Chicago

CHICAGO – Season Six is one of the most successful for Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC), as they present gems from the Asian film world that provide mind and cultural expansion. Recently, as part of their Taiwan Cinema Days, APUC brought in director Huang Hsin-yao of “The Great Buddha +,” a meditation on class, religion and the ever present eye-in-the-sky video of the current era.

CHICAGO – Chicago has a wealth of film festivals this spring, and one of the coolest ones will take place on Saturday, April 14th, 2018, at the historic Davis Theater. The 13th Sound of Silent Film Festival combines cutting edge filmmakers – like Brian Zahm of “Tea Party” – and pairs their short works with Chicago-area musicians in all styles, who will provide live in-theater accompaniment. There are two shows, 7pm and 9:30pm, and to purchase tickets to one or both click here.

CHICAGO – Japan is up for this week’s feature in Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) series… and what a great film it is. “Perfect Revolution,’ directed by Junpei Matsumoto, is about handicaps… both physical and mental. The film features Japanese actors Lily Franky and Nana Seino, in a odd coupling that’s a relationship experience. The film will be presented on Wednesday, April 11th, at the AMC River East 21 in Chicago, with director Matumoto San appearing at the screening. For more details, click here.

CHICAGO – One of the great cinema festivals of the Windy City is run by Pepe Vargas, the Founder and Executive Director of the Chicago Latino Film Festival. The 2018 edition will be the 34th annual, and Vargas has shepherded the film celebration since its beginnings. Opening Night is on Thursday, April 5th, at the AMC River East Theatre in Chicago, with a Puerto Rican themed night, with the films “From Now On” (short) and the feature film “Broche De Oro: Beginnings.” For more details, click here.

CHICAGO – I’m not going to tell you anything about ‘Make Out Party,’ a new film directed by Emily Esperanza, that is making its World Premiere this weekend – March 30th and 31st, 2018 – in the Windy City (info below). You’ve got to go yourself, and experience the wild ride of true collaboration and vivid creativity, produced right here in Chicago.

CHICAGO – It is “Taiwan Cinema Days” for the next couple of weeks at Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) series, and it will kick off on March 28th, 2018, with the stylish and tragic “The Last Verse.” The films features Taiwanese actor Fu Meng-po as a star-crossed character nicknamed Poet, and is directed by Tseng Ying-ting. For more details about the screening, click here.

CHICAGO – Opening Night at Chicago’s Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) Season Six was extra exciting on March 13th, 2018, as popular Japanese film star Yuki Furukawa came to the Windy City to represent his starring role in the magical romance “Colors of Wind.” The film, a co-production of South Korea and Japan, was directed by Kwak Jae-yong and co-starred Takemi Fujii.

CHICAGO – It was the age of innocence, way back in 2008. Social media was a fledging duck, GPS was in its spare infancy and ride service didn’t exist… what better time for four dudes to skateboard from Chicago to New York City. “Shred America” is the film documentary story of Arthur Swidzinki, Michael Kosciesza, James Lagen and Anthony Michal in 2008, as they did what many twenty-year-olds have done throughout time – just say “what the f**k” and go for it, then film the results. “Shred America” premieres at the Patio Theatre in Chicago on March 24th, 2018 (details below).

CHICAGO – The Asian Pop-Up Cinema (APUC) series has established a foothold in the Chicago film scene through the last three years and now five seasons. For Spring 2018, Season 6 will open on March 13th with a U.S. Premiere from Japan, “Colors of Wind,” featuring an appearance by hot lead Japanese actor, Yuki Furukawa (click here for details). The series will then unspool 14 more films through May 16th, all facilitated and curated by the Founder of APUC, veteran film programmer Sophia Wong Boccio.

Previous | Image 1 of 7 | Next

Actor Tom Lenk on the Red Carpet at ‘a Night with the Oscar.’

CHICAGO – It was super finery and ultimate glam at the Park West in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood on Academy Awards night, March 4th, 2018, where “a Night with Oscar” took place. The event, which was a benefit for Center on Halsted and presented by Comcast/NBCUniversal, combined food, drink, Red Carpet and Oscar viewing revelry with information about the support that Center on Halsted provides for the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago. The event was co-hosted by variety of local notables, including Lee Ann Trotter, who covers entertainment for the local NBC5 news.