The opening night of this year's iFFY features a broad selection of short films from our mittened little corner of the world, encompassing everything from personal essays and music videos to forays into science fiction.

206 W. Michigan Ave.

Join us after the screening to dance the night away at downtown Ypsilanti's finest intimate music venue. Music and decor provided by local "indie sleaze" dance party crew House of Jealous Lovers.

Interdisciplinary artist Parisa Ghaderi presents a new video installation work titled “For Dancing in the Streets” in the main gallery at Riverside Art Center as the featured gallery artist for iFFY. In this installation, Ghaderi, originally from Iran, meditates on the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement that has risen up in response to Iran’s compulsory veiling laws, and the subsequent protests that have erupted in the streets since September of 2022. Through projection, layered video collage, and sound, Ghaderi explores the power of dance to embody shared experiences of suffering, resistance, and solidarity.

The installation will be on view throughout the festival.

A mixtape of documentary, music video and visual experimentation. Open your mind to this hybrid illustration of human memory, lived experiences, ancestral calling, and personal dreaming.

In this silent supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper to defeat hundreds of beavers.

200 W. Michigan Ave.

Celebrate day two of iFFY by enjoying that other great modern audiovisual medium: video games! A mere hop, skip, and jump away from the festival, in the basement of Bobcat Bonnie's.

A program of short films showcasing films from around the world, including works from South Africa, Mexico, Hong Kong, and more. A night of new truths and perspectives for the curious and open-minded.

This set of cinematic spectralities isn't for the faint of heart! Exploring themes of personal and cultural memory, identity, the expulsion of trauma, and more, a palpable sense of unease is all but guaranteed.

209 Pearl St # 202

After the screenings, we'll descend upon Ypsilanti's finest restaurant (don't take our word for it; the Detroit Free Press sang its praises to the heavens last year!) for after-hours drinking, hobnobbing, and lounge and exotica sounds courtesy of disc-jock-about-town DJ Batz.

Filmmaker, professor, and YouTuber, Garrett Sammons leads a workshop on budget-friendly ways to plan, light, and shoot a film project.

Dive into exciting adventures and vibrant colors with this joyful collection of award-winning and audience favorite short animated films from Children’s Film Festival Seattle. This program features films from the Netherlands, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Japan, Czech Republic, and Greece.

Explore the ways that free online AI tools like chatGPT can be utilized in planning and preproduction for filmmaking with filmmaker, professor, and YouTuber, Garrett Sammons.

Join us for a special live listening event presented by Radio Campfire, a collective of audio producers in Detroit, Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

A behind-the-scenes exploration of footage from the Michigan Paranormal Convention, including interviews with ghost hunters, spooky vendors, and an actual ghost hunt, all part of a documentary about spiritual communication that remains incomplete. Filmmaker Jen Proctor in conversation with moderator (and filmmaker) Adam Sekuler.

A selection of animated shorts from the world-renowned UK animation festival. A follow-up to one of the hits from last year's iFFY!

To close out the fest, journey with us into a variety of psychotropic cinematic vistas, courtesy of an international slate of third-eye-opening experimental tour guides.

201 W. Michigan Ave.

Share some final thoughts, parting hugs, and tasty beverages with the iFFY crew at Ypsilanti's beloved corner tavern. The Tap Room is both one of our favorite hangouts, and one of our most dedicated sponsors!

Get immersed in the theory and practice of animation in this hands-on, process-oriented laboratory for creative inquiry into time-based media. Covering direct and handmade processes/techniques, students will develop animation concepts and skills through the areas of focus in the course. Students will complete a collaborative short film. Teens welcome.

Get immersed in the theory and practice of animation in this hands-on, process-oriented laboratory for creative inquiry into time-based media. Covering direct and handmade processes/techniques, students will develop animation concepts and skills through the areas of focus in the course. Students will complete a collaborative short film. Teens welcome.