Ann Arbor Film Festival 2009

In his first collaboration with David Byrne and Brian Eno, Conner used footage from educational films to create a rhythmically austere image-track for music from their pioneering "sampling" album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1981). Music by David Byrne and Brian Eno from "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts."

A documentary film exploring the manner in which a determined young man overcame a basic mental defect and became a useful member of society. Insightful editing techniques reveal the dreams, ideals and problems that face a large segment of the American male population. Educational. Background music written and performed by the DEVO orchestra.

Hitoshi Toyoda NAZUNA 35mm slideshow 580 images, 90 min, silent NAZUNA documents Toyoda’s yearlong journey back through Japan; returning to his family’s home in Tokyo, discovering a small community of Japanese Amish, spending time at a church for the homeless and living in a Buddhist temple deep in the mountains. Hitoshi Toyoda is a self-taught photographer who has worked exclusively in the medium of slideshows for the past ten years. His silent slide shows have been compared to haiku literature because of the way they are able to encompass both the minutiae of daily life and the larger, unknowable forces that govern that life. Toyoda only exhibits his work in live contexts, clicking through the slides himself. Born in New York City, he grew up in Tokyo and now divides his time between both. He has presented his work in public spaces, churches, and galleries and museums including the Tokyo Museum of Contemporary Art, Setagaya Art Museum, Taka Ishii Gallery, Images Festival and Anthology Film Archives.

The movement from one state to another.

A woman journeys home through tunnels of doubt and what may be an encounter with her guardian angel to the joy of slapping Park Avenue canopies. The film combines Xeroxed photographs with drawn animation, juxtaposing ideas of present reality with remembered, envisioned or emotional truths. Music by Yo La Tengo.

It’s back, and better than ever! Arrange, rearrange and record animations with the interactive PLAY Station, found in the main lobby of the Michigan Theater. The PLAY Project is a collaboration between the UM School of Art & Design and Michigan Public Media. PLAY brings creative work to the broadcast airwaves, airing experimental time-based arts in between regular programming on PBS and NPR stations in Ann Arbor/Flint. A final presentation of animations created at the festival, with a musical scored crafted by the one-and-only Ed Special, will be presented before the 6:00pm award program.