Chicago Film Festivals

You name it; there is a festival for it! Beer, popcorn, ice-cream, garlic, alligators and children each have a party venue of their own. Festivals are the events that highlight the calendars of small towns, suburbs and cities across the nation.

Chicago is a city known for its fair share of festivals. Food is a big event in the City of Big Shoulders, hosting an annual festival called The Taste of Chicago- or just "The Taste" to the natives. Chicago is also known for its film festivals. What better companion to food than a good movie?

One of the most honored Chicago film festivals is the Chicago International Film Festival. Organized in 1964 and opened the following year by Michael Kutza, this Chicago film festival features various works by first and second-time filmmakers worldwide. The jury reflects the international admittance and usually pulls in the big shots. Anyone from Steven Spielberg to Halle Barry can be seen at this Chicago film festival.

The Chicago International Film Festival is a competitive Chicago film festival featuring specific genres where filmmakers compete with and are judged by their peers. Additionally, special achievement awards are handed out to actors and filmmakers whose careers have impacted the art-form.

A more discrete Chicago film festival is the Chicago Underground Film Festival, or the "CUFF." This Chicago film festival began in 1994; it is a competition that runs through mid-August at the Music Box Theatre. Feature films and artists working either against or in spite of the grain are featured here. Concepts of satirical and dramatic matters are this Chicago film festival's flavor. One of the niceties of a Chicago film festival for the Bohemian crowd is the after-party following screenings. People usually enjoy a series of flicks and then go out for food, libation and live music.

Whether a frivolous excursion or artistic adventure, we seldom realize the social impacts of film. A Chicago film festival steeped in activism is Reeling. Reeling includes The Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, a jury prize competition known to accept international submissions. Grant funded through local and federal organizations, this Chicago film festival began in April 1981 on W. Hubbard Street to a sold-out crowd.

Demand and a profound progressive mindset are the driving forces behind Reeling. Volunteers are called to help with the events and carry forth the prominent Chicago film festival's mission to provide a space and voice for a sector "too often misrepresented or ignored in mainstream film and television." Reeling is fighting back with film.

It takes all kinds of films to make the reel go 'round and 'round. Chicago film festivals are the perfect events to get acquainted with genres and subjects seldom at popular disposal. The festivals mentioned are just a sampling; the city has an even wider variety to exploit. So, go to "The Taste," but don't forget to take in a screening while all that delicious Chicago food slowly digests.