the SALONATHON

Monday, August 8 @ Beauty Bar (1444 W Chicago)

Screening begins at 9PM

Hosted bar from 8-9PM with RSVP to:  chicagorsvp@thebeautybar.c​om

Come watch Fantastical, Funny, Friendly, Freakish Films from the 2011 Festival!
Local Filmmakers! the rock and the roll, animation, humor, drama and a chromographic 3D movie!

All night Drink Specials:
$3 Drafts, & per usual $10 Martini + Manicures

Come celebrate another great year with the Chicago Underground!

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 included sixteen different programs of narrative, documentary and experimental film and video, 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 determined by the festival jury 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 “Some Girls Never Learn” (USA) directed by Jerzy Rose. The film was also awarded the festival’s “Made in Chicago” award by the jury. Rose also won the “Made In Chicago” in 2008 for his short film “The Universe and Young Pilot Nelson” and a best narrative short film award in 2009 for “All Ghost Women Play The Theremin.”

Jury award winners:

Best Documentary (feature):  And Again – Adele Horne
Best Documentary (short):  History Minor – Ryan Garrett
Best Experimental:  Home Movie – John Price
Best Experimental:  Slow Action – Ben Rivers
Best Narrative (feature):  The Color Wheel – Alex Ross Perry
Best Narrative (feature):  Snow on tha Bluff – Damon Russell

Honorable Mentions:


Young Bird Season – Nellie Kluz
Second Law: South Leh St. – Mike Gibisser

Chainsaw Found Jesus – Spencer Parsons
Devil’s Gate – Laura Kraning

The 2011 Chicago Underground Film Festival Jury:

Donald Harrison is Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, the longest-running independent and experimental film festival in North America. During his tenure he has expanded the AAFF traveling tour, launched the festival’s DVD collections of short films, hosted more than 100 screenings and reviewed thousands of works under consideration. Prior to joining the AAFF in 2006, Donald worked for several years at the Film Arts Foundation in San Francisco where he also studied documentary and experimental film. He currently serves on the boards of the Michigan Theater and Arts Alliance in Ann Arbor and the advisory board for the Aurora Picture Show in Houston, TX. Donald was raised to be a professional bowler and most recently carried a 219 league average.

Chinese-born media artist Chi Jang Yin is known for her conceptual, documentary work, which comments upon the state of Chinese culture, past and present. She often imbues her work with elements from her background in photography and performance art. She received her BA and her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000. Her videos were recently awarded: Honorable Mention at the In-Out Festival, Poland; Best Film on Architecture at the Asolo Art Film Festival, Italy; and Second Grand Prize at the Athens International Film Festival, Ohio. Her work has screened at the 2008 Asian Art Biennial at the Taiwan National Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky is one of the new co-hosts for Ebert’s At The Movies, a critic and essayist for MUBI.com, co-founder of the acclaimed Cine-File.info, and a contributor to the Chicago Reader. Prior to becoming a film critic, Ignatiy worked as a translator for Novoe Literaturnoe Obozrenie, Russia’s premier literary journal. Born in the Soviet Union, Ignatiy moved to America when he was eight and soon moved to Chicago “because I could find more films to see here.” Ignatiy helps program the current Cine-File Selects series at the University of Chicago’s Doc Films, the nation’s oldest film society. He also co-manages the Odd Obsession underground and alternative video store.

Irvine Welsh is an acclaimed and often controversial writer of novels, stories and stage and screenplays.  His book Trainspotting was made into a 1996 film of the same name directed by Danny Boyle which was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and an Oscar.  Welsh comes from Edinburgh, Scotland, and lives with his American wife Elizabeth, mainly in Chicago, IL and Miami, FL. He travels a great deal and his hobbies include socialising and sporting activities.

Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF)

Profane (2011, Usama Alshaibi, USA, 78 min)

with:

Tears Cannot Restore Her: Therefore, I Weep (2011, Jennifer Reeder, USA, 10 min)

10pm Friday 3 June

Gene Siskel Film Center

Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF)

The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye (Marie Losier, 75 min, 16mm on video, 2010, USA)

with:

Irma (Charles Fairbanks, 12 min, 16 mm on video, 2010, USA)

Lazslo Lassu (Ben Popp, 3 min, video, 2010, USA)

8pm Friday 3 June

Gene Siskel Film Center

Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF)

Shorts Program:  My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains (2009-2010, various directors, various nations, 89 min.)

6pm Friday 3 June

Gene Siskel Film Center

Some Girls Never Learn (2011, Jerzy Rose, USA, 80 min.)

World Premiere of Chicagoan Jerzy Rose’s first feature.  SAIC alum Jerzy Rose and his Chicago based cast and crew will be present for post-film Q&A

With:  Monica Panzarino Sings the Star-Spangled Banner (2011, Monica Panzarino, USA, 3 min.)

Opening Night After-party with DJ Rad Brian

Bottom Lounge, Volcano Room, 10pm-2am

Program of Challenging, Provocative and Entertaining Features, Docs and Shorts

Gene Siskel Film Center, June 2 – June 9 2011

The 18th annual Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), presented by IFP/Chicago, heats up the summer film festival circuit with a provocative and entertaining slate of features, documentaries and short films that redefine the term “underground” and what it means for a culture in flux.  All screenings take place at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 164 N State Street, June 2 – June 9.

Full Schedule: CUFF

Online Tickets:  Gene Siskel Film Center

The 18th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival Call for Submissions is open. CUFF 2011 will take place June 2-9, 2011 at The Gene Siskel Film Center. To find out more visit cuff.org

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.

About the Festival Jury
Ross Nugent hails from the wilds of Western Pennsylvania. He earned a BA in Film Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and studied film and video production at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, where he began working in media exhibition in 2003. Ross served as the Exhibition Coordinator from 2005-2008, and matriculated to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to pursue an MFA in Film. He is also the Program Manager of the UWM Union Theatre, the Faculty Advisor for the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, and an instructor in the Film Dept.

Spencer Parsons is a filmmaker based in Chicago and he teaches media production at Northwestern University. He has made such award-winning short films as “Resolution” (2002) and “Once and Future Asshole” (2005), and his feature film, “I’ll Come Running,” will soon be available on DVD from IFC. From 2000-2004, he was senior programmer for the late and lamented Cinematexas International Short Film Festival in Austin, TX.

Brigid Reagan is the Assistant Director of Video Data Bank, the country’s largest archive and distributor of video art and artist interviews. As AD, Brigid manages submissions, acquisitions, public programs, marketing and promotion for the organization. She was VDB’s Distribution Manager prior to her current appointment and previously worked in both programming and educational outreach for Cinema/Chicago, presenter of the Chicago International Film Festival. Brigid has presented VDB work at festivals and conferences throughout the world, and has sat on various panels and juries in the media arts field. She holds a BA in Film and Television from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago, where she was a Dwight Follet Fellow.

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