The Detroit News

Festival celebrates local filmmakers' independent ideas

Friday, June 4, 2004

By Tonja Deegan / Special to The Detroit News

Hamtramck’s Planet Ant Theatre is hosting its second annual film festival, celebrating local filmmakers. And with no-budget, independent films, almost anything goes.

"It’s about regular people making movies and expressing themselves," says John Maxwell, assistant artistic director for Planet Ant. "Some are very funny, and some are surreal."

Scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday at the Hastings Street Ballroom in Detroit, the film festival includes 15 films, mostly from local filmmakers with one entry from Arizona. Planet Ant received more than 20 entries this year. Some features are in black and white, and one is animated. Titles include:

· "Accident Prone" by Tommy LeRoy, sometimes the hardest thing in the world to do is get to work in the morning.
· "Electroman — A Documentary" by Michael Hovitch, a mockumentary about the life and times of an aging superhero
· "Shoebox" by Tara Nida and Nate DuFort, a black comedy that follows a woman’s journey through pet loss, group therapy and her eventual personal resolution.

Maxwell says Hal Soper, Planet Ant executive director and owner, launched the festival. He has produced a couple of independent features, including "Garage: A Rock Saga" in 2000 and "Get the Hell Out of Hamtown" in 1996.

"He’s always been interested in independent films and thought there should be an outlet in Detroit to see the sort of stuff people are doing," he says. "There’s stuff that gets produced, but nobody ever sees it, and certainly not the general public."