News

December 31, 2019

Saying goodbye to 2019 and hello to CFA’s new vault

It has been fifteen years since CFA acquired and moved the Chicago Public Library film collection to our current space at 329 W. 18th Street. Since then, we’ve taken in 154 additional collections (over 27,000 items) and have run out of space in the vault. Much of 2019 was spent preparing a significantly larger space with a dedicated enhanced cooling...

July 3, 2019

CFA Media Mixer 2019 (in review)

We had a fantastic time at the 8th annual Media Mixer on May 9 and are absolutely thrilled with the incredible work produced by this year’s artists! Thanks to everyone who came and participated! If you couldn’t make it (or if you want to watch the work again!), we now have two of the pieces available to stream below. Read more about...

April 26, 2019

The Morrison-Shearer Foundation gifts their dance media collection to Chicago Film Archives

Chicago Film Archives is enormously pleased to announce the gifting of the Morrison-Shearer Foundation dance media collection to CFA. Our relationship with the Trustees and staff at the Foundation has been lengthy and has deepened considerably over the past ten years. Our combined inquiry, research, conservation work and collaboration has culminated in a profound mutual respect not only for the...

April 7, 2019

CFA Media Mixer 2019: Meet this Year’s Artists

We’re so thrilled to announce the amazing lineup of artists participating in this year’s CFA Media Mixer event. Now in its eighth year (!!!), the Media Mixer has grown to be one of CFA’s most anticipated and exciting public programs. The project began in 2012 as a way to open up our vault of archival footage to Chicago-based contemporary artists,...

December 21, 2018

A look back at CFA’s public programs in 2018

2018 was a year marked by tremendous growth and development for CFA. Our mission to collect, preserve, and exhibit films that represent the history and culture of our region was evident in exhibitions, screenings, and programs that were as vibrant, diverse and unique as our collections. With public programs at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Chicago Cultural Center, and the...

August 27, 2018

ART DESIGN CHICAGO – Designed to be Seen: Art and Function in Chicago Mid-Century Film

    We’re thrilled to announce that we will be participating in the Terra Foundation for American Art’s Art Design Chicago initiative. Art Design Chicago is a spirited celebration of the unique and vital role Chicago plays as America’s crossroads of creativity and commerce. Initiated by the Terra Foundation for American Art, this citywide partnership of more than 75 cultural...

July 30, 2018

Chicago Premiere of the International Media Mixer

The Chicago premiere of the International Media Mixer on July 17 was beyond our wildest imagination! We couldn’t have imagined a better setting for the live performance of these stunning four works than the Jay Pritzker Pavillion. The evening was cool and clear with the lake just to the east and the glowing skyline of the city to the west. Archival...

June 15, 2018

Millie Goldsholl’s “Rebellion of the Flowers”

Millie Goldsholl’s Rebellion of the Flowers (1992) appears to be the last film she completed and one that she poured an incredible amount of creative passion and energy into. Completed three years before her husband’s death, the film is dedicated to “Morton Goldsholl and the Good People who resist the abuse of power in any form.” It’s easy to see...

May 1, 2018

Categorizing JoAnn Elam’s Films

The following is adapted from a short presentation given by Brian Belak, Collections Manager for Chicago Film Archives, at the Association of Moving Image Archivists’ Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA, on December 1, 2017. The panel “Woman Behind the Camera: Uncovering An Overlooked Perspective” also featured archivists from Northeast Historic Film, the Lesbian Home Movie Project, and the Center...

April 13, 2018

Italian premiere of the International Media Mixer

The Italian premiere of the International Media Mixer project on Sunday March 11, 2018 was such a powerful experience—it’s difficult to put it into words. If you aren’t familiar with the project you can read more about it here. CFA’s Media Mixer project began in 2013 as a way to inspire the creative reuse of our films by contemporary artists...

April 6, 2018

Designed to be Seen: Art and Function in Chicago Mid-Century Film

We are extremely proud to announce Designed to be Seen: Art and Function in Chicago Mid-Century Film – a four program film series that will screen in fall 2018 as part of the Terra Foundation for American Art’s Art Design Chicago initiative. Art Design Chicago is a wide-ranging initiative spearheaded by the Terra Foundation and developed in partnership with more than 60 cultural...

March 15, 2018

2007 Interview with Millie Goldsholl

On April 20, 2007, Chicago Film Archives Executive Director Nancy Watrous interviewed Millie Goldsholl, filmmaker and designer, at her home in Highland Park, Illinois. The following edited excerpts feature Millie describing her earliest work at the School of Design (now the IIT Institute of Design) in Chicago, where she studied under Hungarian-born artist László Moholy-Nagy. Millie passed away in 2012...

March 7, 2018

CFA International Media Mixer 2018: Meet the Artists!

We’re so thrilled to introduce the amazing lineup of artists who are participating in our first ever CFA International Media Mixer! If you aren’t already familiar with the project, please read more about it here. Giuseppe Boccassini (IT) + Alex Inglizian (US) Lori Felker (US) + Patrizia Oliva (IT) Federico Francioni & Yan Cheng (IT) + Tomeka Reid (US) 
Domietta Torlasco (US)...

March 2, 2018

Inspecting Millie Goldsholl’s Personal Reels

By Olivia Babler Since joining Chicago Film Archives as a transfer technician last October, one of my main long-term projects has consisted of inspecting, stabilizing and digitizing films from the Mort & Millie Goldsholl Collection as part of the “Woman Behind the Camera” project. While the couple are best known for their mid-century graphic design and advertising campaigns with Chicago-based...

February 7, 2018

Italian Premiere of the International Media Mixer in Bergamo!

Video by Cerise Films / Original Track “Birdseed” by Salvatore Córdova We’re thrilled to announce the Italian premiere of our International Media Mixer project in Bergamo, Italy at the Bergamo Film Meeting Festival on March 11, 2018. This very special screening will feature live audio accompaniment to four brand new commissioned videos that were made using archival footage from the collections of...

December 26, 2017

CFA Media Mixer 2017 (in review)

As 2017 comes to a close, we’re reflecting back on some of our favorite events and this year’s Media Mixer (our 6th annual) was a definite highlight! We had so much fun at the Hideout (as usual!) and this year’s videos were fantastic. They’re streaming below for you to enjoy. 2017’s talented lineup included: Eric Fleischauer + Matchess Samantha Hill + Haptic Marianna Milhorat...

December 18, 2017

Scanning JoAnn Elam’s “Filmabuse (Original)”

By Justin Dean and Brian Belak One of our missions for the Woman Behind the Camera project is to digitize and make accessible online the film work of JoAnn Elam, but as can be the case, that has sometimes turned out easier said than done. Recently, we found a curious reel labeled “Filmabuse (Original)” that presented a challenge for digitizing...

November 1, 2017

JoAnn Elam’s Everyday People (1978-1990) at Chicago Film Archives

By Aurore Spiers, University of Chicago The JoAnn Elam Collection (1967-1990) at Chicago Film Archives (CFA) consists of approximately 735 film, video, audio elements and some paper material, which JoAnn Elam’s husband Joe Hendrix donated in 2011. In addition to Elam’s best known films, such as Rape (1975) and Lie Back and Enjoy It (1982), the collection includes dozens of...

September 11, 2017

The JoAnn Elam Collection at Chicago Film Archives

by Aurore Spiers, University of Chicago The JoAnn Elam Collection (1967-1990) at Chicago Film Archives (CFA) is one of the 58 archival projects receiving generous support from the Woman Behind the Camera. It consists of approximately 735 film, video, and audio elements and some paper material, which JoAnn Elam’s husband Joe Hendrix donated in 2011. Since then, CFA has inventoried, digitized,...

April 26, 2017

2018 International Media Mixer!

The Chicago Film Archives (Chicago, IL) and Lab 80 – Cinescatti (Bergamo, Italy) are thrilled to announce a new international artistic collaboration—the 2018 International Media Mixer! This project is one of 15 artistic partnerships supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s International Connections Fund. The International Media Mixer is a cross-cultural “call and response” exchange, bringing together artists from two different countries...