World Premiere at Oscar Qualifying Festival for Chicago Film; ‘Walking Dead’ ‘Chicago Med’ Stars Lead Cast
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Chicago-made short film After (A Love Story) will have its World Premiere at the Academy-Qualifying 46th Cleveland International Film Festival. The film, which tells the story of a surviving couple working to begin healing the emotional and psychological wounds of a shared trauma, is directed and produced by Chicago/Los Angeles actor and filmmaker Clare Cooney, and stars Glenn Stanton (The Walking Dead), Alyssa Thordarson (Chicago Med), and...
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What’s Next for Cinematographer Christopher Rejano: Thriller Collabs with Jennifer Reeder, Jim Vendiola
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It’s been a busy year for cinematographer Christopher Rejano, and he is just getting started. This week marks the worldwide premiere of the highly anticipated horror feature Night’s End, which he shot for acclaimed Chicago filmmaker Jennifer Reeder. And there is another thriller Rejano has in the works for this year. SCREEN spoke with the talented DP about his collaboration with Reeder as well as...
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The Chicagoland MFA You Haven’t Heard of… Yet
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Many Chicagoans have been heading back to school of late, to either move up the ladder in their field or to pursue a new profession altogether. If you are looking at a foray into the filmmaking world, there is an MFA program you may want to add to your radar… If you can make the cut, that is. This MFA program is capped at 15...
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Midwest Film Festival Presents Chicago Indie ‘Relative’
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The Midwest Film Festival (MFF) presents its second entry of their 2022 season. On Tuesday, April 5, at 7 pm, MFF will host an hour-long networking soiree before featuring the Midwest premiere of Michael Glover Smith’s feature-length film: RELATIVE at 8 pm at the Gene Siskel Film Center. This screening will be followed by a Q&A featuring members of the cast and crew. Produced by Newcity...
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Young Chicago Filmmakers Receive Grant for Doc on Hoda Katebi’s Co-op Blue Tin Production
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Chicago natives Jonah Ocuto and Amaya Benbow are the recipients of local video production company Lightswitch Video’s inaugural film grant. The Full STEM Ahead Filmmaker’s Initiative is a first-year initiative designed to not only encourage STEM education and careers in STEM but to also cultivate the filmmakers of tomorrow in the process. Ocuto and Benbow were chosen to receive a $5,000 grant to produce a...
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Grand Jury Award for Chicago Indie ‘Relative’ and ‘Walking Dead’ Star Roberts
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It’s always great to open your festival run with a win. And Michael Glover Smith’s fourth film, Relative, did just that. The dramatic feature, which was shot in Chicago last summer and produced by Brian and Jan Hieggelke’s Chicago Film Project, had its World Premiere at the 15th Annual Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, March 12. Cameron Scott Roberts, who plays...
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9th Annual Chicago Critics Film Festival Announces First Seven Films
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The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), the Chicago-area print, online and broadcast critics group that celebrates the art of film and film criticism, announces today the first seven films selected for the 2022 Chicago Critics Film Festival. First titles include highly anticipated films like the Chicago premiere of Cooper Raiff’s CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH (pictured below), starring Raiff and Dakota Johnson. Passes are now on...
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Smash Virtual Opening Production Stage in Downtown Chicago
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Beginning this May, Smash Virtual is opening a permanent, state-of-the-art virtual production stage in downtown Chicago, bringing the cutting-edge of filmmaking to the Midwest film industry. By merging large LED video walls, live camera tracking, and realtime 3D systems like Unreal Engine, virtual production offers an alternative to location shooting that is faster, easier, and safer–all while increasing creative control. To provide this technology to...
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World Premiere Announced for Michael Glover Smith Feature ‘Relative’
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Michael Glover Smith‘s fourth feature, Relative, which was shot in Chicago last summer and produced by Brian and Jan Hieggelke’s Chicago Film Project, will have its world premiere at the 15th annual Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, March 12. The dramedy, about a family whose members come together for a college-graduation party on the far-north side of the city, features a...
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Cinematographer Chris Rejano Talks Super Bowl Picks and Pans
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What were your favorite spots from the advertising extravaganza that is the Super Bowl? How about your least favorite? Let’s see how your answers line up with what acclaimed cinematographer Christopher Rejano had to say about the great and not-so-great offerings from Sunday night… SCREEN: What was your favorite spot of the night? CHRIS: I’m going to say the Chevrolet Silverado ‘Sopranos’ opening credits reboot...
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