This weekend, The Sundance Institute, partnering with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (led by Jonah Ziegler), Choose Chicago and the Chicago Film Office, brings the nation's premier independent film festival to the Midwest.
From June 28th-30th, Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024 will feature a weekend of film screenings, artist programs, and citywide events, offering a three-day mirror of the festivities that take place each January in Park City, Utah. This includes screenings of four films that played earlier this year at Sundance: The Luther Vandross documentary "Luther: Never Too Much," the Indigenous true-crime doc "Sugarcane," the Sebastian Stan-starring thriller "A Different Man," and the dark independent rom-com "Your Monster." Short film programs will accompany these screenings, as well as a presentation on how to apply to Sundance labs and artists programs.
In addition, more than a dozen community events have been organized to further link Sundance's mission with Chicago's bustling independent film and arts culture. This includes panels on sustainable innovation in independent filmmaking, roundtables on film distribution, and independent cinema's ties to Black liberation.
Most notably, on Saturday, June 29, from 12:15 pm - !pm, RogerEbert.com Publisher Chaz Ebert will participate with Whitney Spencer, Alex Thompson, Eddie Linker, Haroula Rose, and Mark Glassgow, on a panel hosted by the Chicago Media Coalition, including Sisters in Cinema: "Lights, Camera, Collaboration! The Art of Filmmaker and Funder Partnerships." The conversation will be part of a program called: Individual Investors Partnering with Filmmakers. This will take place at the Sisters in Cinema Media Arts Center at 2310 E. 75th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60649. The event continues with other segments until 3 pm.
The event is a hybrid, in person and live-streamed for those who can't attend in person. It is open to the media and is free and open to the general public. Attendees can RSVP here.
This will be followed by a book signing for Chaz Ebert's new book, It's Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity Through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion and Kindness. https://giveafeck.com
More than a Midwestern supplement to one of the world's foremost international film fests, Sundance x Chicago may well serve as a kind of test run for where the fest might go next. In April, The Sundance Institute announced that they were considering leaving Park City, Utah, its home since Robert Redford founded the fest in 1981, and finding a new host city beginning in 2027. A strong showing for this Chicago extension might make a compelling case for the city to become Sundance's new home.
You can find more programming details and tickets to public events at Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024.
