All programs are FREE and Open to the Public on the Gene Siskel Film Center's Eventive platform~
Encounter the next generation of film, video, sound and new media artists as SAIC students present their thesis projects in this festival of innovative live-action shorts, animation, feature-length narrative and nonfiction works, and experimental pieces.
The festival will be hosted in collaboration with the Gene Siskel Film Center. A new program will premiere each night, Monday through Friday, and be available to view for a week on the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Eventive platform. All programs are FREE and Open to the Public, and will be closed captioned.
The festival would not be possible without the incredible work of festival programmer Amy Beste; Casey Puccini, our festival producer; Trevor Martin and the rest of the Department of Exhibitions staff; Jean de St. Aubin, Andy Berlin, and the entire staff at the Gene Siskel Film Center; our graduate assistant Denny Mwaura; the FVNMA technical staff; Frédéric Moffet, chair of FVNMA, and all the faculty members who worked diligently with the students over the past many years; and, above all, to all the participating artists for their hard work and inspiring vision.
Participating Artists:
Paige Thomson Alexander, Sofía Alfaro, Emily Anshen, Zoe Butler, Can, Cliff, Cindy Cheng, Cosmo Coffey, Feng Yunjuan, Calla Flanagan, Jay Jung, Ān Kassel, Haruhi Kobayashi, Ines Moldavsky, orr, Peixuan Ouyang, Haomin Peng, Sophia Pierre, Ravi Shawn Jha, Emilie Robinson, Carly Paige, Kye Benjamin Stone, Adrian Velazquez, Angela Yang, Yuanqing Ye, Yonatan Yin, Tiya Yuan, Siyi Zhang
Program 1: To Touch With Your Eyes
Various directors, USA, China, Japan, 2020-2021, 76 min + Q & A
May 10 - 16
Forging new paths through virtual and tactile worlds, this dazzling collection of short works offers unexpected insights into old institutions, communion through simulations, and reflections on the pain and joy of visibility.
Program 2: The Ties That Bind
Various directors, USA, 2021, 65 min + Q & A
May 11 - 17
Performance, video diaries, and the supernatural combine in this striking collection of shorts, featuring stories of enchantment, trauma, and resilience through the building and severing of bonds.
Program 3: Night Falls
Various directors, USA, 2021, 88 min + Q & A
May 12 - 18
Shadows envelop this program, which features surreal tales of haunted houses, insomniac hallucinations, nefarious corporations, and menacing creatures through animation, processed video, and 16mm film.
Program 4: Transits and Transformations
Various directors, USA, China, 2019-2021, 67 min + Q & A
May 13 - 19
In these poignant and intimate works, themes of loss, transition, transformation, and care are explored through family photo books, deteriorating VHS tapes, and delicately rendered animations.
