Chicago—Eight films have been selected out of over 40 entries to create the Gene Siskel Film Center's first ever Panorama Latinx Short Film Showcase, Cortadito, which will take place at 7:15 pm on Saturday, September 22, 2018, at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, 164 N. State St. Surrounding the film program will be a master of ceremonies engaged with the audience before the show to create a memorable atmosphere and afterwards will be a reception with DJ.
The films are all by Chicago-based Latinx filmmakers representing the Latin American diaspora through the countries Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela in a variety of genres and formats, including documentaries, fictional narratives, and experimental work.
"Cortadito is the capstone of the three-year grant generously provided by the Reva & David Logan Foundation to support the Gene Siskel Film Center's Panorama Latinx programming and outreach initiative. We see Cortadito as just the beginning of creating a cohesive Latinx filmmaking community modeled after the Film Center's Black Harvest Film Festival with the goal of expanding film offerings and increased camaraderie among artists in the inclusive environment of the Gene Siskel Film Center, centrally and accessibly located in downtown Chicago. As with fellow Panorama Latinx programs presented, Cortadito is synonymous with the growth of Latin American filmmaking worldwide, reflecting the Gene Siskel Film Center's long-standing reputation as a leader in presenting international cinema," said Mev Luna, Outreach Coordinator for Panorama Latinx.
Films presented in Cortadito:
- Juan Carlos Linares' Galan ( Dandy ), the story of Puerto Rico's most successful meteorologist who reinvents himself by launching a brand of men's hair gel in the wake of losing his job and falling out with his son.
- Luis Cardena's y/our home, in which the protagonist struggles between loyalty to his parents and creating his own life with his partner when his parents bestow on him their run-down home.
- Natalia Patricia Aleman's Raices is a documentary that looks at the director's grandmother's culture, history, and nostalgia for her native Cuba and how memories redefine a sense of belonging and the meaning of heritage.
- Raquel Zaldivar's La Bienvenida is the true story of the filmmaker's father, Roberto Carlos Zaldivar, as he returns to his native Cuba which he left over a half century prior as part of a mass exodus of minors that fled to the United States through the program Operation Pedro Pan.
- GREYMAR'S Bloodshift is an experimental poem between violence and movement engaging the phenomenon redshift in which light from an object increases in wavelength to the red end of the color spectrum. GREYMAR'S Deathing explores amalgamations of memory landscapes at fluctuating speeds, navigating through such extreme environments as frozen shores and desert dunes.
- Lorena Barrera Enciso's Hoyo Negro features the body in movement via three sequences, reflecting on memories of intimacy.
- Sebastian Pinzon"n Silva's Palenque pays tribute to San Basilio de Palenque, a small town in Colombia that was the first to break from European domination.
Selections for this Cortadito were determined by a jury consisting of Alejandro Riera, Raul Benitez, and Vanessa Cuervo Forero. For more details about the films presented, visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org/cortadito .
Alejandro Riera, Panorama Latinx Outreach and Programming Consultant, is currently a media relations specialist and publicist for such events as the Chicago Latino Film Festival, the Festival Cubano, UrbanTheater Company, and the Chicago International Film Festival. He also reviews films for efilmcritic.com and Gozamos.com and worked for the Chicago Tribune's Spanish-language publications for more than a decade.
Raul Benitez, local guest juror, The Comfort Station, Chicago, has been a film programmer for 6 years at Comfort Station Logan Square, and is in his third year as a film programmer at the Nightingale Cinema. He is also the Lead Programmer for Full Spectrum Features Chicagoland Shorts. Raul was named by Newcity as a Chicago Screen Gem in 2015 and 2017 and continues to work for the Chicago Underground Film Festival.
Vanessa Cuervo Forero, international guest juror + Good Pitch, Bogota, Colombia, is a Colombian cultural worker and creative facilitator who believes in the power of art as a social transformational practice and a form of critical thinking. As a dancer, producer and curator, she explores the intersection of art, education, and social justice. Working with dance, theatre and film organizations in Toronto, Buenos Aires, New York, and Bogota, she has collected a multiplicity of stories while programming theater festivals, co-facilitating workshops, producing plays, and supporting some of the best documentaries from Latin America.
Sponsors to-date for Panorama Latinx's Cortadito are Vocalo 91.1, Cutwater Spirits, and Good Pitch Colombia.
Panorama Latinx is an initiative at the Gene Siskel Film Center supported by a three-year grant from the Reva and David Logan Foundation. Panorama Latinx engages the local Latinx community through advocacy, community partnerships, and year-round programming. The Film Center is proud to be home for international screenings, including Spanish-Language films and the important work being made by Latinx filmmakers.
Cortadito will be presented at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, located at 164 N. State St.
Tickets are $11/general admission, $7/students, $6/Film Center members, and $5/Art Institute of Chicago ( AIC ) staff and School of the Art Institute of Chicago ( SAIC ) faculty, staff, and students. All tickets may be purchased at the Film Center Box Office. Both general admission and Film Center member tickets are available through the Gene Siskel Film Center's website www.siskelfilmcenter.org/content/tickets or through the individual films' weblinks on www.siskelfilmcenter.org . There is a surcharge of $1.50 per ticket. The Film Center and its box office are open 5:00 to 8:30 pm, Monday through Thursday; 1:00 to 8:30 pm, Friday; 2:00 to 8:30 pm, Saturday; and 2:00 to 5:30 pm, Sunday.
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A Gene Siskel Film Center membership is a year-round ticket to great movies for only $6 per screening! Memberships are $50 ( Individual ) and $80 ( Dual ). For more information, call 312-846-2600 or visitwww.siskelfilmcenter.org/content/membership .
Discounted parking is available for $19 for 24 hours at the InterPark SELF-PARK at 20 E. Randolph St. A rebate ticket can be obtained from the Film Center Box Office.
The Film Center is located near CTA trains and buses. Nearest CTA L stations are Lake ( Red line ); State/Lake ( Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple lines ); and Washington ( Blue line ). CTA bus lines serving State St.: 2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 144, and 146.
For more information about the Film Center, call 312-846-2800 ( 24-hour movie hotline ) or 312-846-2600 ( general information, 9:00 am-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday ), or visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org .
—From a Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago press release
About the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago:
Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has presented cutting edge cinema to an annual audience that has grown to 85,000. The Film Center's programming includes annual film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures, premieres of trailblazing work by today's independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful provocative discussions with filmmakers and media artists. Altogether, the Film Center hosts over 1,500 screenings and 200 filmmaker appearances every year. The Film Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late, nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel. Visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org to learn more and find out what's playing today.
About The School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago ( SAIC ) has been a leader in educating the world's most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC's undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman. Learn more at saic.edu .
