April Newsletter
'Detroiters' season 1 finale, CCFF and Freep Film Fest recaps, MI Student Film Fest primer and all the latest events.
April has arrived..., and so too have some more seasonable weather. We are happy to welcome baseball back and see the Tigers enjoying a good start to their season. It has been quite busy as of late: we welcomed the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the Freep Film Festival, the Capital City Film Festival, and the Grand Rapids Film Festival all within a span of three weeks. In this month's newsletter we'll recap a few of those events and get you primed for a few upcoming events.
'Detroiters' enjoys a successful first season
 Earlier this month, Comedy Central's 'Detroiters' had their first season finale. 'Detroiters' is the story of Sam and Tim, two local ad men who make catchy ads for businesses, while pining to land a contract with one of the towns big auto makers. The show is a bit of an homage to some of the low budget advertisements seen in Metro Detroit during the 1980s and early 1990s.
The City of Detroit also plays an essential leading character in this half hour long sit-com. Our friends at Curbed Detroit put together a nice locations map of sites where 'Detroiters' was filmed throughout the city, which you can view HERE.
If you have yet to catch an episode, do not fret. All of the episodes are currently available to stream on Comedy Central's website with your paid cable subscription - HERE. Also, it is worth noting that Comedy Central has decided to give 'Detroiters' a second season, so there will be new episodes arriving in 2018.
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Lansing was Michigan's cinematic and musical capital during the 7th Annual Capital City Film Festival
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Now in it's seventh year, the Capital City Film Festival took place in Lansing, Michigan from April 5-9. This years festival certainly did not disappoint, with a host of independent features, documentaries, and shorts were showcased at different venues around town. Making a return this year was the popular Symphonic Cinema, with this years theme being 'Disney's Around the World' led by the Lansing Symphonic Orchestra.
Another big draw for the CCFF are the regional and national musical acts the fest is able to draw. Once again these concerts were a big hit for festival-goers, with genre's ranging from folk to hip-hop. The CCFF continued it's tradition of hosting 1 or 2 concerts each night of the festival.
A cool feature CCFF added to it's lineup a few years back is the Fortnight Film Contest, which awards cash prizes to amateur, student, or professional filmmakers and game developers.
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Freep Film Festival shines a bright light on the City of Detroit/State of Michigan with powerful documentaries and several sold out shows
The Freep Film Festival returned in 2017 with a lineup of highly anticipated documentary films and exceptional programming to suit a wide variety of tastes. This year's Freep FF got underway with an intimate comedic podcast in 'Jay and Silent Bob Get Old.' Several of this year's screenings were sellouts, and demand was so high for films such as '12th and Clairmount,' and 'White Boy' that additional screenings had to be added. Very impressive for a festival in just its fourth year to generate this much interest. Some well deserved credit should go to the Freep Film Festival organizers who put together this festival without giving up their day jobs at the Free Press or Michigan.com.
'24 Hour War' wins the Spirit of Michigan award at Freep Film Festival
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We'd like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to 'The 24 Hour War' on winning the MFDMO sponsored Spirit of Michigan award at this year's Freep Film Festival.
Logline:
This film, co-directed by podcaster/comedian/auto enthusiast
Adam Carolla tracks one of the most famous battles in auto-racing history: the
Ford-Ferrari rivalry at Le Mans. It started in 1963 when Henry Ford II tried to
save the ailing Ford Motor Co. by buying Ferrari, which was the most successful
racing team in the world at that time. After months of intense negotiations,
Enzo Ferrari said no – refusing to allow Ford to interfere with what he loved
the most: racing. Henry Ford II was furious, and vowed to build a racecar that
would dethrone Ferrari, leading to the development of the revolutionary GT40.
“The 24 Hour War” blends current interviews and classic footage for a
speed-filled look at the Ford-Ferrari battle at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the
famed endurance race where Ferrari had reigned supreme for decades.
Article:
'White Boy,' 'The 24 Hour War' win Freep Film Festival awards, Detroit Free Press
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Michigan Student Film & Video Festival coming to the Detroit Institute of Arts on Saturday, April 29th
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The Michigan Student Film Festival is unique in the nation for providing a public venue for the work of students in grades K-12, as well as giving recognition and significant awards to young media artists. DAFT is proud to present The Michigan Student Film Festival, now in its 49th year.
The event will take place from 9:30am-3pm in the Detroit Film Theater at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Saturday, April 29th. Several categories of short films will be awarded and the students are vying for some wonderful prizes and scholarships. Please come out and show your support.
For additional information click HERE.
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Open Projector Night at UICA coming up soon; want a ticket?
 Open Projector Night
May 17, 2017, 8:00 pm
UICA Members: $4, Public: $8
Celebrate short films with the Open Projector Night series, a recurring cinematic event presenting the work of local, regional, and national filmmakers with a Michigan connection. Enjoy a diverse range of movies from animated narratives and commercial work to experimental pieces. After the event, participate in a question and answer panel with the filmmakers and vote for your favorite short film. Winners will receive a number of awards, including special screenings of their work before UICA's feature films.
If you'd like a ticket/s, send your name in an email to mfo@michigan.org with Open Projector Night in the subject line.
Learn more: http://www.uica.org/calendar/open-projector-night
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Have you recently completed a creative project in Michigan? We want to hear from you about it
Have you recently completed work on a feature film, short film, documentary, commercial, music video, or other filmed content? What about any creative project that you would proudly feature in your portfolio? Tell us about your project and help us grow Michigan's creative economy.
Take a few minutes to fill us in on your completed project HERE.
Detroit YMCA offers intensive media arts summer camp for 12-18 yo's
 Now in its tenth year, our Y Media Works Summer Institute gives
campers a rare chance to be independent media makers producing their own film
ideas, photography projects, stop motion animation, and digital music
compositions. Our program fosters
creativity, technical knowledge, collaboration, and visual storytelling.
Working alongside local professional artist instructors and visiting area production
houses, television studios and other mediabased businesses, our campers gain an
understanding of the variety of creative careers available to them.
THEME AND PARTNERSHIP
Every summer our campers embrace and celebrate Detroit. Thanks to our partnership with area artists
and Y Arts Advisory Board members John Sauve and Tony D’Annunzio, as well as
working alongside QL Media House, Y Media Works campers get a chance to
interact with professional artists, tour facilities dedicated to media
production, and learn about creative career possibilities. In addition to media field trips, we love
taking our campers to other fun and enriching sites in the summer. Area
museums, parks, and television stations are exciting mainstays of our program. All in all our 2017 Summer Institute will
give our participants an unforgettable creative experience that explores our
city and the art and artists that make it such an amazing place to live.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER
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Start a CS First Club at your summer camp
Looking for a great summer program activity for 4th-8th
grade students ? Consider starting a CS First Club!
We are the Michigan Film &
Digital Media Office, and in 2015, we partnered with GOOGLE
to offer the free, online CS First program to Michigan middle schools and
middle school students. You can learn more about our unique program here.
By registering for the CS First club through our portal,
your club is eligible for some special ‘extras’ : up to 20 free
headphones for your location, an opportunity to enroll in a digital badging
program that allows you to certify that your students have earned their badges
(this is a distinct take-away for the student … their badge can be posted to
their social media sites, etc.), and an opportunity for active clubs to
participate in an annual winter event focused on digital technologies and the
local organizations/businesses that employ that technology.
Sundance Institute to hold Film Music Master Class in Detroit
 Click pdf to RSVP
Upcoming Events
April 21 Ferris Media Festival - Ferris State
University, Big Rapids
April
22 Flint Youth Film Festival: Open Workshop
Session - UofM, Flint
April
27 Meet the Media: TV News
Panel - Southfield
April 29 Michigan Student Film
Festival - Detroit Film Theatre, Detroit
May 2 -
6 2017 Annual Student
Exhibition - Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand
Rapids
May 3 Brand Summit -
Detroit
May 4 Michigan Creative Expo -
West - Grand Rapids
May
17 Open Projector Night - UICA, Grand
Rapids
May 18 The Eclipse Awards - Grand
Rapids
May 19-21 Motor City Comic
Con - Farmington Hills
May 27-29 Movement - Hart
Plaza, Detroit
**Do you have a creative industry event, workshop or training you'd like to have displayed through this newsletter, on our website or through our social media channels? Send the details to mfo@michigan.org. Thanks!**
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