A season of can’t-miss indie cinema
The art house scene is where smaller films get the big-screen treatment: indies, documentaries and film festivals. And sometimes that includes the chance to meet the filmmaker in person.
With that in mind, here is a quick look at some offerings on the calendar this fall.
Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (Sept. 20-30; www.reelingfilmfestival .org): “A Happening of Monumental Proportions” (Sept. 21-27; www.facets .org): A comedic drama from actress-turned-firsttime director Judy Greer, who wanted to “tell a story where adults act like kids and kids act like adults,” she told Variety, which describes the film as an “absurdist portrait of a day in the life of an LA private school in which the students and teachers intersect with everything from a dead body to marital infidelity.” The film is both funny and philosophical, presenting a world in which kids are smarter and more insightful than the parents attempting to raise them.” The ensemble cast includes Common, Jennifer Garner, Storm Reid, Bradley Whitford, Anders Holm, John Cho, Allison Janney, Keanu Reeves and Kumail Nanjiani.
“The Civil Hoax” (Oct. 6; www.chicagofilmmakers .org): A mockumentary from Jon Silver (former managing director of the Annoyance Theater) and Joey Gartner that “skewers the pervasiveness of historical denial, conspiracy theories, ‘alternative’ facts and ‘fake news’ … (that) serves as sharp satire and a sobering reminder that maybe it’s not too far-fetched anymore that there really could be individuals denying wholesale the historical truth of the Civil War.”
Chicago International Film Festival (Oct. 10-21; www.chicagofilmfestival .com): In addition to a wide selection of foreign and independent films, the fest is spotlighting some of the most anticipated films of the fall, including “The Hate U Give” (adapted from the popular YA book and directed by Columbia College Chicago alum George Tillman Jr.) and the Viola Davis-led heist thriller “Widows” (shot entirely in Chicago and directed by Steve McQueen).
“The Center of Nowhere: The Spirit and Sounds of Springfield, Mo.” (Oct. 14; www.chicagofilmmakers .org): Journalist Dave Hoekstra directs this documentary that “illustrates how everyday life informs music about Springfield, Mo., the most overlooked roots music scene in America” and includes the last oncamera interview with Merle Haggard before his death two years ago. The screening will include a live performance by Robbie Fulks, who is also featured in the documentary. “American Revolution 2” (Oct. 26; www.siskelfilm center.org) :Anew25mm preservation print of the documentary that was shot during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and its aftermath that includes footage of the “protest and riot, a critique of the events by working-class AfricanAmericans in Chicago and attempts by the Black Panther Party to organize poor, Southern white youths on the city’s North Side.”
Unsentimental Education (Nov. 3; www.chicago filmsociety.org): A selection of 16 mm films specifically made for classroom use — curated by the always-witty programmers at the Chicago Film Society — includes director Barbara Loden’s “desolate, masterful approximations of New Hollywood aesthetics for the junior set” with the survivalist Western “The Frontier Experience” and juvenile delinquency parable “The Boy Who Liked Deer” (both from 1975).
“Somm 3” (Nov. 27; Music Box Theatre www.music boxtheatre.com): The first “Somm” documentary from 2013 followed the attempts of four people to pass the Master Sommelier exam. The ongoing wine documentary series is now in its third incarnation and will have its Chicago premiere with director Jason Wise in person. Not much advance info on the film is available outside of a Forbes story from the spring, which noted that a major part of the movie focuses on the art of blind tasting. There will be both a pre- and post-screening receptions with wines and Chicago sommeliers.