FULL LINE-UP FOR THE 28TH ANNUAL BLACK HARVEST FILM FESTIVAL (NOVEMBER 4 – 27) TICKETS AND PASSES ON SALE

The annual Black Harvest Film Festival (Nov 4-27) in Chicago hosted by the Gene Siskel Film Center of The School of The Art Institute of Chicago has announced its full program line up, including film screenings, special events, Q&A’s and more! Tickets and passes are now on sale!

Chicago, IL, United States – October 25, 2022 —

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center is pleased to announce the full festival schedule for its 28th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival, which will take place in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center from November 4 through November 20 and virtually from November 21 – 27.

The festival’s month-long showcase of Black stories will feature 19 feature films; 4 short film programs; and over 15 separate in-person and virtual filmmaker and cast appearances, alongside several anniversary screenings, restorations, and a multitude of receptions and special events.

This year’s festival will be dedicated to the Film Center’s dear friend Sergio Mims (1955 – 2022), the co-founder of the festival and its longtime co-programmer and consultant. Sergio passed away on Tuesday, October 4, 2022.

Sergio Mims and Barbara Scharres, co-founders of the Black Harvest Film Festival

In memory of Mims, Rebecca Fons, Gene Siskel Film Center’s Director of Programming said, “Earlier this summer, Black Harvest Film Festival co-Founder Sergio Mims and I met for our regular, bi-weekly meeting to discuss the film submissions we’d been watching in consideration for this year’s 28th Festival. ‘I love what I’m seeing,’ Sergio commented. ‘Lots of joy, lots of Black joy.’ This year’s Black Harvest Film Festival is dedicated to Sergio, who passed away Tuesday, October 4, 2022, and is a tribute to the glorious cinematic celebration that he built.”

“And he was right; the lineup is joyful, not just in the stories presented, but in the artists highlighted and the parties planned. The 28th Festival is a tribute to Sergio’s dogged determination to suggest the best for our screens, to ensure emerging filmmakers were in the same spotlight as the established auteurs, and his efforts to make local filmmakers feel like stars, and our audience to feel like a family. We will miss him immensely – his bold opinions, his wit, his knowledge, and his camaraderie – and dedicate each moment of Black Harvest to his memory.”

Gene Siskel Film Center Executive Director Jean de St. Aubin said, “The Black Harvest Film Festival has always been a reunion of filmmakers and film lovers. This year, with the passing of Sergio Mims, it will be bittersweet. But we rejoice in what Sergio has created – a month-long celebration of Black storytelling that has thrived for 28 years and counting. I look forward to seeing our loyal BHFF audience, welcoming new friends, and sharing Sergio stories, along with those on the screen. Please join us in celebrating the full range of the Black experience on film.”

Still from VOODOO MACBETH

Feature films this year include the insightful, family-friendly JASMINE IS A STAR, about a sixteen-year-old girl with albinism (lack of pigment in hair, skin, and eyes) determined to make it big as a professional model; the powerful psychological horror film, NANNY, which follows a recent Senegalese immigrant hired to care for the children of an affluent New York couple; the riveting VOODOO MACBETH , recounting the true story of a young Orson Welles who turns his vision for a Haitan-themed “Macbeth” into a reality in 1937 when an all-Black cast performs the classic Shakespearian play in Harlem; and the gripping doc, REWIND AND PLAY, exposing the casual racism and disrespect jazz pianist Thelonious Monk encountered on French TV in his 1969 visit to Paris, alongside glorious concert footage from his exceptional show at the 3,000-seat Salle Pleyel concert hall.

Film restorations and anniversary screenings include the 50th anniversary, 4K-restoration of Sidney Poitier’s directorial debut, BUCK AND PREACHER, a savvy revisioning of the classic Western; the 4K digital restoration of the long-lost, independently financed Black thriller, SOLOMON KING, featuring a killer Soul-Funk soundtrack and incredible clothes from director Sal Watts’s own Mr. Sal’s Fashion stores; and a 35mm screening of the crafty comedy COOLEY HIGH, presented in memoriam for Black Harvest Film Festival co-founder Sergio Mims – preceded by a tribute to Mims.

The Film Center will screen four original shorts programs: SISTERS IN SCENE, six stories of culture, Black femininity, self-expression, and survival; FROM THE BLOCK, showcasing homegrown and homemade Chicago talent; CINE LADO A LADO (“CINEMA SIDE BY SIDE”), presenting voices and stories that express the complexities of a multi-faceted African identity from Latine-identifying perspectives/artists; and FIGURES AND GUARDIANS, a powerful and emotional program featuring the figures, guardians, mothers, and fathers that have raised us.

Opening Night of Black Harvest is always a reunion of filmmakers, film lovers, and film supporters. This year’s program, taking place on Friday, November 4, will be hosted by NBC/5’s LeAnn Trotter and feature a bounty of four short films in a Black Harvest Feast. The evening will include a tribute to Sergio Mims, the presentation of Black Harvest Film Festival Legacy Award to Chicago casting director and author Sharon King, and the announcement of the winners of The Richard and Ellen Sandor Family Black Harvest Film Festival Prize. After the presentations, guests will enjoy a celebratory reception in our gallery/cafe.

The Film Center will close out the in-person portion of the festival on Sunday, November 20 with a 30th-anniversary, Closing Night screening of Reginald Hudlin’s playful romantic comedy BOOMERANG, featuring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry.

From November 21 – 27, audiences can enjoy Black Harvest at Home. Whether patrons miss a film during our in-person festival or are searching for great films to watch over the Thanksgiving holiday, Black Harvest is proud to offer a program of official selections virtually, which they can watch from the comfort and convenience of their own home.

Black Harvest Film Festival individual tickets and festival passes are available for purchase as of Monday, October 17 at 10am.

Tickets for regular in-person and virtual film presentations are $12, with Film Center members paying only $6 per ticket. Students with valid school ID pay $7, and SAIC students, staff, or faculty pay $5 for regular film presentations.

Black Harvest Film Festival passes cost $60 and can be redeemed for six (6) regular in-person or virtual film presentations (excluding Opening Night). Film Center members will pay only $30 for the 6-film Black Harvest festival pass.

Opening Night tickets are $50 (general audience), with Film Center member and student tickets on sale for $30. Tickets include the screening, Q&A, and special reception.

The following is a list of the complete Black Harvest Film Festival line-up, with in-person/theatrical showtimes listed in black and virtual screenings noted in green. Please note showtimes and guest appearances are subject to change.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE INDIVIDUAL FILMS AND THEIR DATES HERE.

FEATURE FILM PROGRAMS:

Still from JASMINE IS A STAR

JASMINE IS A STAR

2022, dir. Jo Rochelle

THE INSPECTION

2022, dir. Elegance Bratton

MARIAN ANDERSON: THE WHOLE WORLD IN HER HANDS

2022, dir. Rita Coburn Whack

THE FIRST STEP

2021,dir. Brandon Kramer

Still from MARS ONE

MARS ONE

2022, dir. Gabriel Martins

Still from SHUT UP AND PAINT

REWIND & PLAY, preceded by SHUT UP AND PAINT

2022, dir. Alain Gomis

Still from THE AFRICAN DESPERATE

THE AFRICAN DESPERATE + reception

2022, dir. Martine Syms

SUBJECTS OF DESIRE

2021, dir. Jennifer Holness

GET OUT ALIVE + pre-reception for local filmmakers

2021, dir. Roger Ellis

NANNY

2022, dir. Nikyatu Jusu

Still from VOODOO MACBETH

VOODOO MACBETH, preceded by REDBIRD

2021, dirs. Dagmawi Abebe, Victor Alonso-Berbel & Roy Arwas

Still from OUTTA THE MUCK

OUTTA THE MUCK

2022, dirs. Bhawin Suchak, Ira Mckinley

THE CAVE OF ADULLAM

2022, dir. Laura Checkoway

OUR FATHER, THE DEVIL

2022, dir. Ellie Foumbi

RESTORATIONS AND ANNIVERSARY SCREENINGS:

Still from CHI-RAQ

50/50: CHI-RAQ

2015, dir. Spike Lee

BUCK AND THE PREACHER

1972, dir. Sidney Poitier

Fringe Benefits: SOLOMON KING, preceded by A LITTLE CLOSURE

1974, dirs. Jack Bomay, Sal Watts

COOLEY HIGH

1975, dir. Michael Schultz

Still from MALCOM X

MALCOM X

1992, dir. Spike Lee

SHORT FILM PROGRAM:

Still from REDBIRD

Opening Night: A Black Harvest Feast: Friday, November 4

REDBIRD

2021, dir. Dagmawi Abebe

FANMI

2021, dirs. Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers, Carmine Pierre-Dufour

BERMUDA

2022, dir. Lorenzo Leyva

ALONE TOGETHER

2021, dir. c. Craig,

SISTERS IN SCENE

2021-22, dir. various

FIGURES & GUARDIANS

2020-22, dir. various

CINE LADO A LADO

2020-22, dir. various

FROM THE BLOCK

2020-22, dir. various

SPECIAL EVENTS:

PROJECT RAINBOW PROGRAM

Saturday, November 5 at 2:00 PM

WHAT’S YOUR STORY? THE COMMUNITY FILM WORKSHOP’S 50 YEAR JOURNEY

2022, dir. Derek Grace

BULLY

2022, dir. David Mahmoudieh

CLOSING NIGHT OF IN PERSON PROGRAMMING

BOOMERANG

1992, dir. Reginald Hudlin

About the Black Harvest Film Festival

The 28th Black Harvest Film Festival – Chicago’s annual showcase for films that celebrate, explore, and share the Black, African American and African Diaspora experience – will be held November 4 through 20 in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center, with select titles and programs available November 21 through 27 online. The Festival curates both short and feature length films, proudly presenting influential creators and emerging talent of color side by side. Programming spans across various genres, providing entertaining content for movie lovers of all ages! It is an incredible opportunity to have fun, be enlightened and support the enrichment and success of Black film.

About the Gene Siskel Film Center

Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center, a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, has presented critically acclaimed cinema to an annual audience of 85,000. The Film Center’s programming includes annual film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures, premieres of trailblazing work by today’s independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful provocative discussions with filmmakers and media artists. Altogether, the Film Center hosts over 1,500 screenings and 200 filmmaker appearances every year. The Film Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late, nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel.

Visit siskelfilmcenter.org to learn more and find out what’s playing today.

About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC’s undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman.

Learn more at saic.edu

Contact Info:
Name: Calynn M Lawrence
Email: Send Email
Organization: Calynn Communications & Creative
Website: http://www.caycomcreate.com

Release ID: 89083726

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