Short Films

CHICAGO – One of the greatest film festivals of the year is curated by the Chicago cinema critics you know and love…so the films themselves are spectacular. The 4th Annual Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF) is ongoing at the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago through May 26th, 2016. The closing night film is “Operator.”

CHICAGO – One of the best points that Layne Marie Williams – co-founder/director of “The Women’s Film Festival” (TWFF) of Philadelphia – made in her interview with HollywoodChicago.com, was that even though the festival was developed to showcase the works of women filmmakers, it plays to an audience of everybody. This is how badass creators come together, and this is the second year of The Women’s Film Festival, unspooling on Friday, March 11th, and running through Sunday, March 13th, 2016.

CHICAGO – The future of filmmaking was on display at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival at the City & State Short Film program. Subtitled “Feel the Illinoise,” the collection included works by directors Bradley Bischoff, Joel Benjamin, Ed Flynn, Andy Berlin, Jake Zalutsky and Weija Ma.

CHICAGO – Imagine having only a two-day period to shoot, edit and score a short film. That’s the challenge behind the 48 Hour Film Project. This year’s Chicago edition of this competition concludes on Aug. 27, 2015 at the Logan Theatre when it will screen the best of the competition and present awards.

CHICAGO – One of the funkiest and offbeat film festivals is taking place in Chicago through Sunday, May 17th, 2015. The 22nd Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF) showcases independent, experimental and documentary films from around the world. This year’s festival takes place all at the Logan Theatre – 2646 North Milwaukee, Chicago – and the films are augmented by nightly parties and concerts.

CHICAGO – The opportunity to sample new filmmakers is one of the true pleasures of the 50th Chicago International Film Festival, and this year’s crop of City & State short films, made in either Chicago or Illinois, was no exception. Directors Lonnie Edwards, Joel Benjamin, Meghann Artes and Robert Carnilius represented the area.

CHICAGO – One of the finest places in the world to witness its best cinema is the Chicago International Film Festival, which is now hitting its golden year of 50. This year’s festival boasts a lineup of top tier entries from world renowned filmmakers, packaged in the distinct Chicago flavor that keeps the city on a level all its own.

CHICAGO – The short film gets its due this upcoming weekend, as the 2014 “Shortcut 100 Film Festival,” produced by Nebula Creatives, unreels on August 31st at the Chicago Filmmakers Loft, on Clark Street in the Andersonville neighborhood. Rujanee Mahakanjana is one of the producers of the festival, and the founder of Nebula Creatives.

CHICAGO – One of the great nights of the Chicago International Film Festival every year is the City & State “Local Heroes” Short Film program, as local filmmakers from Chicago and the State of Illinois present their work. Directors Shawn Spear (“KOFN”), Daniel Klein (“AB Negative”) and Robin McKay (“How to Abandon Ship”) spoke to HollywoodChicago.com after their screenings on October 15th, 2013.

CHICAGO – Want a leg-up in your Oscar pool? The five short films nominated for the Academy Award for “Best Animated Short” are now playing at the Landmark Century Theatre in a special presentation with three other shorts (the non-nominated “Abiogenesis,” “Dripped,” and “The Gruffalo’s Child”). The program runs 88 minutes and we have mini-reviews of all five below, ranked in the order we’d like to see them win the Oscar.