From the producers of the Renegade Craft Fair and The Vintage Bazaar comes a brand new event series: Bellwether. An event that’s a Market + Happening + Feast all in one. According the the Bellwether folks, “it’s about bringing together a stellar selection of the finest purveyors, pickers, makers, and doers + curated visual and sound installations, killer DJs, live performances, and food gatherings. Bellwether is a happening simmering with creative possibilities and new experiences.”
Bellwether’s debut event takes place June 8 & 9 at The Hideout, and will feature an inspiring lineup of purveyors & makers, libations from Revolution Brewery + Oliver Winery and loads of entertainment curated by the amazing Hideout. On Saturday, June 8th, head to the Hideout’s back room to witness a wide array of homegrown film footage from Chicago Film Archives that reflect our city’s glorious (and not so glorious) past as well as a 3PM presentation of rarely-screened shorts from the vault.
The lineup for the 3pm presentation includes:
OBEY YOUR AIR RAID WARDEN (from the Robert and Theresa Davis Collection), early 1940s, digitized 16mm., Color, Sound, 3 min.
In 2012, CFA received a massive collection of amateur travelogues films shot by Robert & Theresa (Terry) Davis in the 1940s through 1990s. Tucked away amongst these travelogue films were a handful of amateur short films or musical productions – including this total gem based on the 1942 song from Tony Pastor and His Orchestra. Big Band as public service announcement!
BOLERO with music composed & performed by Jeff Parker in 2013 (from the Ruth Page Collection), 1928, digitized 35mm., B&W, sound (film originally silent), 10 min.
CFA is home to the largest collection of moving image materials related to Ruth Page – the renowned choreographer and ballerina who is best known for introducing American themes into the classical ballet vocabulary. Here we see Page, Adolph Bolm and company perform BOLERO at the legendary Ravinia Festival. The original film was a 35mm nitrate print – an unstable celluloid format known for its highly flammable nature. Thanks to a a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, the film was skillfully restored onto safety film by the folks over at Colorlab.
Harry Mantel’s ART FAIR (from the Harry Mantel Collection), 1970s, digitized 16mm., color (faded), sound, 2 min.
A short film made by Harry Mantel that documents a suburban arts and crafts fair complete with many a macramé booth. Harry Mantel (1923-2007) was a Chicago cameraman, producer, and journalist. This title is part of Mantel’s series “Vignettes,” which was funded in part by Encyclopedia Britannica for public television broadcast.
JUNE BYERS vs PENNY BANNER (from the Russ & Sylvia Davis Collection), 1950s, digitized 16mm., b&w, sound, 14min.
An episode of a syndicated wrestling show shot at Chicago’s International Amphitheatre. Shot live on film with three-camera coverage, it features a witty and entertaining narration from announcer Russ Davis (who always seems to be less enthused to announce a “gals match” over a men’s match). This one-fall bout features the then world’s women’s wrestling champion, June Byers, versus the platinum blonde Penny Banner. Fringe and sequence abound!
Margaret Conneely’s SAGA OF THE FIRST AND LAST (from the Margaret Conneely Collection), 1954, digitized 16mm., Color, Sound, 4 min.
Margaret Conneely was active in amateur filmmaking locally and internationally for nearly half a century, first joining a local Chicago camera club in 1949. She shot and directed 16mm films at a time when most of the women in these clubs were less technically inclined and often delegated to the role of actress or slide show manager. Margaret often used her kids as the principal actors. Her son, John, stars in Saga of the First and Last, a short film about a boy, a gun and his first cigarette. This film was preserved to 35mm by the City of Chicago for the outdoors Grant Park Film Festival in 2006.
CLOSE TO YOU (from the Chicago Public Library Collection), 1971, digitized 16mm., color, sound, 5 min.
A Chicago high school student’s take on a 1970 Carpenters’ classic. This stop-animation film went onto win an award from the “Young Chicago Filmmakers Festival” back in 1971. CFA has 14 other Young Chicago Filmmakers Festival award winners from the years 1971-1974. All reside in the Chicago Public Library Collection
Purchase advance tickets here