News

December 18, 2013

CICERO MARCH IS SELECTED FOR NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY

Still from Cicero March (1966) Each year the National Film Preservation Foundation board names 25 films that are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant to our national heritage. CHICAGO FILM ARCHIVES is honored and pleased that CICERO MARCH has been chosen to join the list of films that make up the National Film Registry. CICERO MARCH is visceral and relentless in...

December 4, 2013

Giving Thanks

CFA has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season. This week we learned that CFA was awarded three grants – one from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), one from the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation and another from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. The NEH grant ($6000) will go towards purchasing steel archival shelves for two massive collections...

October 11, 2013

Chicago Home Movie Day 2013 (everyone’s invited!)

CFA and Northwest Chicago Film Society have lots in store for you at this year’s home movie day, which takes place Saturday, October 19th at the accommodating Chicago History Museum. This international event (started 11 year ago by the Center for Home Movies) provides a unique opportunity for those with 16mm., 8mm, and/or Super 8mm home movies to have their...

October 9, 2013

More Janiak Films Head to CFA

You may remember back in April when CFA announced the acquisition of three experimental films by Chicago-based filmmaker & designer Lawrence Janiak (in case you missed it, you can read about it here)….. well, we are THRILLED to announce that Larry has donated more of his films (and affiliated ephemera) to CFA! New to the collection: 10 composite prints (5...

September 25, 2013

Gone Orphansing…

CFA’s offices will be closed this Thursday and Friday. Our whole staff is headed south and little east to catch Orphans Midwest: Materiality and the Moving Image– a gathering of scholars, archivists, film enthusiasts and artists who all share an interest in “orphaned” or neglected films (home movies, outtakes, unreleased films, industrial and educational movies, independent documentaries, newsreels, student works,...

September 24, 2013

NOGUCHI AND PAGE COMBINED

Already Ruth Page revisits an old friend. If you happen to be on the east coast, there is a collaboration of two artists you don’t want to miss. The work of Ruth Page and Isamu Noguchi can be seen starting tomorrow at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York. Space, Choreographed: Noguchi and Ruth Page was developed in a collaboration between The Noguchi Museum and The Ruth...

September 16, 2013

Sybil Shearer – IN A VACUUM

Sybil Shearer performing IN A VACUUM It’s probably time you got to know dancer/choreographer Sybil Shearer. We can suggest a time and place to begin. On September 20, 2013 at the Logan Center for the Arts, you can see the Thodos Dance Chicago perform the very first restaging of Shearers’ “In a Vacuum” accompanied by the Fulcrum Point New Music...

September 13, 2013

8 FLAGS Restoration Premiere

Last night I was reminded of why we do what we do. Over forty people packed into a small Garfield Ridge Public Library meeting room to view and discuss the 1970 Chicago-made doc, 8 FLAGS FOR 99 CENTS. The film, made by Chuck Olin & Joel Katz, provided a space for Garfield Ridge residents to express their opinions on the...

September 6, 2013

JoAnn Elam Collection Update

Still from GRAINS by JoAnn Elam We’re hard at work digitizing our Ruth Page Collection, but that doesn’t mean we’ve abandoned our other collections! The JoAnn Elam Collection, for instance, is near and dear to our hearts. The collection contains the films and production elements of Chicago experimental filmmaker JoAnn Elam (1949-2009). Since we first acquired the collection back in...

August 19, 2013

Digitizing the Ruth Page Collection (an experiment in accelerated access)

a sampling of the many film prints & elements in CFA’s Ruth Page Collection Thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), we have begun digitizing the dance films of the Ruth Page Collection. With over 400 16mm films & elements (!) of performances, rehearsals and television appearances, these films document the dance legacy and artistic circle of...

August 6, 2013

Do you know these Garfield Ridge residents?

On September 12th, we will premiere the 16mm restoration print of 8 FLAGS FOR 99 CENTS in the south-west Chicago neighborhood it was shot in. The film (made in 1970 by Mike Gray Associates, Chuck Olin & Joel Katz) asks Garfield Ridge residents of their opinions on the Vietnam War. The filmmakers went to this particular neighborhood expecting pro-war &...

August 2, 2013

Chicago Academy of Sciences: Dr. William J. Beecher

Dr. William J. Beecher Since November I have been hand inspecting the Chicago Academy of Sciences collection, consisting of over 1300 film materials, and this past month have officially made it halfway though this interesting collection. Dr. William J. Beecher was the director for the Chicago Academy of Sciences from 1958 to 1983. Between those years, Beecher acted as the...

July 25, 2013

CFA Media Mixer 2013 (in review)

All three videos from this year’s CFA Media Mixer are now streaming online! Check ’em out: 1. ”What I Want” (Film by Alexander Stewart ; Sound by Sam Prekop; Video Sponsor:  Pentimenti Films) 2. ”Love and Care of Pets” (Film by Jesse McLean ; Sound by Sich Mang ; Video Sponsor: BRMC Group) 3. ”Songs for Earth And Folk” (Film by Cauleen Smith ; Sound by The...

July 19, 2013

Spencer Williams & His Prolific Film Career

Still from “Amos ‘n’ Andy” starring Spencer Williams (pictured above) & Alvin Childress Spencer Williams is best known for his role as Andy in the 1950s “Amos ‘n Andy” television series and less known for his extensive work in film. Before achieving his TV fame, he directed, wrote and performed in a string of movies aimed at black audiences. Williams...

July 9, 2013

CFA Films Head to the Capital

This morning we packed up three CFA films to ship off to our nations capital. They’ll take part in the National Gallery of Art’s annual showcase of film preservation from international archives and special collections. This year’s programs range from rediscovered American rarities to artists’ films and unsung shorts from the 1960s, and to major French classics celebrating their fiftieth anniversaries...

June 4, 2013

CFA Media Mixer 2013: Meet this Year’s Artists

This year marks the second year of our CFA Media Mixer event. So… what’s the Media Mixer event all about? Well, the premise is simple: three filmmakers, paired (blind date style) with three audio artists, had the full run of CFA’s vault to create some video art. We’ll premiere the finished videos on Thursday, June 6th alongside lots of other...

May 10, 2013

Frank Koza (1920-2013)

Two canisters filled with newsreel trims found in CFA’s Frank Koza Collection We are sad to have to once again announce the death of another Midwest filmmaker and cinematographer – Frank Koza.  Frank had a long history of shooting news, first based out of the east coast and then Chicago.  He was a member of the International Cinematographer’s Guild Local...

May 2, 2013

Goldsholl and Janiak Design Films Slated for Preservation

CFA is happy to announce that the National Film Preservation Foundation has awarded CFA another grant to photo-chemically preserve four more films from the archives.  FACES AND FORTUNES, DISINTEGRATIONS LINE #1, DISINTEGRATION LINE #2, and ADAM’S FILM all reflect the influence of the “American Bauhaus” movement introduced by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy during the late 30s/early 40s in Chicago.  Designer and filmmaker...

May 1, 2013

Mike Gray 1935-2013

I feel this is one big mistake. Mike has been working on multiple projects (books and films) with his partner and wife Carol Gray. He sprints when he moves, never lollygagging from one place to the next. By the way, he is not finished with THE ORGANIZER featuring the work of community organizer and Black Panther Bobby Lee (also known...

April 24, 2013

A Big Welcome and Another Thanks…

CFA welcomes Bridgette McCullough Alexander to our Board of Directors.  She joins a growing, vibrant, creative and supportive group of people who shore up CFA and enrich our programs.  I am genuinely happy and proud to be in their company.  Bridgette joins Andrea Gambino, Margaret Newman, Jacqueline Stewart, Stephen Journey and myself on the Board of Directors. My friend and...