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Chicago Underground Film Fest “Bar Talks” Moderated By Ray Pride

Posted Tuesday, May 5th, 2015 - Comments Off on Chicago Underground Film Fest “Bar Talks” Moderated By Ray Pride
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Where Filmmakers Meet The Audience
Moderated By Film Critic Ray Pride
The Logan Lounge at Chicago’s Logan Theatre
May 13-17, 2015

The Chicago Underground Film Festival, the world’s longest-running underground film festival, presents the fourth edition of “Bar Talks,” presented by Tribeca Flashpoint College, an informal series of talks among local and visiting filmmakers during CUFF. In four 90-minute sessions, audiences will join in spirited, wide-ranging conversations about the rapid evolution of filmmaking in the modern media landscape, the exciting revolution seen through emerging voices, and how the bold and risk-taking films chosen by the festival’s programmers reflects the best and most promising trends crowding the horizon. Led once again by Newcity film critic Ray Pride, the Bar Talks will take place in the Logan Theatre’s Logan Lounge in a democratic atmosphere without the conventions of stuffy “panel discussions” seen (and half-heard) at far too many film festivals. Each session is free and open to the public.

“Each of these filmmakers who will be sharing stories and insights are underground, even experimental filmmakers, in one way or another,” Pride says. “Their audacity in storytelling is matched only the generosity that’s characteristic of Chicago artists, which the world recognizes more each and every year. “

“Bar Talks” are part of the 2015 Chicago Underground Film Festival (May 13-17 at the Logan Theatre). The dates, topics and scheduled guests (SUBJECT TO CHANGE) are listed below. (Find full CUFF information here.)

Thursday, May 14, 5pm:  CINEMA DELIRIUM: The Making Of A Ruined Heart

Ray and Khavn de la Cruz will discuss his opening night film, Filipino filmmaking, working with cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and his prolific artistic output. Khavn is a published author, poet and musician and has made thirty-two features and more than 100 shorts since 1994; as of May 5, Khavn counts 159 films total. [Trailer here.]

Friday May 15, 5pm: TRUE FICTION

Guest filmmakers will join Ben Sachs, film critic and Chicago Reader contributing writer; Northwestern Assistant Professor and director of “Bite Radius” (CUFF 2015) Spencer Parsons; CUFF veteran Jennifer Reeder, director of “A Million Miles Away” (CUFF 2014) and “Blood Below The Skin” (CUFF 2015); Jerzy Rose, director of 2011 opening night film, “Some Girls Never Learn” and “En Plein Air” (CUFF 2015).

Saturday May 16, NOON. THE NAKED TRUTH

Guest filmmakers will join Kartemquin Films producer Maggie Bowman (Al-Jazeera America’s “Hard Earned”); Ruth Leitman (“Lipstick & Dynamite,” “Hard Earned”); Dan Rybicky (co-director, 2015’s “Almost There”); Bill Siegel, co-director of the Oscar-nominated “The Weather Underground” and “The Trials of Muhammad Ali”; artist and filmmaker Deborah Stratman (“Hacked Circuit,” CUFF 2015) and documentary filmmaker Deborah Tolchinsky, director of Northwestern’s MFA in Documentary Media program.

Sunday May 17, NOON: LOCAL OPTION: Making Films In Chicago

Guest filmmakers will join installation artist and filmmaker Melika Bass (“Waking Things,” “The Latest Sun Is Sinking Fast”); Nicole Bernardi-Reis, IFP/Chicago President and producer “Algren,” “Radical Grace,”; Stephen Cone, educator-actor-director “The Wise Kids,” “Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party”; and Jennifer Reeder (see TRUE FICTION).

The longest-running movie reviewer in Chicago, moderator Ray Pride is film critic of Newcity, a longtime contributing editor of IFP-published Filmmaker magazine, news editor of Movie City News and a photographer. Find links to his work at raypri.de

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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?

So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.

And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.

There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.

I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.

So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.

But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”

My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher

“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.

~ David Simon