Podtalk: Filmed-in-Chicago ‘Solstice’ with ‘Home Alone’ at Chi-Town Drive-In, Dec. 20, 2020

CHICAGO – If you’re itching for some safe holiday cheer outside the confines of home for an evening, a drive-in Christmas film double feature is just the ticket. The filmed-in-Chicago classic, “Solstice: A Christmas Story” – written and directed by Jerry Vasilatos – will screen with “Home Alone” (starting at 8pm) on Sunday, December 20th, 2020, at the Chi-Town Movies Drive-In in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. For more information and tickets, click here [22].

’Solstice,’ Screening on December 20th, 2020
Photo credit: SolsticeMovie.com

The simple story of “Solstice,” that of a lonely professional man at the Christmas holidays, is remarkable for many reasons … including a stellar performance by lead actor Michael Kelley. But also it is a glimpse into a pre-gentrified Chicago, where Northside neighborhoods were warm enclaves for discovery, not speculative property. The light of the story takes place in that distant early 1990s era, and if anybody you know lived in Chicago at that time, then “Solstice” will be a reminder of both being young and being a Chicagoan. Experience the film that’s a Christmas gift to the city and any seeker of emotional holiday inspiration.

Writer/director Jerry Vasilatos guided this passion project, in the days when it took more than a digital camera and iPhone editing to make a movie. His first dream came true when the Lifetime Network bought the picture, to start their tradition of holiday films, but the film’s shelf life didn’t last, and Vasilatos had always had a nagging feeling that the film wasn’t absolutely complete. So in 2017 he began a process of restoration, including a brand new soundtrack and digital tweaks. The result is the completed film he had always envisioned, ready to show for the holidays in perpetuity.

On the 1990s Set with Writer/Director Jerry Vasilatos (center), Mary McCloud and Michael Kelley of ‘Solstice'
Photo credit: SolsticeMovie.com

In a short Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, writer/director Jerry Vasilatos reflects on the continuing resonance of “Solstice: A Christmas Story.”

[24]	By PATRICK McDONALD [25] Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [24]