Movie theaters may not be an issue as detrimental as the inequalities that divide Chicago’s communities, but the waning of their presence mirrors larger issues of economic opportunity in the city, community investment, and access to recreation and culture throughout Chicago.
Category: Movie Feature
Chicago Filmmakers celebrates its 50th anniversary
This year, Chicago Filmmakers celebrates its 50th anniversary, a landmark achievement in the history of any nonprofit, let alone one focused on the cinematic arts.
CICFF40 teaches families that ‘Chicago is a film town’
As the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival celebrates its 40th year, festival program director Deidre Searcy wants people to know it offers something for everyone.
Hollywood Hates Rats
If rats can’t get fair treatment in the court of public opinion, they can at least get justice from the next best judicial institutions: Hollywood movie studios, where people treat each other right.
The Joker belongs to us all
Vera Drew has described the film as a coming-of-age story with parallels to her own, and while the people’s Joker needed to escape Smallville, Drew sought refuge in Chicago.
High Fidelity gets the oral history treatment
Andrew Buss spoke with the Reader about why High Fidelity tops his list of Chicago movies.
In Chicago’s ‘top five,’ High Fidelity is a chart-topper
In January 2024, barring any further delays due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, John Cusack will host an intimate screening of the long-admired film at the Auditorium Theatre.
CIFF’s killer lineup
Starting October 11, CIFF will once again grace the halls of the Music Box Theatre (and a number of other local venues), delivering 150 films from more than a dozen countries to movie lovers across Chicago.
Reeling returns
Reeling International Film Festival is back to showcase a dizzying array of LGBTQ+ content, from campy horror to historical documentaries.
Hello CUFF
The Chicago Underground Film Festival is back, and the longest-running fest devoted to the subculture of movies has quite a variety of attractions.
Documenting the ‘pure childhood joy’ of baseball
Solutions for violence disruption often fall on the shoulders of politicians and policymakers, but one youth baseball league is tackling the issue through the power of organized sports, as highlighted in an upcoming documentary.
Solidarity in the summer
As has been the case for most of my adult life, I’ve also watched a lot of movies (and occasionally, some television) this summer. What’s been different this year is that I’m now thinking more about those who made what I’m watching, both in front of and behind the camera.
An artist in exile
Fazel Ahad Ahadi expected to spend his whole life in Afghanistan with his extended family. But in summer 2021, Ahadi found himself hastily dismissing class and speeding home to raise a bonfire of books in his backyard. The Taliban had reclaimed Afghanistan’s capital city, and a 20-year artistic renaissance had come to an abrupt and violent end.
No easy answers
“A String of Pearls: The Films of Camille Billops & James Hatch” is a complete retrospective of their film work, the first-ever in Chicago.
South of Roosevelt screens films at south-side brewery
With a projector, a screen, chairs, and drinks, Whiner Beer Co.’s garden will turn into a moviegoing oasis for south-side filmmakers.