Music inspired by films. Films all about music. The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival gives you the best of both worlds plus VJs, DJs and exclusive Q & A sessions. It’s running from April 13-17 – and partly in Logan Square.
Here are a few of my picks. For the full shebang visit CIMMfest.
Thursday
Aurora L’Orealis
Burlington (3425 W Fullerton Ave), 9 pm
To simulate tonight’s auditory experience, you could take your copy of My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless to a manufacturing plant and press play. Or you could go to the Burlington and listen to Aurora L’Orealis meld shoegaze, psychedelic pop and industrial grind into one mesmerizing sound.
Playing with Cafe Racer – psych in your garage with lots of reverb.
Friday
Half-Cocked
Logan Theatre (2646 N Milwaukee Ave), 10:30 pm
Spend a night in the indie music underground of the mid-90’s, when angst was inspiration and anybody could make it big. Featuring members of Rodan, Lambchop, and Grifters.
Playing with David Fair is the King, a short about David Fair of Half Japanese.
The Hunger
Logan Theatre, 11 PM
The epitome of dark, erotic splendor, the Hunger stars three stage and screen immortals: the late, great David Bowie as Catherine Deneuve’s undead lover and Susan Sarandon as her “femme d’amour.” A perfect way to end a Friday night. Or any night…
Saturday
Gary Numan: Android in La La Land
Logan Theatre, 5 pm
Gary Numan was an alien before his time. He suffered from Asperger’s syndrome, a condition known for repetitive behaviors, unusual preoccupations and exceptional talents in a single area. Numan became the grandfather of electronic music. This documentary puts a human side to the robotic.
If you’re not already out dancing, stay for the 7 pm U.S. premiere of “Desire Will Set You Free”, a story about the Berlin queer and punk underground with appearances by Peaches, Nina Hagen and Blixa Bargeld.
Playing with a special live mix of Killing Joke’s “The Beautiful Dead.”
Czardashian Rhapsody
Comfort Station (2579 N Milwaukee Ave), 8:15 pm
Classical music videos rarely get their place in the sun. So the Chicago-based International Beethoven Projects curated a selection of the best. The result is the “Czardashian Rhapsody”–it runs for 70 minutes and there’s not a Kim, Kourtney or Khloé in sight.
Cracked Actor
Logan Theatre, 10:45 PM
It’s Bowie-time again! Cracked Actor gives us the rare chance to see this BBC doc on the late musician as he transitioned from Ziggy Stardust to the Man Who Fell to Earth. Apparently this alchemy required lots of cocaine.
Sunday
1001 Afternoons in Chicago
Comfort Station, 3 pm
In his book and Chicago Daily News column, Legendary Chicago Newsman Ben Hecht called Chicago a “vast, broken mirror reflecting itself.” This 30-minute film captures these reflections and refractions, to the sounds of contemporary classical ensemble, Access Contemporary Music.
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars
Lincoln Hall (2424 N Lincoln Ave) 3:30 pm
I was trying to stick to Logan Square, but for Bowie? Make your way east to see Bowie’s extraterrestrial glam-rock alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, in an era-defining concert film. Then go home and listen to Bowie for the rest of the night. OR…
Love & Mercy
Logan Theatre, 8:30 pm
If there is a such thing as a Perfect Album, Pet Sounds is definitely a contender. Love & Mercy features John Cusack as the album’s mastermind, Beach Boy Brian Wilson, on a roller-coaster ride of insanity, artistic genius and romance.
Playing with Bastardgeist “Coast”, quick cuts of Chicago in black and white.
More CIMMfest recommendations from LoganSquarist staff can be found here.
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