The 17th Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), presented by IFP /Chicago, kicked off on Thursday, June 24, showcasing a savvy program of film and video exploring the many definitions and interpretations of the ‘underground’ concept. All films were screened at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street. The shorts winners for this year’s festival were announced on Sunday, June 27 after the festival’s closing film and the feature winners were announced on Friday, July 2.

Each year, CUFF reveals a unique programming niche of films that ignore limitations of genre and are made with passion and drive. Audiences this year were again captivated by an array of films that include two World Premieres, five Midwest Premieres, four Chicago Premieres, question and answer sessions with many of the featured filmmakers, and a journey into the world of underground film.

Competitions were held in a variety of categories and winners were presented with handmade art pieces designed by Chicago artist Luke Breckon.

This year’s Audience Award, as chosen by festival attendees, was awarded to Scrappers (USA) directed by Ben Kolak, Brian Ashby and Courtney Prokopas.

The Feature Film Competition Winners included:
• Best Documentary Feature – Scrappers, Dir. Ben Kolak, Brian Ashby and Courtney Prokopas
• Best Narrative Feature – Stay the Same, Never Change, Dir. Laurel Nakadate
• Honorable Mention – Modus Operandi, Dir. Frankie Latina

The Short Film Competition Winners included:
• Made in Chicago Award – Fantasy Suite, Dir. Kent Lambert
• Best Animation – Everybody, Dir. Steve Reinke and Jesse Mott
• Best Experimental Film – L’Internationale, Dir. Marianna Milhorat
• Best Documentary Short – Sincerity: The Character of Ronald Reagan, Dir. Chris Royalty
• Best Narrative Short – Home Movie, Dir. Braden King
• Honorable Mentions – Golden Hour, Dir. Robert Todd; This Is My Show, Dir. Lori Felker; Voice on the Line, Dir. Kelly Sears.

Continued…

IFP/Chicago is thrilled to bring you The 17th Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), presented by DePaul University – School of Cinema and Interactive Media, and will showcase a savvy program of film and video exploring the many definitions and interpretations of the ‘underground’ concept at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 North State Street, June 24 – July 1.

Each year, CUFF reveals a unique programming niche of films that ignore limitations of genre and are made with passion and drive. Audiences this year will again be captivated by an array of films that include two World Premieres, five Midwest Premieres, four Chicago Premieres, as well as a tribute to Jonas Mekas who is often referred to as “the godfather of American avant-garde cinema,” question and answer sessions with many of the featured filmmakers, and a journey into the world of underground film. Over a thousand submissions were received for a program of 20 films including features, documentaries, and shorts.

“For the past 17 years, the Chicago Underground Film Festival has been bringing some of the most unique films to Chicago,” said Bryan Wendorf, Programmer and Artistic Director for CUFF. “This year we are thrilled to present a lineup showcasing the defiantly independent visions of some of today’s most cutting-edge filmmakers. Not only do the films reflect and comment on the times we live in today, but they will also take viewers through fantasy and comedic journeys. Presenting CUFF with the help of the Gene Siskel Film Center and IFP/Chicago has enabled us to reach out to even more film fanatics, media, and industries alike who have a passion for the underground film world.”

For more information about this year’s festival go here!

For press inquiries, please contact Laura Silverman at The Silverman Group

The 17th Chicago Underground Film Festival
June 24 – July 1 2010
The Gene Siskel Film Center

Final Deadline April 1.

For entry forms and guidelines please visit http://www.cuff.org

Since 1994, the Chicago Underground Film Festival has presented the finest in new underground, experimental and documentary film and video. In 2008 the festival entered into a partnership with IFP/Chicago and in 2009 the festival moved to the state of the art Gene Siskel Film Center. 2010 will mark another major change for thefestival as we move from our traditional fall dates to the summer.
What kinds of movies are we looking for? Our mission is to promote films and videos that dissent radically in form, technique, or content from the ‘indie’ mainstream and to present adventurous works that challenge and transcend commercial and audience expectations…if you suspect your film is ‘underground,’ it probably is…

The 2009 Chicago Underground Film Festival jury selected the following works as festival winners. Our 2009 jury was comprised of Patrick Friel (White LightCinema/Onion City Film Festival), Adam Hart (University of ChicagoExperimental Film Club) and author and media activist Anne ElizabethMoore. Winning films were given one of a kind hand-made trophiesdesigned by Chicago artist Luke Breckon.

Best Narrative Feature: Blondes In The Jungle (Whitney Horne and Lev Kalman)

Best Narrative Short: All Ghost Women Play The Theremin (Jerzy Rose)

Best Documentary Feature: It Came From Kuchar! (Jennifer Kroot)

Best Documentary Short: Me Broni Ba (Akosua Adoma Owusu)

Best Experimental Film: Jaws (Sabine Gruffat)

Best Animation: Elfmädchen (Mirka Morales)

Made In Chicago Award: Somewhere Only We Know (Jesse Maclean)

Audience Award: American Radical- The Trials of Norman Finkelstein (David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier)

Congrats to all of the Filmmakers who participated in this year’s festival!

16th CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
September 10 – 17 2009
at the Gene Siskel Film Center
164 North State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60601

The 16th Annual CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL (CUFF), one of Chicago’s leading film events, and a must-attend festival for cutting-edge filmmakers with defiantly independent visions.

CUFF stands out on the festival circuit for having a unique programming niche, and garnering a following among hipsters, media, and industry alike. Each year, CUFF presents an accessible, savvy program of film and video exploring the many definitions and interpretations of the ‘underground’ concept. Selected films often ignore limitations of genre, and are made with passion and drive; alternative music films, political agitprop, formal experimentation, and high camp are not uncommon elements of the Festival program.

Past CUFF films, producers, and filmmakers have received honors and offers as a direct result of exposure gained and connections made at the Festival. Programming highlights from years past include premieres of NICE BOMBS, DANIELSON: A FAMILY MOVIE, Oscar-nominated documentary THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, MONKS – THE TRANSATLANTIC FEEDBACK, and BLOOD CAR. Additionally, numerous CUFF films have gone on to receive theatrical distribution.

PURCHASE TICKETS IN ADVANCE HERE!

MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

CUFF is a great time for attendees, filmmakers, and industry, where screenings are followed by great nights of parties, events and concerts. In Roger Ebert’s words, ‘What you get for your money is not just admission to the films but admission to a subculture.’

What people are saying about the Chicago Underground Film Festival:

‘The Chicago Underground Film Festival has spent 15 years earning a viable reputation as a mecca for avant-garde and anti-establishment feature filmmaking, as well as a Midwest platform for the year’s festival circuit hits.’ - Matt Dentler (former SXSW Film Fest producer)

‘The Chicago Underground Film Festival is the city’s most eclectic yet best curated fest. Director and co-founder Bryan Wendorf has a knack for uncovering work that startles, upsets and spellbinds.’ – Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times

‘What you get for your money is not just admission to the films but admission to a subculture’ – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

‘I like the word ‘underground’ as in the Chicago Underground Film Festival. The word ‘independent’ carries a stigma of whininess. ‘Underground’ means a good time.’ – John Waters

‘Defiantly independent and deliberately scandalous’ – Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

‘If you care at all about the state of culture on the margins, this is probably the most important project in the country reflecting its evolution’ – Lumpen Magazine

‘The most refreshingly offbeat film event in Chicago’ – Adam Langer, The Film Festival Guide

‘A cultural mainstay on its home turf’ – Ray Pride, Filmmaker Magazine

‘Without CUFF my movie would not be coming out in America’ – Peter Hall, Director of DELINQUENT

‘I’d like to think the work Chris Gore and I did at Film Threat helped inspire the lunatics behind CUFF but now they’re the ones inspiring me…not just a great ‘underground’ festival but a great film festival PERIOD.’ – Dave Williams, former editor FILM THREAT

‘What can be said about CUFF that hasn’t already been written on every men’s room wall in Chicago? The ultimate late summer party? A film fix for the celluloid junkies? Free food? Take your pick…’ – Producer Jim Dwyer

‘I had the best time of my life at this festival. Your lives are so much better than all those people who think they’re having a good time in Hollywood’ – Penelope Spheeris, Hollywood Filmmaker

‘CUFF gave me hope for the future’ – George Kuchar, Underground Filmmaker

‘There are still a few out there for whom the indie flame burns bright. Right on!’ – Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Friday October 31st – Production and Technology

Registration at 10am: Buy your tickets at www.cuff.org or buy them at the door

Panel 1
11:00 to 12:30 TUG
Anatomy of a Red Camera Project
Moderator: Tom Fletcher (Fletcher Camera)
Hopwood DePree, Christina Varotsis, Adam Stone

Steven Soderbergh calls it the camera he has been waiting for his whole career. Fresh from the recently wrapped production of the low budget feature film Tug, which was filmed in Holland, Michigan using the Red Camera, cinematographer Adam Stone, producers Hopwood Dupree and Christina Varotsis, and Tom Fletcher from Fletcher Camera will examine the practical considerations involved in using the camera touted by Wired Magazine to be the first digital camera that matches the detail and richness of analog film.

Panel 2
12:45 to 2:15
The Digital Intermediate Workflow
Moderator: Ericka Frederick (Kodak)
Carol Schaffner (Astro), Scott Stevens (Kodak), Charlie Langrall (Filmworkers Club) and Mike Matusek (Nolo Digital Film)

Digital intermediate (DI) technology is evolving as an exciting creative tool for filmmakers in both the independent and big-budget arenas. Learn from the front lines of the DI process how to push the envelope and get all the benefits of digital tools for designing the visual palette of your film, while reducing costs and enhancing the quality of the viewing experience. Industry experts show how the digital intermediate process can empower filmmakers at all budget levels, both creatively and financially.

Panel 3
2:30 to 3:45
Music and Sound Design
Moderator: Mark Messing (Maestro-Matic)
Randy Bobo (Spirit Award Winner “Sweetland”), Lou Mallozzi (Experimental Sound Studio), Liz Storm (Movie Trax)

Low budget filmmakers cannot underestimate the importance of music and sound design in enhancing the movie going experience. In this discussion music supervisors, sound designers and composers will treat us to some of their tricks and secrets that can help overcome the limitations of budget and will look at some of the rights and licensing issues involved in the use of music in movies.

Panel 4
4:00 to 5:15
“Night Tide” Case Study
Moderator: Bryan Wendorf (CUFF Festival Director)
Edward Crouse, Mark Toscano

This panel will examine the adventuresome, macabre and quirky filmography of filmmaker Curtis Harrington. It will also look at the process involved in the restoration of “Night Tide,” Harrington’s fiendishly cultish 1961 tale starring Dennis Hopper in his first film role as sailor Johnny Drake about a dark romance between a sailor and a sideshow performer, who just may be a murderous mermaid.

Break-out Session
3:00
Kodak

A mini session with Ericka Frederick and Scott Stevens of Kodak who will discuss the latest developments in Kodak film stock with emphasis on the low budget and experimental filmmaker.