Danny Plotnick

There's no other way to put it: last Saturday at #iFFY2026 was ELECTRIC. ⚡⚡ Maybe it was the crackling energy of our Guest of Honor Danny Plotnick, or the fact that the retrospective program of his barnstorming, punk af films brought the cast of SKATE WITCHES together onstage for the first time in four decades. Plus there was the afterparty, where Skate Witch Dana Forrester's band TRUE DEVIL peeled paint off the walls and ELECTRIC HULDRA tore Ziggy's down to the studs. There was even a Skate Witches costume contest where every contestant took home a killer prize. Maybe it was participating in a 26.2 hour Filmmaking Marathon with your friends, getting to watch the results on the big screen in a packed room, and maybe even winning a prize. Maybe it was the fact that the sneak peek of Toko Shiiki's SEND MORE CLOWNS came with a full live clown show, taking over the theater with madcap energy and goofery. Maybe it was the joy of learning direct/cameraless animation with a group of engaged fledgling filmmakers of all ages, and being taught by a world-class filmmaker like Julia Yezbick. Maybe it was sharing the experience of seeing a brilliant and important work by that same filmmaker, along with four other leading lights of experimental film. There were as many different iFFY experiences last Saturday as there were attendees. We hope your experiences were as joyous and powerful as ours. Seven years in, iFFY is starting to seem like a community staple, and we can't thank you all enough. A lot needs to happen to see us through to Season 8, but we hope to see you all then. 📸: @jasonadamvoss @tokoshiiki @wetcloudillo @julietflamingo @whoisdonald #filmfestival #ypsilanti #michigan #Michiganfilm

Come to see a 4K restoration of SKATE WITCHES at #iFFY2026 Saturday at 7 pm as part of SUPER 8 & DESTROY: THE FILMS OF DANNY PLOTNICK! Then, come to @ziggysypsilanti in your skate witchiest outfit to see @truedevildetroit and @electrichuldra and enter the Skate Witches costume contest! Lots of amazing prizes to be had along with the paint-peeling heavy rock action! #skatewitches #filmfestival #ypsilanti #michigan

Our 2026 guest of honor @dannyplotnick appears today on @livingwriters on @wcbn_fm (with special guest host/premier SE Michigan film historian Frank Uhle!) to discuss his book SUPER 8: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY and his retrospective film program SUPER 8 & DESTROY at #iFFY2026 this Saturday (which, by the way, is getting awfully close to selling out)! Listen live on the airwaves, or streaming on WCBN.org!

A special shout-out to Looking Forward Giving Back’s awesome host committee for helping with our big event! First Exposures art auction of over 50 mentee, mentor, and artist work is a night of celebration 🤩 (and a lot of hard work 😅), so thank you for supporting to make it happen! Our community is AMAZING! MAY 7 | 6—9 PM | SOMArts Cultural Center Get tickets: link in bio or visit firstexposures.org/lfgb #artauction #photoexhibition #youthart #firstexposures #supportnonprofits

Sure, YOUR film festival is "DIY" or even "punk", BUT is it "stay up late for three nights printing, folding, and stapling program booklets one by one, '90s xerox zine style" punk? #iFFY2026 #punkfilmfestival #ypsilanti #michigan

Ah - an absolutely gorgeous day on the bay today. When SF is warm and sunny, it’s heaven. ☀️⛴️

SUPER 8 AND DESTROY: THE FILMS OF DANNY PLOTNICK SATURDAY, APRIL 18 | 7 PM | RIVERSIDE ARTS CENTER FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE! A retrospective of funny, gnarly Super 8 shorts by the San Francisco-based punk provocateur and iFFY Guest of Honor @dannyplotnick (also a co-founder of legendary '90s Detroit magazine MOTORBOOTY!). This career-spanning program includes a 40th anniversary screening of the Ann Arbor-shot, Smithsonian-honored short SKATE WITCHES. Danny Plotnick will be in attendance for this event, along with some original Skate Witches! #filmfestival #Ypsilanti #iFFY2026 #puremichig

Saturday, April 18 is the last day of iFFY Season 7 and may be our biggest day yet! Just check out all that's going on: At 1 pm, 2018 Kresge fellow and Mothlight Microcinema co-founder JULIA YEZBICK will lead a FREE, hands-on workshop on cameraless direct animation! At 2 pm, there will be a special sneak preview of the new doc SEND MORE CLOWNS by local filmmakers Toko Shiiki and Donald Harrison, starring the students of Rose Carver’s Fool School Clown Class and filmed at Ypsi's Dreamland Theater! Q&A afterwards with the filmmakers, plus special guests in attendance! At 4 pm we have THE LANDSCAPE IN-BETWEEN (programmed by @jonathan.e.moodie ), a collection of five poetic short films that explore the texture and depth of perceptual-emotional landscapes emerging between “self” and “world”. Featuring short films by Cherlyn Hsing-Hsin Liu, Greta Snider, Sandra Ignagni, Lindsay McIntyre, and Julia Yezbick. At 7 pm comes SUPER 8 & DESTROY: THE FILMS OF DANNY PLOTNICK, a retrospective of funny, gnarly Super 8 shorts by the San Francisco-based punk provocateur, including a 40th anniversary screening of the Ann Arbor-shot, Smithsonian-honored short SKATE WITCHES. Danny Plotnick will be in attendance for this event, along with some original Skate Witches! At 9 pm, we close out the fest proper with the iFFY 26.2 HOUR FILMMAKING MARATHON SCREENING, which will share the results of a marathon taking place the weekend before the official start of the festival, Saturday, April 11- Sunday, April 12. For more information: /marathon After the fest wraps up, come on down to @ziggysypsi for our closing night afterparty, featuring live music by ELECTRIC HULDRA and TRUE DEVIL! True Devil features SKATE WITCHES star Dana Forrester, who will bring a replica of the original Skate Witches jacket. There will also be a Skate Witches costume contest for fun prizes! All in all, this is going to be a knock-down, drag-out end to our 7th season, and we can't wait to have you all along for the ride! #iFFY2026 #Ypsilanti #Michiganfilm

BONUS iFFY ANNOUNCEMENT! Come celebrate the 40th anniversary of 'Skate Witches' -- the legendary short film by iFFY visiting filmmaker Danny Plotnick-- with a rager rock show afterparty at our favorite downtown Ypsi venue, ZIGGY'S! That's right, that bite-sized punk comedy classic, shot by Plotnick on the UM Diag in 1986, is hitting the big 4-0! At 7 PM on Saturday, 4/18 at Riverside Arts Center, iFFY will be screening the film as part of a Danny Plotnick retrospective, SUPER 8 & DESTROY: THE FILMS OF DANNY PLOTNICK. After movie time, make your way down the street to watch TRUE DEVIL (featuring Skate Witches cast member/Lucky Monkey Tattoo co-owner Dana Forrester!) and ELECTRIC HULDRA melt the walls with heavy rock action! We'll also be hosting a SKATE WITCHES costume contest! Rumor has it Dana will even be bringing a replica of her original hand painted Skate Witches jacket; the original can't make it because it's in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian (wait, what?! No, FOR REAL!). Doors at 9:30 pm. $5-10 sliding scale for folks just attending the show, no cover if you show your ticket stub for SUPER 8 & DESTROY at the door. Bring your best Skate Witch finery, ear protection, and a rock & roll fist to pump.

BIG NEWS! Today, the full lineup for Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti Season 7 is announced, and tickets and season passes are officially ON SALE! Link in bio. We’ll be sending out a bunch of emails and social posts in the coming days to talk more in-depth about this year’s programming, but if you’ve been up nights tossing and turning in anticipation, WAIT NO MORE.! PLUS: Today, we officially release our poster for Season 7; you can see the digital version above! It features art by one of our all-time favorite Ypsilanti musicians and multimedia artists, @fredthomas , and was laid out by our own Dustin Krcatovich. Boy, are we excited. We look forward to seeing you all April 16-18 at the Riverside Arts Center!

Big Sur, you are giving it all today. 🙏💛🌊

The tea hath been spilt: last night at our movie night takeover at @ziggysypsi , we made our first official programming announcement for Season 7! Now it can be told: we're bringing in @dannyplotnick on Saturday, April 18 for a retrospective of his work entitled SUPER 8 AND DESTROY: THE FILMS OF DANNY PLOTNICK. The centerpiece of this program will be a 40th anniversary screening of the 1986 UM Diag-shot classic short SKATE WITCHES, with at least some of the original Skate Witches in attendance! We couldn't be more excited. More programming announcements to come later this month. Watch this space!