FALLING OUT OF TIME: New Documentaries from the Former Soviet Europe

This Thursday, April 3, the documentary program at the Art Institute of Chicago's Gene Siskel Film Center features Ukrainian director Igor Strembitsky's film Wayfarers (Podorozhni), a 10 minute black and white documentary filmed in a state clinic for the mentally ill. Wayfarers was awarded the Palme d'Or for best short documentary at Cannes in 2005.

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FALLING OUT OF TIME: New Documentaries from the Former Soviet Europe
Curators Oona Mosna and Jeremy Rigsby in person

Thursday, April 3, 6 pm
Gene Siskel Film Center (164 N. State / 312-846-2600)

Curated by Oona Mosna and Jeremy Rigsby, directors of Windsor's annual film and video art festival, Media City, the program includes Ukrainian Igor Strembitsky's 2005 Cannes-winning Wayfarers; acclaimed Russian director Sergei Loznitsa's haunting Halt (2000); Victor Asliuk's The Mine (2004, Belarus); and Oksana Buraja's Mother (2001, Lithuania), among others.

Phillip Svehla
International Program Coordinator
Chicago Sister Cities International Program
78 E. Washington St. 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
www.ChicagoSisterCities.com
312-744-8074
Phillip.Svehla@cityofchicago.org

Cinema Croatia

Another treat for Chicagoans in winter is the upcoming Croatian cinema series at the Gene Siskel Film Center. 6 Croatian features from 1970 to 2007 will be playing from February 3 to March 6. There aren't many places in this country with the means and will to put on these series, so let's hear it for the Siskel. You can find a full run-down of the month of Croatian films at the Siskel website - http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/ - you'll have to navigate to upcoming February shows.

Here's a list of the titles and directors"
ALL FOR FREE
(SVE DZABA)
2006, Antonio Nuic

ARMIN
2007, Ognjen Svilicic

HERE
(TU)
2003, Zrinko Ogresta

HOW THE WAR STARTED ON MY ISLAND
(KAKO JE PACEO RAT NA MOM OTOKU)
1996, Vinko Bresan

Light Drawings: The Zagreb School of Animation
1958-78, Various directors

ONE SONG A DAY TAKES MISCHIEF AWAY
(TKO PJEVA ZLO NE MISLI)
1970, Kresimir Golik

A VILLAGE PERFORMANCE OF HAMLET
(PREDSTAVA HAMLETA U MRDUSI DONJOJ)
1973, Krsto Papic

Cinema times

As I've noted often before, the CEERES region is well-represented in Chicago. Not just in its well-known ethnic populations and neighborhoods, but also in its constant cultural offerings. So much so, that I just can't keep up with the events before they've even begun.

Such is the case with the Greek immigrant film festival, concluding now at the Gene Siskel Film Center in downtown. It began in mid-October and is concluding tomorrow. But, there's another shot to catch a full run of films from our region at the Siskel. This Friday (Nov. 9 through Nov.15) the Lithuahian film week begins. Check it out.

Film Fest Friday

I'm learning that Chicago is a city of festivals. Especially in the summer, one finds dozens of large and small neighborhood street fairs, cultural heritage festivals, art fairs, and music festivals. Even when it gets cold here, one form of festival is a staple of the Chicago cultural landscape - films.

Given the city's ethnic heritage(s) and appetite for the arts, Chicago plays home to many fine film festivals and series dedicated in whole or part to films coming out of East Europe, Russia and the rest of the 28 former Communist states of our region. Even under repressive Communist regimes, the level of film production was very high in many of these states, especially in Russia, Czechoslovakia (as it was then), and Poland (some may even claim that often because of the repression, the quality of art was higher), and that tradition continues. Internationally acclaimed films are now coming out of many of these states, including Romania, Bulgaria, the republics of the former Yugoslavia, the Baltics, and Mongolia.

Here are some current and upcoming film events. [This is by no means a comprehensive list]

Cultural Film Festivals

• First Serbian Film Festival in Chicago, September 13- September 13-16, 2007 at the AMC Lowes Pipers Alley 4 Theatres, 1608 North Wells Street (North and Wells) in Chicago, 312- 642-6275. This is a new significant festival, taking its place in the pantheon of important culture specific festivals that find their home in Chicago each year.
• The Polish Film Festival in America, in Chicago, November 3-18, 2007.
• The Chicago Festival of Bosnian-Herzegovinian Films, usually in the spring.

Film Series

• Lech Majewski’s Landscape of Dreams, Gene Siskel Film Center, September 8-October 4, 2007. One of the strengths of the state-of-the-art Siskel Film Center is film series of directors' ouvres, regional films, and thematic runs. They also are able to show rare and remastered prints of films you could not find anywhere else. Recent examples of eclectic series at the Siskel include the films of Krzysztof Kieslowski; and annual EU film series; and Russian SciFi films.

Film Festivals

• The 43rd Annual Chicago International Film Festival, October 4-17, 2007. This competitive film festival hosted at multiple venues in Chicago is sure to feature the latest films coming out of such countries as Russia, Poland, Romania, and indeed out of all corners of the globe.
  

Lastly, I need to mention that Doc Films, the venerable and venerated student-run screen at The University of Chicago has just posted its upcoming calendar. At Doc, each day of the week is part of an ongoing series throughout the quarter, and on the weekends they tend to show the latest popular releases. I haven't seen a detailed description of the films for this quarter, but if there are films related to the CEERES countries, I'll try to include something about them in this space.