Point of View: A Retrospective of Joe Sedelmaier

As one of his generation's quintessential Mad Men, television commercial director Joe Sedelmaier's work was iconic, dynamic, and instantly recognizable--some twenty to thirty years later, people are still wondering 'Where's the beef?” He turned the advertising world on its brain-damaged head by casting offbeat non-actors in still-unforgettable spots. His brilliant, frequently hysterical commercials for Wendy's, Alaska Airlines, Federal Express and others were snappy slices of cultural quirk that tapped into the Cold War-fearing, corporate workaholic zeitgeist of the '70s and '80s with a sense of humor that cracked billions of smiles, sold billions of burgers, and sped up the default rhythm of time-based media.

Halsted Street, USA

This documentary takes the viewer on a journey along Halsted Street, from the southern tip of Illinois, north through various Chicago neighborhoods, to the end of the road at Broadway in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood.

Vito

This 1978 documentary classic is an inside look at the old-style Chicago Machine politics of the Richard J. Daley era, where Alderman Vito Marzullo ran his West Side 25th Ward virtually unchallenged from 1953-1985.

Chicago Stories: Marshall Field's

Discover the rise and fall of the legendary department store Marshall Field’s.

Leo from Chicago

The Vatican media documentary about the roots of Robert Francis Prevost in his native United States. It follows an itinerary that begins with his childhood in Dolton, through the memories of his brothers Louis and John, and continues among schools and universities, communities and parishes, featuring the voices of confreres, teachers, classmates, and longtime friends. A production of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, in collaboration with the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Apostolate El Sembrador Nueva Evangelización (ESNE), broadcast on the official channels of Vatican Radio – Vatican News.

Chicago Fire Department Runs

Footage of the Chicago fire department in the 1890s.

The Cherry Picker: A Portrait of Frank Piliero

Francis "Frank" Piliero, at the age of 78, explores his lifelong relationship with hockey and what healthy aging means to him.

In Pictures Did You Get It Right?

A love letter to the first three months of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Madison

Walter Schmitt, a once-prominent Chicago hotel developer, fights to revive his stalled legacy through an ambitious international expansion. When the pressure mounts, a chance encounter with a mysterious, powerful investor sparks a high-stakes new chapter that tests the limits of his ambition.

It's Just a Fucking Opening

Up-and-coming artist Anisa is woefully unprepared for the pettiness and performative antics taking place at the gallery opening for her latest pieces. Everything but the artwork seems to take center stage. With an absent girlfriend and career-oriented bestie focused on their own priorities, Anisa is left to spiral alone at the end of the night.

Harmony

A tour de force exercise in optical printing shot in the Chicago Loop

Bolinho de Chuva

Our Friend Just Died

After their roommate commits suicide by ceiling fan, two young men try to distract themselves.

Rapturous

An ecstatic exploration of a Chicago parking garage

Piano Dance

"Piano Dance shows the viewer a shadowy piano accompanied by the sound of piano music. The piano is then seen to be a toy, the headdress of a woman with hollow eyes and a pasty face who moves like a marionette in a weird dance. She is dressed as if she were a cabaret performer in black tie and tails and white gloves. The images whirl and the piano is both large and small as the camera sees it in varying scale. The protagonist does not appear to move of her own volition but by the will of another. Her dance fades, not because it is over but because we are no longer privileged to see it. One feels that it continues eternally." — Barbara Sharres, "Trance Occurrences," Chicago Reader, January 15 1982.

MUM

As Singapore extends its lockdown amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, a work-from-home mother fights for her job while her domestic helper seizes an opportunity to do the unthinkable. But nothing is ever as they seem. A cautionary tale about 2 mothers, lives overlooked and voices mummed, /mʌm/ is a psychological drama with elements of an evocative thriller that examines Singaporeans’ symbiotic relationship with migrant workers.

Blue Aura

ca. 1980-81, 4 min, Super-8mm. "In Blue Aura, a man and woman are asleep in bed. The dream begins with a crudely made, whirling paper spiral and the woman is twirled out of bed to her strange mission. The man remains in his own unconscious ritual, looking like a Byzantine saint in face and form. The sheets rise to either side of him in stylized drapes and fall across his body in curving pleats. The dream continues and the man joins the woman, but as if in a separate dream of his own. The film ends but the dream does not seem to; the man and woman are trapped in this half-life and dream on." — Barbara Sharres, "Trance Occurrences," Chicago Reader, January 15 1982.

A Tight Squeeze

A desperate actor's callback spirals when an embarrassing mishap with the group's intimidating captain forces them into a secret pact.

Just A Taste

Do you believe in God?

WE FOUND THE CHICAGO GORILLA!!! (GONE WRONG)

Two film majors, determined to debunk the urban legend of the “Chicago Gorilla,” get more than they bargained for after their investigation unveils a much more sinister discovery.