Film
Persistence of Vision
As you enter the apartment at 55th and Hyde Park, the projector is on your left. Straight ahead, a canvas covered with what looks like multi-colored sponges hangs on a wall. When I ask about it, Julian Antos urges me to take it off their hands: “I just hate feeling like my home is... »
A Vile Attraction
My companion Chris sits at a decade-old computer adorned with a webcam and surrounded by eight ornate red candles, patiently reading a blog post linked from the desktop: “Born like this / Into this / As the chalk faces smile / As Mrs. Death laughs / As the elevators break / As the political... »
15 More Minutes
After the Ramova closed in 1986, in 2001, the city took over the building—seemingly the final nail in a coffin containing a piece of Bridgeport’s history. But Bridgeport resident Maureen Sullivan is striving to regain control. »
Close Up with Steve James
Steve James has an uncanny ability to defy the observer effect—a force that dictates that mere observation will change the natural course of things. In his films, the director of the documentaries “Hoop Dreams” and “The Interrupters” has been able to recede into the background and let events transpire as if a gaping camera... »
A Second Look
Cyrus Dowlatshahi is a 30-year-old Hyde Park native, Iranian-American, Vassar alum, and massage therapist. To explore a side of Chicago more often misunderstood than seen, Dowlatshahi is taking on his preferred designation—filmmaker. The project sounds quite simple—with $25,000 raised from donations on Kickstarter.com, Dowlatshahi is going to film a feature-length documentary about the South... »
A Spike Lee joint
Filming was prohibited at Spike Lee’s talk on Wednesday, but Lee had some friendly advice for those committed to illicit documentation: “At least put your finger over the red light, man.” The Oscar-nominated director, producer, writer, actor, and professional rabble-rouser spoke candidly and quite didactically as part of Chicago State University’s Black History Month... »
Egypt reels
“I find it outrageous that the corporate-sponsored media are saying things like ‘people in Cairo are tired of all the protests,’” said a red-haired lady, looking genuinely affronted as her voice cut through the hush of a retrofitted Victorian living room. »
Man with a Movie Projector
It’s a typically warm July evening and the chairs at the South Side Community Arts Center are filled with strange bedfellows. For organizer Michael W. Phillips Jr., though, this ragtag attendance is validation for his latest endeavor, a roving film series called South Side Projections. »
