The Ann Arbor Film Festival (AAFF) was founded in 1963 by artist and iconoclast George Manupelli and is the oldest avant-garde and experimental film festival in the world. Manupelli’s vision of a welcoming and open space that encourages dialogue and connection continues to shape the festival today. Each spring, the AAFF presents over 200 films from more than 30 countries in a six-day celebration of bold, boundary-pushing cinema. Embracing a wide range of genres and formats—including experimental, animation, narrative, non-fiction, and performance-based works—the festival fosters an egalitarian space where filmmakers and audience create community. With nearly 3,000 submissions annually, AAFF is one of the few Academy Award®-qualifying festivals for experimental film, offering more than $38,000 in prizes. Long committed to 16mm and expanded cinematic forms, the festival also features retrospectives, installations, and thematic programs. Artists such as Agnes Varda, Andy Warhol, Barbara Hammer, and George Lucas have shown early work here, and each year brings new voices into a vibrant, inclusive conversation.