More on Black Flag/Black Tie

The CAFF folks planning the Black Flag/Black Tie event on Saturday April 19th (in the evening, after the FOR conference activities have ended for the day) passed on the following:

We are currently seeking talent from juggling to dancing, to yodelling,
magic tricks and stand up. Improv, performance art, song and dance are
also welcome.

We are also seeking a dance worthy band to be the life of the ball! Get up
and strut your anarchist stuff! Or just enjoy the show!

Dress up is encouraged but not required.

They also have a new myspace page.

Film Fest Dates

The Chicago Anarchist Film Festival has settled on its dates. It will be held the weekend of May 2-4, 2008, in a location TBA.

The deadline for submissions to the film fest is April 1st. (You can find the call for submissions here.)

2008 Chicago Anarchist Film Festival Call for Entries

For the eighth year the Chicago Anarchist Film Festival will present a sample of films from mainstream sources, rediscovered classics, and the works of filmmakers engaged in social change with an anarchist vision. Most media of all types launch attacks that distort, discredit, and deny anarchist entirely. Anarchists and their allies respond with a relentless volley of images and stories that reveal, revive, and invigorate a rich anarchist presence in society.

We are seeking un- and under-distributed films and videos to include in the 2008 Chicago Anarchist Film Festival. We also welcome suggestions for titles that may inadvertently allow anarchy to seep through the cracks of the status quo. Movie collage, music video, and trailers for works-in-progress will also be considered.

Download the CAFF Guidelines and Entry Form (PDF).

Submissions should be DVD (2 copies, any zone) or VHS (pal or ntsc). Selection is based on time allocation, relevance, quality and resonance. There are no rewards or prizes beyond our invaluable appreciation and heartfelt thanks. All entrants will be updated on the status of their submissions. we ask the contributions be made with the anarchist spirit of community and celebration with which they will be received. Solidarity!

 

Shipping costs are the responsibility of the entrants. Videos will be returned upon request. To ensure prompt return of material, please enclose $3 per submission. Otherwise, material submitted to the festival will be donated to a suitable community recipient.

 

Please mail submissions to:
CAFF 1321 N. Milwaukee #453, Chicago, IL 60622

 

Contact caff@riseup.net with any questions, comments or good jokes.

[Edit: The final deadline for submissions is April 1st, 2008]

Only a few days to go!

We’re just 3 days away from the start of Finding Our Roots and the Chicago Anarchist Film Fest! Here are a few random updates:

• The Anarchy 101 walking tour originally planned for Friday night has been cancelled and replaced with a more free-form picnic in the park:
  Fri. 6:30pm-9pm Picnic in the Park
  Location: 901 N Clark
  Join us for an evening of soap boxing, games, and food at Bughouse Square. Hear speeches from Emma Goldman, Lucy Parsons, Durruti, and more!
  If anyone is interested in checking out historical sites before the meet up, there is a lot close to the location, so feel to walk around and see where the streets came alive.
  Bughouse Square (from “bughouse,” slang for a mental health facility) is the popular name of Chicago’s Washington Square Park, where orators (“soapboxers”) held forth on warm-weather evenings from the 1910s through the mid-1960s. Located across Walton Street from the Newberry Library, Bughouse Square was the most celebrated outdoor free-speech center in the nation and a popular Chicago tourist attraction.
  In its heyday during the 1920s and 1930s, poets, religionists, and cranks addressed the crowds, but the mainstays were soapboxers from the revolutionary left, especially from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Proletarian Party, Revolutionary Workers’ League, and more ephemeral groups. Many speakers became legendary, including anarchist Lucy Parsons, “clap doctor” Ben Reitman, labor-wars veteran John Loughman, socialist Frank Midney, feminist-Marxist Martha Biegler, Frederick Wilkesbarr (“The Sirfessor”), Herbert Shaw (the “Cosmic Kid”), the Sheridan twins (Jack and Jimmy), and one-armed “Cholly” Wendorf.

There may also be a game of capture the flag!

• We dropped one workshop from the schedule, at the request of the presenter: How Does Technology Affect Our Lives. If people are still interested in that topic, perhaps a guerrilla workshop can be pulled together.
• To fill the gap left by the cancelled workshop, the Green Scare and Security Culture workshop was moved up to that Sat. 10am slot.
• We’ve added the times for the specific films for the Film Fest here.
• Dan Ollman, who made Suffering and Smiling (and The Yes Men) will be present at the screening of the film!
• If you’re looking for grub, Loyola University’s dining hall will be open during the conference. It’s located just across the street from the Quinlan building in the Simpson Center. It’s weekend hours are Brunch: 10:30am - 1:30pm, Deli & Grill: 1:30pm - 3:00pm, Dinner: 4:30pm - 7:45pm. You can find more info on Loyola dining services here. They claim to have ample vegetarian options.

Film Fest Addition

We just added this latecomer to the film fest schedule:

SUFFERING AND SMILING (Dan Ollman, 2006, 60 min)
From the director of “Yes Men” (2003), this documentary is about the career and politics of Fela Anikulapo Kuti and his son Femi — who is carrying on where his father left off. Both carry the weight of the poverty of the people of Nigeria on their back. An astute look into the corrupt government and foreign “investment” that is the root cause of Nigerian (and African) poverty. Chicago Premier!

Film Fest Schedule

The Chicago Anarchist Film Fest schedule has been posted, so check it out!

We’ve also updated the raffle prizes.

Chicago Anarchist Film Fest

The 7th Annual Chicago Anarchist Film Fest will take place this year in conjunction with the Finding Our Roots anarchist theory conference on April 28-29th. Films will be shown from 7:30pm to 10:30pm on both nights.

WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR SUBMISSIONS!!!!

Send submissions to:
CAAF
1573 N. Milwaukee #460
Chicago, Illinois 60622

Submissions should arrive by March 15TH, 2007. Please include a short bio about yourself and the film. Sorry, but we can not reimburse for the cost of postage. All questions, suggestions and comments can be emailed to affc [at] riseup [dot] net.