HELP OUT: MUSIC BOX: REVIVE AT 95 Mingles Something Old With Something New

Music Box Theatre to undergo 

monumental main-auditorium revitalization project in August

MUSIC BOX: REVIVE AT 95 

Campaign to include New Seats, Flooring & Lighting Upgrades, and More 

 The Music Box Theatre is announcing a major revitalization of its 740-seat main auditorium as part of the MUSIC BOX: REVIVE AT 95 campaign, celebrating the 95th anniversary of the venue. During this project, the main theatre will be closed from August 12 to September 5, with upgrades including new seats (with cupholders!); improved auditorium lighting; refinished carpeting and flooring; refurbishment of our original proscenium arch; and expanded ADA capabilities with T-Coil Hearing Loop System.

This closure marks the first time since 1982 that the Music Box's larger theater has been shut down for any type of upgrades. The rest of the theater, including our smaller house and garden movie screenings, will remain open as normal. "Thinking about the historical value that the Music Box has to the City of Chicago, it's incredible to me that this 95-year-old institution has lasted as long as it has and continues to inspire filmmakers and filmgoers to walk through its doors," says General Manager Ryan Oestreich. "As the guardians of the Music Box Theatre, it's up to us to ensure that its history and vibrancy are preserved into the next century."

For nearly 95 years, the Music Box Theatre has been a haven for countless passionate moviegoers, providing unique programming 365 days a year. Described in 1929 as a place of “lasting beauty and great durability,” we’re still going strong as our 100th birthday quickly approaches. The goal is to keep this venue a community institution long into the future.

For more information on the MUSIC BOX: REVIVE AT 95 project and details on seat sponsorships and other donation options, go to: https://revive.musicboxtheatre.com.

Because all those memories and all that cinema have taken their toll on the space, the MUSIC BOX: REVIVE AT 95 campaign will be open to audience participation. There will be two options for the public to participate, where our dedicated audience can either "Sponsor A Seat" or "Make A Donation" and actively see their contribution payoff to these revitalizations.

1. Sponsor A Seat: Our seats have seen a lot of audiences and are ready for a well-deserved retirement. While keeping the same style as our current seats, we’ll be installing new, more comfortable seats with cup holders. These seats will last us for years to come, and sponsoring one is a chance to leave a lasting legacy at the Music Box.

You can sponsor a seat in honor of yourself, a loved one, or your business, and the name will be permanently engraved on a plate on the armrest (Seat plates are 7/8 x 2-1/2 inches). You'll also be recognized on the Music Box website. Plates can contain messages of one or two lines, up to 15 characters per line (including spaces).

Seat Pricing:

Single Seat: $750

Two Seats: $1400

We also accept payments in installments (split evenly over 6 or 12 months).

A limited number of seats are available. Seat locations are chosen randomly and do not guarantee your seat location for screenings. Plates will remain for the duration of the usable life of the new seats. Please note that contributions to MUSIC BOX: REVIVE AT 95 are not tax deductible. 

2. Make A Donation: For those opting not to sponsor a seat, you can still contribute to the revitalization of the Music Box in the donation amount that suits you. Support starts at $25, and all donors will be listed on our website. Gifts of $100 or more receive a free Music Box merch item (poster, mug, etc.).

Terms & Conditions

Music Box reserves the right to refuse/ refund inappropriate or offensive plates

Seat plates will be placed on the seats at the completion of payment

In the event that a Sponsor cannot complete installment payments, seat plates will not be placed on the seat(s) and no refunds of previous payments will be administered 

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE OLD SEATS?

We know the old seats have a special place in many people’s hearts. We are working with local nonprofit, Rebuilding Exchange, to find new homes for the seats. Stay tuned for more information. 

Become a member: https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/membership/become-a-member

 

About Music Box Theatre:

Operating since 1929, the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films for more than four decades, playing host to over 200,000 patrons annually. It currently has the largest theater space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD, and television markets throughout the United States.

Regular events produced, presented, and hosted at Music Box Theatre include the 70mm Film Festival; Music Box Christmas Sing-a-long and Double Feature, the annual 24-hour horror-movie marathon Music Box of Horrors; and Noir City: Chicago, co-presented by the Film Noir Foundation.

Follow the Music Box Theatre on Facebook (www.facebook.com/musicboxchicago/), Twitter (@musicboxtheatre), Instagram (@musicboxchicago), TikTok @musicbox_chicago

FEST ALERT: The Music Box Theatre's Debut Year of CINEPOCALYPSE Launches Nov 2nd-9th, 2017

Chi, IL Films On Our Radar:

CHICAGO-BASED 

CINEPOCALYPSE 
ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAMMING, GUESTS, JURIES

November 2 - 9 at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre

Debut year of genre festival to award director Larry Cohen and actor Antonio Fargas,

 opens with SWEET VIRGINIA, closes with BEYOND SKYLINE!

The Music Box Theatre is proud to announce their full wave of programming and guests for the debut year of CINEPOCALYPSE (an evolution to the program design of Bruce Campbell's Horror Film Festival), which will take place November 2 - 9 at Chicago’s Music Box Theatre. The Midwest’s largest gathering of genre films and fans, the festival’s organizers are proud to announce dozens of new features, shorts, and premieres, alongside their juries, repertory, and secret screenings.

This year’s Cinepocalypse, November 2-9, will features scary-good world, U.S., and regional premieres, repertory screenings, special guests, parties, and much more. For more information, visit www.musicboxtheatre.com. 

To purchase early bird badges, please visit  https://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/cinepocalypse.

Of the over 60 films selected, highlights include the World Premiere of PRIMAL RAGE; North American Premieres of RENDEL, SNOWFLAKE, and THE TERROR OF HALLOW’S EVE; and U.S. Premieres of BEYOND SKYLINE, LOWLIFE, DOWNRANGE, and MOTORRAD! Among the guests at this year’s festival are writer/director Larry Cohen, filmmaker Joe Carnahan, actor Antonio Fargas, actor Eric Roberts, screenwriter/guest host Simon Barrett, actress Barbara Crampton, and Suspiria star Jessica Harper - with many more to be announced!

Says Cinepocalypse founder Josh Goldbloom, “This lineup represents the most twisted, hilarious, intelligent, horrifying, and no holds barred badass cinema on this planet. It’s a pummeling collection of international genre films from the world’s most creative and audacious artists. It was a pleasure for us to curate and discover these films and we’re thrilled to unleash it all in a fury of festivities unlike Chicago has ever seen!”

Cinepocalypse is made possible by sponsors IFC Midnight, Bloody Disgusting, and The Onion’s A.V. Club.


A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR DIRECTOR LARRY COHEN

Larry Cohen is the sort of filmmaker who creates movie geeks. Upon discovering discover Black Caesar, It’s Alive, Q: The Winged Serpent, or The Stuff, you’re immediately tempted to see all of the director’s other movies. Between his directorial work and his (non-stop) screenplays, it’s safe to say you’ve seen and loved a few Larry Cohen movies without even knowing it. And this year, he’s here to hang out with the audience at Cinepocalypse and watch some movies!

THE AMBULANCE
with director Larry Cohen and star Eric Roberts in attendance!

Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, and Janine Turner star in this typically colorful high concept thriller (with humor) from Larry Cohen, one of the most reliably entertaining indie filmmakers over the past 40 years. While not be as well-known as Cohen’s more regularly-screened classics, this smoothly entertaining flick about a mysterious ambulance that keeps snatching up all the women in Roberts’ life has to be seen to be believed.

KING COHEN: THE WILD WORLD OF FILMMAKER LARRY COHEN - Midwest Premiere
with subject Larry Cohen in attendance!
USA, 2017
Dir: Steve Mitchell

Indie film legend Larry Cohen has directed cult classics like Black Caesar, It’s Alive, Q the Winged Serpent, and The Stuff. Hollywood screenwriter Larry Cohen delivered enjoyable high concept matinees like Best Seller, Phone Booth, and Cellular - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Fans and newcomers alike will savor every minute of this exhaustive documentary, covering virtually every piece of Mr. Cohen’s wildly impressive career.

A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR ANTONIO FARGAS

Shaft. Across 110th Street. Cleopatra Jones. Foxy Brown. Starsky and Hutch. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka! These are just a few of the exploitation classics that have been enlivened by the presence of character actor extraordinaire Antonio Fargas, whose body of work stretches from the late 1960s to our closing night film, BEYOND SKYLINE. Join us in celebrating this beloved veteran performer, as we highlight his eclectic and extensive body of work.

FOXY BROWN
with co-star Antonio Fargas in attendance!
USA, 1974
Dir: Jack Hill

Cult legend, blaxploitation goddess, and overall badass Pam Grier stars as a young woman out for revenge after her boyfriend is murdered by a cabal of drug-dealing, sex-trafficking scumbags. It gets gruesome and unpleasant on occasion, but Ms. Grier always brings steely class to even the campiest of moments. Cinepocalypse honoree Antonio Fargas does some fine work as our anti-heroine’s conflicted - and untrustworthy - brother.

I’M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA
with co-star Antonio Fargas in attendance!
USA, 1988
Dir: Keenan Ivory Wayans
Fans of Shaft, Black Caesar, SuperFly, and Cleopatra Jones, have likely grown up with this Airplane!-style parody, but even newbies to the wonderful world of blaxploitation cinema will find much to love in Keenan Ivory Wayans’ affectionate, on-point lampoon of ‘70s street crime cinema.

THE A.V. CLUB PRESENTS: BEYOND THE ROOM - GET EVEN
Tommy Wiseau and The Room have given audiences countless hours of joy over the years, but for the inaugural Cinepocalypse, The A.V. Club is opening the door and taking you “Beyond The Room” with a special presentation of Get Even. By day, John De Hart is a trial lawyer in Los Angeles. By night, he’s the writer, director, producer, composer, and star of this DIY action-romance opus.
Shot mostly in 1993 and completed in 2007, Get Even features Satanic cults, corrupt cops, hot tubs, Shakespearean monologues, Wings Hauser laying down his personal philosophy while standing fully clothed in a swimming pool, and the life-changing magic of the “Shimmy Slide,” as performed by De Hart himself. Get Even has never received mainstream distribution and is only available from the director himself, so don’t miss your chance to see this cult-classic-in-the-making that will have you asking, “Who’s Hamlet? Who gives a shit?”

THE SECRET SCREENING!
It’s top secret, so there’s nothing we can say other than: trust us, be here, or you’ll sincerely regret it!
And don’t believe any of the rumors; this one is staying completely under wraps until the title pops up on the screen!

40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF SUSPIRIA WITH STAR JESSICA HARPER IN ATTENDANCE!
Experience the ultimate in horror with the uncut, 98-minute version on a newly-discovered, Italian-dubbed 35mm print! Dario Argento’s classic tale of murder and paranoia inside a creepy dance academy is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and oldschool Eurohorror fans will not want to miss this special screening. Special thanks to The Chicago Cinema Society for use of their print.


BLOOD. GUTS. BULLETS. OCTANE. - Presented by Joe Carnahan

Cinepocalypse is proud to partner with Joe Carnahan to present a special screening of the legendary writer/director’s 1997 debut, accompanied by a fearsome foursome of classic cinematic thrills, all carefully curated and lovingly hosted by the man himself!

BLOOD, GUTS, BULLETS & OCTANE - Extremely rare 35mm Screening
with writer/director Joe Carnahan in attendance!
USA, 1997
Dir: Joe Carnahan

Inspired by the independent bravery of El Mariachi, (the directorial debut of Robert Rodriguez shot for only $7000), Carnahan paved his way as Hollywood’s most badass action filmmaker with this stunning first offering, also shot for an unbelievable seven grand! Following the screening, join writer/director Joe Carnahan as he discusses the trials and tribulations of low-budget filmmaking.

NEAR DARK - 30th Anniversary 35mm Screening
Curated and Introduced by Filmmaker Joe Carnahan!
USA, 1987
Dir: Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow’s masterful vampire ensemble may have not made much noise upon its theatrical release in 1987 but has gone up to become a true-blue genre classic in recent years. Aliens co-stars Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, and the late, great Bill Paxton star as a vampire clan who have their undead hearts set on terrorizing a small Texas town. [BLOOD]

HARD TIMES - Brand New 4K Restoration Premiere
Curated and introduced by Filmmaker Joe Carnahan!
USA, 1975
Dir: Walter Hill
Walter Hill director Charles Bronson and James Coburn, who gamble, booze, and box their way through New Orleans during the Great Depression. Recently restored to pristine 4K status, we guarantee you’ve never seen this one on the big screen! [GUTS]

BULLET IN THE HEAD – Rare 35mm Screening
Curated and Introduced by Filmmaker Joe Carnahan!
Hong Kong, 1990
Dir: John Woo
John Woo’s epic tale of three troubled friends who rise up from minor street toughs to fugitives and smugglers before being thrown into the Vietnam War is easily one of the most kinetic and exciting wartime action flicks ever put to film. Actual heart, humanity, and character elevate this action-packed bullet-fest far above all others of its ilk. [BULLETS]

MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE – Rare 35mm Screening
Curated and Introduced by Filmmaker Joe Carnahan!
USA, 1986                                         
Dir: Stephen Fucking King!
Buffeted by a phenomenal soundtrack by AC/DC, Stephen King’s first - and last - directorial effort is a goofy, grungy, gory tale of homicidal machines, ill-fated humans, and the greasy truck stop diner where vehicular homicide is the special of the day. [OCTANE]


OPENING NIGHT & CENTERPIECE INFO COMING SOON

SWEET VIRGINIA - Opening Night Film
Midwest Premiere
USA, 2017
Director: Jamie M. Dagg
Talent in attendance!

A former rodeo champ with a dark past unknowingly starts a rapport with a young man who has a propensity for disturbing sociopathic violence that has suddenly gripped a small town. Jon Bernthal (Netflix’s The Punisher), Christopher Abbott (It Comes at Night), Rosemarie DeWitt (Mad Men), and Imogen Poots (Green Room) star in this twisted, moody, modern day neo-noir masterpiece.

BEYOND SKYLINE - Closing Night Film
U.S. Premiere
USA, 2017
Dir: Liam O’Donnell
Talent in attendance!

The stars of The Purge: Anarchy (Frank Grillo) and The Raid: Redemption (Iko Uwais) team up to battle the alien apocalypse in this pulpy, colorful, and wildly over-the-top action/sci-fi/horror mash-up that has to be seen to be believed. The sequel to 2010’s Skyline, this mind-bending lunacy somehow manages to be even more insane (way more insane) than its infamous predecessor!


ADDITIONAL SECOND WAVE FEATURES INCLUDE:

PRIMAL RAGE (World Premiere)
USA, 2017
Dir: Patrick Magee
Talent in attendance!
You may have seen a few Bigfoot-related horror films over the years, but it’s safe to say you’ve never seen a Sasquatch rampage like this. Primal Rage is a tale of a young couple, a bunch of hunters, a witch, and some Native American cops who butt heads with a wildly violent forest monster, causing all Hell to break loose! From practical special effects guru Patrick Magee (Spider-Man, Jurassic Park III), this may be the goriest film you’ll see all year!

SNOWFLAKE (North American Premiere)
Germany, 2017
Dirs: Adolfo Kolmerer and William James
Talent in attendance!
Take a dash of Tarantino, a splash of Coen brothers, a metric ton of meta-textual self-awareness, and a fast-paced series of humorously violent misadventures, and you’re halfway to grasping the magnificent madness of this bizarre German import. A gang of lowlife characters all want revenge on the others, but along the way they must contend with assassins, madmen, a blood-covered angel, and an electricity-powered superhero.

THE TERROR OF HALLOW’S EVE (North American Premiere)
USA, 2017
Dir: Todd Tucker
Talent in attendance!
Timmy Stevens is socially awkward kid, obsessed with horror movies and frequently bullied. But Timmy’s about to get his revenge in full-bore fashion when he unwittingly unleashes an evil creature known as The Trickster on Halloween Night. Genre veteran Doug Jones (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) provides an amazing creature performance, but the real stars here are the wide array of surprisingly effective creature FX and affection for old-school ‘80s mayhem.

DOWNRANGE (U.S. Premiere)
USA, 2017
Dir: Ryuhei Kitamura
Talent in attendance!
A merciless sniper takes aim at a car full of college kids, disabling their vehicle on a lonely country road and methodically picking them off, one by one. This latest, nail-biting offering from genre veteran Ryuhei Kitamura (The Midnight Meat Train, Versus) contains the filmmaker’s trademark creeping tension, sudden violence, and extreme nihilism. In other words, things get pretty dark.

MOTORRAD (U.S. Premiere)
Brazil, 2017
Dir: Vicente Amorim
Talent in attendance!
A slasher by way of George Miller’s MAD MAX meets Wes Craven’s THE HILLS HAVE EYES, this violence-fueled adrenaline ride will leave you absolutely breathless. In this visually stunning Brazilian import, a gang of dirt-bikers on a ride across an isolated region, find themselves being hunted by a machete-wielding band of motorcyclists intent on killing them all. Based on characters created by Marvel comic book author Danilo Beyruth, this atmospheric and suspenseful genre film also functions as an allegory to our battles within. It’s as smart as it is downright frightening, and we’re damn excited to unleash this beast into the U.S. for the very first time!

APPLECART - All-New Cut (Midwest Premiere)
USA, 2017
Dir: Brad Baruh
Talent in attendance!
A gaggle of powerhouse horror veterans - including Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Brea Grant (Beyond the Gates), AJ Bowen (The Signal), Daniel Roebuck (At the Devil’s Door), and Chase Williamson (John Dies at the End) get together for what seems like a fairly standard “cabin in the woods” tale and then it gets weird… and weirder… and super gory. Let’s just leave it at that.

CHARISMATA (Midwest Premiere)
UK – 2017
Dir: Tor Mian, Andy Collier
Talent in attendance!
A rookie female detective, struggling to find acceptance in a police department defined by a culture of bullying and intolerance, watches as things go from bad to worse as her chief suspect in a series of brutal ritualistic murders takes a personal interest in her. A game of cat and mouse degrades the detective’s grasp on reality and, as she spirals out of control, this young woman must suddenly fight for her sanity, life… and maybe even her soul.

THE CRESCENT (Midwest Premiere)
Canada, 2017
Dir: Seth A. Smith
A young widow and her two-year-old son take shelter in a massive, creepy seaside house after the sudden death of her husband. But rather than follow the tropes of standard jump-scare storytelling, The Crescent places a unique focus its child star, some truly impressive visual touches, and a consistently ominous sound design. This creepy Canadian import, which premiered in TIFF’s Midnight Madness program, is guaranteed to get under your skin.

GET MY GUN (Midwest Premiere)
USA, 2017
Director: Brian Darwas
Talent in attendance!
This wonderfully executed homage to beloved and controversial exploitation classics of the past (namely Abel Ferrera’s Ms. 45 and Meir Zarchi’s I Spit on Your Grave) proves itself to not just as an imitator, but in a league of its own. After a horrible attack leaves Amanda pregnant and out of a job, she finds herself on the verge of motherhood and the target of a psychotic stalker who will stop at nothing to get her hands on the unborn child.

THE LODGERS (Midwest Premiere)
Ireland, 2017
Dir: Brian O’Malley
There’s been a great flood of Irish horror films over the past several years, and their latest offering is just another example of how to combine classy scares and intermittent nastiness into one good thriller. Director Brian O’Malley (Let Us Prey) brings us the tale of two young twins in the 1920s, the strange rules that govern their existence, and what happens when a handsome newcomer threatens to upset their order of things.

PSYCHOPATHS (Midwest Premiere)
USA, 2017
Dir: Mickey Keating
Prolific indie genre machine Mickey Keating (Pod, Darling, Carnage Park) returns with a tale of psychos run amok… Yes, multiple disparate psychos. The execution of an infamous serial killer somehow inspires a half-dozen maniacs to lose their collective minds and commit all sorts of nasty acts, but this is not your standard body count movie. Loaded with odd digressions, fractured narratives, and some enjoyably abstract weirdness, this is may be Keating’s strangest, creepiest movie yet.

SEQUENCE BREAK (Midwest Premiere)
USA, 2017
Dir: Graham Skipper
To call this freaky dark romance a love letter to David Cronenberg’s classic Videodrome would be an understatement, but at least writer/director Graham Skipper has awfully good taste in influences. Sequence Break is a story of a lonely guy, a sweet girl, a deserted arcade, and a video game with insidiously biological tendencies - all of which become intertwined in a perverse, melancholic string of events that will leave all of them forever changed.

Previously Announced Films:

RENDEL (North American Premiere)
Finland, 2017
Director: Jesse Haaja

Finland’s first superhero film, Rendel is dystopian action/fantasy unlike anything ever witnessed Stateside. When a massive criminal organization takes over his town, a masked vigilante strikes back through a series of brutal attacks that leave blood spilled and cash ablaze. A dark adventure that harkens to the finest in 80s era comics, Rendel is the anti-Marvel crusader: an all-too-human superhero from the streets, driven solely by rage and revenge!

ATTACK OF THE ADULT BABIES (North American Premeire)
UK, 2017
Director: Dominic Brunt
High-powered middle-aged men intend to refuel the world’s economy by very sinister, sick and monstrous means.
"$1 of each ticket sale will be donated to the ACLU to assist in continuing their support of defending us from further adult baby attacks".

LOWLIFE (U.S. Premiere)
USA, 2017
Director: Ryan Prows
The sordid lives of an addict, ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong

POOR AGNES (U.S. Premiere)
Canada, 2017
Director: Navin Ramaswaran
A female serial killer and her next victim form an unexpected relationship.

ANIMALS (TIERE) (Midwest Premiere)
Germany, 2017
Director: Greg Zglinski
A vehicle collision with a sheep on a country road initiates a whole series of weird an unsettling experiences for a couple in this darkly comical Lynchian nightmare.

BEFORE WE VANISH (Midwest Premiere)
Japan, 2017
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Three aliens travel to Earth in preparation for a mass invasion, taking possession of human bodies.

DEAD SHACK (Midwest Premiere)
Canada, 2017
Director: Peter Ricq
While staying at a run down cabin in the woods, three children must save their parents from the neighbor who intends to feed them to her un-dead family.

HAGAZUSSA - A HEATHEN’S CURSE (Midwest Premiere)
Germany, 2017
Director: Lukas Feigelfeld
Set in the Austrian Alps during the middle ages, this morbid and visually stunning tale deals with the fine line between ancient beliefs in magic and delusional psychosis

HOUSEWIFE (Midwest Premiere)
Turkey, 2017
Director: Can Evrenol
On a snowy eve a young girl’s sister and father are killed by her mother. 20 years later and slowly losing her grip on reality, she runs into a celebrity psychic who claims he is destined to help her. And then things get ultra weird. From the director of Baskin.

JAILBREAK (Midwest Premiere)
Cambodia, 2017
Director: Jimmy Henderson
An entire prison riots and they all get their ass-kicked by a special task force sent in to protect a key witness.

MOHAWK (Midwest Premiere)
USA, 2017
Director: Ted Geoghegan
Late in the war of 1812, a young Mohawk woman and her two lovers battle a squad of American soldiers hell-bent on revenge. From the director of We Are Still Here.

TRENCH 11 (Midwest Premiere)
Canada, 2017
Director: Leo Scherman
In the final days of WWI a shell-shocked soldier must lead a mission deep beneath the trenches to stop a German plot that could turn the tide of the war. But what lies beneath is way more dark & sinister than they ever could have imagined.

VERONICA (Midwest Premiere)
Spain, 2017
Director: Paco Plaza
After making a Ouija with friends, a teenager is besieged by dangerous supernatural presences that threaten to harm her whole family. From the director of the REC franchise.

TRAGEDY GIRLS (Illinois Premiere)
USA, 2017
Director: Tyler MacIntyre
This twist on the slasher genre follows two death-obsessed teenage girls who use their online show about real-life tragedies to send their small mid-western town into a frenzy and cement their legacy as modern horror legends.


CINEPOCALYPSE 2017 JURY MEMBERS

Cinepocalypse 2017’s Feature Film Jury is comprised of actress/producer Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond, We Are Still Here), critic and Chicago Film Critics Festival producer Erik Childress, and critic/author Mark Millar (Pirouette/Jungle Book).

The festival’s Short Film Jury is made up of writer/director Gary Sherman (Raw Meat, Dead & Buried)
Lisa Holmes (Director of Sales, Home Entertainment at Music Box Films and Doppelganger Releasing), and actor/producer/editor Shane Simmons.


SHORTS FILMS - LADIES FIRST!

Once Cinepocalypse whittled down its hundreds of short film submissions into a small pile of favorites, the realization was made that a startling amount of them were directed by women. So why not, the programmers decided, showcase all of ‘em in one wildly eclectic block?! These shorts cover a wide array of subjects, from small-town psychos to otherworldly mysteries, and all sorts of insanity in between. Cinepocalypse is donating 50% of all proceeds from this screening to The Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

These year’s short films are:


Beautiful Injuries
Dir: Judith Beauvallet

Blood Shed
Dir: James Moran

Brown Wreck-Loose
Dir: Tristian Montgomery

Broadside
Dir: Laura Nitz

Buzzcut
Dir: Jon Rhoads

The Dollmaker
Dir: Al Lougher

Don’t Ever Change
Dir: Don Swaynos

Feeding Time
Dir: Matt Mercer

Flow
Dir: Shelagh Rowan-Legg

For a Good Time Call
Dir: Izzy Lee

Imbroglio
Dir: Christopher Zatta
Incendo
Dir: Slater Dixon

Latch
Dir: Justin Harding

Over Easy
Dir: Laura Nitz

Pendulum
Dir: Lauren Cooney

Remote Viewing
Dir: Robert Puccinelli

Third Wheel
Dir: Danny DelPurgatori

Roohangiz
Dir: Elmira Bagherzadah

Sleazy Pete
Dir: Frank Appache



We Summed a Demon
Dir: Chris McInroy

What Metal Girls Are Into
Dir: Laurel Vail

Your Date Is Here
Dir: Todd Spence

Eric Roberts Is The Fucking Man!

With over 476 acting credits (and growing by the day). Oscar nominated thespian and just all around badass Eric Roberts (!!!) takes part in a very special live recording of Doug Tilley & Liam O’Donnell’s acclaimed film podcast ERIC ROBERTS IS THE FUCKING MAN. Though there are dozens of episodes that have been produced without the man Eric Roberts involved, Cinepocalypse is proud to introduce the parties to each other for the first time ever!

We promise this will be one of the most epic events of the festival!

The Cinepocalypse Midnight Movie Challenge
The production team at Boulderlight Pictures consists of 23-year-old JD Lifshitz and 24-year-old Raphael Margules. Alongside both Contracted films, they also produced Bad Match, which received its premiere at FrightFest; the upcoming Dismissed (starring Dylan Krause); and numerous other genre titles.

With their youthful exuberance and heavy output, we've issued them a challenge: produce a genre feature exclusively for Cinepocalypse 2017. There are no parameters other than it must be a feature-length midnight movie, and that they must begin production immediately upon release of this announcement.

Together, attendees of Cinepocalypse will all experience the World Premiere of this yet-untitled (and unwritten… and unfilmed) production during a special midnight slot in this year’s inaugural festival!

Josh Goldbloom, Founder and Artistic Director of The Awesome Fest and what had been known as Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Festival, and Ryan Oestreich, General Manager of The Music Box Theatre, aim to make this year bigger, better, and scarier than any in the festival’s history. Since 2014, the festival has terrorized audiences with an annual slate of premiere films, guests, and bloodcurdling entertainment. Leaving a trail of apocalyptic annihilation in the suburbs, as Cinepocalypse, the festival sheds its suburban skin, forms an epic alliance with the city’s historic Music Box Theatre and reemerges as a brand new horror behemoth for Chicago.

The Music Box Theatre stands as one of the nation’s most prestigious art house theatres, and has recently made a concerted effort to diversify programming and bolster local audiences. Located on the city’s Northside at 3733 North Southport Ave, The Music Box's year-round programming has consistently offered genre fans some of the very finest cinematic experiences in digital, 35mm, and 70mm formats.

Coen Brothers' Blood Simple 4K Digital Restoration Opens at Music Box July 8th

ChiIL Flix Picks

BLOOD SIMPLE, the first film by Joel and Ethan Coen, opens at The Music Box Theatre on Friday, July 8^th, 2016 on a stunning 4K Digital Restoration!

To honor this brand new restoration, The Music Box has programmed A Coen Brothers Retrospective. Films include FARGO, BARTON FINK, and THE MAN WHO ISN’T THERE. Each film will be shown on 35mm! Schedule to be announced. 

BLOOD SIMPLE opens on a brand new restoration  at The Music Box on Friday, July 8th. Color correction and restoration were supervised and approved by filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, as well as director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld. For further information on BLOOD SIMPLE and the Coen Brothers retrospective, please visit www.musicboxtheatre.com.

About Joel and Ethan Coen- (writers/directors/ producers/editors)

The Coen Brothers began making films in their backyard as children, using a Super 8 camera to re-create late-night-TV staples in a manner that foreshadowed their future tendency to re-envision classic Hollywood genres. After Joel graduated from New York University’s lm program and worked on a number of industrial films (as well as future Coen collaborator Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead), and Ethan completed his studies in philosophy at Princeton, the pair teamed up in 1984 to produce Blood Simple, which made waves at the Sundance Film Festival and quickly became a critical hit upon its commercial release. Having established themselves as key figures in the new American independent cinema of the 1980s, the brothers further burnished their reputation with increasingly popular films such as Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, and Barton Fink, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and garnered three Academy Award nominations.

About BLOOD SIMPLE-

This razor-sharp modern lm noir, the rst lm by Joel and Ethan Coen, introduced the brothers’ inimitable black humor and eccentric sense of character, a sensibility that has helped shape the course of contemporary American cinema. Deep in the heart of Texas, a sleazy bar owner suspects his wife of having an a air and hires a private detective to con rm his suspicions—only to have the crosshairs turned back on himself. Playfully shot by Barry Sonnenfeld and featuring a haunting score by Carter Burwell and a cunning performance by Frances McDormand, Blood Simple was a career-launching lm for this ensemble and the rst articulation of the precision of style that has de ned the Coens’ work ever since.

About The Music Box Theatre-

For the last two decades, the Music Box Theatre has been the premiere venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films. It currently has the largest theater space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through itsMusic Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States.

Follow The Music Box Theatre on Instagram @musicboxchicago and Twitter @musicboxtheatre

The Music Theatre Hosts The 4th Annual Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) Festival 5/20-26

Films On Our Radar:

The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) Festival kicks off on Friday, May 20^th, 2016 at The Music Theatre!

This year's lineup will include 25 feature films and shorts. This programming brings together an eclectic array of films ranging from raucous comedies and foreign-made dramas to thought-provoking documentaries and midnight genre films.

Special guest appearances include Craig Robinson (Morris From America), Martin Starr (Operator), Anne Hamilton (American Fable), Ira Sachs (Little Men), Ti West (In a Valley of Violence), Michael Pena (War on Everyone) among others!

Now in its fourth year, the CFCA festival will run May 20-26th, 2016 and will be held once again at Chicago's historic Music Box Theatre. Click HERE for Program Scheduling.

Passes are also on sale HERE 

The CFCA will be programming the following titles as part of this year's program at The Music Box Theatre:

Beauty and the Beast

Christophe Gans, the director of such visually stunning films as "Brotherhood of the Wolf" and "Silent Hill," unites two of France's biggest stars, Vincent Cassel and Lea Seydoux, to produce this lavish live-action version of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's classic fantasy story that has already served as the basis for two classic screen adaptations from Jean Cocteau and Disney. For those of you who somehow missed those, it tells the story of a beautiful young woman who agrees to become the prisoner of a ferocious beast in order to save her beloved father's life and eventually learns that there is more to him than his gruff exterior would suggest.

The Blackcoat's Daughter

Set on a nearly deserted prep school campus during winter break, the debut feature from writer/director Oz Perkins (son of Anthony Perkins) follows two students (Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton) who have been left behind and a young woman (Emma Roberts) who has just left the hospital and is hitchhiking towards the school with a seemingly good-natured couple (James Remar and Lauren Holly). Needless to say, something is clearly amiss but what exactly it is and how it connects these seemingly unrelated characters is what gave audiences a start when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was formerly known as “February”.

Goat

Co-written by David Gordon Green and based on the memoir by Brad Land, this harrowing drama follows a 19-year-old boy, who, following a brutal assault, pledges the college fraternity to which his older brother belongs. As the hazing rituals grow more and more dangerous, he finds himself reconsidering his loyalty to both his brother and his new-found allies. Directed by former documentarian Andrew Neel and co-starring Nick Jonas and James Franco, the film offers an eye-opening look at some of the more appalling aspects of masculinity in contemporary society.

Hunt For the Wilderpeople

From Taika Waititi, the writer-director-star of "What We Do In The Shadows," comes the comedic coming-of-age story of Ricky (Julian Dennison), an unruly orphan boy who is dropped off at a remote farm with the latest in a long string of foster parents, the cheerful Aunt Bella and the more taciturn Uncle Hec (Sam Neill). For a while, everything works out fine, but when a tragedy strikes that threatens to remove Ricky to another family, he and Uncle Hec take off into the bush and, thanks to a series of odd events, unexpectedly find themselves at the center of a nationwide manhunt. 

Life, Animated

Based on the memoir by Ron Suskind, this documentary tells the story of his autistic son Owen and how they still managed to communicate with each other utilizing characters and dialogue from Disney animated films that were the only thing that seemed to truly engage the boy. Mixing live-action and animation, the film shows  how Owen was able to utilize his responses to these films as a way to explore his own personal feelings while growing up, and to help him as he makes his first steps towards adulthood and independence.

Morris From America

Directed by Chad Hartigan (whose previous feature, "This is Martin Bonner," was part of the first Chicago Critics Film Festival), this crowd-pleasing comedy follows the adolescent misadventures of a 13-year-old American boy (Markees Christmas) growing up in Germany while living with his father (Craig Robinson). This film was a hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and a Special Jury Award for Individual Performance for Robinson.

Trash Fire

In this super-dark comedy with horrific overtones from Richard Bates Jr. (whose "Excision" managed to make even the most dedicated genre buffs squirm in their seats), Adrien Grenier stars as an unpleasant young man who, to please his pregnant girlfriend (Angela Trimbur) and prove that he can be a reliable father figure, agrees to visit the estranged grandmother (Fionnula Flanagan) and sister (Annalynn McCord) that are his only living relatives. Although the two make the trip in order to allow him to bury the hatchet at last, they soon discover that family ties can choke as well as bind. 

American Fable

American Fable is a fairytale thriller set in the 1980s Midwest farm crisis about a courageous girl living in a dark and sometimes magical world. When 11-year-old Gitty discovers that her beloved father is hiding a wealthy man in her family’s silo in order to save their struggling farm, she befriends the captive in secret and quickly becomes trapped between protecting her family and her soul.

Another Evil

After encountering a ghost in his family’s vacation home, a modern artist and his wife hire an “industrial-grade exorcist” to get rid of the beings. But he soon realizes that ridding the home of evil won’t be as simple as it seems.

Contemporary Color

In the summer of 2015, legendary musician David Byrne staged an event at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to celebrate the art of Color Guard: synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles, and sabers. Recruiting performers that include the likes of Saint Vincent, Nelly Furtado, Ad-Rock, and Ira Glass to collaborate on original pieces with 10 color guard teams from across the US and Canada.

Dark Night

The lives of six strangers intersect at a suburban Cineplex where a massacre occurs.

Demon

A bridegroom is possessed by an unquiet spirit in the midst of his own wedding celebration, in this clever take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk.

Disorder

Vincent is an ex-soldier with PTSD who is hired to protect the wife and child of a wealthy Lebanese businessman while he’s out of town. Despite the apparent tranquility on Maryland, Vincent perceives an external threat.

First Girl I Loved

With Dylan Gelula (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) in attendance.

Seventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her LA public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend Clifton—who has always harbored a secret crush—he does his best to get in the way.

The Fits

While training at the gym 11-year-old tomboy Toni becomes entranced with a dance troupe. As she struggles to fit in she finds herself caught up in danger as the group begins to suffer from fainting spells and other violent fits.

In a Valley of Violence

With Writer/Director Ti West in attendance!

A mysterious stranger, and a random act of violence drags a town of misfits and nitwits into the bloody crosshairs of revenge.

Into the Forest

With Director Patricia Rozema in attendance

In the not-too-distant future, two young women who live in a remote ancient forest discover the world around them is on the brink of an apocalypse. Informed only by rumor, they fight intruders, disease, loneliness and starvation.

Joshy

With Adam Pally in attendance

Josh treats what would have been his bachelor party as an opportunity to reconnect with his friends.

Little Men

With Writer/Director Ira Sachs in attendance!

A new pair of best friends have their bond tested by their parents’ battle over a dress shop lease.

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World

Werner Herzog’s exploration of the Internet and the connected world.

My Blind Brother

The rivalry between two brothers reaches a fever pitch during a charity swim competition.

Nuts!

The mostly true story of Dr. John Romulus Brinkley, an eccentric genius who built an empire with his goat-testicle impotence cure and a million-watt radio station.

Operator

CLOSING NIGHT FILM!

With Martin Starr, Writer/Director Logan Kibens and Writer Sharon Greene in attendance!

Joe (Martin Starr) is a programmer and self-quantifier who uses the data he collects to make sense of the world and control his panic attacks. He and his wife Emily (Mae Whitman), a member of the Neo-Futurists, are happily married until they start working together on a project that promises to replicate Emily’s personality. What begins as a collaboration that strengthens their relationship quickly spirals into a technological love triangle in this dark comedy about love in the age of anxiety shot on location in Andersonville.

The Other Half

Nickie Bellow (Tom Cullen) is a self-destructive drifter, ever mourning the disappearance of his younger brother. Then he meets Emily (Tatiana Maslany) and the two form an immediate, inseparable bond – it is love at first sight deepened by a shared sense of sorrow. After a short amount of time, his PTSD and her bipolar disorder surface complicating their new-found intimacy. For Nickie and Emily, time does not heal all wounds, but could real love indeed conquer all?

For the most current details, along with information on the festival as a whole and a look back at previous years, please go to www.chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com

About The CFCA-

The CFCA has always been dedicated to supporting and celebrating quality filmmaking that has something to say about our world, our lives, and our society. In the past, while it supported and fought for the continued role of film critics in the media, the CFCA's primary public interaction was through the announcement of its annual film awards each December. In recent years, however, the CFCA moved aggressively to expand its presence on the Chicago arts scene and to promote critical thin king about cinema to a wider base. In 2012, in addition to re-launching a late-winter awards ceremony, CFCA members presented numerous film screenings at theaters like the Studio Movie Grill in Wheaton, and Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18 in Rosemont. Illinois. CFCA members also team-taught a new Young People's Film Criticism Workshop at Facets Multimedia that emphasized not just film analysis and criticism, but also writing skills to middle- and high-school students, many of whom were attending the course on lower-income scholarships. With this film festival, we intend to take the next step.

About The Music Box Theatre-

For the last two decades, the Music Box Theatre has been the premiere venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films. It currently has the largest theater space operated full time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned and operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States.

Follow The Music Box Theatre on Instagram @musicboxchicago and Twitter @musicboxtheatre

OPENING TODAY: Sightseers at Music Box #review #film #blackcomedy

Films on our radar.   Highly recommended.    

Sightseers Opens in Chicago Today, Friday, May 17th at The Music Box!

Here at ChiIL Live Shows, we caught a sneak peek at Sightseers and highly recommend it if you dig dark humor.   This welcome addition to the road trip killers genre ala Bonnie and Clide and Natural Born Killers follows a benign looking but lethal English couple on a cross country killing spree.

It's a charmingly cathartic wish fulfillment movie in that the couple kills anyone that annoys them.   I'm reminded of the Talking Heads line from Psycho Killer "...I hate people when they're not polite."   Who can say they've never fantasized about "accidentally" offing rude strangers.   Fortunately most of us stop far short of acting on those thoughts.  Still, the concept makes for a hilarious film.   

Amid the downright banality of a museum tour road trip to such winning locals as Crich Tramway Museum, the Ribblehead Viaduct, and the Keswick Pencil Museum, trigger tempered Chris inadvertently creates an avid disciple.   When Tina discovers her new beau is a psycho killer, instead of doing the sensible thing like fleeing and turning him in, she embraces his unfortunate habit and becomes a jealous, dognapping murderess herself, much to his chagrine.

The scariest thing about this film is the utter normality of the protagonists.   They could easily be the couple camped out next to you this summer.

  

Sightseers A FILM BY BEN WHEATLEY STARRING ALICE LOWE, STEVE ORAM, EILEEN DAVIES “A wicked little pic in which a tacky couple discovers that cross-country road-tripping makes it surprisingly easy -- and fun! -- to knock off the more obnoxious characters they encounter en route.” –Peter Debruge, Variety Fri, May 17   2:15pm · 5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm Sat, May 18   2:15pm · 5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm Sun, May 19   2:15pm · 5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm Mon, May 20   5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm Tue, May 21     5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm Wed, May 22      5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm Thu, May 23   5:00pm · 7:15pm · 9:30pm

Music Box Says:

This week we’re opening Sightseers, the new film from director Ben Wheatley (Kill List). In this gleefully gory laugh riot, Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn. Produced by Shaun Of The Dead creator Edgar Wright and co-written & starring members of The Mighty Boosh and Garth Merenghi’s Dark Place, this black comedy is not to be missed! Check out The Playlist’s 5 Reasons You Must See Sightseers

About the film

A pair of sad-sack lovers turns into a frumpy Bonnie and Clyde as their romantic getaway to the English countryside turns into a bloody killing spree.

Directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List), Chris (Steve Oram) wants to show Tina (Alice Lowe) his world and he wants to do it his way - on a journey through the British Isles in his beloved Abbey Oxford Caravan. Tina's led a sheltered life and there are things that Chris needs her to see - the Crich Tramway Museum, the Ribblehead Viaduct, the Keswick Pencil Museum and the rolling countryside that accompanies these wonders in his life.

But it doesn't take long for the dream to fade. Litterbugs, noisy teenagers and pre-booked caravan sites, not to mention Tina's meddling mother, soon conspire to shatter Chris's dreams and send him, and anyone who rubs him up the wrong way, over a very jagged edge...

Dir. BEN WHEATLEY | English | 88m |

Film details.
What: Sightseers
Where: The Music Box Theatre
When: Opens Friday, May 17th

More at Music Box:
Our Orson Welles matinee series continues this weekend with The Trial. Welles and Anthony Perkins star in this gripping adaptation of Franz Kafka’s tale of a nightmarish totalitarian state. Given 4 stars by Roger Ebert, the Music Box is thrilled to give our patrons the rare chance to see this film on the big screen!
 

This weekend, cult classics come out at midnight. On Friday, it’s The Room, director/writer/“actor” Tommy Wiseau’s bizarre drama about love and betrayal (Purchase advance tickets now). Then, on Saturday night, it’s The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Grab a virgin kit and join the Midnight Madness shadow cast for a party that’s been going on for over 35 years (Purchase advance tickets now).

CIMMfest No. 5 CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF THE ROLLING STONES ON FILM WITH CIMMPATHY FOR THE STONES, APRIL 19-21 AT MUSIC BOX THEATRE #CIMMfest

Tickets on sale now

Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMMfest No. 5), Chicago’s annual festival of film screenings, music concerts and more, presents CIMMpathy for The Stones, a major retrospective celebrating The Rolling Stones’ 50 years of music on film. The retrospective includes screenings of ten concert films and documentaries – two never before seen in Chicago – plus music videos and filmmaker Q&As Friday-Sunday, April 19-21, at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport. 

ABKCO Films’ Mick Gochanour and Robin Klein will be in attendance for audience Q&As following a trio of critically acclaimed films. These are: The Rolling Stones Charlie is my Darling - Ireland 1965, documenting The Stones’ first professionally filmed concert; the lost holy grail of rock films The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus (1968); and Albert Maysles’ Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!  ABKCO Films’ Sympathy for the Devil, directed by auteur Jean-Luc Godard, also screens as part of the retrospective.

CIMMpathy for The Stones marks the Chicago premiere of the documentary Rolling Like a Stone (2005), which begins with a forgotten 1965 home movie of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones at an after-concert party in Sweden. Rolling Like a Stone won Best Music Documentary at the SilverDocs Film Festival. Also making its Chicago premiere is I Got the Blues in Austin, a visit with Austin's legendary surviving blues artists with Mick’s brother Chris Jagger. D Richard Jernigan and featured blues singer Lavelle Whitewill be present for a Q&A.

CIMMpathy for The Stones kicks off Friday at the Music Box with the concert film Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones at the Checkerboard Lounge, Live Chicago 1981. 

CIMMpathy for the Stones Film Schedule

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

6:00PM Muddy Waters and The Rolling Stones at the Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago 1981

Chicago blues played a seminal role on the Stones early sound (so much so that they recorded at Chess Studios in 1964). On November 22, 1981, during their US tour, The Stones visited Chicago's South Side to catch Muddy Waters performing at the legendary Checkerboard Lounge. Before long, Mick, Keith, Ronnie and Ian Stewart joined Muddy on stage, as did Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and Lefty Dizz.

8:00PM The Rolling Stones Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland, 1965 (dirs. Mick Gochanour, Peter Whitehead)

Newly discovered, never-before-seen-footage has been woven into an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of early life on the road with The Stones. Shot just weeks after "Satisfaction" hit #1 on the charts, it features their first professionally filmed concert. Charlie is my Darling-Ireland 1965 captures the band before they became legend.

+ Q&A with director Mick Gochanour and producer Robin Klein

9:45PM Stones in Exile (dir. Stephen Kijak)

In the spring of 1971, The Rolling Stones reluctantly departed the UK to take up residence in France. Keith Richards settled in a villa, and this became the venue for the recording of much of the band's masterpiece Exile on Main Street. Stones in Exile tells the story in the band's own words and through extensive archive footage of their time away from England and the creation of this extraordinary double album, which many regard as the Rolling Stones' finest achievement.

with:

The Rolling Stones music Videos: “Jumpin Jack Flash” (make up version); “Child Of The Moon”; “Have You Seen Your Mother Baby”; “We Love You”; “2000 Light Years From Home”

SATURDAY, APRIL 20

2:00PM Some Girls - Live In Texas '78 (dir. Lynn Lenau Calmes)

Shot on 16mm during The Rolling Stones' 1978 US Tour, after the release of Some Girls, this tour film documents what many consider one of the very best Stones shows at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 18th, 1978. This is undeniably The Rolling Stones at the peak of their form.

4:30PM Rolling Like a Stone (dirs. Stefan Berg, Magnus Gertten) Chicago Premiere

The starting point for this film is an 8mm amateur home movie shot in 1965, where Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Brian Jones attend an after-concert party with local musicians and pop fans. For some the party never ends. Immortalized by this forgotten home movie, the party-goers try - 40 years later - to make sense of these memories, and the eternal question of "What could have been?" 

6:15PM Sympathy for the Devil (dir. Jean-Luc Godard)

Jean-Luc Godard captures The Rolling Stones in the mist of producing their soon-to- become anthemic "Sympathy for the Devil," in London's Olympic recording studio. Beginning as a ballad, the track gradually acquires a pulsating groove. Juxtaposed against themes of revolution and democracy, the film is a brilliant portrait of the creative process at its most collaborative and arousing.

8:15PM The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (dir. Michael Lindsay-Hogg)

Long considered the lost holy grail of rock films, this two-day event features circus fire-eaters, acrobats and clowns alongside extraordinary live performances by The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, The Dirty Mac Band (John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell), Yoko Ono and The Rolling Stones. As David Dalton so aptly put it, "For a brief moment, it seemed that rock 'n' roll would inherit the earth."

+ Q&A with filmmakers Mick Gochanour and Robin Klein

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

2:00PM Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (dir. Rollin Binzer)

The legendary Rolling Stones concert film shot over four nights in Texas during the Exile on Main Street tour in 1972. This is one of the finest Rolling Stones concerts ever captured on film.

4:00PM I Got the Blues in Austin (dir. Richard Jernigan) Chicago Premiere

As The Rolling Stones prepare to play Austin, Chris Jagger, broadcaster and brother of the legendary Mick, joins local radio host John Peyton and visits Austin's legendary surviving blues artists, including: the late Pinetop Perkins, Lavelle White, Jimmie Ray Vaughan and Hubert Sumlin. The film culminates with a heartwarming jam session between Pinetop Perkins and The Rolling Sessions backstage. I Got the Blues in Austin allows audiences to spend intimate moments with the last of a blues generation in Austin like no other.

+ Q&A with director Richard Jernigan and featured blues singer Lavelle White

with:

Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! (dirs. Albert Maysles, Bradley Kaplan, Ian Marciewicz)

A spellbinding film diary of five songs performed at Madison Square Garden during The Rolling Stones' 1969 U.S. tour, a photo shoot featuring Mick, Charlie and a donkey, a mixing session at Olympic Studios, backstage tête-à-têtes between Keith, Jimi Hendrix and Mick Taylor, and a heliport summit meeting before Altamont.

+ Q&A with producers Mick Gochanour and Robin Klein

Thirteen world premieres, a film/music tribute with Melvin Van Peebles, closing night film The Source Family and much more highlight CIMMfest No. 5. The four-day festival annually brings together filmmakers, musicians and devotees from around the world for a celebration of movies and music at various venues centered around Chicago’s Wicker Park and Logan Square neighborhoods, with a satellite location at the Music Box Theatre. CIMMpathy for The Stones is co-presented by WXRT, ABKCO Films and Eagle Rock Entertainment.

More than 70 music-centric films from 27 countries will be screened, including features, documentaries, shorts, concert films, animation and music videos, all with music at their center.  Playing a bigger role this year will be the live music component, including 50 bands, live film scoring, live concerts by documentary film subjects and more. The complete program lineup is available at www.CIMMfest.org. The complete schedule of films and locations is below.

FESTIVAL TICKETS & VENUES

Single tickets to CIMMpathy for The Stones movies are $10 in advance at www.CIMMfest.org or day of show at the Music Box Theatre box office. The best way to guarantee attendance at CIMMfest No. 5 programming is via purchase of an All-Access Festival pass, priced at $79 and now available at www.CIMMfest.org.  Festival passes not only offer a substantial savings on individual tickets but provide access to four days of outstanding premiere films, concerts, Q&As, performances, afterparties and more. 

Corporate and Community sponsors of CIMMfest No. 5 include Columbia College Chicago, ACME Hotel, Ticketfly, ABKCO, Wicker Park Bucktown SSA #33, the Logan Theatre, the Music Box Theatre, The Society for Arts and Eagle Rock Entertainment.

A recent Driehaus Foundation Grant winner, CIMMfest is a Non-profit 501(c)3 organization.  For information on how to get involved, visit www.CIMMfest.org.

ABOUT CIMMFEST

The mission of the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMMfest) is to highlight the inseparability of film and music through the production of an annual four-day, multi-venue festival. CIMMfest is a convergence event that highlights the interconnectedness of all people shown through the lens of music and movies, on stage and on screen.  All participating films have music at their center: short and long form documentaries and narrative fiction; concert films; animation; music videos; performances; live concert events; art exhibits; and panel discussions, presented at both new and historic venues around Chicago.  CIMMfest is a platform for filmmakers and musicians, artists and producers, to present their vision and offer a connection point for people to come together for a celebration of movies, music and good times in the greatest city on earth – Chicago!  For more information, visit www.CIMMfest.org. 

ABOUT ABKCO

ABKCO Music & Records is one of the world’s leading independent entertainment companies. It is home to iconic catalog assets that include compositions and recordings by Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Bobby Womack, Eric Burdon, The Animals, Herman’s Hermits, Marianne Faithfull, The Kinks as well as the Cameo Parkway masters by such artists as Chubby Checker, Bobby Rydell, Clint Eastwood, The Orlons, The Dovells, ? & The Mysterians, Charlie Gracie, The Tymes and Dee Dee Sharp. Soundtrack releases include Wes Anderson’s 2013 Academy Award®-nominated Moonrise Kingdom, The Darjeeling Limited and the 2010 Academy Award®-nominated Fantastic Mr. Fox, Independent Spirit Award®-winner Safety Not Guaranteed, Our Idiot Brother, the international blockbuster Fast Five, Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, The Men Who Stare at Goats the soundtrack to the first season of the hit Showtime® series, Californication.ABKCO is active on many fronts including the release of critically lauded compilations and reissues from its catalog, film and commercial placement of its master recordings and music publishing properties in all media.  ABKCO Films most recent release is The Rolling Stones Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965. has been involved with many successful movies including The Greek Tycoon  Quinn and Jacqueline Bisset, La Grande Bouffe of the International Critics prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and The Concert for Bangladesh uring Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Bob Dylan and Ringo Starr. Renowned cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain, restored and remastered to HD, were shown at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival (Classics section) and at the prestigious 44th New York Film Festival. In 2003 ABKCO Films won a Grammy for the DVD release of Sam Cooke – Legend and the following year released the DVD of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus to universal acclaim. Upcoming releases include a restoration of the Spaghetti Western Blindman Ringo Starr. ABKCO Films is in pre-production on a biopic on the life of Sam Cooke.

ABOUT EAGLE ROCK

Eagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-ray, TV and Digital Media in the world. Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, High Definition and 3D programmes, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Who, Queen, The Doors, Jeff Beck, U2, Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney and Ozzy Osbourne. Eagle’s TV library features over 2,000 hours of programming and there are over 800 titles currently available worldwide on DVD, Blu-ray and digitally. Eagle is a Grammy Award-winning company and has received over 30 Multi-Platinum, over 50 Platinum and over 90 Gold Discs, worldwide. Eagle continues to operate two audio music labels and has recently released both physical and digital albums by Ronnie Wood, Lindsay Buckingham, Gary Moore, Styx and Counting Crows.  Eagle is also now a fully fledged music publisher through its new subsidiary, Eagle-i Music. Eagle Rock Entertainment has offices in London, New York, Toronto, Paris and Hamburg.