Packed Theatrical Premiere at Music Box Theatre for Michael Glover Smith’s ‘Relative’

A joyful and appreciative crowd of more than 500 cinephiles descended upon the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago for the World Theatrical Premiere of the Chicago-made independent feature Relative. Cast, crew, and a capacity crowd were in full celebration mode this past Wednesday, June 8th, and SCREEN has the photos to prove it.

And now the film moves to the Gene Siskel Film Center to continue its theatrical run this week…

But first, here are some choice photos from the jubilant premiere at the Music Box, courtesy of photographer Emma Thatcher…

The family dramedy, which stars Wendy Robie (TWIN PEAKS) and Steppenwolf Ensemble legend Francis Guinan as progressive activists David and Karen Frank, has already won acclaim at its first festival screenings. It has so far played the 2022 editions of the Gasparilla International Film Festival (where Cameron Scott Roberts won the Grand Jury Award for Best Performance for his role as Benji Frank) and the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, and will screen at the Fort Myers Film Festival on May 21.

Enjoy the newly released official trailer for Relative…

This week, the Siskel will host two screenings of the film with uniquely themed Q&As: On Wednesday, June 15, Keeping-it-Reel.com’s David J. Fowlie will moderate a “Producers’ Panel” with Smith, producer Aaron Wertheimer and executive producers Brian and Jan Hieggelke (of Chicago Film Project); and on Thursday, June 16, filmmaker Lori Felker (FUTURE LANGUAGE: THE DIMENSIONS OF VON LMO) will moderate a “Crew Q&A” with Smith, director of photography Olivia Aquilina, production designer Stephanie MacDonald and editor Eric Marsh.

Smith shared with SCREEN, “Out of the four features I’ve made, RELATIVE is my proudest artistic accomplishment. It’s also the one that came the closest to not actually happening because of delays caused by the pandemic. It’s very sweet indeed that the entire cast and crew will be able to come together and celebrate at these unique screenings hosted by the Music Box and the Gene Siskel Film Center. It feels like the movies, as a theatrical experience, are finally back.“

For more information on RELATIVE, including future screenings, visit the film’s recently launched official website at relativemovie.com