This Juneteenth weekend join us for the second iteration of “Life Within the Lens”, a short film series celebrating Black Chicago filmmakers. This short film program will feature some of the city’s most talented creators, showcasing their visions and interpretations of life’s nuances, struggles and humor through cinema. Featuring five short films from Marquis Simmons (BROKE DOWN DRONE), Charlene A. Carruthers (THE FUNNEL), Leslie Crum (ANTICS), Kin Marie and Brenden Smith (CHAOS) and Lawrence Agyei (FOR THE CRIB).

J Bambii - CHAOS (Dir. Kin Marie and Brenden Smith, 2023, 13 min)

CHAOS’ centers the life of Young Jasmine, a high school junior grappling with the complexities of love, identity and societal pressures such as colorism, fatphobia and desirability politics at a young age. The video is divided into two distinct parts: reality is the short film aspect and the dream sequence is the actual music video. ‘CHAOS’ is a narrative music video that tells a story of self-discovery and the triumph of love over adversity.

FOR THE CRIB (Dir. by Lawrence Agyei, 2023, 5 min)

An intimate look into the lives of the members of the South Shore Drill Team, captured at the 2021 Bud Billiken Parade. Filmed in Chicago, USA.

BROKE DOWN DRONE (Dir. Marquis Simmons, 2022, 22 min)

Poverty, Death and Hopelessness is all that can be expected in one of the roughest neighborhoods in Chicago. For Roc and DeVontae, on the brink of potential stardom, the opportunity to escape all three is within reach, if only...

ANTICS (Dir. Leslie Crum, 2023, 11 min)

After calling a number he found on the street, two strangers experience the joy and menace of masculinity.

THE FUNNEL (Dir. Charlene Carruthers, 2022, 17 min)

A story about love, ancestral power, and the Black experience of displacement and resilience.