Cinematic ethnographer of the rituals of working-class Chicagoland and its environs, Tom Palazzolo moved to the Windy City to attend the School of the Art Institute in 1960 and, inspired by the cinéma vérité filmmakers of Montreal and New York, soon after would begin to produce affectionate, funny film documents of urban eccentrics, baby showers, wedding rehearsals, and other oddities of the everyday. Presented in collaboration with Chicago Film Archives, Tom Palazzolo’s America offers a long-overdue New York showcase for the work of a Midwestern original, a slyly comic Studs Terkel of the 16mm underground.
Presented by Metrograph in collaboration with Chicago Film Archives.
Programmer Lydia Ogwang would like to thank Olivia Babler and Mickey Gral, Chicago Film Archives; Tom Palazzolo; and Chris Boeckmann.
PROGRAM 1 – JULY 8 – ON PARADE
PROGRAM 2 – JULY 9 – HOT NASTY
PROGRAM 3 – JULY 16 – AMERICA’S IN REAL TROUBLE
PROGRAM 4 – JULY 23 – PALAZZOLO’S PORTRAITS