Podtalk: Karen Cardarelli of FACETS Talks 2023 Plans & Beyond

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – To indicate how the timeline is off during the pandemic period, Karen Cardarelli has been Executive Director of FACETS cinema since February of 2020, but impact began post pandemic. Besides reformulating FACETS, she also is spearheading the beginnings of the Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals.

Karen Caradelli connected to FACETS through her role as the co-founder of Emerald City Theatre in 1996, a theater that focused on developing the stage for children, including an outreach to Chicago Public School students. In her tenure so far, she has guided FACETS through the crucial period of the pandemic challenges, and has emerged as a leader in progressing both the physical film theater space on Fullerton Avenue in Chicago – which was founded in 1975 by the late iconic film scholar Milos Stehlik – and the cinema community in the Windy City.

Karen Cardarelli, Executive Director of FACETS
Photo credit: FACETS.org

As a cultural innovator, Ms. Caradelli and FACETS are involved currently in launching the CHICAGO ALLIANCE OF FILM FESTIVALS (CAFF), which was announced during the FACETS “Screen Gems” fundraiser in September of last year. The Alliance seeks to aid Chicago-area film festivals through sector building efforts focused on expanding audience, resources and expertise. This second interview with Ms. Cardarelli focuses on the accomplishments so far in evolving FACETS, and more on CAFF.

In a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, FACETS Executive Director Karen Cardarelli talks 2023 and beyond …

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Critic/Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com