Streamers, downloaders, “pirates”, and theater-regulars… lend me your ears.

I’m a lover of both convenience and nostalgia, and at some point, bang for your buck comes into play too. Hence, the last few years, I have been doing less movie theater-going (thanks, Hollywood), and more Netflix-ing of personal classics, missed Film Noir, and foreign indie flicks.

I do still venture out to a showing when I can, but it has to be a bit more special to entice me from my sofa (especially on a cold, dark January night). Gainsbourg was one such film. Tree of Life another semi-recent. It is also a very rare thing for me to watch a movie more than once – a combination of a fairly good memory, and a constant craving for new influence and information. An exception here would probably be something from my youth, a la The Zucker Brothers.

Last night, I was drawn out of hibernation, at the pinnacle of a week of excitement, for a screening of a film I had already seen; 24 Hour Party People – the story of the Manchester music scene via Tony Wilson. The difference this time, being that Chicago’s wonderful Music Box Theater hosted a special event, with local radio / newspaper faces Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis, and proceeds going to benefit Sound Opinions and Chicago Public Media.

Now this was a screening with multiple draws, reaching to all kinds of audience members. This was something that no streaming service, ripped DVD or illegal download can recreate. This was the kind of movie theater experience that would reassure the most jaded of film buffs, and, dare I say it, the kind of happening that could help save a worried industry. From the intimate, atmospheric style of the 1929 building, to the sense of local community, to the pleasant balance of interaction with hosts and fellow-goers. The entire evening was a joy for the senses, reasonable on the wallet, and a pleasant night off for my sofa. Majors and indies, take note.


by Lee Jarvis.

Interested in finding more TV, film and video production jobs in Chicago?

Join Media Match at Bangers & Lace in Chicago! Alongside our sister website, Music Jobs, we will be meeting and mingling at an informal (free) gathering in Chicago’s West Town/Wicker Park neighborhood.

Who is invited? Everyone!

Our wonderful members (that’s you), who include editors, producers, DPs, animators, directors, camera operators, production houses, effects specialists, journalists, sound designers and more. Also attending will be some of the team behind Media Match, and you can ask us questions, share your feedback, get to know our musical tastes and initiate new rivalries just in time for the football season. We want to meet new faces, see old friends and spend some time getting to know our local members. If you can stop by at any point, it’d be great to hang out with you.

INFO

Where? Bangers and Lace, 1670 W.Division, Chicago, IL (view map)
When? Thursday, October 6th
Time? Starts at 5:30 pm – 9:30pm
Price? FREE
Cool? Then RSVP here if you’re coming

Hope to see you there!

The Media Match Team

The 48 Hour Film Project is an international tour spanning over 80 countries, in each of which a team of TV and Film production professionals make a movie – that is, write, shoot, edit and score it – in just 48 hours. Last year saw over 40,000 participants ball their wears, emphasising the amount of growth the project has seen since it’s inception in 2001.

The whirlwind weekend aims simply to encourage filmmaking and promote filmmakers in various locations across the globe, holding events in 55 different US cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Boston, Austin, Washington DC, and more. On the Friday night, you get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie. 48 hours later, the movie must be complete. Then it will show at a local theater, usually in the next week. Having the 48 hour time limit is not meant to be seen as restricting, instead emphasizing that creativity and teamwork skills will serve you well. There is also something liberating about just going for it, and getting the shots, editing, and effects completed rather than talking too much about them and accomplishing nothing.

From the 48 Hour Film Project’s History, “Back in May 2001, Mark Ruppert came up with a crazy idea: to try to make a film in 48 hours. He quickly enlisted his filmmaking partner, Liz Langston, and several other DC filmmakers to form their own teams and join him in this experiment. The big question back then was ‘Would films made in only 48 hours even be watchable?’ The answer was a resounding ‘Yes’ “.

Entries for the Chicago weekend (July 29th) have just opened today (register here), and a full calendar can be found here. Rules and information for filmmakers can be found here, and they even include a list which you can join if you are not able to form your own team but wish to offer your services as part of a team in your area. (That’s right……… here.)


by Lee Jarvis.

The Chicago Underground Film Festival is an annual event showcasing independent, experimental and documentary films from around the world. Building on last year‘s success, CUFF once again provides a place for cutting-edge filmmakers and film fans to delve into the lesser known (or, lesser-screened) independent film scene. Established in 1993, the festival has become the largest underground film fest in the country, and has also grown into an important date in Chicago’s cultural scene.

“What you get for your money is not just admission to the films but admission to a subculture”

– Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

When Jay Bliznick and Bryan Wendorf began CUFF, they wanted to create a festival for the kind of films they wanted to see, which were, in their words, “primarily films that the established film festival circuit – increasingly dominated by distributor product – refused to show.” Unlike many other independent film events, they aimed not to imitate old guard, market-driven events such as Sundance, but instead chose to focus on the artistic, aesthetic and fun side of independent film-making. CUFF promotes works that dissent radically in form, content and technique from both the tired conventions of Hollywood and the increasingly stagnant IndieWood mainstream.

This year’s festival is held once again at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and will offer a mix of independent features, shorts, documentaries, experimental films, fine art films, avant-garde videos, as well as nightly parties and concerts, drawing on the cross-over blend of artistic creative talent that is thriving in Chicago.

The event runs from Thursday June 2nd until Thursday June 9th, and the schedule can be found here.

by Lee Jarvis

This weekend, Chicago welcomes the third incarnation of CIMMfest. The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival is a weekend full of entertainment highlighting the crossover between film and song, punctuated with short documentaries, live concerts, panels, art exhibits, music videos and more. Musicians, indie filmmakers, producers, directors, students and enthusiasts from all backgrounds get the chance to mingle and enjoy works from a whole depth of like-minded folk.

“We’re really excited to bring together movies and music from all over the world to Chicago. CIMMfest is unique in its scope, from ethnographic films about Balkan folk songs to Mike Watt in concert, to video mashup DJs, to live musical accompaniments, and music from all over the map: Brit pop, hip hop, gospel, experimental, Americana, funk, industrial, and more.” says Josh Chicoine, CIMMfest Director. ” We aim to show our interconnectedness through the lens of film and music.”

The Festival sees 70 films being screened from over 20 countries, and includes 17 world, North American and US premieres. There are also free screenings at the Chicago Cultural Centre, a variety of afterparties at venues including Subterranean and Berlin, a Record Store Day celebration event at Big Star, and an event called Chicago Punk Night at Double Door.

Tickets for various screenings and events are available individually, via this CIMMfest page at Brown Paper Tickets, or you can purchase a Movie Pass, which lets you see all 30 of the films for one price of $45. Included with your ticket is a one-year subscription to Time Out Chicago magazine ($9.99 Value).

So, get out and about over the next three days and see and share as much of the festival as you can!

Fancy a quick preview? How about ‘Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then’….

2nd Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then trailer from Brent Green on Vimeo.

The story of a man who builds his cancer-stricken wife a magical house in a desperate act of love, accompanied by an all-star musical line-up. Self-taught animator Brent Green uses stop-motion photography to illuminate Leonard Wood’s doomed gesture. See it at WPAC, 2215 W. North Ave., Saturday, April 16 at 10:30pm.)


by Lee Jarvis.

Before the Chicago Food Film Festival, there was the NYC Food Film Festival, which is now approaching its 5th year. The festival sprang from the imagination of Festival Director George Motz, the documentary filmmaker behind the award-winning Hamburger America film and book, along with co-creator Harry Hawk, formerly of Schnack and Water Taxi Beach. Through documentaries, features and short films, the Festival showcases the best, and the most memorable, of the world’s favorite foods. Along with a heaping helping of mouth-watering films, the festival serves up the food that guests are watching on the screen for a multi-sensory, full-bodied experience.

In 2009, acclaimed director Ron Mann called the festival “his absolute favorite” after his film Know Your Mushrooms was screened and followed by a 10-course mushroom-inspired tasting menu from Next Iron Chef star Brad Farmerie of Public and Double Crown. Other past events have included a screening of Whole Hog by Joe York, during which over 1000 people feasted on whole hog barbecue. Following a screening of the food film classic Big Night, the audience enjoyed a re-creation of the famous Timpano featured in the film. And at the World Premiere of Florent: Queen of the Meat Market, for one night only the audience was treated to memorable menu items from the shuttered iconic restaurant.

The First Annual Chicago Film Festival will take place over September 24-25th 2010 and is an exhibition only. Starting in 2011, the Chicago Food Film Festival will be a competitive film festival accepting entries in the Spring of 2011.

Chicago Food Film Festival 2010 Trailer from George Motz on Vimeo.

THE FILMS…

Beer Wars
Dir. Anat Baron – 90 mins website
An amazing journey into the heart of corporate beer and the small independent brewers it leaves in its wake.

The Best of Hamburger America
Dir. George Motz – 15 mins website
An abbreviated version of the film that was the nexus of the NYC Food Film Festival.

Celeriac
Dir. John D. Reilly – 2:20 mins
A nail-biting super-short thriller about a stalk of celery and a knife.

CUD
Dir. Joe York – 16 mins website
Meet Will Harris, a 5th generation rancher that has rejected the corn-fed, feedlot cattle model in favor of raising grass-fed cattle.

The Death & Life of Ice Cream
Dir. Orrin Zucker – 3:20 mins website
Mezmerizing time lapse of melting ice cream. Amazing to see on the big screen.

Eat Your Fill
Dir. Mark Irving – 13 mins website
A man embarks on his annual mission to eat every menu item at the Wisconsin State Fair that is either deep fried or on a stick.

Mr. Okra
Dir. TG Herrington – 12 mins trailer
A portrait of a man who sells produce from his rolling farmstand/pickup truck in New Orleans. Winner of the Audience Choice Award, 2009 NYC Food Film Festival.

Obsessives: Soda Pop
Dirs. Meredith Arthur and Eric Slatkin – 13 mins website
Get to know John Nese, the owner of Galco’s Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles, and his lifelong obsession with independent soda-makers. Winner of the Audience Choice Award, 2010 NYC Food Film Festival.

The Perfect Oyster
Dir. Craig Noble – 6 mins website
There really is no one who can wax poetic about oysters like Brent Petkau. 2008 NYC Food Film Festival Feature Film Award winner Craig Noble returns with this portrait of a man and his oysters.

Pie As A Lifestyle
Dir. Michael Gebert – 6 mins website
Take a trip to the Chicago pie shop Hoosier Mama in this episode of Michael Gebert’s video podcast Sky Full Of Bacon.

Check out THE FOODS, the full schedule, and buy tickets at the official site, Chicago Food Film Festival.

Lee Jarvis.

The Chicago Underground Film Festival exists to showcase the defiantly independent filmmaker. They aim to “promote films and videos that dissent radically in form, technique, or content from the ‘indie’ mainstream and to present adventurous works that challenge and transcend commercial and audience expectations”.

Held this year from June 24th until July 1 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, CUFF has a reputation of highlighting the quirky, abstract, even oblique and tangent works that other film festivals often overlook. This year’s move to summer dates means it will also avoid calendar clashes with other events, and their presence as the world’s longest running underground film fest means that this could be worth adding to your calendar.

If you think that your film fits the above description, then the final deadline is March 15 and any last minute entries cost $40. Check out the full guide and download an entry form from http://cuff.org/2010/guide.html

Although not a competitive festival, CUFF does present awards, in categories including Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Experimental, Animation and Music Video. There are also ‘Made in Chicago’ and ‘Audience Choice’ awards.

Keep up to date on the festival via Twitter, Facebook and Myspace.

Lee Jarvis.

*** $5000 Scholarship Up for Grabs ***

theWHO: Aspiring filmmakers, producers, videographers and on-camera personalities

theWHERE: theWit Hotel, downtown Chicago’s hottest multifaceted hotel, home to:

* ROOF, one of America’s Top 10 Rooftop Bars (Sherman’s Travel)
* cibo matto, Best New Italian Restaurant of 2009 (Chicago Tribune)
* State & Lake, a seasonally driven new American restaurant
* SCREEN, theWit’s $1 million digital high-definition theater
* Spa@theWit, a stylish and invigorating spa experience

theWHAT: A search for Chicago’s best and brightest up-and-coming film and video production talent, with a chance to win $5000 and employment by theWit Hotel from March to December 2010 as in-house producers. Winners will put their skills to work creating lively monthly video “webisodes” that chronicle – with plenty of wit and personality – the exciting nightlife, live music, food, film and spa events taking place continuously in the hotel, plus celebrity cameos, local artists, downtown cultural events, colorful characters and more. theWit Hotel prides itself on being “more experience than hotel,” and your work will shine a spotlight on that unique mantra!

theHOW: Each production team must include one videographer/producer and one vibrant, effervescent on-camera “host.” Each duo will submit a 60- to 90-second demo reel that demonstrates its production capabilities and camera work, as well as the creativity, personality and interactive interview style of the on-air host. Please thoroughly review the guidelines below for more details on submission requirements and the selection and notification process.

theWHEN: All entries must be received or postmarked by February 5, 2010 for consideration. Finalists will be notified via e-mail on February 15, and winners will be announced on February 24.

For guidlelines, entry info and more details, please check out http://www.thewithotel.com/webisodes/

Lee Jarvis.

Beyond the Pedway is a series of videos by Tim Jahn on creative businesses based in Chicago. In this episode he chats to Chris DeWinter, Whitney Alexander, and Chris Palese of Teletech Video, a video post production and duplication company that specializes in converging new and old media.

For more info, check out http://www.beyondthepedway.com/teletech-video#more-408

Lee Jarvis.