Aurora Film Society

06/15/2026

WEDNESDAY: The Aurora Film Society is pleased to present John Sayles’ “City of Hope!”

We linked to Roger Ebert’s original review of the movie last week, and in it Ebert compared “City of Hope” to Richard Linklater’s “Slacker.” In Ebert’s words, both films drift between various characters who occasionally occupy the same space but whose lives don’t always intersect.

But, as Glenn Erickson points out in this review of the recent Blu-ray release on Trailers From Hell, there’s a key difference between the films that Ebert didn’t note. Linklater’s movie bounces from character to character aimlessly, as if moving on as it get bored. Sayles, on the other hand, uses the device very deliberately to show how connected all his characters are even though they’re not aware of it.

Come on out and join us this Wednesday evening, June 17th, at The Venue (21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora) for “City of Hope!” The doors will be open starting at 6:30 p.m. to give everyone a chance to mingle and grab a drink from the bar, with the film itself starting shortly after 7 p.m.

A previously scarce John Sayles films surfaces in a beautiful widescreen edition. Cynicism and frustration pits a town against itself, in a story of civic trouble that echoes Bruce Springsteen’s laments for America’s crumbling cities. Builder Tony Lo Bianco is in hock to the Mob, and can’t pre...

06/12/2026

Our June screening is just one of the many awesome things coming to The Venue all month!

It's a June boon as The Venue hosts four amazing shows this week. Make sure to get your tickets while you still can!

06/12/2026

WEDNESDAY: The Aurora Film Society proudly presents writer/director John Sayles’ “City of Hope!”

To say Sayles has had an interesting career would be putting it lightly. Starting out writing scripts like “Battle Beyond the Stars” and “Piranha” for Roger Corman, he broke out with his directorial debut, “Return of the Secaucus 7” in 1980. From there, he earned a MacArthur Grant that funded his follow-up “Brother From Another Planet,” which we screened last year.

In this interview with IndieWire after the release of “City of Hope” on Blu-ray in 2016, Sayles reflects on the film’s messages, how it presages the fragmented nature of mass media today, and how he took advantage of the widescreen format to tell his sprawling story of urban struggle.

We hope you’ll be with us when we screen “City of Hope” this coming Wednesday, June 17th, at The Venue (21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora). Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to give everyone a chance to grab a drink and mingle, with the movie itself starting shortly after 7 p.m. We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

John Sayles sits down with IndieWire to discuss his 1991 inner-city drama ‘City of Hope’, as well as the hope for cinema’s preservation.

06/10/2026

NEXT WEDNESDAY: Join the Aurora Film Society when we screen John Sayles’ sprawling 1991 drama, “City of Hope!”

At the core of “City of Hope” is the question of how long idealism can withstand the relentless assault of reality. As Roger Ebert points out in his interview upon the film’s release, the answer may be disheartening in the short term but the possibility of better things in the long term is what fuels idealism in the first place.

Ebert focuses on a scene midway through the movie where the young city councilman played by Joe Morton meets with a former Black mayor who tells him about how long it took to integrate the country club where he golfs in his retirement. It took years of determination enduring the cold shoulders of his white colleagues, even with his position as a former mayor, but eventually he wears them down. The implications for Morton’s character are laid bare: even when you have right on your side, affecting positive change is a long, painful process. In a lot of ways, that scene can be seen as the film’s central thesis.

“City of Hope” is a very human film, depicting a city filled with people wronging each other while believing they’re doing the right thing under the circumstances. We sincerely hope you’ll come out and experience it yourself when we show it next Wednesday, June 17th, at The Venue (21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for mingling with your fellow movie-lovers, and the film itself starts shortly after 7 p.m.

John Sayles' “City of Hope” is like a wheel of torture, to which the characters are chained. It goes around and around, sometimes through fire, sometimes

06/05/2026

Looking for something new to do this summer? The Aurora Film Society’s Filmmaking Workshop is back! This is a unique opportunity to learn how to make your own movies with the help of experienced artists. The workshop is open to anyone aged 15 and up who wants to learn more about everything that goes into the filmmaking process, from the basics of visual storytelling to editing.

The workshop sessions will be held at the Aurora Public Library (Santori Library, 101 S River St, Aurora, IL 60506) from 2 to 4:30pm every Sunday between June 7 and August 2nd (except July 5th).

Cost is $15.00 per session or $80.00 for all sessions, and you can sign up by following the link below!

AFS Filmmaking Workshop Hello, all you film lovers! We are thrilled to announce the return of The Aurora Film Society’s Filmmaking Workshop! This is a unique opportunity for you, or your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews — you get the idea — anyone 15 years or age or older to learn the building...

06/01/2026

THIS MONTH: The Aurora Film Society’s June film is John Sayles’ 1991 drama, “City of Hope!”

A portrait of a community straining at its seams, “City of Hope” weaves in and out of its characters’ lives to tell a story with no easy resolutions. Central to the story is a luxury condominium development and the low-income housing that stands in the way of its construction. With a corrupt City Hall anxious to get the project started, the builder faces pressure to get the land’s current residents out of the picture.

At the same time, a new and idealistic city councilman struggles to earn the respect of his constituents, who view him as a sellout. When a racially charged crime causes tensions to boil over, he’s forced to reconcile his principles with how things actually get done in the city.

“City of Hope” is a complex, well-told story about numerous people whose paths in many cases never intersect but are all connected. Although the movie was very well-received by critics in 1991, it failed to generate much interest at the box office and remains relatively obscure today. (The link for the trailer below was the highest-quality we could find that wasn’t dubbed into German!)

The skill and audacity of its filmmaking and resonant story nevertheless make “City of Hope” a film worth seeing, and we sincerely hope you’ll join us when we screen it on Wednesday, June 17th! As always, we’ll be getting together at The Venue (21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora). Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. to give everyone time to mingle and grab a drink, and the movie will begin shortly after 7 p.m.

Forum topic: https://www.prijevodi-online.org/smf/index.php/topic,38996.0.html

05/28/2026

SCHOOL’S ALMOST OUT, but there’s never a bad time to learn something new! Case in point, this summer we’re bringing back our Aurora Film Society Filmmaking Workshop!

This is a great opportunity for anyone aged 15 and up to learn how to make their own movies. Each session focuses on a different aspect of film development and production so that by the end you’ll be ready to get behind the camera and start telling your own cinematic stories. These sessions are led by actual filmmakers and professionals with real-life experience. Among the subjects the workshop will cover are:

• Shot composition
• Editing
• Sound design
• Visual story telling
• Film history

The workshop sessions will be held at the Aurora Public Library (Santori Library, 101 S River St, Aurora, IL 60506) from 2 to 4:30pm every Sunday between June 7 and August 2nd (except July 5th).

Cost is $15.00 per session or $80.00 for all sessions, and you can find links to sign up on our website by following the link in this post. Space is limited, so make sure you get your spot! Stay tuned for news about our June screening coming up soon!

AFS Filmmaking Workshop Hello, all you film lovers! We are thrilled to announce the return of The Aurora Film Society’s Filmmaking Workshop! This is a unique opportunity for you, or your kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews — you get the idea — anyone 15 years or age or older to learn the building...

05/21/2026

THANK YOU to everyone who came out last night to watch “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” with us! If you couldn’t make it, you missed out on a really powerful and interesting film and some interesting discussion afterward.

If you’ve ever seen “Raising Arizona,” you might remember H.I.’s obnoxious friend talking about what he calls a “Way Homer,” meaning a joke that you only get “on the way home.” With a movie like “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” there’s a lot to digest and sometimes we can’t think of a way to articulate our thoughts about it until we’re already on the way home.

So here’s your opportunity to share any “Way Homers” you might have had about last night’s movie. Maybe you didn’t formulate a thought about it until you left The Venue or maybe you didn’t feel comfortable sharing it on the microphone. Whatever the case may be, we’d love to hear your stray thoughts or questions about the movie.

To provide a sort of jumping-off point, here’s something interesting that didn’t come up during the discussion last night: Shula’s cousin Bupe is seemingly hospitalized twice, but was she? Her unexplained appearance in the pantry right after Shula takes her to the hospital comes as a shock. But within minutes, Bupe has collapsed and Shula and Nsansa have to drag her out of the house. With so many surreal visuals and occurrences throughout the film, it’s hard to say definitively if Bupe’s sudden “recovery” actually happens or not. What do you all think?

05/20/2026

TONIGHT: The Aurora Film Society presents Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl!”

How important is maintaining the appearance of a happy family? Do the dead deserve more respect than the living? Where is the line between honoring the deceased and ignoring their crimes?

These are just some of the thorny questions Nyoni’s film explores, all against the backdrop of a Zambian family funeral. Filled with dark and surreal imagery, “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” elevates itself beyond the typical family drama.

We hope you’ll come out tonight and join us to see this unique movie, learn a bit about what shaped it, and talk about what it has to say. As always, we’ll be gathering at The Venue (21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora), with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Come on out, grab a drink, and commune with your fellow film buffs before the movie starts a little after 7 p.m. We’re looking forward to seeing you later tonight!

05/18/2026

WEDNESDAY: Join the Aurora Film Society for “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl!”

Although few people would claim to enjoy them, funerals nevertheless play an important role in practically all cultures. One of the most interesting things about “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” is how it explores what purpose a funeral serves in Zambian culture. For better and worse, it holds the family unit together and reinforces its values.

This interview with Slant features writer/director Rungano Nyoni talking about how funerals can be at the same time comforting and stifling, and how that dynamic serves as the balance point for all the tension expressed.

We sincerely hope you’ll come out this Wednesday, May 20th, at The Venue (21 S. Broadway in downtown Aurora) to experience this film for yourself. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m., and the movie will begin shortly after 7 p.m.

Rungano Nyoni and Susan Chardy discuss how they collaborated to develop the character of Shula, and what the film's ending means to each of them.