Did We Mention The Film Fest(s)?
By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 20, 2004 9:06PM
Chicagoist makes this solemn promise to you: this is the last post we will be writing about any film fests that are running in Chicago. At least until next week. But we’d be remiss in our reporting duties if we failed to alert you to the 13th Annual Independent Filmmakers Conference at the School of the Art Institute.
The Conference will be screening a variety of independent films as part of their Flyover Zone Short Film and Video Festival and holding a number of panel discussions on several topics including 
distribution, digital technology, and directing (sadly, there will be no Vincent Gallo-led discussion on The Art of Getting Your Girlfriend To Fellate You On Film. That’s the kinda thing they don’t teach you in film school).
If you’re not trading in your cubicle for a director’s chair, then check out some of the screenings that will occur during the conference. To bring some big names to the Conference, the IFP is borrowing two Chicago Film Fest titles: Sideways and P.S.. We’ve already talked about Sideways in a previous Chicago Film Fest post but this screening includes a Q&A with director Alexander Payne (Election, Citizen Ruth). P.S. is writer/director Dylan Kidd’s follow-up to the witty Roger Dodger. He’ll be appearing with actress Laura Linney and discussing the film after the screening with the Tribune’s Mark Caro. Also showing are documentaries on the Patty Hearst kidnapping and the fifty year anniversary of the historic Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Check their website for the full schedule and ticket information.
Speaking of the Chicago Film Fest, tomorrow is closing night. If you’ve been heeding our call to get your tickets early 
then you may have secured tickets for the premiere party for Robert Zemeckis’s The Polar Express. If not, then Chicagoist suggests seeing another living legend (though admittedly one that never starred in a film with Adrian Zmed): Liv Ullmann. Once the muse of Ingmar Bergman, Ullmann made her directorial debut with the 1992 film Sofie about the sacrifice of your own desires as the ultimate expression of love. She will present her film in person at the Landmark at 6:00 PM.