Ann Arbor Film Festival Endangered!

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is being threatened with extinction due to losing state funding due to attack on public funds being used towards "objectional" content. This is a cause very close to my heart, as I love Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF), and have many great memories of it. It is an all 16 mm festival and it shows such a variety of films, some very experimental and challenging. Festivals like this are so important, and this film festival is one of the purest in its love of the art form and its integrity. This cause is also an important one due to obvious reasons of freedom of expression, censorship, and First Amendment rights.

Here's a quick blurb on the Festival:

The Ann Arbor Film Festival is the oldest festival in North America showcasing independent and experimental film. As a non-partisan festival created to celebrate film as an art form, we exhibit work that challenges ideals, pushes techniques and styles in artistic expression, and celebrates cultures and countercultures from around the world. Since our founding in 1963, we have screened works by filmmakers like Kenneth Anger, Brian DePalma, Barbara Hammer, George Lucas, Yoko Ono, Gus Van Sant, Will Vinton and Andy Warhol.

Here's a quick summary of the censorship controversy: In early 2006 a group of legislators politically attacked the Ann Arbor Film Festival and cut its state funding to set an example for art they deemed "objectionable". The AAFF is fighting back (with the help of the ACLU) with a federal lawsuit to challenge ambiguous state funding guidelines, protect artists' freedom of speech, and to set an example of how an arts organization can respond creatively and successfully to defend its mission. The AAFF believes that public support of diverse artistic voices is critical to a healthy culture and democracy.

The full story can be found here.

So, if you can, please support this cause -- whether by spreading the word or donating yourself, or both. Here's a link to their creative fundraising campaign "Endangered."