Northwest IL Film Office Represents a Motherlode of Americana
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The resources represented by the Northwest Illinois Film Office include more than 5,000 square miles of virgin prairie, rolling hills, fertile pastures, picturesque farmland, historic towns, First Nation culture and the majestic Mississippi River. It is a motherlode of Americana, but that’s not all. The area is also home to some of the country’s most notable filmmakers. To help sharpen our focus on Northwest Illinois,...
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Battle of the Ad Bands Ready to Rock the Cubby Bear
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The Battle for Hope — an annual Chicago advertising live music competition — returns to the Cubby Bear for its ninth run on May 12. A fundraiser for the Off The Street Club, the oldest boys and girls club in Chicago, this year’s event will feature bands made up of employees from iCrossing, AbelsonTaylor, Epsilon, Edelman and FCB Chicago. An act called Friends From Work...
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New Podcast ‘Our Fighting Spirit’ Aims To Ease Ukraine Suffering
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The new podcast Our Fighting Spirit launched a profound mission during its inaugural episode this week. Besides providing a first-hand account of the situation in Ukraine, the program is helping a Kyiv resident relocate to the United States. “It’s terrifying,” a woman named Oksana tells host Anthony Gigante. “You have to run. You have to hide.” Oksana, a Ukrainian-born New Yorker, interprets the words of...
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Tandem Enhances Clearcover Message
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Tandem got fresh by going old school in a new campaign for Clearcover Car Insurance. Ditching the frivolity overpopulating today’s marketplace, the Chicago production boutique filmed Clearcover personnel explaining the company’s vision and benefits to consumers in a trio of new 30-second commercials. “While other car insurance companies focus on high-priced celebrities and fancy mascots,” founder / CEO Kyle Nakatsuji says in one of the...
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CRC Helps ‘Archetypes’ Earn Three Grammy Noms
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On the 2021 album Archetypes, Chicago Recording Company (CRC) engineer Jonathan Lackey helped transform an ambitious musical vision into a trio of Grammy nominations. Archetypes is a collection of 12 “collaboratively composed” tracks by Brazilian guitarist Sérgio Assad, Chicago avant-garde classical ensemble Third Coast Percussion and Brazilian-American vocalist / multi-instrumentalist Clarice Assad, who is also Sérgio’s daughter. With an array of Latin accents, tricky beats...
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These Films Have Audiences Buzzing at the Black Harvest Film Festival
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The Black Harvest Film Festival shines a stunning spotlight on Black voices from across the country and around the globe, with the month-long festival running through December 2nd at the Gene Siskel Film Center. There is much more ahead for you to enjoy, including the Closing Night screening of Spike Lee’s classic Jungle Fever in 35 mm, the “Made in Chicago” shorts program, and an...
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Dave Wooley Explains How to Make a Dionne Warwick Film
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Dave Wooley did not mind that Dionne Warwick hesitated to let him do a movie about her when he mentioned the idea five years ago. “When Dionne says she’s really not sure about something, that’s how you know you got a good idea,” he explains. “She said the same thing to Burt Bacharach about ‘Do You Know The Way To San Jose’. She said the...
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What Rebecca Hall Wants You to Know about Her Directorial Debut ‘Passing,’ Starring Tessa Thompson
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Racial identity and female-driven storytelling are at the heart of the profound and elegant psychological drama, Passing. Vicky Cristina Barcelona actor Rebecca Hall makes her directorial debut with this feature, and Rebecca stopped by for a thoroughly inspiring and entertaining chat with SCREEN’s Dan Patton, right before its recent premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival. Enjoy this exclusive preview of the film, as well...
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Patrick Wimp named Program Lead of Second City Film School
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Patrick Wimp has been named Program Lead of the Second City Film School. A cinematographer, director, writer and producer whose credits range from TV series to shorts and feature films, he brings a mother lode of industry knowledge to the legendary institution. “I want to help students get where they’re going faster,” he says. “I want to teach them some of the things that I...
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Matzke’s ‘The Orchestra’ Ready for an Encore
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Director Curtis Matzke’s five-minute short, The Orchestra, premiered this month at filmshortage.com. A one-act thriller with virtually no dialogue, the film transforms a student music rehearsal into a crescendo of terror that builds throughout the story. Nimble direction — along with composer Tony Scott-Green’s mysterious score and actor Gillian Butcher’s intimate performance — have helped The Orchestra win numerous awards since its theatrical premiere at...
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