NEWS: Chris Gore's Footage Fetishes: Michigan Uncensored

CULTURE: Chris Gore's Footage Fetishes: Michigan Uncensored

The Ann Arbor Film Festival Report Part One: Ann Arbor, Michigan is a liberal oasis in the Midwest. In fact, if one is caught smoking pot, the user will be hit with a hefty $25 fine for inhaling. For less than the cost of a parking ticket, you can do like the dude and abide. While the city is perhaps best known for being home to the University of Michigan, it feels more like San Francisco than a college town. Ann Arbor also happens to be the destination for one of the greatest festivals in the world dedicated to screening experimental work. Unfortunately, the prestigious 45 year history of the Ann Arbor Film Festival did nothing to dissuade local officials from labeling a handful of movies screened in recent years as being "pornography."





The Ann Arbor Film Festival has a rich history of championing experimental films from all over the world.





Festival attendees were encouraged to participate by using their artistic skills on this reel of 16mm clear leader. The film made with full audience participation was screened on the last night. Apparently, someone drew penises on several feet of film, but it wasn't me.



Faced with having their much-needed funding pulled by the state, the festival chose not to accept the money as the definition of a "sex act" was so vague. In an interview with Hour Detroit magazine, festival executive director Christen McArdle said, "There are three guidelines that artists have to follow in order to get funding from the state: 1) no human waste on religious symbols, 2) no desecration of the flag, and 3) no depictions of sex acts. The Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs said that we violated the guideline 'no depiction of sex acts.' This is a very vague guideline with a very vague definition. I asked the officials to describe to me what that means, 'What's a sex act? What are my parameters? Does a long kiss count as a sex act?' A kiss can be very sexy."





Festival executive director Christen McArdle and publicist Kristin Darga worked triple time during the festivities.



Being at the center of a controversy is not such a bad thing if you're screening experimental films in Michigan. The attention garnered from this issue has led to packed houses at screenings this year. And support from locals, as well as a grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (they give away those gold statues every year called the Oscar), helped the festival make up the lost funding. Buoyed by the attention, the festival now has a new mission. Along with help from the ACLU, the Ann Arbor Film Festival has filed a federal lawsuit. On March 20th, to the sound of applause and cheers from festival attendees, an announcement was made on opening night - the Ann Arbor Film Festival would fight back. A press release sent to the media that night read:

You can read the entire ACLU complaint here.





Animation professor Brooke Keesling's entertaining short Boobie Girl was accused of being "pornographic."



For those of you who have never seen Boobie Girl, it's a charming animated short about a li'l girl who wishes for large breasts. When her wish comes true, she finds that life is not so easy with her newfound knockers. The film is played so innocently, that children could view it and find plenty of giggles. If this movie is porn, well, it's not very good porn. It's clear that the officials from the MCACA had never actually seen any of these movies and were merely skimming the titles in an effort to target certain films as "pornographic."





I swear, I was only reaching for some tasty popcorn. In Michigan, some might call this accidental boob graze a "sex act."



Some might brush off the festival's battle as a fruitless exercise. But that attitude diminishes the importance of the issue of funding for the arts. Other countries such as Canada, France, the U.K. and many more, support their filmmakers to the tune of tens of millions because they realize that movies made without regard for boxoffice speak to the national identities of their respective countries. Whereas, in the United States, our national identity is defined by movies released worldwide by Hollywood. These filmmakers supported by grants from our tax dollars are not burdened by the need for commercial success and/or mainstream acceptance. These artists can take the time to ask the tough questions about who we are as a culture. Setting aside funding that supports filmmakers who are allowed to exercise the freedom to express themselves only seems natural in a country that spends trillions on a military that shoves those values down the world's throat.



If we don't support a filmmaker's right to freedom of expression, we betray the values upon which the United States was built. (Unfortunately, our representatives in Washington seem to be doing a lot of that lately.) More than ever, preserving artists' rights is an issue that deserves attention and support.



And if the representative of this cause must be a cute li'l cartoon stick figure with tremendous ta-tas, then so be it.



Part Two of my Ann Arbor Film Festival coverage will take a look at all ten of the films deemed pornographic including America's Biggest Dick, Boobie Girl and Soggy Penis Syndrome. Until then...



...Gore gone.



Chris_Gore is an author, a filmmaker, the creator of Film Threat, and is a proud member of the Michigan Mafia.

Did they ban it for fear that being "cartoonish" it might be shown to children?

It doesn't matter.
It sounds like its so nicely-spoken
and dealt with that its suitable for kids
as well.
Boobies are not the end of the world.
They're more the opposite I'd say.

There really aren't enough movies with human waste on religious symbols these days.