Gene Siskel Film Center

CHICAGO – It’s five times the fun for the fifth time. Filmmaker Jack C. Newell and Rebecca Fons of the Gene Siskel Film Center will conduct their 5th “Destroy Your Art” event. The idea is a filmmaker creates a film, shows it once to the audience, and then destroys it forever. This will take place this year at the historic Music Box Theatre on Tuesday, September 26th, 2023. For more information, including tickets, click DYA.

CHICAGO – The longest running underground film festival in the world kicks off its 30th Edition on Wednesday, September 13th, 2023. The Chicago Underground Film Festival opens with “Hello Dankness” at the Gene Siskel Film Center. For tickets and info, click CUFF30.

CHICAGO – One of the Midwest Film Festival’s greatest strengths is its sense of community. The way they branch out and reach out to all in the Chicago filmmaker/actor/crew collective is without precedent in this evolving cinema city. Monday, August 28th, will feature Women & Gender Non-Conforming Filmmaker Night, and one of the films making its Chicago debut is “Road Head” by Allison Torem.

CHICAGO – The debut film is a most exciting Chicago Premiere at the Midwest Film Festival, for writer/director Jason Miller of “Ghosts of the Void.” Click GHOSTS for tickets and more information.

CHICAGO – The Midwest Film Festival (MFF), in collaboration with Cinema-Luz Collective, presents Analog Night on Monday, June 26, 2023, showcasing the beauty and craftsmanship of this distinct medium at the Gene Siskel Film Center. As a form of art that is both nostalgic and demanding, analog filmmaking is experiencing a media-wide resurgence. Click ANALOG for tickets and more information.

CHICAGO – In a program that launched during the pandemic, the Chicago/Mexico City Cinema Exchange began highlighting works from Chicago and Mexico City Filmmakers. Continuing forward with in-person screenings, the theme this year is displacement, and one of the curators of the event is Chicago film influencer Raul Benitez. The screenings will take place on three days at three Chicago venues, beginning June 12th, 2023 at (click for tickets) the Gene Siskel Film Center.

CHICAGO – The controversial phrase “Good Guy with a Gun” is now a title for the latest feature film from John Mossman, who wrote and directed the story of a mother and son trying to rebuild their lives after losing their husband/father to gun violence. The twist is they’re rebuilding in a small town with an entrenched gun culture.

CHICAGO – Doc10, the yearly Chicago documentary film festival, opens on May 4th, 2023, with the magnificent new documentary about the life of Michael J. Fox entitled “Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” directed by Davis Guggenheim, who will make an appearance and participate in a Q&A. Click MJF for more information and tickets.

CHICAGO – The family farm is fast becoming extinct, and the people who continue to try and keep those farms are under tremendous pressure, financially and otherwise. This theme plays out in the documentary “Greener Pastures,” produced by Ian Robertson Kibbe and produced/directed by Sam Mirpoorian.

CHICAGO – The European Union Film Festival is an annual happening at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center, and will take place in 2023 from March 1st-31st. Kicking off the Fest will be an appearance from actors Lena Olin and Tora Hallström.