Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti is returning to the Riverside Arts Center for its seventh season of showcasing independently-made short films and an annual 26.2 filmmaking marathon.
Independent Film Festival Ypsilanti, founded in 2019, is a film festival bringing together diverse audiences and uplifting independent filmmakers. iFFY holds its festivals at the Riverside Arts Center.
iFFY started as an organization in 2019, having its first film festival on a drive-in screen due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but has since expanded into becoming a three-day-long in-person event, said Micah Vanderhoof, director and programmer of iFFY.
“It started in kind of troubled times and has grown to be kind of a regular institution around town. Now we're regularly operating out of the Riverside Arts Center, having our, like, sort of after-parties and all sorts of other events, around town, little pop-ups as we can,” Vanderhoof said.
The three-day-long festival will feature showings of various short films, an animation workshop and a filmmaking marathon. Anyone can watch the films at the Riverside Arts Center with the purchase of a ticket or a season pass. Tickets are $13 per film or film series, and season passes are $50, the iFFY website said.
The 26.2 filmmaking marathon will begin Saturday, April 11, and end Sunday, April 12, 2026. Filmmakers will have 26.2 hours to create a film that is four minutes or fewer in length and meets any given requirements. Requirements could include adding a specific line of dialogue, using a specific prop or filming in a given location. Any individual or group can enter the 26.2 Marathon for a fee of $50. Films will be shown the following Saturday during the festival, where one film will win a $250 prize, Vanderhoof said.
The event will begin Thursday, April 16, 2026, with a showing of the Michigan-ish film series starting at 7:30 p.m. Michigan-ish films are short films that are set in Michigan or created by filmmakers from Michigan. One of the Michigan-ish films will win a $250 prize, the iFFY website said.
On Friday, April 17, 2026, there will be a showing of a short film called “The Flamingo” at 5 p.m. before showing ten short films from the 2025 London International Animation Festival at 7 p.m. At 9 p.m., there will be a showing of a series of short films called “Wicked Game," the iFFY website said.
Saturday's events will begin with a direct animation workshop hosted by filmmaker Julia Yezbick. The workshop is free to attend, but participants must pre-register online due to limited space, Vanderhoof said.
After the workshop, iFFY will show two more short films and one more film series before finishing the festival by showing all of the films created during the 26.2 marathon, the iFFY website said.
After the festival activities Thursday and Saturday, there will be an after-party at 9:30 p.m. at Ziggy’s in Ypsilanti. The after-parties are open to anyone, including those not at all affiliated with the film festival, Vanderhoof said.
“We're trying to encourage folks all over the states and the region to sort of see the festival as a hub for film making and film going,” Vanderhoof said.
