VTFF2017 Schedule



VIDLINGS & TAPEHEADS FILM FESTIVAL 2017

Ant Hall & Ghost Light | 2320 Caniff Avenue, Hamtramck, MI 48212


FRIDAY, JULY 7TH, 2017


Opening Night Party • Doors 8:00PM TICKETS $5

Lt.baD 10:30PM (website)

Detroit-based duo Lt.baD was formed in 2012 as a tribute to early eighties boogie, electro, and breakdance music. Lt.baD has previously released mixtapes of favorite tracks from the classic breakdance era interspersed with original material. Their periodic DJ sets draw from a large body of funk, classic soul, quiet storm, and disco, and often include semi-live versions of Lt.baD originals.

Duane The Jet Black Eel 11:30PM (website)

The Jet Black Eel is the embodiment of the artist’s own inner freak. Spawned in unknown waters but somehow traveled through the river bends of fate to the city of Detroit, Michigan. Where he grew to let his inner eccentric blossom. At the turn of the current decade he witnessed the arrival of other outside beings who came to usher in the era of the so-called “New Detroit”. Intrigued by the new settlers in his homeland he chose to imitate their image to slip into their spotlight.


SATURDAY, JULY 8TH, 2017


Morning Kickoff • Doors 11:30AM

Plague Suns 12:00PM

Drone based musical explorations of reductivism, dynamics in volume, and repetition. Inspired by ritual and catharsis, the music is more sound piece than song, and changes to suit the time and place of the performance. This is a prayer and process for rebirth, self-immolation with sound that can rage like towering bonfires or smolder like embers.

Made in Michigan Program • 12:30PM TICKETS $5

VTFF2017 Made in Michigan Program
70 mins

Evolve, Discover (3:05) Directed by Giuliana Cascardo (website)

A film about the evolution of humans, the desire to reproduce, and the urge to explore the universe further. Inspired by the Voyager robotic probes that were launched in 1977 to explore interstellar space.

Akoma (11:50) Directed by Alex Gasparetto (website)

A post Civil War Era drama surrounding two courageous young women in a fight for love and freedom that could cost them their lives.

Horse Dad (2:17) Directed by Anna Hudzik

A playful, father-son story about a young horse named Charlie who grows increasingly frustrated by his dad’s his lame jokes.

Conrad (5:00) Directed by Brittany Dunn (website)

Just give a dude a break…again…

방문 bangmoon / the visitation (5:50) Directed by Tae & Niko Bokos (vimeo)

A foreign exchange student from South Korea spends a mandatory Christmas stay with a rowdy Midwestern American family.

The Maintenance Man (2:18) Directed by Drew Boggemes

It might be a ghost story. Or it might not be a ghost story.

Living with Dog (2:01) Directed by Johanna Oswald (website)

A short film about a dog, two cats, and life together.

Lemon Eyes (13:00) Directed by Chelsey Raegen Knapp (facebook)

Detroit, 1928: When disputes in a loveless marriage escalate over clashing values of survival, a young medical student prescribes a solution with questionable side effects.

Goatism (4:31) Directed by Benjamin Armes

This is one real live goat story about a professor, who has an interdimensional flashback after being visited by a ghost of his past…

Raising a Nuisance (2:16) Directed by LS. Quigley

A 1920’s silent era animation about a Necromancer’s failed attempt to raise an army of the undead.

Eye of the Beholder (11:38) Directed by Tomaki Boaz

Levi, a struggling artist, fights for his sanity when his alter ego suppresses his creativity as he struggles to get over his wife’s passing.

Monk of Milkweed (3:24) Directed by Harrison Schaeffer (website)

The lonely pink garden. The one-eyed pest. The man made of roots. The woman and her cane.

BURNS 2:15PM

One woman’s effort on the electric viola to recreate the alien signal sound from the movie ‘Contact,’ starring Jodie Foster.

Documentary Program • 2:50PM TICKETS $5

VTFF2017 Documentary Program
80 mins

Radiofrequency Ablation (5:59, USA) Directed by John Akre (website)

The story of my heart operation.

Richard Twice (10:00, USA) Directed by Matthew Salton (website)

Richard Atkins, the singer and songwriter of the early 70’s California psychedelic folk duo ‘Richard Twice’, was on his way to stardom and a huge success with his first debut album when he mysteriously walked away from it all.

Jordy in Transitland (6:00, Netherlands) Directed by Willem Timmers (website)

Jordy is on the brink of her physical transition. Especially now, wandering in the realm between man and woman, she feels that the dichotomy is more poignant than ever. Must she conform herself to fit in? And what is the price for doing so? A modern, raw fairytale as a poetic protest against today’s parochialism.

Back To Abstraction (9:58, USA) Directed by Matthew Quezada (website)

Stacy Elaine Dacheux’s autobiographical narrative unpacks the artist’s own associations with the concept of abstraction, not just in relation to art history, but life itself.

Sweet Pie (9:04, USA) Directed by Pierce Cravens

Sweet Pie, also known as Paul Winer, revives his career as the baron of bare-assed boogie-woogie and blues at the Public Theater in NYC.

Semiotics of Sab (5:35, USA) Directed by Tina Takemoto (website)

An oblique portrait of gay Japanese American actor Sab Shimono, whose work on stage and screen spans more than five decades. The grammatology of his career attests to conflicting lexicons of race, representation, and selfhood.

Please Come Again (9:34, Japan/USA) Directed by Alisa Yang (website)

The film narrates the collective and personal memory of three generations of Asian women though the lens of Japanese love hotels.

Small Talk (6:30, USA) Directed by Hilary Campbell (website)

A young woman returns to her childhood neighborhood to document their daily activities but find the outdoor bustle less active during the winter season.

Emerald Ice (15:59, USA) Directed by Jesseca Ynez Simmons (website)

Emerald Ice is a cinematic journey exploring the mind of the American poet Diane Wakoski. Narrated by the poet herself, the audience assumes the side of the reader as facts of the author’s life weave through enigmatic, fantastical and fractured stories.

Betsy Soukup 4:30PM (website)

Betsy Soukup is a bassist, composer, and improvisor living in Detroit. She studied classical music for the majority of her life, but currently focuses her creative energy on playing freely improvised music, writing and performing her own compositions, writing poetry, and performing comedy improv.

Animation Program • 5:00PM TICKETS $5

VTFF2017 Animation Program
90 mins

Mostly Useless. (5:48, USA) Directed by Connor O’Rourke

Separated they are useless. United they are, well, still pretty useless.

Au Revoir Balthazar (9:36, Switzerland) Directed by Rafael Sommerhalder (website)

A scarecrow, a storm, a broken leg. The resonant sound of a sea shell. Leaving forever.

Tough (4:49, UK) Directed by Jennifer Zheng (website>

New light is shed on childhood cultural misunderstandings when a Chinese mother and her British born daughter speak as adults for the first time.

Yin and Yang (5:59, USA) Directed by Jing Yuan Huang (instagram)

A story between a boy and a girl ghost who lives under the water.

Trumpet Man (13:50, Hong Kong) Directed by Emily Wong

A turntable springs out a woman named Avocado, out of Avocado’s instinct creates a man called Soul. A sudden passion joins and swings them in a trumpet mood. An uncertainty madness strikes Soul heavily. Seed of passion continue to breed conflict amongst five men without control, which eventually leads Soul to the fact of life.

Our Wonderful Nature – The Common Chameleon (3:32, Germany) Directed by Tomer Eshed

The feeding habits of the common cameleon as never seen before.

The Moon is Essentially Gray (4:30, USA) Directed by Hannah Roman

A young child, her makeshift rocket, and her fantastic flight to the moon.

The Pine Tree Villa (12:58, Germany) Directed by Jan Koester

Lion and Bird break into an uninhabited villa to find out about the reason why it is not aging. Immediately they feel the power that keeps the villa alive.

Panic Attack! (3:20, USA) Directed by Eileen O’Meara (website)

This hand-drawn short explores anxiety, obsession, and one woman’s slippery hold on reality.

Evocation of a Nightmare (1:20, USA) Directed by Wally Chung

Entering what seems to be a deserted building, a man explores and finds an unwanted guest.

Call of Cuteness (04:00, Germany) Directed by Brenda Lien (website)

Whilst we remain safe and sound, watching the highest grossing cat fail compilation, all that is kept out of sight gets back to us in this consumerist nightmare.

The Bridge Over The River (5:45, Switzerland) Directed by Jadwiga Kowalska

A man on a bridge, separated from the love of his life. Wanting to be with her one last time, he decides to go and seek her in the hereafter.

Hold Me (Ca Caw Ca Caw) (11:14, USA) Directed by Renee Zhan (website)

A large bird and a small boy cohabit in an unhappy relationship, trapped by four walls and a mutual codependence. An un-eggs-pected new arrival cracks the delicate balance of their relationship.

Arthur Colvin 7:00PM (website)

Dave Graw and Scott Stimac, two Detroit-based multi-instrumentalists are Arthur Colvin—a continuation of the deep strains of ambient music that have perpetuated in the area since the early-to-mid ’90s. Warm tones slowly rise over the listener like the dawning of the sun on a dewy summer morning, reaching a fullness as bright as noon, and fading into cool introspection that matches the glow of dusk in the sky. Their music radiates an intensity that belies its stillness, and holds to a deep cosmic spirituality.

Fiction Program • 8:00PM TICKETS $5

VTFF2017 Fiction Program
100 mins

Restricted Vision (14:36, UK) Directed by Jonny Cola & Jez Leather (website)

On a surreal road trip, charged with poetry, a former glam rocker becomes increasingly uneasy about the motives of his mysterious companion.

Ok, Call Me Back (4:47, USA) Directed by Emily Ann Hoffman (website)

Craving companionship, a woman leaves a voicemail late at night.

Freeze (15:00, Singapore) Directed by Nelicia Low

When her husband cannot give her the love she desires, the lonely and insecure Hui will do anything to feel loved.

Aftermath (10:15, Germany) Directed by Ralf Beyerle (facebook)

When you wake up in a strange bed the morning after a party, you find that it’s often the small things that raise the questions of greatest importance. A film about the time between yesterday and today.

Chronicles of my Silence (8:48, Brazil) Directed by Beatriz Pessoa

Histories and silencies that recognize each other.

Lost Dogs (15:00, USA) Directed by Cullan Bruce (website)

A woman ridiculed by her family longs to escape. Striking a deal with her brother to clear his illegal debt, she delves deeper into darkness.

Food First (10:52, Germany) Directed by Pol Ponsarnau

Food first, then morals! A comedy about two couples in a stylish Berlin Tapas restaurant. Tension grows with each dish. All seems lost when the question “who waters your plants?” comes on the table.

Cake (9:22, USA) Directed by Anne Hu (website)

Eliza, a bisexual woman, tries to explore her sexuality within her marriage with her husband Thomas by surprise ordering a seemingly human female sex robot. But the sex robot is not the cure-all she had hoped for. Be careful what you wish for.

GODDAMMIT (8:00, USA) Directed by Ryan Moser (website)

Glare from the setting Sun prompts three travelers to consider their place within the Universe. GODDAMMIT is a film that can best be described as “Carl Sagan meets Timothy Leary.”

Closing Night Party • 10:00PM TICKETS $5

Dear Darkness 10:30PM (website)

Dear Darkness are a post-punk duo whose sound is waxing and combustible—the rawer side of PJ Harvey mixed with the rock economy of The Ramones, the drama of Siouxie Sioux mixed with the faux-pomposity of Pulp. Dear Darkness’s music could be called “bedroom pop,” but only when the curtains are drawn and the lamps are covered.

Isles of ESP 11:30PM (website)

Isles of ESP provide an otherworldly storm of musical contortions and driving rhythms. Lead by Eric Dilworth’s sheets of guitar raining down and around like a hurricane and supported by the fluid pounding of Justin Walker on drums and Matt Luke’s pulsing bass, the band blows into the room and overturns the notions of what a traditional rock-based arrangement can create.

Pewter Cub 12:30AM (website)

From Regan Lorie’s beautiful vocals, poignant lyrics & groovy bass lines to Scott Sanford’s ethereal yet hook- laden guitars to Dave Jenning’s space walking drum beats, Detroit’s Pewter Cub write songs for the heart,soul and spiritual beyond. Stylistically, their music bridges the gap between such genres as spacey psychedelia, shoegaze and jangly pop.


SUNDAY, JULY 9TH, 2017


Filmmakers & VIPs only | Award Ceremony Brunch & Excursion



Single Event Tickets ($5/ea) | Festival Pass $20 (Saves $10 from the a la carte price!)

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