Haroula Rose on her wonderfully cast family dramedy “All Happy Families”
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Leo Tolstoy Today we bring back our CIFF 2023 interview from October 2023 to help promote the upcoming screening of “All Happy Families” at the Music Box Theatre. The screening will take place on October 7, 2024. Haroula Rose will be […]
Here’s How You Can Support the timely short film “Hot Water”
“Hot Water,” is a live-action short film created the talented duo Miles Gunter (comic writer for DC Vertigo, Dark Horse Entertainment, Image Comics and Amazon) and Cassie Kramer (credits include “Candyman,” “Bettendorf Talks” (SXSW), “Close Ties to Home Country” (Sundance), Chicago Fire, Chicago PD), and Miles and Cassie will co-direct the picture and are currently […]
Chicago local Brittani Ward on her feature debut “Single Car Crashes”
I had the opportunity to speak with Brittani Ward about her feature debut “Single Car Crashes.” The film is produced by Chicago indie powerhouse Angie Gaffney. The film stars Trevor Morgan, Lindsey Morgan, Paulina Olszynski, Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel, Chris Lee, Billy Dec, Charín Alvarez, and Billy Zane. Just like the women behind the camera stood out […]
Interview with 2024 Chicago Spotlight Award Recipient Jewells Santos on her vulnerable short “Fatfish”
On the eve of her graduation from DePaul’s MFA Film and Directing program, I had the pleasure of speaking with emerging filmmaker Jewells Santos about her short film “Fatfish.” Jewells is the recipient of the Chicago Spotlight award for this year’s Cinema Femme Short Film Festival, for it’s 6th edition. This award is given to […]
This is Our Family: Tara Mallen, Keith Kupferer and Katherine Mallen Kupferer on “Ghostlight”
When it comes to monumentally euphoric moviegoing experiences in 2024, Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson have set a mightily high bar with their latest crowd-pleaser, “Ghostlight.” Five years after helming one of my all-time favorite films, 2019’s “Saint Frances,” writer/co-director O’Sullivan and co-director/producer Thompson have done it again with this phenomenally powerful ode to the […]
IPA Executive Director Chris Dudley on Illinois’ Economic Impact Study and her recent trip to LA
I recently had the opportunity to speak with local film industry powerhouse Chris (Christine) Dudley, the Executive Director of the Illinois Production Alliance. Along with other leading Chicago-based women in film like Chaz Ebert, Betsy Steinberg, Erica Duffy, and Kris Rey, Chris Dudley is helping put Chicago on the world map for film production. Recently, […]
Sundance 40: Kelly O’Sullivan hopes you see empathy in her directorial feature debut, “Ghostlight”
O’Sullivan and Thompson gently fold their story together, finding humor and heart at every turn, leading to the kind of ending that somehow inspired the film’s very first audience at Sundance to laugh and cry. Again, we know how this sounds, but — it’s funny! and good! And a reminder of how bright a light one story can shine […]
The Liberation of the Work: A Conversation with Jada-Amina, Lead Curator of Black Harvest Film Festival
I’ve been fortunate to interview some of the up-and-coming female programmers who have come out of Chicago. Earlier this year, I spoke with Imani Davis, who now is a programmer at the American Cinemateque in Los Angeles. Last week, I talked to a poetic soul, and the new lead curator of the Black Harvest Film […]
CIFF 2023 Review: “Departing Seniors,” directed by Clare Cooney
“Departing Seniors” screened opening night of The 59th Chicago International Film Festival on October 11, 2023. The final week of senior year of high school can be full of surprises. Memories of the times you’ve had flood the halls you’ve walked for four years. Fear and excitement for an unknown future linger over you. However, […]
CIFF 2023 Review: “The Beautiful Summer,” directed by Laura Luchetti
“The Beautiful Summer” is screening this afternoon at AMC NEWCITY at 2:30 PM as part of the Women in Cinema and Outlook program. Adolescence is universal. No matter the time period, gender, sexuality, or setting, coming of age is tangible to any audience member. It is something everyone experiences, and it offers a deep well […]
Video Interview: Chicago Spotlight award-winner Margaret Kellas on her film “this is not the morning i thought i was going to have”
Margaret Kellas, director of the short “this is not the morning i thought i was going to have,” is the recipient of the 2023 Cinema Femme Short Film Fest Chicago Spotlight Award! Chicago Spotlight Award: Awarded to a Chicago-based filmmaker recognized for the exciting work they are doing in the Chicago filmmaking community. Chosen by […]
Filmmaker Colette Ghunim heals and perseveres with “Traces of Home”
I’ve known Colette Ghunim for a while now through her previous leadership with Mezcla Media Collective, an organization that “ensures women and non-binary filmmakers of color can actively participate in Chicago’s bustling media production scene”. Likewise, Colette is the co-director (along with Tinne Van Loon) of “The People’s Girls” (2016), a short documentary that explores […]