The Michigan Daily 3F Pfizer shuts A2 facility By WALTER NOWINSKI Daily Staff Reporter In a devastating blow to the city and region, Pfizer Inc. announced yesterday that it would close its massive Ann Arbor research and development facility - eliminating 2,100 jobs. At a hastily convened press con- ference this afternoon in the Mich- igan Union, Mayor John Hieftje joined University President Mary Sue Coleman and Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other elected offi- cials to address the job cuts. University officials said the announcement will not have a dra- matic effect on University research. Over the last three years, Pfizer contributed about $12 million of the University's roughly $800 mil- lion research budget. Stephen Forrest, the University's vice president for research, said in an interview with The Detroit Free Press that Pfizer wouldn't neces- sarily cut off research funding sim- ply because they were no longer in Ann Arbor. In addition to funding research, Pfizer supported a few fellowships and had several joint training pro- grams with the University, he said. Many students had internships at Pfizer that may now be in jeopar- dy. In an interview after the press conference, Coleman said the Uni- versity would have to work with local leaders, economic develop- ment groups and small startups to replace the lost internship oppor- tunities. "Having an internship in a small- er company might be as good as or a better experience for a student as having one in a big company like Pfizer," Coleman said. She emphasized that it's impor- tant for the University to work with the city, state and industry to move on. "We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to turn this crisis into something that is positive for the community," Cole- man said. At the press conference, Hieftje spoke candidly about what the loss of Pfizer, the world's largest phar- maceutical company, would mean for Ann Arbor. He said that the PHOTO BY ANGELA CESERE/Daily " " _""___""""""__ ________________ GRAPHIC BY BRIDGET O'DONNELL/Daily ANGELA CE5ERE The 177-acre Pfizer facility located near Gov. Jennifer Granholm speaks about the closing of the Ann Arbor Pfizer facility in the Michigan Union yesterday as University President Mary Sue Coleman looks on. North Campus will soon be empty. Granholm said the state will start a stick-with-Ann-Arbor campaign to encourage the laid-off workers to stay in the area. disappearance of the city's largest taxpayer would have an impact on property tax levels in the city and would hurt the city's schools. Still, he cautioned against despair. "This is certainly a blow to the city, but it is not one from which we cannot recover," he said. Pfizer paid $13 million to the city's coffers in 2006, more than 4 percent of Ann Arbor's property tax receipts. While the University is the larg- est landowner in the city, it does not pay property taxes because it is a public institution. Pfizer was also one of the larg- est charitable givers in the city, supporting the United Way, youth programming and the University Musical Society. Pfizer was the largest non- University employer in the city and had recently invested heav- ily in upgrading and expanding its sprawling Ann Arbor research labs, which abuts the eastern edge of North Campus. But despite Pfizer's massive physical presence in Ann Arbor, Granholm said the firm's real assets were the skilled employees who worked there. She said she was determined to keep those skilled employees in Michigan. At about 1 p.m. yesterday, nine Pfizer employees gathered at Ash- ley's Pub on State Street to discuss the news over lunch and a drink. Pfizer instructed employees not to speak with reporters, and none of the group gathered at Ashley's would comment. "We are going to have a whole stick-around-Ann-Arbor campaign for those employees, because we want them to stay," Granholm said. The loss of Pfizer was particu- larly painful for Granholm because biomedical research was one of the fields that she was hoping to fos- ter as a way to diversify the state's economy as the once-dominant automotive industry continues to struggle. With a low unemployment rate and the promise of new industries like Google moving into the area, Ann Arbor had been one of the few economic bright spots in the strug- gling state. But the loss of thousands of high-tech jobs yesterday cast doubt on the city's economic future. "We are in the same boat as the rest of the state of Michigan," Hieftje said at last night's City Council meeting. Granholm said Pfizer's decision was part of a global restructuring and had nothing to do with the local labor pool, the state's taxes or the state's business climate. "There is nothing Michigan could have done to prevent this from happening," she said. Pfizer officials announced the closure of the Ann Arbor plant yes- terday morning as part of a larger restructuring. The firm, which has not introduced any blockbuster drugs since Viagra in 1998, is los- ing market share to generic drugs. Many of its patents are set to expire over the next five years. It aims to shed 10 percent of its global workforce by 2008. In addi- tion to the Ann Arbor facility, Pfiz- er will close two plants and four research facilities in the United States, Japan and France. This article originally ran Jan. 23, 2007. AAFF returns, free of censorship By KRISTIN MacDONALD Associate Arts Editor The Ann Arbor Film Festival kicked off Tuesday night with cocktails, coffee and Stuc- chi's ice cream only to quickly add provocative filmmaking to its list of stimulants. This is the AAFF, a five-day fiesta of all things avant- garde and a proudly surviving vestige of Ann Arbor's more progressive-minded past. The screening began with an earnest trib- ute to deceased AAFF participant Helen Hill, a one-time Festival judge and lifelong film- maker, and the Festival couldn't have selected a more appropriate start than the presentation of Hill's quirky 16mm introduction to amateur filmmaking. The short film not only combined animation, live action and gentle humor to outline the medium's different formats (and home-bathroom darkroom techniques) but spoke to the dedication and can-do spirit required of independent filmmakers to realize their art. Filmmaking's a fun process, but it's a demanding one, too, and the piece honored the commitment of these self-reliant artists as much as its inclusion honored one such artist in particular. For the AAFF not only showcases the best of independent film from the world over but strives to develop a supportive community for those filmmakers as well. This week's AAFF schedule features much more than just short film screenings, with several filmmaker spot- lights, public lectures and Q & As and even a party or two. There's also a special program planned to introduce wary newcomers to the admitted obtuseness of experimental film - a panel discussion self-mockingly entitled "What the Hell Was That?" After all, independent film's reputation for obliqueness is not entirely undeserved. One piece in Tuesday night's line-up was practi- cally the definition of esoteric: a single six- minute shot of Russian writer Maxim Gorky's 1896 review of an early Lumiere brothers' film, slowly dissolving on what looked like a can of paint (turn-of-the-century intellectualism lit- erally visualized as watching paint dry). This is not pure cinema. This is plain old art, in a medium that provides a seemingly endless opportunity for fresh expression, and the AAFF, by projecting these impossibly diverse pieces in the cavernous grandeur of The Michigan Theater, offers an all-too-rare way to experience it. The prominent back story of this year's festival is then all the more baffling. Ordered by the state of Michigan in a well-publicized battle to rein in its controversial content or face funding cuts, the festival boldly chose the latter, cutting ties with the government rather than censor its material. It's the state that's losing out. In a fight over First Amendment rights, the AAFF promises to be a lively oppo- nent, with indignation to spare and the ACLU as back-up (as well as, apparently, friends with pocketbooks). - But why sever connection with one of the most respectable names in avant-garde cine- ma at all? The AAFF, now 45 years old, is one of the world's oldest experimental film festivals, the proving ground for now-big names (Gus Van Sant, Michael Moore) and longtime home for artistic statements that are truly less sub- versive than explorative. The festival combed through more than 2,000 submissions to com- pile this year's array and, if Tuesday night's opening is any indication, it's a set of works with as much humor and innovation as politi- cal commentary. One of the night's most satisfying entries was Frederic Moffet's "Jean Genet in Chica- go," an inventive 25-minute short billed as an "experimental documentary" which uses the experience of French writer Jean Genet as an angle for approaching the political agitation of late '60s Chicago. Wearing cut-out faces of famous Genet-contemporaries such as Wil- liam S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, stand- in bodies reenact history in front the bustling background of the modern day city. The following piece, Matthew Lessner's "By ModernMeasure," makes amore poignant comment about the decided lack of such politi- cal agitation in our own generation. As a pair of young lovers bond over their mutual love of Taco Bell, Mountain Dew and Doritos, the short film's French narrator calmly mentions the falling of bombs over Iraq half the world away. When the two profess to love Che Gue- vara, they tellingly can't articulate why. William Noland's meditative "Occulted," meanwhile, turns its scrutiny from the people to The Man. Its contemplative study of Lon- don's heavy-duty government surveillance zeroes in on various unknowing passerby, watching in long, slow-motion takes as they patiently stand on curbs and metro platforms, doing absolutely nothing to merit concern. Such watching characterized a good deal of the night's offerings, which is perhaps pre- dictable, considering the voyeuristic nature of film itself. That hyper self-awareness was prominent in such pieces as Francois Miron's "Hymn to Pan," a dreamy if unrevelatory scene of a dancer being filmed, and a German entry titled "Kristall," which cut together old Hollywood bedroom scenes to examine the forced intimacy of people before mirrors. Its focus on old film clips is equally representa- tive of a particularly popular independent film technique - the use of innovative editing and a fresh soundtrack to cull new meaning from old images. As film inherent plays with per- spective, it's a perfect medium to find meaning through juxtaposition. Of course, not every piece works, but that's natural of any art form with "experimental" in the title. One 15-minute collage of various pop-culture images in particular went about 14 minutes too long, pairing its repetitive mix of Hulk figures and baby dolls with tinny, pin- ball-like'80s pop riffs in a kinetic explosion of color that could only be palatable as a screen- saver. The messages of media inundation and gender stereotypes may be there, but are doomed to little impact when all you can think after several moments is how much you want to shoot the messenger. At least you're thinking. The festival's com- mitment to intellectual exploration is pal- pable and has only increased in the face of the government's censorship efforts. Even in the midst of its legal battle, however, the AAFF is keeping its characteristic sense of humor. The lobby's merchandise table features a new addition this year, courtesy of the innovative folks over at local candy-maker Schakolad - a slab of fine chocolate imprinted with the word "Censored." The AAFF has created its very own censor bar, and it's indicative of the festival spirit: whether you like what you see, whether you even " get" all of it, at the end of the day you're guaranteed plenty to chew on. This article originally ran March 22, 2007. BEHIND THE CONTROVERSY Ann Arbor's annual film festivals provide a medium for independent artists to showcase their work. But the past few years, state legislators have threatened to slash funding if the artists screen content lawmakers find inappropriate. Rather than submit to censorship, the film festival decided to forgo state funding the last two years, Some argue that the festival should cease seeking state funding to avoid censorship alto- gether. They claim that art is relative and it is impossible for anyone to judge the decency of such a subjective medium. Others believe that state funding is necessary for the festival to con- tinue its trend of excellence. They contend that art is a public good that earns revenue for Ann Arbor through jobs and tourism. Regardless of whether the state funds future festivals or not, the Ann Arbor Film Festival will continue contributing to the eclectic nature of the town. It is a tradition that will add breadth to your college experience should you choose to take part in it. The lobby of The Michigan Theater was filled with boozers and shmoozers for the opening night of the Ann Arbor Film Festival.