Chicago Film Society

08/15/2026

CFS is thrilled to bring three films to the New York Film Festival, all screening on film!

NYFF 64 will present the world restoration premiere of Fred Camper’s silent feature SU***DE NOTE (1976 - 1984), a diaristic dispatch from a world on the brink. Filmed largely in New York on Super 8 reversal film, SU***DE NOTE is an epic work of personal cinema in ten sections — one of which changes with each projection, its form determined by random numbers. This 16mm restoration was overseen by CFS in consultation with Camper, with the support of the NFPF and Big Creek Projects. Restoration services by BB Optics, with scanning and laboratory services by Colorlab.

Tatsu Aoki’s Chicago Loop classic HARMONY (1990), a staggering master class in optical printing with 32 layers of superimposition, will be screening in Currents Program 1; The Hidden Dimension. This new 16mm CFS restoration was supported by the NFPF and The Film Foundation with funding from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Restoration services by Colorlab and Simon Daniel Sound.

And CF’s own Cameron Worden will premiere his latest film, the wholly photochemical DAY ONE on 35mm in Currents Program 3: Surface Noise.

SEE YOU SOON NEW YORK

06/24/2024

🚨 Our Wednesday night screening of TROUBLE IN PARADISE has been canceled 🚨

We were informed very last minute that electrical work in the building will mean no electricity during our show. And even analog film projectors need electricity. Sorry everyone, we were looking forward to this

12/21/2022

TONIGHTS SHOW OF BACHELOR MOTHER IS POSTPONED. is closed today effective immediately. 😭😭😭Sorry everyone, this one is out of our hands. we hope to screen it at a later date.

10/06/2021

Hello CFS friends! We are no longer going to use this platform, but there are other ways you can stay in touch and keep up to date on our upcoming programs!

Sign up for our email list here:
https://us2.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4f965a68c33cf5b27ed172e81&id=5c9fa2af15

Find us on Twitter at: thefilmsociety
Write to us at: [email protected]

Check out our upcoming shows here: https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/calendar/current-season/

Dear audience, It is hard to make concrete plans to do pretty much anything these days, including booking film prints, confirming show dates, and all the other things we do before screening movies for you. But as infuriating as all this unpredictability is, we’re thrilled to return to in-person sh...

04/19/2021

Watch the Talman Girls tear it up in TALMAN GIRLS FUNNY FORMAL, 1956, and 8mm Kodachrome home movie salvaged from the old Bank of America Cinema before it closed. Featuring a beautiful new score by Daniel Knox.

https://vimeo.com/535107227

If anyone recognizes the venue (or anyone in the film, for that matter), let us know, we're trying to identify it!

Transferred from a reel of 8mm Kodachrome found in the projection booth at the Bank of America Cinema, "Talman Girls Funny Formal, 1956" is made up of…

01/23/2021

Wow, I guess we haven't been on Facebook in some time. Feels great. If you want to tune in for fun CFS updates, we'd suggest signing up for our mailing list: http://eepurl.com/c3YGGr

In the meantime, some recent updates:

The next issue of our critically acclaimed zine INFURIATING TIMES is available for sale here: https://chicagofilmsociety.bigcartel.com/ - you can also subscribe on our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/cfs

An episode of ZOO PARADE we scanned recently is available for viewing on our Vimeo page. A real winter treat shot in Northern Wisconsin, featuring Snoopy the Otter and Winky the Bear! https://vimeo.com/492678742

We'll be having a virtual discussion with the The Library of Congress, Cine-File Chicago, and the Chicago Public Library about our preservation of THE EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK this Tuesday at 6pm. Info here: https://bit.ly/2XY9y31

Lastly, we are turning TEN YEARS OLD this year. That's right, we've been doing this for TEN YEARS! We're collecting reminiscences of screenings past from you, the audience that made them possible. Do you have a favorite CFS screening or memory? Tell us about it here: https://forms.gle/kQ2zNmVzADpA3JXr7 Stories about the time you lost your wallet on the train on the way to the movie or the time the coffee machine at NEIU was broken are also welcome.

We'll compile some of the best responses and put them on our blog.

12/11/2020

Our preservation of THE EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK, a sponsored film (in 35mm!) about the Chicago Daily News from 1950, has been scanned and is now available for viewing here:

http://vimeo.com/489112924

Lab work by FotoKem, Funding from National Film Preservation Foundation

12/10/2020

Now accepting new cult members! Join us on Patreon for a new level of intimacy and intrigue, and help us pay the bills, too!

Become a patron of Chicago Film Society today: Get access to exclusive content and experiences on the world’s largest membership platform for artists and creators.

12/01/2020

This year we are particularly tired of corporate America brainwashing, corroding, & corrupting our society & will not be participating in this prolonged week of consumerism by asking for a giving Tuesday donation. If you would like to donate next week, visit https://chicagofilmsociety.org/support/

09/15/2020

The new CFS zine “Infuriating Times” Issue #1 is here! Featuring a very special edition of “From the Booth”, a treatise on making films at home, horoscopes, shipping blotter, and MORE! Send an email to [email protected] to get one in your mailbox! Donations for postage not required but always welcome.