The summer film season has begun! All around Chicago, several independent, edgy films are making the rounds. Below, see a brief compilation of some of the most critically acclaimed indies coming to Chicago venues.

Born to be Wild (2011). David Lickley, USA, 40 min.
Location: Museum of Science and Industry
Run Time: May 29, 2012-March 1, 2013
"Narrated by Academy-Award® winner Morgan Freeman, Born to Be Wild is an inspiring story of love, dedication and the remarkable bond between humans and animals. This film documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them—saving endangered species one life at a time.

Born to Be Wild is a heartwarming adventure transporting moviegoers into the lush rainforests of Borneo with world-renowned primatologist Dr. Biruté Mary Galdikas, and across the rugged Kenyan savannah with celebrated elephant authority Dame Daphne M. Sheldrick, as they and their teams rescue, rehabilitate and return these incredible animals back to the wild." --Museum of Science and Industry

Some Things Might Happen (2010). John Delk.
Location: Thomas Robertello Gallery
Run Time: June 8-August 18

Some Things Might Happen (Thomas Robertello Gallery)

"Concurrent with Molly Springfield's exhibition, the gallery will present Some Things That Might Happen in its project space; a 2010 video by Newburgh, NY based John Delk. Some Things That Might Happen consists of the last half of 119 drug ads wherein side effects are enumerated. The ads are played endlessly in a random sequence.

Some Things That Might Happen is the product of a profit driven medical machine that attacks our collective  psyche with bodily maladies only it can heal. Though treatments may produce nausea, stroke, dry mouth, heart attack, dizziness, high blood pressure and diarrhea, “patients” maintain the happy demeanor of those who live in an American dream." --Thomas Robertello Gallery

Last Ride (2009). Glendyn Ivin, Australia, 90 min.
Location: Music Box
Run Time: Opens June 14

Last Ride (Music Box)

"On the run after committing a violent crime, a desperate father takes along his ten-year-old son, Chook. As the two journey into the desert and an unknown future, their troubled relationship and the need to survive sees them battling the elements and each other. Chook eventually takes control and the choice he is forced to make has a devastating effect on both their lives." --Music Box

Portrait of Wally (2012). Andrew Shea, USA, 90 min.
Location: Siskel Film Center
Run Time: Opens June 15

Portrait of Wally (Siskel Film Center)

"A documentary as rich in character, incident, and intrigue as a Graham Greene novel, PORTRAIT OF WALLY traces the tangled history of an Egon Schiele painting that became a cause célèbre of the art restitution movement. Schiele’s haunting 1912 portrait of his teenage mistress Valerie “Wally” Neuzil was coerced from its Jewish owner by a Nazi art-dealer in post-Anschluss Vienna, obtained under cloudy circumstances by an obsessive Klimt collector after the war, and subpoenaed while on loan to a 1997 MoMA exhibition in New York, where it became the focus of an epic, seesaw court battle that makes

“Bleak House” look like an open-and-shut case. Any fears one might have of a dry legal procedural are more than offset by the film’s ample display of Schiele’s still-provocative canvases, a vivid cast of characters ranging from noble to nefarious (with several in the art-museum establishment coming off especially poorly), and an exemplary battle between those seeking to erase the past and those seeking to reclaim it. In English and German with English subtitles." --Siskel Film Center

The 24th Onion City Experimental Film Festival
Run Time: Thursday, June 21, 2012 - 8:00pm.

Location: Gene Siskel Film Center, 165 N. State St.

"Onion City's Opening Night Program features an eclectic and diverse group of works on 35MM, video, and 35MM slides. All are Chicago premieres.

BIG IN VIETNAM (2012, France, 29 min.): Mati Diop’s Rotterdam Film Festival prize-winner is a stunningly-photographed and resonant look at loss and displacement as Henriette, a French-Vietnamese film director, searches Marseille for a missing actor while her son carries on the production of an adaptation of “Les liaisons dangereuses.”

BOXING IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS (2011, The Philippines, 7 min.): Ghostlike images of amateur boxers and of favorite Filipino son Manny Pacquiao shimmer, jitter, glitch, and struggle for perceptibility in Raya Martin’s mesmerizing take on his country’s boxing obsession.

WELL THEN THERE NOW (2012, USA, 13 min.): Basing the film primarily on a 1980s script by musician John Zorn, with additional narration taken from Alain Robbe-Grillet and Phillipe Soupalt, Lewis Klahr fashions a haunting and elusive tale of desire and uncertainty.

ONE WAY TO FIND OUT (2012, USA, 5 min.) by Scott Stark: Hand-printed sections from 35mm movie trailers create a chaotic and densely layered retelling of Hollywood form. Loosely about desire, fear of coupling, and the consequences of moving forward, with results both catastrophic and ecstatic."--Chicago Filmmakers

The Woman in the Fifth (2011). Pawel Pawlikowski. 83 mins. France, Poland, UK.

Location: Music Box Theatre

Run Time: Opens June 22

The Woman in the Fifth (Music Box)

"American writer Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke) arrives in Paris to be closer to his young daughter who is living with his estranged ex-wife. Completely broke, he accepts a job as a night guard for a local crime boss. Stationed in a basement office, his only task is to push a button when a bell rings. The tranquility of the night, he hopes, will help him focus on his new novel.

His days become more exciting when he starts a romance with Margit (Kristin Scott Thomas), a mysterious and elegant widow who sets strange rules to their meetings: she will only see him at her apartment in the fifth arrondissement, at 5pm sharp, twice a week and he should ask no questions about her work or her past life.

When people suddenly start dying around Tom, he begins to believe that a dark force has entered his life, punishing anyone who has recently done him wrong. After the police accuse him of murdering his neighbor, Tom tries to use his weekly visits to Margit’s apartment as an alibi, only to find out that she hasn’t lived at this address for the past 15 years." --Music Box Theatre

Kill Daddy Goodnight (Das Vaterspiel; 2009). Michael Glawogger, Austria, 110 min.

Location: Siskel Film Center

Run Time: Opens June 22

Kill Daddy Goodnight (Siskel Film Center)

"Best known for his documentaries WORKINGMAN’S DEATH and the 2012 EU Film Festival hit WHORE’S GLORY, Austrian auteur Glawogger brings the same edgy sensibility to this provocative adaptation of Josef Haslinger’s acclaimed novel. The globe-hopping storyline (compared by critics to Assayas’s DEMONLOVER) encompasses Vienna, Lithuania, New York, Nazi war criminals, incest, patricide, computer games, and the Y2K virus. The life of antihero Ratz (Köpping) is dominated by two figures: his father, an Austrian politician whose hypocrisy inspires Ratz to invent a papa-perforating computer game, and Mimi (Timeteo), a hairless (all over!) femme fatale who entices Ratz to her Long Island home to oversee a redecorating project with a sinister hidden motive. In German and English with English subtitles." --Siskel Film Center

Caitlin Plays Herself & Marriage Material (Double Feature)
Run Time: Thursday, July 5, 2012 - 8:00pm.
Location: Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL

"Prolific local filmmaker Joe Swanberg premieres two new films about young relationships in flux. In Marriage Material (2012, 55 min.), a young couple, played by Kentucker Audley and Caroline White, babysit for visiting friends, played by Joe and Kris Swanberg and their son Jude. The simple favor gradually opens a Pandora’s box of issues about marriage, family and commitment that leads them to reckon with their future together. In Caitlin Plays Herself (2011, 58 min.), a young actress, played by Neo-Futurist member Caitlin Stainken, struggles to break out of a chronic holding pattern embodied by relationship with a casual boyfriend (Swanberg) who likes being intimate but dislikes her provocative performances. Both films display Swanberg’s distinctive improvisational style where identifiable characters create fresh stories by working out their own inner conflicts." --Chicago Filmmakers

As Thanksgiving approaches and relatives arrive in the city, you’re looking for places to show your family, or maybe you finally have the time to escape the hustle and bustle of the holiday. The DuSable Museum of African-American History has several events taking place next week and past the holiday.

November 26^th at 8pm and 27^th at 7pm

DuSable presents Global Rhythms, the first concert series in the United States dedicated to American tap and contemporary percussive arts companies. Celebrate the holiday in the spirit of giving just by attending, as 50% of your ticket will be donated to Chicago based charitable organizations! Performances will take place at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. Find more info HERE. 

Step Afrika 

Ongoing exhibitions: 

• Spread the Word! The Evolution of Gospel from Chicago to the World

Chicago gets into Gospel music each year downtown during the Taste of Chicago, but Spread the Word! goes beyond to celebrate the rich history of Gospel Music, focusing on gospel’s Chicago origins. Featured will be some of Gospel’s greatest singers, Chicago choirs, and “singing” preachers such as: Mahalia Jackson, Albertina Walker, The Thompson Community Singers, “First Families of Gospel” and Reverend Clay Evans. 

• EVERYWHERE with Roy Lewis is a testament to Roy Lewis’s unique contribution to African American photography and history. Lewis possesses an uncanny ability to not only capture an image, but to tell an engaging visual story. “In this exhibition, each photograph creates a narrative for the various expressions of the African American experience spanning five decades (DuSable).” 

• December 2-4 at the AMC River East theater DuSable will present KINYARWANDA as part of the African American Film Festival.

The story interweaves 6 different tales to provide a grand narrative of human resilience and life during genocide. In KINYARWANDA, a young Tutsi woman and a young Hutu man fall in love amidst chaos, a soldier struggles with being absent from her family to foster a greater good, and a priest grapples with his faith in the face of unspeakable horror. (DuSable) 

The DuSable Museum is located in Hyde Park at 740 East 56^th Place 60637 and is open Tuesday-Saturday 10am-5pm and Sundays 12-5pm

*Closed on Thanksgiving day 

The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) offers an engaging range of exhibitions throughout the year, and like many arts institutions, their programming is possible due in part to the support from donors.  This Friday, the museum is holding their annual benefit auction to drum up that critical support.  Guests will be able to enjoy a festive party while mingling with other photography fans and artists. And the auction is tough to beat, as always.

After the benefit, MoCP is offering their current exhibition, Current Unseen, as well as an upcoming screening and lecture. Read on for all the details. 

The Party 

MoCP’s annual gala and auction this Friday, November 18th begins at 6pm at 301 N Justine St. This year’s theme is prohibition, so get ready for a night full of custom cocktails and rich art. The silent auction offers fine prints by established and emerging artists, and helps support the world of contemporary photography.

Click HERE for a preview 

You may bid on works by artists such as John Baldessari, Penelope Umbrico,  Theun van Rees, and more

Also available during the bidding are several photo ‘experiences,’ including personal portrait sessions with photographer Dawoud Bey and filmmaker/photographer Sandro. You can also bid on a behind the scenes tour of Christie’s, New York for you and a friend!  Absentee bids are welcome (call Jeff Arnett at 312.369.7779 to place a bid. He’s super helpful and really nice.)  Click HERE to purchase tickets 

Olivo Barbieri 

John Sparagana  

At the Museum:

Crime Unseen, MOCP’s current exhibition will run until January 15^th.

Featuring the work of 8 artists who actively engage with myth and reality as they question the roles of memory, the media, and evidence in solving and remembering crime. All of the artists in Crime Unseen grapple with a retelling of disturbing crimes. Using photography and other methods, the artists reactivate historical material and open it up to further contemplation. By drawing on techniques of photojournalism, forensic photography, and documentary landscape (Karen Irvine, Curator and Associate Director). 

Angela Strassheim, Evidence #11 

Upcoming Events

November 30^th from 6-9pm, in conjunction with Crime Unseen, MOCP will screen video work by artists considering the potential for everyday objects, ordinary surroundings and average people to become evidence of something beyond the familiar.

December 1^st at 7pm at the Glessner House Museum, Corinne May Botz will give a lecture about her Nutshell Series of Unexplained Death. Botz photographed a series of miniature crime scene models that were built in the 1940s and 50s by progressive criminologist and heiress Frances Glessner Lee to help detectives learn to better assess visual evidence.  

The Museum of Contemporary Photography is free and is located at 600 S Michigan Ave Hours are: Mon-Sa, 10am – 5pm, Thur 10-8pm+ Sun 12-5pm

One of the great advantages to living in our culturally rich city is the number of colleges and universities we have here. These institutions offer an abundance of resources to those who attend, as well as to those who do not (most of us). A significant portion of Chicago’s creative vibrancy is due to its academic communities.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s terrific lecture series is one that any member of the public can take advantage of - for free!

Stay up to date on who will be speaking by visiting here 

Expect to see more than just the name of respected artists on the line up – SAIC’s visiting artist program brings scholars, professors, professionals, designers, and artists together on a regular basis. Some recent guest speakers have included director of the Star Wars films, George Lucas, Berry Mcgee, Richard Tuttle, Wangechi Mutu, Terry Eagleton - one of the world's leading literary critics, and Homi K. Bhabha, director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University.

Wednesday November 2 at 6pm SAIC will welcome Professor Jenni Sorkin, professor of Critical Theory, Media, and Design at the University of Houston, as part of their Distinguished Scholars lecture series. Sorkin’s lecture is titled Ancient Modernisms. She has written several catalog essays on feminist art and material culture topics, which have appeared in sources such as Art Journal, Art Monthly, Freize, and Third Text. She has lectured at a number of institutions including CalArts, Museum of Contemporary Art, Miami; Textile Museum of Canada and School of Visual Arts, New York.

Sorkin’s lecture is sure to bring good discussion in the follow-up Q&A.

2 weeks later on November 16 SAIC is hosting two events for filmmaker Amar Kanwar.

You can also catch his lecture at 6pm on 11/16. On 11/17 there will be a screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center at 164 N State Street.

         Q&A at the Gene Siskel Film Center

 Amar Kanwar’s “films explore the politics of power, violence, sexuality, and justice.

His multi-layered installations originate in narratives often drawn from zones of conflict and are characterized by a distinctly poetic approach to the social and political. In retracing history through images, ritual objects, literature, poetry, and song, Kanwar creates lyrical, meditative film essays that do not aim to represent trauma or political situations as much as to find ways through them. Kanwar's work looks deeply into the causes and effects and how they are translated into everyday life and cultural forms (saic.edu/art_design/vap/).”

Remember that at chicagogallerynews.com we have a calendar page where we post events including other institutional events such as the Block museum, Smart museum, Columbia College, University Chicago, SAIC, and more.

All lectures are FREE and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and lectures begin promptly at 6:00 p.m. All seating is first come, first served. Reservations may be accepted for groups of 10 or more made at least two weeks prior to the event.

Sign up here to join the mailing list to receive info on more SAIC public events! 

As one of the largest collaborative artistic efforts ever across Chicago, The Soviets Art Experience has joined together twenty-six art museums throughout the city. The showcase is 16 months long and features numerous artists and their works in response to a communist Soviet Union. The events began in August of 2010 and end in January 2012, so be sure not to miss the remaining few months. These exhibitions present powerful imagery and propaganda from this period and help to create an understanding of what it was like. It includes art, dance, concerts, lectures, and classes that are created and put on by numerous prominent artists.

The Mary and Leigh Block Museum is one among many participants and their Views and Re-Views: Soviet Political Posters and Cartoons exhibition shows us a post-Cold War assessment through posters, cartoons, and photomontages. It is on view now and will run through to December 4th. The exhibition examines these images and the meaning behind stylistic tendencies that are often times suggestive and reinforcing a government message.

The David and AlfredSmart Museum’s Vision and Communism exhibition presents the work of Soviet artist Viktor Koretsky whose emotionally-charged images vividly depict controversies and issues from this time of turmoil. This exhibition opens on September 29 and will be on view until January 22nd. The Smart Museum’s Film Studies Center is also presenting footage by Aleksandr Medvedkin who documents tumultuous events from 1968-1969. These films can be seen on October 12th, 19th, and November 2nd at 7:00 pm at the Film Studies Center. The Smart Museum is also host to another exhibition associated with the Soviets Art Experience, Process and Artistry in the Soviet Vanguard, on view now until January 22nd. This exhibition features works by Gustav Klucis and Valentina Kulagina, and shows a rare look at the creative processes that created the iconic Soviet propaganda.  From preparatory drawings all the way to mass produced posters, you can see the stages and progression of these art forms into a political message.

This amazing collaboration demonstrates how Chicago artists and art institutions can come together to present a conjoined depiction of a dim time in history. Through the images and other infused mediums this powerful experience will leave you wanting more. Please check out this site for remaining exhibition dates and events going on throughout the remaining months.