CIMMfest2015

The Mekons have been called political provocateurs, social agitators, and punk’s reigning contrarians. Director and Chicago native, Joe Angio, chronicles
the group’s unlikely formation as British art students who came together in the first blast of punk rock in 1977, despite being geographically dispersed
and lacking commercial success, to tour and make adventurous and challenging albums. This engaging documentary also delves further into the band’s ranks to
spotlight individual Mekons’ ancillary, yet impactful artistic lives as painters and avant-garde artists.

PLAYING WITH:
Voice of Englewood- "Cold World" - Jean-Marc Giboux / USA / 4 min. - "The young leave before the old ...Why this world so cold?" Chicago hip-hop artists rap about the realities of inner-city violence. Recorded in Englewood’s Crusher’s Club, an organization that redirects the path of youth.

Friday, April 17th at 9:15 pm
When a family moves from rural Michigan to a Victorian home near Chicago, strange things start happening. Creepy noises. Unexplained messes. Old punk rock albums go missing. Suspecting the house is haunted, they hire a wacky medium and a team of bumbling paranormal investigators to help, but teenage daughter Amanda discovers on her own that the house is haunted by the ghost of a 17-year-old punk guitarist named Brian, and his fun-loving band of dead pals. Amanda and Brian form a friendship that soon veers toward romance, but the past collides with the present.

PLAYING WITH:
Archie Powell & The Exports - "Holes" - Bryan Racine / USA / 3 min - Level up with arcade-inspired music video for Chicago rock roustabouts Archie Powell & The Exports. Produced by Audiotree.

The man some call “the greatest drummer of all time” is recognized almost as much for his signature double-shuffle beat — his capes, crowns, canes and cowbells are the stuff of legend— Sam Lay has played a key role in the evolution of the blues for almost 60 years. He was on drums when Bob Dylan went electric at Newport… He was in the studio and on the road with blues greats Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and James Cotton... He was a founding member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band. At 80 years old, Sam Lay is still an active part of the Chicago blues scene. This documentary tells Lay’s story through his own words, music and personal films, and features interviews with past bandmates Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and includes fierce admirers like Iggy Pop.

Almost There is a coming-of (old)-age story about 83-year-old Peter Anton, an "outsider" artist living in isolated and crippling conditions whose world changes when two filmmakers discover his work and storied past. Shot over eight years, Almost There documents Anton's first major exhibition and how the controversy it generates forces him to leave his childhood home. Each layer revealed reflects on the intersections of social norms, elder care, and artistic expression.

Second Screening at Society For Arts, Saturday, April 18th at 11:00 pm

The man some call “the greatest drummer of all time” is recognized almost as much for his signature double-shuffle beat — his capes, crowns, canes and cowbells are the stuff of legend— Sam Lay has played a key role in the evolution of the blues for almost 60 years. He was on drums when Bob Dylan went electric at Newport… He was in the studio and on the road with blues greats Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter and James Cotton... He was a founding member of the groundbreaking Paul Butterfield Blues Band. At 80 years old, Sam Lay is still an active part of the Chicago blues scene. This documentary tells Lay’s story through his own words, music and personal films, and features interviews with past bandmates Elvin Bishop, Charlie Musselwhite, James Cotton, and includes fierce admirers like Iggy Pop.