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10 Ways We'd Fix The Chicago International Film Fest

By Joel Wicklund in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 29, 2015 5:15PM

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Chicago International Film Festival Founder and Artistic Director, Michael Kutza. (Photo: Robert Martinez/Chicago International Film Festival.)

The Chicago International Film Festival is like the CTA: The city needs its services, but after so many years in operation, it's hard to fathom why so many essential improvements have yet to be made. Last year we took it easy on the festival, but as the curtain closes on its 51st edition, and with recurring issues unaddressed, we have a harsher report card.

Give credit where it's due to Founder and Artistic Director Michael Kutza. Establishing and maintaining a festival on the scale of CIFF is a Herculean task. But after more than a half century in the driver's seat, Kutza seems content to coast on a status quo that has never made the festival a destination event, and fails to satisfy even many longtime attendees.

With many sellout screenings this year, it's doubtful Kutza and company will see a need to change. But they should. As foreign film distribution struggles and independent features are now often simultaneously or exclusively video-on-demand offerings, CIFF should be at the forefront of renewing enthusiasm for the theatrical experience of those kinds of movies. Instead the festival seems cemented in a functional but far from invigorating routine.

So, here are some suggestions to make the festival more relevant and enjoyable.

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Photo: Chicago International Film Festival.

Find a New Home
This is tricky, as pickings are slim for a central location with multiple screens available. But the bland multiplex environs of AMC's River East 21 simply don't foster a festival spirit. Maybe the new ArcLight Cinemas opening next week will. ArcLight almost shared CIFF with River East this year, but the opening was delayed.

CIFF needs a space where people can mix easily, not uncomfortably clogging the corridors after a movie. The festival also badly needs a separate space for meet-and-greets and longer Q&As (see below). In this regard, a return to Landmark's Century Centre might make sense, as the vertical mall has much unused store space that could easily convert to temporary event centers.

Show More Respect for Your Films and Guests
After several films, the lights went up and the Q&A sessions began before the closing credits ended. No, audiences aren't dying to see who the gaffer or Best Boy was, but cutting off credits is disrespectful. Credits—including the music that usually accompanies them—are part of the movie experience and allow viewers to let what they've just seen sink in. If the schedule is so tight that a few minutes can't be spared to let the credits roll, that schedule needs serious reevaluation.

Also, while the tribute to Howard Shore was an engaging discussion with the esteemed composer, film clips shown in the wrong aspect ratio or with pixelated resolution showed a lack of preparation. And while any festival will have delays, a bit of explanation can go a long way toward easing audience impatience. One 20-minute wait remained a complete mystery, even after asking three different CIFF volunteers about it. Perhaps they were in the dark too.

Limit the Q&As and Add a Meet-and-Greet Room
Speaking of the Q&As, they are frequently more awkward than illuminating; with questions often showing viewers needed more time to ruminate on the film. A possible solution is to limit the Q&A to a short chat between filmmakers and a presentation-savvy interviewer, then invite the audience to a separate meet-and-greet area for one-on-one questions. This might eliminate the worst questions, as only those truly passionate about a film (pro or con) will likely take the time to attend in a different room.

Make the Pre-Film Experience Special, Not Something to Endure
Sponsorships are vital to festivals, but CIFF doesn't do its sponsors or audiences any favors by repeating the same ads before every screening. Anyone who saw more than a few movies likely never wants to hear "How You Like Me Now?" (used in the American Airlines spot) again.

CIFF did reduce some repetition by replacing the usual Ken Nordine promos with ten one-minute short films. (We love Ken Nordine, but his CIFF promos were played ad nauseam.) Unfortunately, the best of the new intros played simply like TV commercials while the worst were amateurish filler. How about showing some of the better short films chosen for the festival prior to features of 90 minutes or less? The short film showcases are vital, but eliminating one or two in favor of more shorts before features would make individual screenings more special and allow some shorts to reach bigger audiences, as features usually draw better.

Skip the Red Carpet and Add a Keynote Speech
A film festival should be judged by its films, not its glamor value. That said, if you have a red carpet gala opening, you might want ... umm, a little star power? This year's opening night felt more like an elaborate party for festival backers and board members than an event designed to attract outside attention. CIFF has often struggled with the glitz factor (Sarah Silverman's under-publicized appearance is another example), but the red carpet entry seemed especially tepid.

We understand CIFF doesn't attract as many major stars as Cannes, Toronto, and other festivals, so how about eliminating this ritual altogether in favor of a serious keynote speech by a major filmmaker in the spirit of South by Southwest? Skip the lackluster pageantry and add more substance.

Don't Be Afraid of Genre Movies and Film History
As we wrote last year, CIFF often builds an artificial wall between art and entertainment. We are not suggesting dropping challenging works in favor of disposable popcorn fare, but as the daring American DIY indie They Look Like People proved this year, serious issues don't require being addressed solely within the framework of downbeat social realism.

The full variety of filmmaking needs better representation at CIFF and that extends to older, hard-to-see movies. The festival should significantly expand its revival screenings and seek out overlooked and underexposed films of the past.

Move the Awards to the End of the Festival
Having the awards ceremony mid-festival probably takes advantage of a slower news cycle by announcing winners on a Friday night. But it also makes it seem like the fest is dwindling down during its second week, rather than building to a big finish.

CIFF's "Best of the Fest" screenings—showcasing award winners—are often redundant, giving a third or fourth showing for some films at the expense of others. A prime missed opportunity was the terrific independent satire Creative Control, recently picked up for distribution by Amazon Studios. Creative Control was shown three times at South by Southwest, where it won a Special Jury Award for visual excellence, but it was shunted to the margins of CIFF with a single Sunday afternoon showing and no mention of its SXSW honor in the festival program.

Get Rid of the Founder's Award
This year's honoring of Michael Moore for his by-the-numbers Where to Invade Next, like many Founder's Awards of the past, seemed determined by the biggest name available to attend on awards night. It's become a kiss-up-to-the-stars trophy and CIFF doesn't need it.

Stop Living on Past Glories
If I had a dollar for every time Michael Kutza reminded the crowd that Martin Scorsese's first film had its world premiere at CIFF in 1967, or that One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest had its first festival showing there in 1975, I'd definitely be in a higher tax bracket. Constant references to festival highlights from over 40 years ago do not make a strong argument for contemporary relevancy.

Embrace the New Blood
Kutza's leadership has been frequently questioned, even by festival insiders, but give him credit for adding the excellent critic Anthony Kaufman to his programming team. Doing anything for over 50 years is bound to become ritualized, so Kutza would do well to let more new voices steer the course of future festivals.

Having aired these grievances, let's add that CIFF remains a wonderful opportunity to sample global cinema. Beyond our pre-fest picks and mid-fest recommendations, festival programmers can take a bow for showing Creative Control, the poetic Brazilian feature Orphans of Eldorado, the darkly comic Dutch thriller Schneider vs. Bax, the riveting Mexican drama A Monster with a Thousand Heads, and undoubtedly dozens more we were unable to catch.

We appreciate the festival ... we just want to love it. In its current state, that's hard to do.