Come help us celebrate Chicago Film Archives’ 20th year with a screening of some of the most enjoyable and fascinating films we’ve preserved over the years. You’ll see amateur entertainers from the ‘30s, out-of-control rock fans from the ‘70s, and plenty of colorful odes to the city of Chicago in between. All the films in this program will be presented on film and have been photochemically preserved by Chicago Film Archives, a non-profit dedicated to saving and sharing the film heritage of the Midwest.

Special thanks to the Chicago Film Society.

FILMS FEATURED IN THIS PROGRAM

CHICAGO: CITY TO SEE IN '63 (Dir. Margaret Conneely, Joe Domin & Donna Johnson, 1962, 13 min, 16mm)

A tongue-in-cheek "city symphony" film, produced by amateur filmmakers to encourage Photographic Society of America members to attend their 1963 conference in Chicago.

This film is part of CFA’s Margaret Conneely Collection and was preserved from original 16mm elements in 2006 with funding from the Women’s Film Preservation Foundation.

Learn more: https://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/preservation/view/3-short-films-by-margaret-conneely/

ROCK SOX DISCO SUX (Dir. Bill Stamets, 1979, 12min, 16mm)

Super-8 filmmaker Bill Stamets' experimental ethnography of “Disco Demolition Night" at Comiskey Park, featuring shock jock Steve Dahl leading a "Disco Sucks!" chant, an agitated Harry Caray watching the riot from the press booth, and rowdy teens in “FUCK THE BEE GEES” t-shirts hurling records at the side of the over-capacity building.

This film is part of CFA’s Bill Stamets Collection and was preserved from the original Super-8 workprint in 2024 with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
 

DISINTEGRATION LINE #2  (Dir. Larry Janiak, 1970, 12 min, 16mm)

"An optically printed full color randomly animated film set to Gamelan music. Full field abstract images progress in subtle visual sequences in discernible steps of intensity. DL2 is a film expressing the spirituality in art, a view of the cosmos as dancing atoms." — Larry Janiak

This film is part of CFA’s Larry Janiak Collection and was preserved from original 16mm elements in 2013 with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Learn more: https://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/preservation/view/four-new-bauhaus-institute-of-design-films/ 

CHOCOLATE CAKE (Dir. JoAnn Elam, circa 1973, 3 min, 16mm)

A caustic vignette on labor and sexism, Chocolate Cake was made in response to an evening during which male members of Chicago's experimental film scene gathered at JoAnn Elam's house and proceeded to ignore both her and the chocolate cake she made for the occasion. A spiritual predecessor to Jeanne Dielman, in 8mm.

This film is part of CFA’s JoAnn Elam Collection and was preserved from the original 8mm workprint in 2019 with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Learn more: https://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/preservation/view/four-short-films-by-joann-elam/

VARIETY SHOW AT PEORIA'S PALACE THEATRE (Dir. Irvine Pepper Siegal, circa 1934, 10 min, 35mm)

Scenes of a lively Depression-era talent show in which Peoria, Illinois' youth show off their skills in tap dancing, gymnastics, and Mae West impersonation.

This film is part of CFA’s Charles E. Krosse Collection and was preserved from an original 35mm nitrate print in 2021 with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Learn more: https://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/preservation/view/three-1930s-films-out-of-peoria/

THE SAGA OF THE FIRST AND LAST (Dir. Margaret Conneely, 1954, 3 min, 35mm)

Midcentury amateur filmmaker Margaret Conneely enlists her son John for this colorful cautionary tale about the dangers of smoking. A wholesome morality play with an avant-garde touch.

This film is part of CFA’s Margaret Conneely Collection and was preserved from a 16mm reversal print in 2004 with funding from the City of Chicago.

NIGHTSONG (Dir. Don Klugman, 1964, 22 min, 16mm)

A portrait of Chicago’s near-north nightlife scene in the mid-1960s, featuring soul and folk singer Willie Wright. Nightsong won the “Coupe Kodak-Pathe” prize at Cannes in 1965.

This film is part of CFA’s Don Klugman Collection and was preserved from a 16mm reversal print in 2007 with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation.

Learn more: https://www.chicagofilmarchives.org/preservation/view/3-films-by-don-b-klugman/