Chicago Film Festivals Showcase Culture and Art
The great thing about Chicago is that no matter how long I've lived here, I'm always discovering new things. This week I'm turning my attention to film festivals. Turns out we've got a bunch of them going on in the next few weeks, and they promise some great films for aficionados of culture, documentaries and the movies.
The Traveling Film South Asia Festival
March 23-April 13
There will be screenings of 12 short and feature-length documentaries from 10 countries, including Nistha Jain's "City of Photos," a 60-minute look at old neighborhood photo studies in India; Shireen Pasha's "The Life and Times of a Lady from Avadh: Hima," about a 90-year-old Pakistani woman; and Iffat Fatima's "Lanka: The Other Side of War and Peace." Other showings include "The City Beautiful," "Dirty Laundry" and "Sunset Bollywood." This event was made possible by the University of Chicago South Asia Center and the Columbia College Center for Asian Arts and Media. Events at Chicago Filmmakers (5243 N. Clark St., www.chicagofilmmakers.org) cost $8 for general admission (it is a suggested donation), but other events, at Film Row Cinema (1108 S. Wabash, 8th Floor) and the Biological Sciences Learning Center at the University of Chicago (824 E. 57th St), are free. The festival runs between March 23 and April 13, with events on March 25, March 29 and April 5 as well: For more information, call 773-293-1447.
Chicago International Documentary Festival
March 30-April 8
Watch over 100 exciting documentaries at this 10-day event! It's being held at eight small theaters around Chicagoland (my favorite is the Chopin Theatre), with an opening ceremony on the 30th that features an offering from the Netherlands, "In Memoriam Alexander Litvinenko." Other films from around the world include Camille Nielssen's "Children of Darfur," Dollan Cannell's "638 Ways to Kill Castro," Patrick Jeudy's "Grace Kelly, Destiny of a Princess" and Rory Kennedy's "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib." There's a wide range of offerings here from the historical to the political, including a Cuban film school retrospective and local Chicago offerings, along with works in progress such as Bob Hercules' "Senator Obama Goes to Africa." If you have any interest in this art form, here is your mecca. For a complete list of films and a schedule, go to chicagodocfestival.org. General admission is $9, but you can get festival passes starting at $70 for 10 screenings.
12th Annual Asian American Showcase
March 30-April 12
This one is more than a film festival; it features literature and music as well, with all the films being shown at the Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State Street, www.siskelfilmcenter.com) and other events happening across the city. Opening night on March 30th features a showing of “Remake: The Sequel,” about Hollywood’s penchant for remaking old movies—including Asian movies that are turned into Western ones (think “Shall We Dance?” for example). Non-film events include a night of Chinese hip hop and film and a workshop with the founders of Giant Robot magazine. Films include Richard Wong’s “Colma: The Musical,” Juwan Chung’s “Baby,” Stephanie Gauger’s “Owl and the Sparrow” And Doan Hoang’s documentary about trying to find out the fate of her Vietnamese family, “Oh, Saigon.” The festival goes through April 12. Tickets are $9 per screening. For a full program, check out www.faaim.org.
23rd Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival
April 13-25
Over 100 short and feature-length films from Latin countries such as Argentia, Brazil. Cuba, Spain, Mexico and even the U.S. and others delve into what it is to be Latino. The festival will be held at three venues: the Landmark Century Centre Cinema (2828 N. Clark St), Facets Multimedia (1517 W. Fullerton) and Piper’s Alley (1608 N. Wells St—this is where Second City stages and “Tony &Tina’s Wedding” are located). During the event certain screenings with receptions will be shown at the Chicago History Museum (1601 N. Clark St, www.chicagohs.org). Opening night features a showing of Manuel Perez’s “Maurizio’s Diary.” Other films include Jaime Mariscal’s “Welcome Back to the Barrio,” Ryan Byrne’s “To Columbia” and Daniel’ Ortiz’s “El Cimarròn.” For a full schedule, check out www.latinoculturalcenter.org/Filmfest/index.htm. General admission tickets are $10 and passes for 10 films are $80.
