Almost as soon as the group formed earlier this year, the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle began making plans for its first film showcase, including two screenings Nov. 6 at the Wilmette Theatre.
“We decided early on to host a film festival to introduce ourselves to the public and prove we could actually do something,” said CIFCC director Michael Glover Smith, also an author, film lecturer, critic for Time Out Chicago and writer/director, who released his first feature, “Cool Apocalypse,” last year.
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At the same time, Smith added, the group, which will also present its first awards ceremony in January, wanted to keep plans for its first film program realistically modest. Instead of attempting a larger festival, it will present one film (James Redford’s “Resilience,” a documentary linking medical conditions to childhood experiences) Nov. 5 at the Gene Siskel Film Center and a double feature (the Ecuadorian thriller “Thirst” by Chicago-based writer/director Joe Houlberg about a blind woman and her friends and “The Art of the Video Essay” by award-winning video essayist Kevin B. Lee) the following evening at the Wilmette. The creators of all three films will be present for post-screening discussions with the audience.
“That was important to us,” Smith said. “We want the audiences to be able to interact with the filmmakers face to face and ask them questions directly.”
Wilmette Theatre Executive Director Wendy Sharon said she’s enthusiastic about the showcase and the CIFCC in general.
“We are always looking for unique content for our audience and we’ve gotten to know a number of the CIFCC reviewers who have come to our previous film festivals,” she said. “And we always do our best to support independent filmmakers. So when they approached us, we were happy to say yes.”
Independence is one of the primary concerns of the new group, but not only in terms of filmmaking.
“We felt this is a group that needed to exist as a kind of alternative to the other critics groups in town,” said Smith — particularly the long-established Chicago Film Critics Association. “We think the CFCA does great work and we’re actually friendly with a lot of the members of that group, but their rules are very strict in terms of who can get in. You have to do a certain amount of writing, regularly, in order to qualify for membership and that excludes a lot of really good critics, some of whom approach film criticism in other ways.”
“For instance,” he added, “I think Kevin B. Lee is one of the best critics in the world today but, even though he lives in Chicago, he was not eligible to join the CFCA because of his medium. And he’s internationally known for his video essays. He’s presented them at film festivals all over the world. So we invited him to join our group.
“Our mission is two-fold,” Smith continued. “We wanted to actively recruit female and minority film critics and also people who are using podcasts and video essays and other forms in addition to traditional print media. We’re trying to be progressive in terms of membership, the type of films we emphasize, and technology.”
Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle screenings
When: “Thirst” at 5 p.m. and “The Art of the Video Essay” at 8 p.m. Nov. 6
Where: Wilmette Theatre, 1122 Central Ave., Wilmette.
Admission: $10; $8.50 for students and seniors.
Contact: 847-251-7424, www.chicagoindiecritics.org and www.wilmettetheater.com