Whether film fans prefer 35mm, movie-themed menus or post-show discussions, local venues have audiences covered with a variety of special screenings and cinematic happenings.
Thanks to Choose Chicago, the inaugural Sundance Institute x Chicago (June 28-30) will offer a lineup of screenings, panel discussions and master classes at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater, the Davis Theater and Logan Center for the Arts.
“This event is a significant addition to Chicago’s cultural calendar, offering unique insights into the filmmaking process and fostering discussions that inspire and challenge audiences,” says Clinée Hedspeth, Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
The documentaries Luther: Never Too Much (2024) directed by Dawn Porter and Sugarcane (2024) directed by Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie as well as the narrative features A Different Man (2024) by director/writer Aaron Schimberg and Your Monster by director/writer Caroline Lindy will be shown.
“Chicago’s dynamic cultural scene is an ideal backdrop for this special collaboration with the Sundance Institute,” adds Rich Gamble, Interim President and CEO at Choose Chicago which presents the event in partnership with the City of Chicago and the Sundance Institute. To learn more, visit SundanceInstitutexChicago.com.
In celebration of Yorgos Lanthimos’s new movie Kinds of Kindness (2024), which opens in Chicago on June 28, Music Box Theatre is hosting a weeklong retrospective of the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker’s work with screenings of Alps (2011), The Lobster (2015), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), The Favourite (2018), and Poor Things (2023). Through July 4, the venue will project Kinds of Kindness — starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau and Joe Alwyn — in 35mm. Visit musicboxtheatre.com for showtimes, tickets, and more information.
The historic cinema has also partnered with Pilot Light for its Food and Film Series: Clean Plate Club. The summer lineup includes a July 23 screening of Mystic Pizza (1988) and two slices of Piri Piri Cheese Pizza, along with a side salad by Chef Tony DeZutter of Paulie Gees and a July 20 showing of Goodfellas (1990) paired with Pasta alla Norma by Chef Tony Priolo of Piccolo Sogno.
Before Music Box’s Liz & Monty matinee series concludes with 1951’s A Place in the Sun (July 6-7), Doc10 presents Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024). This latest documentary from Oscar-nominated director Nanette Burstein will screen at the Gene Siskel Film Center on June 30. Click here for details.
The Speak Easy Cinema series at Facets offers moviegoers craft cocktails and a showing of the pre-code, Prohibition-era film City Streets (1931) starring Gary Cooper and Sylvia Sidney on July 20. For additional information, click here.
In Highland Park, Wayfarer Theaters is hosting a Q&A with director Maureen Castle Tusty and executive producer James Tusty following the June 26th screening of She Rises Up (2024). The documentary follows radically different women from Sri Lanka, Peru and Senegal who are working to create businesses with job opportunities for women, while helping reduce poverty in their communities. Click here for tickets.