The Ann Arbor Film Festival’s
series of short film competitions
showcases the beauty and unique
nature of experimental film. The
festival’s Films in Competition
2 session featured seven films
ranging from five minutes to
around half an hour. Each film
was
completely
different
in
style and theme, requiring me
to constantly readjust. From
the pastels of “Roses, Pink and
Blue” to the startling acoustics
of “South Los Angeles Street”
to the microscopic visuals of
“2cent / 10coil,” I attempted to
create meaning through my own
interpretations, story-searching
in the darkness of the Michigan
Theater.
“Roses, Pink and Blue”
“Roses, Pink and Blue” (Julia
Yezbick, “How to Rust”) tells
the story of two lost balloons on
a pastel-colored beach. We never
see the balloons. White words
written against visuals of the
ocean and sunset tell us that a
young girl has lost them. They are
now drifting away, somewhere
we cannot see. While the words
tell us the story, the screen shows
us the water and sand where the
balloons floated away.
In just six minutes, “Roses”
tells a poetic story about loss
and the intangibility of moments
in the past. The short combines
poetry with visuals that maintain
the aesthetic of a disposable
camera.
These
faded,
fuzzy
images create a sense of nostalgia
for the day on the beach when
the young girl lost her balloons.
Watching
the
film
felt
like
looking through a photo album,
remembering a moment in time
when things were happier.
“South Los Angeles Street”
“South Los Angeles Street”
(Leighton Pierce, “Everything’s
gonna be OK”) is a portrait of
Skid Row in Los Angeles from the
vantage point of a fourth-floor
loft. A helicopter flies above,
cars drive below and the sound
of honking can be heard from all
directions.
The short film begins by
showing the helicopter moving
in slow motion across the clear
blue sky. At first glance, the
shot resembles a painting. The
camera then moves below to
the cars and then around the
apartment, capturing the word
“Home” written on a building.
It’s clear, without words, that
this street holds significance to
the filmmaker — he carefully
characterizes the strip of LA from
every angle. “South Los Angeles
Street” was a tour of the areas
above and below the loft through
its windows, sights and sounds
included. The film feels like a love
letter written to home, taking in
all of the beauty that can be seen
from all angles. It made me miss
the trees and birds I would see in
my own hometown.
“2cent / 10coil”
“2cent / 10coil” (Monteith
McCollum,
“Rabbit
in
the
Sand”) explores the qualities
of a U.S. postage stamp under
an electron microscope. These
visuals are difficult to grasp as
they appear, resembling close-
ups of thread or cloth, and are
interspersed with quotes from a
speech given by former President
Warren G. Harding after his
journey known as “The Voyage
of Understanding,” where he
explored
the
wilderness
of
Alaska. The quotes appear on
screen as clips from a newspaper
article.
“I
become
somewhat
philosophical when I travel. I am
sorry.”
“Words seem inaccurate. I
wish I could convey the lure and
fascination with which I grow.”
These
statements
were
scattered
throughout
the
10-minute film, each contributing
meaning to the visuals placed
behind them. In addition to
the close-ups of the stamp, the
filmmaker includes images of
nature. I was unsure what to
make of what I saw or read until
the context was provided at
the end of the film: Harding’s
exploration of Alaska came weeks
before his unexpected death.
Before passing, he explored the
lanscape of Alaska, land that no
other sitting president had seen.
Only then could I appreciate the
visuals I had analyzed for the
previous 10 minutes. There is
beauty in the unknown. Her page
became more of a series of diary
entries accompanied by a photo
of a beautiful Cambridge student,
living a life of deeply curated
beauty
and
adventure.
This
was an early predecessor of the
“radical vulnerability” approach
to garnering Instagram fame, and
it successfully launched Calloway
into being the aspirational and
vaguely literary influencer she
had been attempting to become
since the beginning.
Two years after opening, does
Side Biscuit hold up to the hype?
Short answer: yes
Side Biscuit sits on the edge of the
student neighborhood at Packard
and Woodlawn streets. It emerged
in the midst of the COVID-19
pandemic as the brainchild of chef
Jordan Balduf. Balduf originally
started Side Biscuit running online
orders out of his driveway before
buying the restaurant space. Side
Biscuit’s cult status in the Ann
Arbor restaurant scene has steadily
risen since it first opened its doors
in 2021. Just after its two year
anniversary celebration, I decided
that it was finally time to see if it
lives up to the hype.
Walking into the store, you
are immediately struck by how
much energy is flowing through
such a small space. Off to the
side, they have merchandise for
sale prominently displaying their
Buffalo Bills inspired logo. I took
about two steps before reaching the
order counter with the rest of the
space being occupied by a tight open
kitchen where the temperature,
volume of the classic rock and vibes
were all sky high.
The “driveway plate” is Side
Biscuit’s marquee deal, coming
with six wings and the side biscuit
of the week. I ordered the driveway
plate with the open pit BBQ sauce. It
was definitely sweet; in fact, it was
one of the sweetest BBQ sauces that
I have had. This was no detriment,
however, as the sweetness came
with equal tanginess. In addition
to the BBQ, I tried the OG buffalo
sauce. It absolutely blew me away.
The buffalo sauce had the correct
level of heat; I could totally feel it,
but it wasn’t too much to handle. It
had a subtle butteriness to it that
smoothed out the heat.
These
sauces
are
nothing
without the masterfully prepared
wings underneath them. As a
broke college student, I eat so much
dining hall food and fast food that I
was beginning to think that generic
and processed food had gotten
pretty good in terms of quality and
taste. Yet these wings reminded
me how good wings can really
get. The meat was a much higher
quality than what is normally seen
in chicken wings. The chicken was
noticeably juicy, as opposed to the
all-too-often dry chicken wings
you might see from a fast food wing.
The skin was fully crispy and was
clearly fried to perfection. Overall
I thought that the chicken wings
were spectacular.
The real star of the show was
the namesake side biscuit. Every
week Side Biscuit features a biscuit
of the week and in honor of St.
Patrick’s Day, they featured an
Irish soda biscuit studded with
raisins and topped with orange
zest. The biscuit managed to outdo
the wings in terms of quality and
taste. It had a perfectly crispy
outside with a hot, soft and buttery
inside. Speaking of butter, keeping
with the theme, it came with a
side of orange marmalade butter.
The butter was incredibly creamy
and so good that my roommate felt
justified in finishing it on its own.
Side Biscuit celebrated its two-
year anniversary of opening last
weekend with a tailgate-type party
outside the store. This celebration
included a wing eating contest,
free biscuits and a guest DJ. Over
the last two years of its operation, I
have heard constant claims of how
elite Side Biscuit is and now I can
finally attest to its cult status.
Side Biscuit celebrates
two years
LAURA MILLAR
Daily Arts Writer
Courtesy of Will Castle
Courtesy of the Ann Arbor Film Festival
4 — Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Arts
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SUDOKU
WHISPER
“If you dream it,
you can make it
so.”
“Don’t be afraid
of the space
between your
dreams and reali-
ty. ~Belva Davis”
WHISPER
Ann Arbor Film Festival 2023: Searching for stories in Films in Competition 2
WILL CASTLE
Daily Arts Contributor