From: Chicago Underground Film Festival (email suppressed)
Date: Sun Apr 19 2009 - 11:10:59 PDT
CALL FOR ENTRIES – 16th CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL
Chicago, Illinois - USA
September 10 - 13 2009
at the Gene Siskel Film Center
The 16th Annual CHICAGO UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL (CUFF), one of
Chicago's leading film events, and a must-attend festival for
cutting-edge filmmakers with defiantly independent visions.
Entry forms and guidelines available at http://www.cuff.org
CUFF stands out on the festival circuit for having a unique programming
niche, and garnering a following among hipsters, media, and industry
alike. Each year, CUFF presents an accessible, savvy program of film and
video exploring the many definitions and interpretations of the
"underground" concept. Selected films often ignore limitations of genre,
and are made with passion and drive; formal experimentation, alternative
music films, political agitprop, and high camp are not uncommon
elements of the Festival program.
Past CUFF films, producers, and filmmakers have received honors and
offers as a direct result of exposure gained and connections made at the
Festival. Feature programming highlights from years past include
premieres of NICE BOMBS, DANIELSON: A FAMILY MOVIE, Oscar-nominated
documentary THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND, THE JUCHE IDEA, THE MONKS - THE
TRANSATLANTIC FEEDBACK, and BLOOD CAR.
DEADLINES
May 15 2009 - Regular Deadline
June 15 2009 – Final Deadline
MORE ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
CUFF is a great time for attendees, filmmakers, and industry. Daily
screenings are followed by a great night of parties, events and
concerts. In Roger Ebert's words, "What you get for your money is not
just admission to the films but admission to a subculture."
What people are saying about the Chicago Underground Film Festival:
"The Chicago Underground Film Festival has spent 15 years earning a
viable reputation as a mecca for avant-garde and anti-establishment
feature filmmaking, as well as a Midwest platform for the year’s
festival circuit hits."
-Matt Dentler (former SXSW Film Fest producer)
"The Chicago Underground Film Festival is the city's most eclectic yet
best curated fest. Director and co-founder Bryan Wendorf has a knack for
uncovering work that startles, upsets and spellbinds." - Bill Stamets,
Chicago Sun-Times
"What you get for your money is not just admission to the films but
admission to a subculture"
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
“I like the word ‘underground’ as in the Chicago Underground Film
Festival. The word ‘independent’ carries a stigma of whininess.
‘Underground’ means a good time.” - John Waters
"Defiantly independent and deliberately scandalous" - Michael
Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"If you care at all about the state of culture on the margins, this is
probably the most important project in the country reflecting its
evolution" - Lumpen Magazine
"The most refreshingly offbeat film event in Chicago" - Adam Langer, The
Film Festival Guide
"A cultural mainstay on its home turf" - Ray Pride, Filmmaker Magazine
"Without CUFF my movie would not be coming out in America" - Peter Hall,
Director of DELINQUENT
"I'd like to think the work Chris Gore and I did at Film Threat helped
inspire the lunatics behind CUFF but now they're the ones inspiring
me...not just a great "underground" festival but a great film festival
PERIOD." - Dave Williams, former editor FILM THREAT
"What can be said about CUFF that hasn't already been written on every
men's room wall in Chicago? The ultimate late summer party? A film fix
for the celluloid junkies? Free food? Take your pick..." - Producer Jim
Dwyer
"I had the best time of my life at this festival. Your lives are so much
better than all those people who think they're having a good time in
Hollywood" - Penelope Spheeris, Hollywood Filmmaker
"CUFF gave me hope for the future" - George Kuchar, Underground Filmmaker
"There are still a few out there for whom the indie flame burns bright.
Right on!" - Peter Howell, Toronto Star
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.