FEST ALERT: Pride Winter Film Fest to include award-winning dramatic and documentary features and an international program of “Hot Holiday Shorts”

Festival to stream December 7 – January 8.

Pride Film Fest will follow its successful fall series of weekly LGBTQ online film screenings with a winter festival consisting of four separate programs, each streaming for 11 days. The festival will begin December 7, 2022, and continue through January 8, 2023. The feature films will include several award winners.  

The winter series will open with the feature-length documentary PAT ROCCO DARED – the life story of one of Hollywood’s gay pioneers, remembered both for his political activism and his erotic gay films. The film has won five “Best Documentary” awards in recent festivals from Australia, France, and throughout the United States. This winner of 10 awards overall has been seen in nearly 40  festivals worldwide and will stream from December 7-18.

Second in the festival will be the award-winning 2022 feature UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS, winner of two awards in the 2022 LA Outfest (Best Narrative Feature, Outstanding Performance in a Narrative Feature) and winner for Outstanding First Feature award in the 2022 Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival. This entertaining road-trip dramatic film involving a dwarf and his alien-obsessed neighbor will stream from December 14-25.

Concluding the winter festival will be the Canada’s DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR, a dramatic feature about a trans woman returning home and introducing her new identity to her family on a farm in Nova Scotia, which will stream from December 28, 2022 – January 8, 2023.DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR has been recognized in eight recent film festivals in the US, Canada and Australia, in which it has won awards for Best Feature, Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Audience Choice.

 

From UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS. 

The festival’s third week will be HOT HOLIDAY SHORTS - a program of eight short films from the USA, France, Germany, Russia, and Denmark. The program explores gay male sexuality in genres ranging from the erotic, humorous, poetic, and fantastic; in situations that depict seduction, comic misunderstandings, and the support and freedom found within the gay community. The shorts will stream from December 21, 2022 – January 1, 2023.

 

From the short film BROTHERS. 

Access to the films is $12.00 per film. Monthly memberships are also available for $10.00 per month which entitles the purchaser to a $5.00 discount on each of the festival programs ($7.00 per program) plus one free membership event and free admission to an Open Space Arts staged play reading to take place in 2023. 

Tickets for the individual programs are now on sale HERE

Membership passes are available HERE

 Winter 2022-23 Pride Film Festival –Complete Schedule

Week 1 – December 7 - 18, 2022

PAT ROCCO DARED

(2021, USA, 1:30)

Directed by Morris Chapdelaine and Bob Christie

Written by Bob Christie

In this colorful trip back in time, filmmaker and activist Pat Rocco shares his incredible life story as one of Hollywood's original boundary-pushing gay pioneers, remembered both for his political activism and his erotic gay films. The cast includes Phyllis Diller, Rev. Troy Perry and Harvey Milk. Winner of 10 awards in festivals throughout the United States and the world.

 

Week 2 – December 14 – 25, 2022

UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS (2022, USA, 1:40)

Directed by Juan Felipe Zuleta

Written by Juan Felipe Zuleta and Leland Frankel

One of the most entertaining and unique road-trip movies! An uptight dwarf and his free-spirited, alien-obsessed neighbor hit the road on a border-defying search for their place in the universe. 2022 Award winner - Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival  (Outstanding First Feature), 2022 LA Outfest (Best Narrative Feature, Outstanding Performance in a Narrative Feature).

Week 3 – December 21, 2022 – January 1, 2023

HOT HOLIDAY SHORTS - Gay short films from the Gonella Film Collection 

 

 

 

Clockwise from top left: BROTHERS, FIRE ISLAND, LA DISYUNTIVA, LE DERNIER MATIN DU MONDE.  

BROTHERS (France/Russia, 9:20)

Damien and François decided to come out of the closet today, but no one believed them. They didn't look gay enough.

FIRE ISLAND ‘79 (USA, 7:44)

Directed by Todd Verow and Patrick McGuinn

Written by Todd Verow

When filmmaker Chase Hook committed suicide on December 31st, 1979, his conservative family destroyed all his gay erotic films. Recently super8 home movies of his last summer on Fire Island were found, along with the tape from his answering machine. The contrast between the natural freedom of the beach and the messages he got is remarkable.

LA DISYUNTIVA (Germany, 13:00)

Directed by Antonio Zucherino

Two men walk agitatedly on a dirt road between underbrush until one follows the other in the foliage. This short is intense and sexual.

LE DERNIER MATIN DU MONDE (France, 8:34)

A young man on Christmas Eve prostitutes himself in the streets of Paris when he meets a character who may be an angel Guardian.

 

Clockwise from top left: LE GOUT DE L'AUTRE, LOVE YOU TYLER, PD, and SPANDEX. 

LE GOÛT DE L'AUTRE (France, 8:43)

Written and directed by Jordan Fleury Kervella

Over a cup of tea, Julien tries to seduce Alan. Surprised, Alan avoids Julien. After this failure, Julien goes back to his sex addiction. Julien’s memories and imagination join to lose himself until he enters the poetic world of Alan.

LOVE YOU TYLER (USA, 8:42)

Directed by Ari Itkin and Devon Diffenderfer

Things get a little awkward when Luke starts to talk about his new girlfriend, Tyler, who has the same name and career as his straight roommate.  This interaction is funny and unexpected.

PD (France, 7:19)

A cruising area takes on majestic proportions as we discover Greek-esque male bodies in the forest. The sonnets 18, 57, and 20 by William Shakespeare add to the film's Midsummer Night's Dream-like ambiance. PD began as an homage to the book Derek Jarman’s Garden photos by Howard Sooley and is filmed entirely with a mobile phone.

SPANDEX - A TIGHT STORY ABOUT MASCULINITY (Denmark, 23:00)

A lovely black and white film about sports and dance, love and friendship, and leopard print spandex!

Week 4 – December 28, 2022 – January 8, 2023

DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR (2021, Canada, 1:30

After her mother's death, a young trans woman returns to the family farm in Nova Scotia, where she sees her father and sister for the first time in many years and the first time since her transition.DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR has been recognized in eight recent film festivals in the US, Canada and Australia, in which it has won awards for Best Feature, Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Audience Choice.

 

ABOUT PRIDE FILM FEST

Pride Film Fest began in 2012 as Queer Bits, an in-person film festival that was a program of Chicago’s Pride Films and Plays artistic company. In 2002, Pride Film Festival was spun off as off as a separate entity and promises year-round LGBTQ film programming presented in streaming and occasionally in-person formats in Chicago.

Through this abundance of programming, Pride Film Fest will showcase the breadth of world LGBTQ film art – from shorts to features and everything in between - that expresses the variety and complexity of queer life across the globe. The fall schedule will include six separate programs streaming for 12 days each. Themes will explore the experiences of gay men and women, trans, gender queer, non-binary, and even asexual identities.

David Zak is the director of Pride Film Fest, a program of Open Space Arts. Open Space Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to performances related to contemporary issues. This past summer, Open Space Arts presented the world premiere of THE KRAMER PROJECT, a dramatic adaptation by David Zak of Larry Kramer’s seminal 2004 speech, “The Tragedy of Today’s Gays.”

Cinema Night at City Winery Dave Grohl's Sound City THIS Tuesday at 8pm All Ages

CINEMA NIGHT AT CITY WINERY CHICAGO

SPECIAL ALL-AGES SHOWING OF DAVE GROHL’S SOUND CITY

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SPECIALS INCLUDE HALF-PRICE CARAFES OF WINE AND $10 FLATBREADS

  TUESDAY, MAY 20, 8PM

Here at ChiIL Live Shows and ChiIL Mama, Dave Grohl's long been one of our favorites. We're HUGE Nirvana fans and those songs are still in heavy rotation on our ipods.  Grohl is versitile and crazy prolific, playing with a host of greats. Come check out Sound City, the documentary he produced and directed.  It's playing THIS Tuesday at Chicago's hot venue for cool live shows and now films--City Winery!!  ALL AGES.

City Winery Chicago, 1200 W. Randolph Street, follows up the success of its April movie screening, 20 Feet From Stardom, with a special showing of Sound City, the acclaimed documentary directed and produced by Dave Grohl. The story of LA’s unsung analog recording studio in the Valley and the artists who made rock history there features appearances by Neil Young, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, Trent Reznor, Rick Rubin, Mick Fleetwood, Lars Ulrich, John Fogerty, Rick Springfield, Josh Homme, Frank Black, Pat Smear, Barry Manilow, Lindsey Buckingham, Lee Ving, Krist Novoselic and Paul McCartney. Sound City shows Tuesday, May 20, 8 p.m. in City Winery’s performance venue projected onto dual 90-inch screens and heard on City Winery’s state-of-the-art Meyer Sound® system. 

Tickets are $5, and guests receive 50% off carafes of City Winery house-made wines and $10 flatbreads.

Sound City (Dave Grohl,

2013, 108 mins.): Tuesday, May 20, 8 p.m. ($5 general admission)

Deep in the San Fernando Valley, amidst rows of dilapidated warehouses, was rock ’n' roll's best-kept secret: Sound City. America's greatest unsung recording studio housed a one-of-a-kind console, and as its legend grew, seminal bands and artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Rick Springfield, Tom Petty, Metallica and Nirvana all came out to put magic to tape. Directed by Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and featuring interviews and performances from the iconic musicians who recorded some of rock’s greatest albums at the studio, Sound City doesn’t just tell the story of this real-life rock ’n’ roll shrine; it celebrates the human element of music as Grohl gathers some of rock's biggest artists to collaborate on a new album. Using Sound City's legendary analog console, together these artists continue to create musical miracles in a digital world.

All City Winery Chicago events are open to all ages and start at 8pm, unless noted.

To purchase concert tickets or to become a City Winery VinoFile™ member, please call (312) 733-WINE (9463) or visit www.citywinery.com/chicago/.

Sound City joins a diverse lineup of the most respected names in pop, rock, jazz, blues, world music and live lit performing at City Winery Chicago, including previously announced headliners and supporting acts: Spektral Quartet with Julien Labro (May 14); Colin Blunstone with special guest Edward Rogers (May 15); Cathy Richardson Band and Andrew Salgado (May 16); Steep Canyon Rangers (May 18); Sound City (May 20); Story Sessions (May 21); The Westies (May 22); Jackopierce and Phil Jacobson (May 23-24); French Quarter Fest with New Orleans Suspects, Jeffery Broussard & the Creole Cowboys and Sanctified Grumblers (May 26); Burton Cummings from The Guess Who (May 28-29); The Westies and Greg Trooper (May 30); Jukebox Groove (June 1, 2pm); Rising Appalachia and The Way Down Wanderers with Good Graeff (June 1); New Millennium Orchestra with Matt Ulery Trio (June 2); Josh Krajcik (June 3); Sizzling Latin Dance Night with Samuel Del Real and Juvenato (June 4); Bilal (June 5); Orbert Davis Sextet (June 8, 3pm); Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express – “Temple Beautiful with Strings” (June 8); Blitzen Trapper with Parkington Sisters (June 10); World Party with Gabriel Kelley (June 12-13); John Doe with Jesse Dayton (June 14); Carolina Chocolate Drops (June 16-17); Joe Purdy with Brian Wright (June 18-19); Ari Hest (June 20); Carrie Newcomer (June 22); Ginger Baker’s Jazz Confusion (June 23); Preservation Hall Jazz Band (June 24-25); Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis (June 28); Albert Cummings (June 29); Julian Lage and Nels Cline Duo (June 30); Berlin featuring Terri Nunn and Vapornet (July 1); The English Beat (July 2-3); Pedrito Martinez Group (July 4); Louis Prima Jr. & the Witnesses (July 6); Time For Three (July 7); Yarn with special guest Carolina Story (July 9); Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks (July 10); Dr. Ralph Stanley & his Clinch Mountain Boys with Town Mountain (July 11); Dengue Fever (July 12); Marc Cohn (July 17 - 18); Asleep at the Wheel (July 20); An Evening with David Crosby (July 21-22); and Dave Alvin + Phil Alvin with The Guilty Ones (July 24); Matthew Sweet ( July 25); The Bangles (July 27-28); Bruce Cockburn with Jenny Scheinman (Aug. 10-11); Sharon Shannon (Aug. 12).

City Winery Chicago, a fully operational winery, restaurant with outdoor patio, concert hall and private event space, is located in the heart of the West Loop at 1200 W. Randolph, in the historic urban Fulton Market district. The concert hall accommodates up to 300 guests, all seated at tables with complete beverage and dining service, ensuring a comfortable “listening room” experience enhanced by a state-of-the-art Meyer Sound system.  Riedel is the official and exclusive provider of glass ware, showing City Winery’s commitment to enjoying quality wine in a quality vessel. American Airlines is the Official Airline and Crowne Plaza is the Official Hotel of City Winery. For more information, please visit www.citywinery.com.