8 - Tuesday, March 31, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
8 - Tuesday, March 31, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Chatting with AAFF's founder
Perpetual party
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By BLAKE GOBLE
Daily Arts Writer
Friday afternoon. The Campus
Inn. It's a cool, gray day and George
Manupelli, the founder of the Ann
Arbor Film Festival, is taking a brief
moment to rest his eyes and catch
his breath during the 47th AAFF.
There's a lot to do in town, and
Manupelli is back on the scene. He's
kind of tired and uncertain about
what he's going to screen next, but
it doesn't matter; Manupelli is just
glad to be checking out movies again
in Ann Arbor.
In a recent interview, Manupelli
talked about everything including
the Festival, his time at the Univer-
sity and his ongoing work over the
years. But before all that, Manupelli
opened up and talked about his roots
and interest in film and art.
"I had a classmate. He was 17, and
he went to the movies and recorded
them - you know, religiously; every
aspect of the film. And this is 1948,"
Manupelli said.
He continued, "He's telling me
that film is light, sound and motion,
you know. And I said 'Oh, gee, what
a concept.' How advanced. I didn't
realize it was advanced, but it was
abstract. And not in a way anyone
thought at the time."
Manupelli was what the mod-
ern Festival would like to label as
an "experimental" filmmaker. He
found his calling behind the lens,
tryinga
filmma
"I b
just sta
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Forh
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quality
just du
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- from
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Froe
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ated th
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sity of N
& Desi
neededi
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"I ca
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design
"I tried
design.'
cian to
anything and everything as a teach film for nine years, and (I
ker. worked) withoutpay; I took the deal
ought a Bolex canera, then because I wanted to get at the stu-
irted taking images," Manu- dents."
plained. Despite having no resources or
him, it wasn't about emulat- financial support to teach film class-
ational Geographic image es at the time, Manupelli still cre-
or Dickensian intricacy. He ated the AAFF. Students, politics,
g making movies. "I took one experimentation and a sense of fun
ss - it was completely hokey guided him along the way. The Fes-
the communications depart- tival became a bastion of diversified
Columbia." topics. There were documentaries
n there, Manupelli took on covering subjects including mili-
ts of cinema work. He cre- tary coups in Chili and boxer Rubin
e "Dr. Chicago" trilogy, all of "Hurricane" Carter. Today, the films
in the Festival are screened accord-
ing to themes including geographi-
cal location, gender identification
e present and and animation.e
st of a prolific So, after such a prolific career in
art, what is Manupelli doing these
filmmaker. days?
* "I make little things, I like to do
the simplest kinds of things. Just glue
this and stick it down. Then write a
were filmed in Ann Arbor. He scenario for it." Manupelli said. "It's
d over the Ann Arbor Film like the 'Chicago' films. I get loca-
I for 20 years. And Manupelli tion, props, actors, costumes. I call
rofessor here at the Univer- them three-dimensional cartoons."
Michigan in the School of Art Manupelli has always been a man
gn, a place where he felt he - of many ventures. After teaching
to share new insight into art at art schools, making movies and
h sight and sound. deciding to just quit painting after
me here in '62. The curricu- doing it for 20 years, there's no say-
en was drawing, painting, ing what he'll pick up next. Honored
- period," Manupelli said. Thursday night at the Festival as
to get them to do sound as a distinguished guest, Manupelli
You don't need to be a musi- can be certain his legacy has been
make music. I didn't get to cemented into place.
'Junior' is a striking
smorgasbord of
happy dance cuts
By RHIANNON HALLER
DailyArts Writer
You know that feeling you get
at a party when
the music dies
and the crowd *
disperses, but
you still want Ryksopp
to dance? Rilyk- Junior
sopp's new A
album Junior Asta'wes
has you covered.
The album vacillates between
emulating post-party woes with
exceptional precision and deliver-
ing a smorgasbord of happy dance
tracks that will keep your feet
moving while the celebration is in
full swing.
Junior is a near-perfect revi-
sion of Riyksopp's resume, com-
bining the upbeat ambience of
Rfyksopp's first album Melody
A.M. with the more down-tem-
po tracks of the band's second
release The Understanding. The
group has even thrown in a
few female Scandinavian sing-
ers into the mix'to complement
band members Svein Berge and
Torbjern Brundtland's own airy
vocals. Changing up vocalists
gives each song its own unique
flavor, and Royksopp manages
to maintain cohesiveness on the
record by tinging each track
with its own distinct brand of
ambient-yet-danceable instru-
mentation.
The deft variation gives the
album much of its strength, but
there's another factor that pushes
Junior from lightweight up-and-
comer to heavyweight champion:
"Royksopp Forever."
The track showcases every
chunk of awesomeness the group
has to offer; its steady, enduring
drum beat lets the blissful syn-
thesizers shine through as they
switch between rapid, electronic
scales and imitations of stringed
instruments releasing uplifting
symphonies. The song's soar-
ing instrumentation is so epic it
sounds prepared to serve as score
to a monumental battle scene.
"Royksopp Forever" isn't fast-
paced enough to keep anybody
moving at a raging party, but it's
a bad-ass accompaniment to any
hazy walk home.
Elsewhere, Junior makes its
money by giving people songs
to dance to long into the night.
"Happy Up Here," the first track,
is a bubbly, booty-shaking num-
ber withbouncy synths and funky
guitars. "The Girl and the Robot"
is also well-suited for the dance
floor, but it diverges from the pre-
vious track's perkiness with its
ominous drum-machine, rolling
synthesizers and ethereal syllabic
chanting in the background that
lends ita creepy undertone.
Unfortunately, all prodigious
celebrations must end, and like-
wise, so does Junior. Rfyksopp
fully understands the melancholy
that accompanies the death of a
party, providing listeners with a
track that embodies the feeling
with impeccable accuracy. "You
Don't Have A Clue," with the lines
"It's late in the night / dancing is
done / The music has died /You're
ready to run / But you don't have
a clue / This party hasn't ended
yet," is the ideal companion for
post-party depression.
"You Don't Have A Clue" is
also a good friend for when you're
hit by that same depression after
you realize Junior is over. The
album skillfully balances its high
energy with its soothing atmo-
spheric quality, creating an aural
bliss that is bound to leave listen-
ers a bit upset when it's all said
and done. But Junior's inevitable
end is the only disappointment
to be found among its 11 tracks, a
grievance that is quickly forgot-
ten when you realize that there's
nothing stopping you from play-
ing it again and again.
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