Patio Theater, Chicago Cinema Society Announce Partnership
By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 27, 2013 5:30PM
The Chicago Cinema Society announced a partnership with the Patio Theater Wednesday morning where the Northwest side movie house’s regular programming would be augmented with special screenings and premieres of award-winning films and eclectic cinema.
Chicago Cinema Society founder Neil Calderone said he couldn’t be happier for the partnership in a press release:
" Being able to bring our programming to The Patio and expanding into other genres is a situation that we have been searching for and is extremely exciting for us. Our aim is to make the Patio an anchor for the surrounding community as well as a destination theater that brings in people from all over the city to see films they may not be able to see anywhere else on the big screen."
Patio owner Demetri Kouvalis said the partnership will “bring the kind of interesting and varied programming available throughout Chicago to the Patio.” The upcoming schedule will feature, in addition to the 25th anniversary print of Willow we posted about last week, a rare 35mm print of The Warriors March 22-25; a 35mm screening of Fellini’s 8-1/2 April 12-15 to celebrate that film’s 50th anniversary; and the Chicago premiere of The Other Side of Sleep, a Directors’ Fortnight selection at the Cannes Film Festival. They'll also host late night and weekend screenings.
The announcement further solidifies the Northwest side as a hotbed for eclectic films and partnerships between local film groups and classic movie houses. The Portage Theater is home to weekly screenings by the Northwest Chicago Film Society and serves as the center for low-budget local horror movie premieres and marathon weekend screenings of classic Universal monster movies, Hammer horror films and Japanese monster movies. The Chicago Cinema Society has also hosted events at the Portage. Given the theater's current struggles with current owner Eddie Carranza (who also owns the Congress Theater), striking up a deal with the Patio and an owner like Kouvalis whose intentions to rehab the old movie house are sincere is a solid move. The Patio's recent upgrade to a digital projection system, complete with a new screen, mean film lovers will see these films in an ideal setting.
The full schedule is below.
March 1-4:
The Other Side of Sleep (Cannes Directors' Fortnight Selection; Chicago Premiere)
Willow (25th anniversary; newly-remastered DCP from Lucasfilm)
March 22-25:
The Warriors (Extremely rare 35mm print)
March 29-April 1:
Vanishing Waves (Chicago Premiere)
Tales of the Night (Beautiful animation from Michel Ocelot)
Shogun Assassin (One night only; 35mm print.)
April 5-8:
If You Meet Sartana, Pray for Your Death (Spaghetti Western Classic, 35mm print.)
Tabu (Winner- Jury Prize, Berlin International Film Festival)
April 12-15:
Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman (Chicago Premiere)
8 1/2
Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (One night only; Incredibly rare 35mm print)
April 19-25:
It's a Disaster (Chicago Premiere)