MichaelMoore.com

Madonna makes Michigan film fest

By Tom Long / Detroit News

Madonna will rock the Traverse City Film Festival on Saturday night, introducing "I Am Because We Are," a film she wrote and produced, to two sold-out houses Saturday night.

Well, maybe "rock" isn't quite the right word, since the film is about the effect of the AIDS epidemic on the African country of Malawi.

But still, the Michigan-raised international celebrity will be there, one of some 50 directors, actors and film types scheduled to attend this year's festival, the fourth since Michigan filmmaker Michel Moore founded the upstart event.

Others set for the fest this weekend include talk show legend Phil Donahue, who'll be screening his documentary "Body of War," the venerable film director Stanley ("Singin' in the Rain") Donen and festival mainstay and "Borat" director Larry Charles.

This year's programming at the festival is notably more diverse and richer than in previous years, with hot indie entries such as "Frozen River," "Flash of Genius" and "Hamlet 2" standing tall alongside the fest's traditionally strong documentary offerings, which include "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," "Trumbo," "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" and Charles' "Religulous."

The big draw, though, is inevitably Madonna, whose appearance was announced by Moore in May. The Bay City native, who turns 50 on Aug. 16, has already shown "I Am Because We Are" at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

The two screenings, each to be introduced by the now not-quite-so-Material Girl, sold out quickly. The movie, which features both Bill Clinton and Desmond Tutu, was directed by first-time helmer Nathan Rissman, who was reportedly previously employed as Madonna's gardener.