Music And Film Converge At CIMMfest No. 5
By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 10, 2013 7:40PM
Kate and Will Spicer's attempt to introduce their brother Tom (pictured) to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich is the subject of Mission to Lars, one of the featured films at this year's Chicago International Movies & Music Festival.
Chicago’s music community is a treasure trove of variety and depth, and yet attempts to get the city’s major venues to actually work together to strengthen the scene have been met with varying degrees of success. For every festival like World Music Fest, which utilizes the city’s music clubs to great effect, you have festivals like the 2006 Hawk Winter Music Festival where Chicago’s major clubs banded together for only a fleeting moment.
The local music community tends to get its propers when combined with other artistic disciplines. Tom Schraeder’s “Chicago, I Love You” festival is an example of a festival where local music is but one of many artistic disciplines being feted. This year’s Chicago International Movies & Music Festival is another. Co-founders and co-directors Josh Chicoine (of Cloudbirds and The M’s fame) and filmmaker Ilko Davidov have seen their festival grow steadily over the years to the point where they’re able to bring in some of Chicago’s better music venues and film houses into its orbit for this year’s festival from April 18 to 21. The Hideout, the Music Box Theatre, the Burlington and the newly opened Constellation (in the former Viaduct Theatre space) will host film screenings, concerts, discussions and more.
For the first time, CIMMfest will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to a deserving artist. They couldn’t have chosen a better recipient than Melvin Van Peebles. The Chicago-born actor and musician, best known for the film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, will receive the award at a ceremony April 20 at Constellation, followed by a performance by his band Laxative. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, will be screened during the festival, along with Van Peebles' The Story of a Three-Day Pass and Don’t Play Us Cheap, and a documentary about Van Peebles, How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It), by Chicago native Joe Angio.
Another film centerpiece of CIMMfest is CIMMpathy for the Stones, a film retrospective celebrating The Rolling Stones on their 50th anniversary. The film screening for this April 19 to 21 event at the Music Box include The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling - Ireland 1965, the Stones’ first professionally filmed concert; the lost holy grail of rock films The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus (1968); and Albert Maysles’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! ABKCO Films’ Sympathy for the Devil, directed Jean-Luc Godard, also screens as part of the retrospective. CIMMfest will also mark the Chicago premiere of the 2005 documentary Like a Rolling Stone, a 1965 home movie of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the late Brian Jones after a 1965 concert in Sweden; and I Got the Blues in Austin, in which Mick Jagger’s brother Chris takes legendary Chicago blues pianist Pinetop Perkins to Austin to see a Stones concert, and Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago ’81. (The Stones’ ties to Chicago Blues are well documented; Keith Richard called Chicago a “musical heaven” for the band, which comes to Soldier Field to play three shows May 28, May 31 and June 3.)
Legendary musician, producer and composer Van Dyke Parks will be honored with an opening night event April 18 at Constellation featuring a discussion, short documentary films on his life directed by his son Richard and a live performance by Parks featuring many of his famous songs.
Another new wrinkle to this year’s festival is CIMMcon, an industry conference produced in conjunction with Columbia College Chicago and the Engineering and Recording Society of Chicago (EARS). Martin Atkins of Ministry and Public Image Ltd. Fame will be the keynote speaker for the conference, which will offer free seminars and discussions by music and film industry professionals.
All told, CIMMfest will screen 100 films (including 11 world premieres) and present 18 musical acts and various label showcases over its four days. Individual tickets and festival passes are currently on sale at the CIMMfest website.
The participating venues are as follows:
The Burlington (3425 W. Fullerton Avenue), Coles (2838 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Comfort Station (2579 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Congress Theater (2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Constellation (formerly the Viaduct, 3111 N. Western Avenue), Debonair Social Club (1575 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Double Door (1572 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Elastic Arts (2830 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Heaven Gallery (1550 N. Milwaukee Avenue), The Hideout (1354 W. Wabansia), Logan Square Studio (2341 N. Milwaukee Avenue), The Logan Theatre (2646 N. Milwaukee Avenue), the Music Box Theatre (3733 N. Southport Avenue), Rodan (1530 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Rosa’s Lounge (3420 W. Armitage Avenue), The Society for Arts (1112 N. Milwaukee Avenue), Township (2200 N. California Avenue), Ultra Lounge (2169 N. Milwaukee Avenue) and The Whistler (2421 N. Milwaukee Avenue).