Chicago Cultural Center — Claudia Cassidy Theater

78 E. Washington St., 2nd Floor North

Chicago Cultural Center  >  Claudia Cassidy Theater  >  Plan Your Visit

 

 

Following a year-long construction period, the 200-seat multi-purpose theater has been transformed with all new theater seats and major technology upgrades, including a state-of-the-art movie projector, screen, and speaker system. The finishing touches include major improvements to the stage lighting, upgraded acoustic panels, and a new curtain system for the stage.

Schedule

Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024Sundance Institute Short Film Master Class

Sunday, June 30, 2024

10:30am-12:30pm

Join Sundance Film Festival Short Film Senior Programmer Mike Plante’s Master Class presentation – that will discuss the art of the short film, how Sundance submissions work, and how to navigate the Festival process with your short.

Mike Plante has worked for the Sundance Film Festival since 2001, and is one of the programmers who selects the short films that the Festival plays from 12,000 submissions. He also books the Sundance Shorts Tour into art house movie theaters around the country.

Filmmakers Jason Park (BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop) and Jennifer Reeder (A Million Miles Away, Knives and Skin) will speak about making films in Chicago and using local resources from production to exhibition.

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Full schedule of Sundance Institute x Chicago screenings and events city-wide

 

Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024

Sundance Institute X Chicago: Finance & Distribution Panel

A Better Way? New Sustainable Models for Financing and Distribution: Dual Value, Philanthropy, and Social Impact

Sunday, June 30, 2024

1:15-2:45pm

In the wake of Participant Media’s recent shuttering, the future viability of social impact projects of scale appears uncertain. This panel will explore new hybrid approaches to financing and distribution that incorporate both monetary and social value. As philanthropic and impact investors seek new ways to promote change, could socially engaged independent film become a compelling investment opportunity? Join us for a panel of innovators in this freshly vital space.

Confirmed panelists to date include Adrienne Becker (Level Forward), Jason Matsumoto (Full Spectrum Features), Lauren Pabst (MacArthur Foundation), Jonah Zeiger (Chicago Film Office).

Reserve Tickets

Full schedule of Sundance Institute x Chicago screenings and events city-wide

 

Stay Connected

Visit us:

Chicago Cultural Center

Admission is FREE
Open Daily, 10am–5pm
Exhibitions close 15 minutes before the building closes
(Closed Holidays)

Plan Your Visit

 

Find us:

Chicago Cultural Center
78 E. Washington St.
Chicago, IL 60602

Chicago Cultural Center Google Map
Chicago Cultural Center Google Map

Take CTA to Chicago Cultural Center

  • From the elevated lines: exit at Washington/Wabash and walk east.
  • From the subway: exit at Lake (Red Line) or Washington (Blue Line) and walk east.
  • Served by Michigan Avenue buses 3, 4, 19, 20, 26, 60, 66, 124, 143, 147, 151, 157 and Washington St. buses 4, J14, 20, 56, 66, 147

Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024Sundance Institute Artist Programs Presentation

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Sundance, but were Afraid to Ask

Sunday, June 30, 2024

3:30-4:30pm

Join Ilyse McKimmie, Deputy Director for Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, to hear about the Institute’s year-round support of artists working in scripted features, documentary, and episodic formats. You’ll also learn about Sundance Collab, the Institute’s digital space for artists to learn from experts as part of a global filmmaking community. Gain insight into how to apply for Sundance Institute’s artist programs and get your questions answered!

Ilyse McKimmie oversees the Directors and Screenwriters Labs and the Screenwriters Intensive, provides year-round creative and strategic support to alumni filmmakers, and plays a key role in the Producers and Episodic Programs. Films developed at the Labs during her tenure include Dìdi (弟弟), A Thousand and One, Aftersun, Nanny, The 40-Year-Old Version, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Farewell, Sorry to Bother You, We the Animals, Beach Rats, Swiss Army Man, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Fruitvale Station, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Pariah, Sin Nombre, Red Road, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Paradise Now, and Maria Full of Grace, among many others.

Joining Ilyse will be writer, director, actor, and Chicago local McKenzie Chinn. McKenzie will share her experience as an alumna of the 2021 Screenwriters and Directors Labs with her in-development feature A Real One. Her proof-of-concept short of the same title won the Gold Hugo for Live Action Short Film at the 2023 Chicago International Film Festival.

Reserve Tickets

Full schedule of Sundance Institute x Chicago screenings and events city-wide

 

Sundance Institute x Chicago 2024Sundance Institute X Chicago: Festivals, Art Houses & Collaborations Panel

Stronger Together: How festivals, art houses, and independent exhibitors are working together to revive & reinvent the theatrical experience

Sunday, June 30, 2024

5:15-6:45pm

It’s no secret that theatrical movie-going is facing unprecedented challenges from the rise of streaming, the pandemic, and the collapse of old models. In response, national and local alliances have fostered new levels of sector collaboration in which Chicago plays an increasingly key role. The Independent Exhibitors Conference (IND/EX) and Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF) are prime examples. Join us for this panel featuring voices from Sundance Institute together with leaders from the national and local exhibition scene who are helping chart a future based on sector-wide collaboration.

Confirmed Panelists to date include Eugene Hernandez (Director, Sundance Film Festival), Karen Cardarelli (Facets and Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals), Mimi Plauché (Artistic Director, Chicago International Film Festival).

Reserve Tickets

Full schedule of Sundance Institute x Chicago screenings and events city-wide

 

Cinema/ChicagoSummer Screenings

July 10 – Sept 25, 6:30pm

Summer Screenings is Cinema/Chicago’s annual free film series that casts a spotlight on a different country’s national cinema each week all summer.

Celebrating films from women directors!

More information and view the schedule.