midwest – with its indoor/ outdoor screening venues, workshops and panels – in spite of its shifting locations. Several documentaries that premiered here have gone on to snag Oscars.

East Lansing Film Festival

November elff.com Focus: films from around the world, plus a Midwestern edge Traditionally linked with Michigan State University, this fest both imports films and shows off its own with the Lake Michigan Film Competition that showcases movies made in the Midwest. Some of Michigan’s favorite filmmakers have made stops here, including Bruce Campbell and Michael Moore; the shorts and student films are standouts.

Cinetopia International

(Ann Arbor) June cinetopiafestival.org Focus: first looks at what’s making the rounds worldwide Cinetopia is a roundup of sorts. If you’ve got your ear to what’s going on at all the other film festivals, you’ll see plenty of other festival favorites in this mini-clearinghouse showcasing what’s currently making the circuit at the bigger fests. The associated Cinema Circus events bring even more films to a wider audience, as they’re free and open to all.

THE SUPER SIX

Smaller, regional film fests like Traverse City’s are where independent movie buzz often starts. The next step is getting your cinematic work of art into one of the Super Six, starting with the oldest and longest continually running film festival (since 1932): the Venice Film Festival, held every September in Venice, Italy (labiennale.org/ en/cinema).

After that, you’ll want to stop at Utah’s Sundance during January (sundance.org/ festival), join the best in Berlin in February (berlinale.de), caper through Cannes in May, with its coveted Palme d’Or (Golden Palm) prize for best film (festival-cannes.com), meet up in Melbourne in July (miff.com.au) and try out in Toronto in September (tiff. net), where the TIFF was called "second only to Cannes" by Variety magazine.

Working hard to grow this group of a half dozen festivals even larger is SXSW, the already wildly popular Texas music fest with a rapidly growing film component held each March (sxsw.com/film); London’s September Raindance Festival (raindancefestival.org); and New York City’s Tribeca Film Festival in April (tribecafilm.com/ festival).

There are reportedly around 3,000 film festivals running worldwide, so you and your film have got a long way to go, baby.