From a Gene Siskel Film Center News Release, July 31, 2008 :
The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago presents its 14th Annual Black Harvest International Festival of Film and Video, Friday, Aug. 1-Thursday, Aug.28, 2008. The Midwest's biggest and best celebration of the black experience on film, Black Harvest highlights talent from around the nation and around the world, with a special emphasis on our own Chicago-based filmmakers. Of the over 30 entries in this year's festival, one-third of them were made locally.
Highlights include Opening Night, A Black Harvest Feast ( August 1 ) ; White Lies, Black Sheep ( August 4 and 7 ) ; Elvis Mitchell in person with an advance screening of HBO's The Black List, Vol. I ( August 5 ) ; a sneak preview of post-Katrina New Orleans documentary Trouble the Water ( August 6 ) ; the annual festival panel discussion How to Get a Movie Made and a free vendors' market providing information and demonstrations of production equipment ( both August 9 ) ; Liberty Kid ( August 11 and 13 ) ; Heart of Fire ( August 22 and 26 ) ; Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of New Orleans ( August 23 and 25 ) ; A Good Day to be Black & Sexy ( August 23 and 27 ) .
In recent years, Chicago has become a notable center for black independent filmmaking and this year is no exception. This year's festival features a stellar crop of newly created work, including: Sidney "Mansa" Winters' T.A.C.T.I.C.A.L. ( August 2 and 6 ) ; Deri Tyton's The Party Line ( August 9 and 14 ) ; Christopher Nolen's Subtle Seduction ( August 15 and 19 ) ; David Muhammad's The Opposite of Life ( August 17 and 19 ) ; Mike Merill's Caught in the Game ( August 22, 25, and 28 ) . From Indiana are two ambitious large-cast features by Mark Spencer: The Ballad of Sadie Hawkins ( August 10 and 12 ) and The Gilded Six-Bits ( August 24 and 27 ) , showing off the talents of Gary's West Side Theatre Guild.
Supporters of this year's Black Harvest Sponsors are NBC 5, American Airlines, The Playboy Foundation, Illinois Film Office, Nicor, Whole Foods, ICE Theaters, Time Out Chicago, and Festival Partner N'Digo.
Tickets to each screening are $9/general admission, $7/students, and $5/Film Center members. All tickets may be purchased at the Film Center Box Office. Only general admission tickets are available through Ticketmaster, 312-575-8000, www.ticketmaster.com, and at all Ticketmaster outlets. The Film Center and its Box Office are open 5:00-9:00 pm, Monday-Friday; 2:00-9:00 pm, Saturday; and 2:00-6:00 pm, Sunday.
A complete list films and showtimes can be accessed at www.siskelfilmcenter.org .
