Around the Coyote
Around the Coyote Arts Festival presents a program of independent works by local artists on Saturday and Sunday, September 12 and 13. Films will be screened by video projection at Celluloid Moviebar, 1805 W. Division. For more information, call 773-772-3663.
The Need
Thomas Gustafson’s debut is a short narrative about the desire for companionship, told from the perspective of a circus freak. (Saturday, 2:00; Sunday, 5:55)
Blood/Memory
Marie-Francoise Theodore’s five-minute film uses blood as a metaphor for human interconnectedness. (Saturday, 2:25; Sunday, 2:30)
Films by Steven J. Foley
Pencil and Graphite (1992) is an “experimental narrative” that mixes black and white with color to depict an artist who can’t differentiate fantasy from reality. In Notes (1997) a woman whose lover has deserted her spends the night with a stranger to alleviate her loneliness. Recess tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who learns that his father has died. (Saturday, 2:30; Sunday, 2:00)
Info Love
Jennifer Shiman directed this five-minute digital animation about an octopus and turtle from Neptune who fly to earth to create an infomercial for their product, an antidepressant dispensed from an aerosol can. (Saturday, 2:55; Sunday, 5:50)
Selected Works by Jim Sikora
Two works by the local independent filmmaker. Rock & Roll Punk is about as original as its title. A fictional rock band hailing from Elgin tries to become famous and struggles briefly to stay off weed while rehearsing. The band changes its name from “the Blowhards” to “the Out-Patients”; the members are interviewed by a guy who puts out a fanzine called Eat My Scene; a spacey promoter asks the group to consider dinner theater. The main problem with all this is that the real rock scene is a lot funnier–and already includes its own self-parody. The acting isn’t awful, but the film isn’t cohesive enough to suggest that the band really cares about its music or to make anyone care. (FC) Bullet on a Wire concerns an ex-con (Jeff Strong) involved in an insurance scam who ruins the life of a young woman (Lara Phillips). (Saturday, 3:00; Sunday, 6:30)
It Won’t Be Long
Following a one-night stand, a couple of 20-somethings find themselves snowbound in an apartment and are forced to deal with one another. (Saturday, 4:30; Sunday, 3:40)
The Burning Man Festival
Joe Winston, creator of the cable-access program This Week in Joe’s Basement, directed this 1996 documentary about a Nevada festival in which all manner of deviant behavior culminates in the torching of a 40-foot-tall human effigy. On the same program, Winston’s sequel, Burning Man: Just Add Couches. (Saturday, 4:50; Sunday, 4:20)
Twilight
Raoul Vehill’s feature, filmed in Chicago, charts the 24-hour love affair between an ecstasy dealer and a cokehead. (Saturday, 6:00; Sunday, 2:35)
The Angels Are Coming Back
Malgorzata Goralczyk directed this short documentary (previously shown on Channel 11) about the restoration of the angels atop Saint Mary of the Angels Church. (Saturday, 7:15; Sunday, 4:00)
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Info Love still.