Movie Roundup: Early May Edition
By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 29, 2010 3:20PM
There are more movie happenings than we can shake a stick at so here are some of our picks for film fans to check out.
- On Look Films is on a mission to help capture a 1,400-year old tradition. Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo by Chicago documentarian Anna Kipervaser tells the story of that city's muezzins, who cry out the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, from thousands of mosques five times a day. But this year a new law will go into effect reducing the adhan to a single pre-recorded call broadcast throughout the city using wireless receivers. On May 1, Elastic (2830 N. Milwaukee) hosts a film and video art exhibition raising funds for completion of the film, which is also an entry in the One Chicago One Nation Online Film Contest. Check out the trailer and help them win the $20,000 grand prize.
- The Women of Horror 2 Film Festival aims to show moviegoers there's plenty of estrogen in the grisly genre, featuring films directed, produced, or written by women. It's May 1 from 5pm to 2am at the Portage Theater (4050 N. Milwaukee) and includes a silent auction and raffle. There will also be plenty of vendors on hand so you can satiate your thirst for posters and memorabilia. Advance tickets are only $10.
- The Second Annual Looking for Democracy Film Contest Screening, May 3 at Columbia College, throws the spotlight on three student films which tackle some thorny local issues. American Flag by Theophilus Jamal documents the heated debate over a Waukegan art exhibition which included a desecrated flag hung upside down. The other films examine the problems of living in an inner city food desert (Hungry for Change) and Chicago's continuing segregation (Democracy 2). The screening is from 5-8pm at Columbia College, Film Row Cinema,1104 S Wabash Ave, 8th Floor. It's free.
Even more after the jump.
- The sight of kids with cameras is hardly a novelty any longer, and the movies they make just keep getting better and better. This year's CineYouth Festival runs May 6-8 at Columbia College's Film Row Cinema (boy, they keep that theater booked) and offers workshops, discussions, and screenings. The youngest filmmaker is the ripe old age of 8! All events are free and open to the public.
- Celebrating its tenth year of anarchy, the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival runs May 5-16. This year it's split between two venues, NNWAC, St Paul’s Cultural Center (2215 W. North) and No Exit Cafe (6970 N. Glenwood), and includes workshops as well as screenings. The admission price? "Donation of $5-10 each night, sliding scale (No One Turned Away For Lack of Funds)" saith the festival site, which welcomes "anarchists, anti-authoritarians, the anarcho-friendly and the anarcho-curious" to experience provocative cinema from around the world.
- Lastly, if you find yourself near a television this Saturday night you could do worse than tune to WCIU-TV Channel 26.2 for a special edition of Svengoolie. At 7pm the painted phantom presents an HD broadcast of The Birds, Hitchcock's classic tale of belligerent blackbirds (and other fowl fowl.) This being Svengoolie, expect plenty of rubber chickens to make appearances.