Chicago Filmmakers

10/13/2026

Three new classes are now open for registration, including an extra session of our sold-out Cinematography and Lighting course! 🎥

💡CINEMATOGRAPHY AND LIGHTING | 11/3 - 12/22 | In-Person Class

Sign up: https://chicagofilmmakers.org/adult-filmmaking-classes/cinematography-and-lighting-9p9wh

📺 WRITING TV PILOTS | 1/12 - 2/16 | Virtual Class

Sign up: https://chicagofilmmakers.org/adult-filmmaking-classes/writing-tv-pilots-i-virtual-715-826

✍️ FOUNDATIONS OF SCREENWRITING | 1/13 - 3/3 | Virtual Class

Sign up: https://chicagofilmmakers.org/adult-filmmaking-classes/screenwriting-1-online

10/06/2026

We are now accepting applications for our Fall 2026 Workforce Training Program! This program is tuition-free and prepares trainees for Production Assistant jobs on Illinois film and TV sets. BIPOC applicants and/or those who identify as female, gender non-conforming, and/or LBGTQ+ are strongly encouraged to apply.

Learn more and apply here: https://chicagofilmmakers.org/workforce-training-program

10/02/2026

“A thoughtful, literary look at the works and life of one of the best US storytellers in the last fifty years” - Ron Jacobs, CounterPunch⁠
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RUSSELL BANKS: I WRITE IN ORDER TO BE A BETTER PERSON will be screening next week at Chicago Filmmakers! Join us Saturday, October 10 at 7:00 PM, with directors Denis Mueller and Ilko Davidov in Person!⁠
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Tickets available at https://chicagofilmmakers.org/upcoming-screenings-and-events/russell-banks

09/21/2026

They are also showing the experimental and q***r film "Languid" tonight!:

Set against a kaleidoscopic view of the Midwest, LANGUID follows a budding romance between Alex and Joe that is thrown into disarray by a mysterious disappearance. Nebraska-based filmmaker and visual artist MJ Strasburger’s film is a meditation on the ambiguities of love, youth in a time of decay, and impermanence. The film overflows with images and sounds you can feel—incandescent surroundings, glowing skin, dew-speckled prairies, burning love: this is immersive cinema. For audiences hungering for something beyond the boundaries of conventional films, LANGUID offers a hypnotic cinematic experience that announces the arrival of a major talent.

Knight Jr. is going to moderate an exclusive conversation with director, producer, and screenwriter MJ Strasburger and actor Rin Kaseman

GET YOUR TICKETS! If you're a fan of Onion City Experimental Film Festival then this film is for you!

Amid a swirl of despondency and desire, a sudden disappearance disrupts an all-consuming romance in a hypnotic meditation on love, youth, and impermanence that marks filmmaker MJ Strasburger as a striking new cinematic voice.

09/21/2026

it's day five of Reeling Film Fest and so many filmmakers are in town tonight, so get your tickets to the films and keep the magic going! We've got "Lunar Sway" playing tonight:

In this dark, quirky, s*xy black comedy, handsome Cliff navigates a series of s*xual, romantic, familial, and criminal misadventures in the desert town of Mooncrest. He spends his days making neon signs, obsessing over his ex-boyfriend, and sparring with his therapist. His world is upended when Marg (Liza Weil, GILMORE GIRLS, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER) arrives, claiming to be his birth mother, followed by Bailey, a bounty hunter who warns Cliff that nothing is as it seems. What follows is a surreal coming-of-age journey through seedy motels, unexpected s*xual encounters, low-level scams, and unforgettable fringed cowboy shirts.

Clint Worthington from Block Club Chicago will be leading the Q&A with the director, Nick Butler

In this dark, quirky black comedy, a bis*xual sign maker’s humdrum life is thrown into surreal chaos when a woman claiming to be his birth mother (Liza Weil, GILMORE GIRLS) and a mysterious bounty hunter lead him through a series of bizarre encounters in a Lynchian desert town.

09/15/2026

A preview of what's to come at the latest edition of Chicago's preeminent LGBTQIA+ film festival.

09/15/2026

09/12/2026

Mermaid is another top pick this year at Reeling Film Fest and our Narrative Centerpiece!

an unlikely and beautiful friendship between a grief stricken drag queen and a trans child who longs to be a mermaid. Their friendship brings a new sense of purpose and hope into both their lives.

Don't miss a special post-screening Q&A for the film! Our narratives programmer Tatum Yancey will host a conversation with the multi-talented Fia Perera, who serves as the director, producer, and screenwriter of the film!

When Cassie, a trans child who longs to be a mermaid, forms an unlikely friendship with the drag queen Pepper, both of their lives are transformed through the bonds of chosen family, allowing them to find q***r magic in a world that tries to stifle who they are.

09/12/2026

another Reeling Film Fest pick?

Body Blow!

Disgraced muscle-bound cop Aiden is thrust into Sydney’s neon-soaked gay district where a chance encounter with Cody—a seductive bartender and s*x worker—sparks a dangerous spiral. Blackmailed into working for Fat Frankie, a murderous drag queen mob boss, Aiden is drawn into a deadly heist and a twisted game of survival. As he battles desire, betrayal, and his own demons, Aiden must decide if redemption is worth the price. Dean Francis’ campy, over-the-top, s*x-soaked gay noir calls to mind the 80s films of Brian De Palma and Paul Verhoeven.

Danger and desire go hand-in-hand as a musclebound young cop goes undercover in Sydney’s gay scene, only to fall for an alluring t***k fatale, in Dean Francis’ explicit and campy neo-noir thriller.

09/11/2026

also Reeling Film Fest check out Before I Do by Jaffe

a cozy lakeside gay bachelor party with your oldest friends couldn’t possibly have any drama—right?

Before I Do is coming to Reeling44, get your tickets at the link and be prepared to name your favorite Meryl Streep movie

This screening features a live post-film discussion with director/screenwriter Gary Jaffe and producer Emily McCann Lesser moderated by Matt Simonette, Publisher of Windy City Times.

A lakeside gay bachelor party becomes a dramatic hotbed of impulsive hookups and second chances when a groom-to-be reunites with his former flame.