“Because time is out there, eaten by light.” - Norma Cole
2 0 0 9:
+processing ghosts in toledo, ohio +disposable cameras +frederick wiseman / titicut follies @ the portage theater, chicago +dinah +thesis +take your time / olafur eliasson @ the mca, chicago +mississippi delta +austin, texas +migala
CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Chicago, Illinois –
USA
September 10 to 13, 2009
at The Gene Siskel Film Center
The 16th Annual CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL (CUFF) is an internationally recognized showcase of avant-garde, documentary, and cult cinema, promoting adventurous films that experiment in form, technique, or content and that transcend expectations in the Windy City. This renowned festival has carved out its own niche, exploring the many definitions and interpretations of the “underground” concept. CUFF boasts a history of superb programming that has garnered a following among the media and industry; notable selections and premieres from years past include DELIVER, ACCIDENTS AT HOME AND HOW THEY HAPPEN, NICE BOMBS, SONIC OUTLAWS, and the Oscar nominated documentary THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND.
Many notable names in experimental filmmaking have screened at CUFF, ranging from acknowledged masters Kenneth Anger and George Kuchar to today’s stars like Kevin Jerome Everson and Cory Archangel. The Chicago Sun-Times writes, “[CUFF] is the city’s most eclectic yet best curated fest…. [and] has a knack for uncovering work that startles, upsets and spellbinds.”
MISSION AND OBJECTIVE
The Chicago Underground Film Festival exists to showcase the defiantly independent filmmaker, and films made with passion, obsession, and drive.
MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
CUFF is well attended by programmers and curators from across the U.S. and abroad, leading to many opportunities for additional exposure for exhibiting filmmakers. In Variety, Matt Dentler, former SXSW Programming Director declares, “[CUFF] has spent 15 years earning a viable reputation for avant-garde and anti-establishment filmmaking, as well as a Midwest platform for the year’s festival circuit hits.”
The Festival is a great time for attendees, filmmakers, and industry. Daily screenings are followed by a great night of parties, events and concerts. In Roger Ebert’s words, “What you get for your money is not just admission to the films but admission to a subculture.”
In the words of CUFF organizers, “if you suspect your film is ‘underground,’ it probably is.” Submit to Chicago Underground Film Festival today!
DON’T MISS THIS YEAR’S OPENING NIGHT FEATURE: IT CAME FROM KUCHAR
In 1994, Komar & Melamid hired Marttila & Kiley, Inc. to conduct a survey of 1001 adults across the U.S., in order to research the general public’s aesthetic preferences and taste in painting. The Most Wanted Painting reflects the artists’ response to the survey results. See their website for specific survey results and least wanted paintings.
In a way it was a traditional idea, because a faith in numbers is fundamental to people, starting with Plato’s idea of a world which is based on numbers. In ancient Greece, when sculptors wanted to create an ideal human body they measured the most beautiful men and women and then made an average measurement, and that’s how they described the ideal of beauty and how the most beautiful sculpture was created. In a way, this is the same thing; in principle, it’s nothing new. It’s interesting: we believe in numbers, and numbers never lie. Numbers are innocent. It’s absolutely true data. It doesn’t say anything about personalities, but it says something more about ideals, and about how this world functions. That’s really the truth, as much as we can get to the truth. Truth is a number. - Alex Melamid
