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Mothlight Microcinema
About —
  1. an artist-run, nomadic film series screening experimental and avant-garde, fiction, documentary, and animated film + video in Detroit, Michigan since 2012.
  2. screening schedules and program line-ups can be found here and on our Facebook page. 
  3. Stay connected by subscribing to our newsletter!


Upcoming Events
MMC 2024 ++
  • Short Films by Lisa Truttmann

    • Past Programs
    MMC 2024 ++
    1. 16mm filmmaking workshop (in partnership with Detroit Narrative Agency)
    2. 16mm filmmaking workshop with Shanna Maurizi (in partnership with Carpenter Creative Cooridor)
    3. Gaza Ghetto (1984), Speakers: Umayyah Cable and Hannah Fahoome

    MMC 2023 ++
    1. 16mm filmmaking workshop with the Detroit Narrative Agency
    2. 60th Ann Arbor Touring Program, Q&A with Jerrod Willis

    MMC 2022 ++
    1. 59th Ann Arbor Touring Program, Q&A with Ahya Simone 

    MMC 2021 ++
    1. Malni: towards the ocean towards the shore, Q&A with Sky Hopinka
    2. Film About a Father Who, Q&A with Lynne Sachs

    MMC 2020 ++
    1. The Wolf House (virtual, co-presented with The Film Lab and Cinema Lamont)
    2. Vitalina Varela (virtual, co-presented with The Film Lab)

    MMC 2019 ++
    1. Films in Space (Cosmos + shorts on 16mm)
      Curated by Raul Benitez
    2. Remember to Remember: New and Old Films from Niagara Custom Lab
      Curated by Derek Jenkins

    MMC 2018 ++
    1. Chicagoland Shorts, Vol 4 
      Curated by Full Spectrum Features
    2. Based in Havana: Documentary Shorts
      Curated by Mary Pena
    3. Clicks Inside My Dreams: Short Films by Margaret Rorison, Q&A with Rorison
    4. Image Bearings: New Video Work by Women in the Midwest
      Curated by Sally Lawton, Q&A with Bree Gant

    MMC 2017 ++
    1. The Maribor Uprisings, Q&A with Maple Raza
    2. Kairos Dirt and the Errant Vacuum, Q&A with Madsen Minax
    3. INAATE/SE/, Q&A with Adam Khalil
    4. ANTI-ETHNOGRAPHY, Q&A with Adam Khalil
    5. Untitled (Just Kidding), Q&A with Jesse Malmed

    MMC 2016 ++
    1. Chicagoland Shorts
      Curated by Full Spectrum Features
    2. Films by Mothlight Filmmaker-in-Residence Jayne Amara Ross, Q&A with Ross
    3. Films by Ephraim Asili, Q&A with Asili
    4. SÖFNUN: Mothlight Microcinema in Iceland
    5. Seeking: Missed Connections & Loose Associations, Q&A with Chris Collins & LJ Freeza
    6. Films for One to Eight Projectors: Multiple Projector Experiments by Roger Beebe, Q&A with Beebe

    MMC 2015 ++
    1. Itinerant Spaces: Films by Stephen Connolly, Q&A with Connolly
    2. Minority Report
      Curated by Nazli Dincel, Q&A with Sky Hopinka
    3. Frenkel Defects III
      Curated by Kevin Rice
    4. Handmade Emulsion workshop with Process Reversal (led by Kevin Rice)
    5. Cellular Cinema VI: Mothlight in Minneapolis
    6. Films by Filmmaker-in-Residence Dan Smeby, Q&A with Smeby
    7. Tale of Two Syrias: Films by Filmmaker-in-Residence Yasmin Fedda, Q&A with Fedda
    8. Paradise: Films by Filmmaker-in-Residence Lydia Moyer, Q&A with Moyer
    9. Failure: Experimental Animation by Kelly Sears, Q&A with Sears
    10. Projection Instructions: Selections from Filmmakers Coop Curated by Josh Guilford, performed by Mothlight

    MMC 2014 ++
    1. Synchronicity, Q&A with Jason Sudak
    2. Films by Julie Murray, Q&A with Murray
    3. Films by Fern Silva, Q&A with Silva
    4. Form/Fragment, Q&A with Jen Proctor
    5. 51st Ann Arbor Film Festival Touring Program

    MMC 2013 ++
    1. Moving: 16mm shorts
    2. On Holiday
      Curated by Brandon Walley
    3. Peninsulam, Q&A with Jack Cronin
    4. Handmade (Animation)
      Curated by Gary Schwartz, Q&A with Dustin Grella
    5. Portraits of America, Part II, Q&A with Katie Barkel & Oren Goldenberg
    6. Portraits of America, Part I, Q&A with Brandon Walley

    MMC 2012 ++
    1. Maximal Minimal (16mm)
    Mark













    Micro Cinema
    — nomadic and free




                   
    mi·cro·cin·e·ma

    noun: microcinema; plural noun: microcinemas; noun: micro-cinema; plural noun: micro-cinemas
    1. a genre consisting of low-budget alternative or independent films and videos."she took a course in microcinema at the state college" (NB: this is most definitely not how this term is used colloquially. Furthermore, after personally teaching at a handful of academic institutions, not once have I ever seen a course in “microcinema”)
    2. a small room or theater used to show low-budget independent films."the campus has three microcinemas" (NB: again, odd example, as I have not in all my decades of experiences at many campuses ever seen a campus with its own microcinema, let alone, three!)

    So. What does it mean to us? A microcinema is a pliable space to gather around a glowing screen, like moths to a light. To reflect together, to ponder, to wonder, and to explore. To be moved, to laugh, to just be with others for some duration of time.

    We are not a non-profit, or a business. We’re just a small group of people with a couple of projectors (16mm, super8, and digital) and a desire to watch good films and videos together. 
    We occassionally run workshops and WIP nights, and often co-sponsor other great programs at our local festivals (Ann Arbor Film Festival and Media City- Windsor) or with other local organizations (Cinema Lamont, The Film Lab, Corktown Cinema, etc).
     



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    Running on Cargo