“One of my favorite festivals of all time! The dedication and passion from the festival directors are clear in this one. They love cinema, but love quirky and unique cinema even more. I am so honored our film got to play along side so many inspiring films. Thank you, Jerry and everyone else involved for putting on such a fantastic event.
—Shane R. Hillier, VTFF2022 alum
Vidlings & Tapeheads is dedicated to promoting unconventional stories in film, music, and art.
The Vidlings & Tapeheads Film Festival screens films with a unique voice that tell stories in an unusual way, experiment with the medium, or explore eclectic subject matter and themes. We encourage and celebrate subversiveness, innovative use of materials and budget, and quirky independent work that doesn’t fit comfortably within any one genre.
The festival features Live Music Performances, an Art Exhibition, and of course — lots of Films! We traditionally cap the weekend with a filmmaker and VIP-only Award Ceremony Brunch & Excursion.
Our opening night kickoff party varies year to year, but always starts on a Friday. Sometimes we rock out to local music, other times we have a special selection feature film or shorts block. The Official Selection film screenings are all day the following Saturday. Four short film blocks will screen comprised of the following categories: Local, Animation, Documentary, and Fiction. There is live music and filmmaker Q&As between most, if not all blocks. Festival attendees will be able to take in our art exhibition throughout the day and mingle with local artists and filmmakers. Saturday night wraps with a party set to the closing night bands. Sunday’s Award Ceremony Brunch and Excursion is closed to the public, but available for VIP Passholders, volunteers, performing musicians, artists, and the filmmakers themselves.
Interested in submitting your film? Check out our FESTIVAL SUBMISSIONS page for more information on the kind of program we aim to curate!
“This was one of the best film festival experiences I’ve had so far! Amazing line-up of films, great location, and wonderful people running the event.”
—Chelsey Knapp, VTFF2017 alum
“Dream festival! The care behind the curation of this fest shows tremendously. It’s run by passionate people with great taste and an eye for interesting and artistic projects. I love that they also have fine art and live music. If you’re from out of town, ATTEND! Detroit and this festival share an independent spirit for the arts that you can’t get anywhere else.”
—Elaine Strutz, VTFF2018 alum
“I was honored to have my film, The Year That Passed, play at this wonderful film festival. Jerry White Jr is clearly passionate about quirky, compelling, one-of-a-kind films – I had a great Q&A and really enjoyed talking with some of the other filmmakers. Visiting Hamtramck was super fun and I’m so glad I made the trip out! Awesome hospitality. 10/10.”
—Grace Simmons, VTFF2021 alum
“Great music, fantastic films and oddball attendees, it was a truly satiating experience.”
—LS Quigley, VTFF2017 alum