The Documentary Summit is coming to Chicago on April 21-22, 2012. This fantastic two day event is hosted by the authors of The Documentary Film Makers Handbook in association with Columbia College Chicago, Kartemquin Films, Zacuto, Leavens, Strand, Glover & Adler, LLC and Chicago Filmmakers. 

The two days are filled with panels that will discuss many of the hot topics surrounding non-fiction. Some of the panelists scheduled to appear are Gordon Quinn of Kartemquin Films, filmmakers Jon Siskel and Greg Jacobs/Louder Than A Bomb and Alicia Sams/By The People: The Election of Barack Obama all speaking about storytelling; attorney Tom Leavens will discuss Clearance and Copyright issues; Casey Callister/Garden Thieves and Tamara Biggs/Chicago History Museum will discuss various kinds of distribution; and Erin Sorenson from the BeCause Foundation will talk about funding documentaries via grants; a whole panel on using social media to fund, promote and marketing your film; DP and editing panel – plus many others!

For more information and to book tickets, go to:   www.documentarysummit.com/chicago/

Discount price for IFP/Chicago members: $119 (normally $149) with code: IFPC. Seating is limited so book now!

2010 Production Fund winning film “Salvaging” has been accepted into the Waterfront Film Festival. June 9-12. www.waterfrontfilm.org.
Congratulations!!

Read about IFP/Chicago members John Fromstein & Scott Smith and their company Fulton Market Films in the Chicago Tribune!!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/ct-mov-0325-chicago-closeup-20110324,0,6982372.column

For those of you who missed the official IFP/Chicago screening in late 2009, ROOFTOP WARS will have it’s hometown film festival premiere at the 27TH CHICAGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL on APRIL 8TH and 9TH.

Rooftop Wars has been featured in over a dozen film festivals worldwide with a big win last month for BEST SHORT FILM at the 33RD CINEFESTIVAL in SAN ANTONIO!

What: Screening of ROOFTOP WARS at the 27TH CHICAGO LATINO FILM FESTIVAL

When/Where: Screening 1: April 8th, 4:30 PM, Landmark Theatres (2828 N. Clark);  Screening 2: April 9th, 1:45 PM, Instituto Cervantes (31 W. Ohio)

More Info:www.chicagolatinofilmfestival.org

View Rooftop Wars Trailer

Congratulations to Chicagoan Joe Swanberg.  His 2011 SXSW film, Silver Bullets, won for Excellence in Poster Design. 

For more details:  http://sxsw.com/film/film_awards

IFP PRODUCERS SERIES: SHOOT YOUR MOVIE, ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE 

Saturday, March 19th

$25 members/$30 non-members for the full day of events. 

Pre-registration is required. 

To register email Christy @ chicago@ifp.org.  

Deadline to register is Friday, March 18th at Noon. 

Schedule:

10AM – 1PM 5D/7D Camera Workshop

LOCATION: ProGear Rental (1740 W. Carroll Ave, just south of Grand and west of Ashland. Plenty of free parking.) 

Join us for a Canon 5D, 7D and D60 Workshop including an overview with Canon’s Ed Meyers, a hands-on demo and discussions about data management, rigging, lighting, lenses, audio and renting a full production package. This workshop will tell you everything you need to know to shoot your movie or just become bettter informed about these cameras and gear. Also, please bring a CompactFlash card so you have an opportunity to test the cameras out and review your results at home. Lunch will be provided. 

Sponsored by Canon, Fletcher Chicago, ProGear Rental, Barbizon Lighting and IFP Chicago. 

2PM – 4:30PM PUSHING THE ELEPHANT Screening

LOCATION: Chicago Cultural Center (78 E Washington St., at Washington & Michigan Ave.)

ITVS Community Cinema and IFP Chicago are proud to present Arts Engine’s internationally acclaimed documentary, PUSHING THE ELEPHANT, about Rose Mapendo, a Congolese woman who lost her family to violence and became an international advocate of forgiveness and reconciliation. We are also delighted to host Arts Engine’s Director of Production and Director of PUSHING THE ELEPHANT, Beth Davenport, who will participate in a discussion after the screening. Arts Engine is a New York based social-issue documentary production company, an online community of filmmakers and activists through Mediarights.org, and creators of the film festival Media That Matters. If you want to know how to engage your audience from the day you begin shooting, Arts Engine is an organization that can help guide your way. 

5PM – 7PM Post-Screening Meet and Greet

LOCATION: Elephant & Castle (185 N. Wabash)

Join us for a post-screening meet up at Elephant & Castle, where you will have an opportunity to talk to people from Arts Engine, ITVS Community Cinema, IFP Chicago and filmmakers from PUSHING THE ELEPHANT as well as other participants from the day.

Sponsored by ITVS, Arts Engine and IFP/Chicago.

Save the date for more IFP Producers Series Events!

APRIL 20th and MAY 18th: Meet Your Digital Partners

Honor Marks the Second Festival Win for “The Little Death” Script

The 11th annual Moondance festival, to be held Sept. 24-26 in Boulder, Colo., will screen films from nearly 35 countries around the globe over the course of its three-day run and present fest awards at its closing night ceremony.

A quick, but heartfelt CONGRATS to two IFP/Chicago members! First off, to Laura Cohen and Joe Winston for their film What’s The Matter With Kansas being selected as one of Roger Ebert’s 10 Best Documentaries of 2009!

And last but not least, congratulations to Lizzy Donius (former IFP/Chicago Executive Director) and Amy C. Elliott for their film World’s Largest being accepted into the 2010 SXSW Film Festival in the Emerging Visions Section!

Reported by ReelChicago.com

Toronto studio owner buys Ryerson Steel property

A $5 million state grant approved Friday set in motion the purchase of the former Ryerson steel property that will be converted into the biggest state-of- the-art film studio outside of Hollywood.

Cinespace Chicago, located on 50 acres of prime city property on the Near Southwest Side, is now under construction and one 330,000-sq. ft. stage could be ready for action by January.

Cinespace Chicago owner, Nick Mirkopoulos, is a highly successful and respected Toronto studio owner, who will invest an estimated $80 million to convert the six contiguous buildings into a film and TV production center.

When completed in 12-15 months, Cinespace Chicago will create a projected 6,000 jobs.

“A big studio like this is long overdue,” said John Coli, Sr., secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 727 and president of Teamsters Joint Council 25, who has worked tirelessly behind-the-scenes for several years in an effort to convince a major studio owner with a successful track record to establish a film complex in Chicago.

The Ryerson campus, as it is called, consists of 1.3 million sq. ft. of buildings under one roof, situated on 48.5 acres of land between Ogden and Western Avenues, a scant five miles southwest from State and Madison Streets in the Loop.

Mirkopoulos reportedly paid $18 million for the property. An asking price of $22-$26 million had been listed with an industrial real estate broker for the past 18 months.

Production business is expected almost immediately

After receiving news of the state grant approval Friday, Mirkopoulos on Monday flew his architect to Chicago to meet with contractors to immediately begin converting one of the property’s six 572×572-sq. ft. buildings into a sound stage, which is expected to be completed within an estimated 60 days.

“They claim they will have business for the studio by then,” said Coli.

Chicago will be an extremely attractive place to produce movies and TV shows, said Coli, thanks to unions that have committed to providing lower costs for filmmakers and Illinois’ sustainable 30% tax credit.

“The unions are very flexible and have liberal work rules, which makes Chicago very user friendly,” Coli said, which positions Illinois nose-to-nose with competitive film incentive states.

Most importantly, Coli added, studio business will have a tremendous, positive economic impact on the city, bringing new business to suppliers, hotels, restaurants and more.

Chicago’s “trickle-down” economic impact from film production revenues has been estimated at 2.5% for many years; meaning, the city benefits 2.5 times from movie-related expenditures.

With a studio of this magnitude, coupled with Chicago’s established infrastructure, crew and talent pool, Coli and Local 476 business manager Mark Hogan expressed confidence in a steady flow of visual media production here.

Nick Mirkopoulos has exceptional Hollywood connections that he has built over the 21 years he has been in the Toronto studio business.

The Chicago studio can be sold as a parallel production source, given the parity of the two locations in terms of incentives and the current rate of exchange.

The state grant money was part of Senate bill #1181 and was appropriated from the Build Illinois Bond Fund to the Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the purpose of building the studio.

Hogan, who represents approximately 800 members of the IATSE craft union, is so pleased with the immediate construction of the studio that he said “I can’t stop smiling,” as he anticipated the work the studio will generate for members, who have been working in Michigan for the most part.

“I see this studio as a start of a new era of Chicago filmmaking,” he said, “one that will put us ahead of the game for many years to come.”

Ryerson, Inc. is located at 2558 W. 16th St. John Coli, Sr.’s phone is 773/762-2121; Mark Hogan’s phone is 773/775-5300.

Copyright © 2009

Aaton A-Minima for sale with four prime lenses

Here’s what the package includes:
Aaton A-Minima Super 16mm Camera
w/ black & white video assist by Visual Products
one 200′ magazine
power base
4 pin AC power supply

Prime Lenses
Optar Illumina Four Prime Lenses
9.5mm  T1.3
12mm T1.3
16mm T1.3
25mm T1.3

The package is listed at $16,500 but there is a little room for negotiation. The camera is in mint condition, only shot 600′. The seller is based in Chicago if anyone is interested in taking a look at the camera in person.

For inquiries please contact Curt Wilkinson directly at curt.wilkinson@moody.edu