FILM & VIDEO FROM UNDERGROUND CHICAGO
CURATED BY MARC MOSCATO
TRT: 74 MIN
Contact:
Marc Moscato
503.235.2159
From the Haymarket martyrs, to late ‘60s radicals, to today’s cultural resisters,
A NOT TOO DISTANT PAST examines
Chicago’s radical past through activist, experimental and, above all,
underground representations of the city’s social movements. This
collection presents a range of personal and political approaches,
including historical documentary, “guerrilla television,” video art and
more. Encapsulating over 150 years of struggle, A NOT TOO DISTANT PAST
illuminates issues from Chicago’s past – many of which continue to be
vital to the city today.
Toxic Shock
Vanessa Renwick, 1983, 16mm, 3 min
Penetration up the wazoo, blood, fire,
gas, needles, tampons, liquid power and cocktails of the burning sort.
An experimental response to sweating out near death with Toxic Shock
Syndrome.
What the Fuck Are These Red Squares?
Kartemquin Films, 1970, 16mm, 15min
Striking students meet at a
“Revolutionary Seminar” at the Art Institute of Chicago in response to
the invasion of Cambodia and the killing of protesting students at Kent
and Jackson State Universities. They explore their role as artists in a
capitalist society and issue questions like: What are the implications
of the artist’s elitist position in America? Is it possible not to be
co-opted, as “radical” as one’s art may be? What are the connections
between money and art in America? Between the “New York Scene”
and the rest of the country?
Hay! Market Research
Dara Greenwald, 3 min, video, 2003
Hay! Market Research was a constructed
market research and advertising group committed to assessing and
advancing common knowledge surrounding the Haymarket Riots of 1886. A
billboard’s message is changed every hour, raising questions about the
history of the Haymarket riots and the history of the struggle for the
eight-hour workday.
Gean Jenet in Chicago
Frédéric Moffet, 26 min, video, 2006
A queer rewriting of the events
surrounding the 1968 National Democratic Convention in Chicago from the
point of view of French writer Jean Genet. Along the way Genet will
meet, amongst others, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, the
Yippies, the Black Panther Party and the Chicago police
force...Ultimately, the video is about the difficulty of aligning
political and sexual desires.
Fred Hampton: Black Panthers in Chicago (excerpt)
The Videofreex, 1969, video, 10 min
The Videofreex, a video collective and
pirate TV station from upstate New York, traveled to Chicago in 1969 to
document the Weather Underground and the Chicago Eight trial. They
conducted this interview with Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman of the
Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, in October 1969; just over
a month before he was killed by Chicago police.
Quiet City
Jim Passin, 1977, video, 5 min
A meditative look at a post-apocalyptic
Chicago. Passin’s eerie music and aerial footage document the
surprisingly empty moments that lay just below the hustle and bustle of
business as usual.
The More Things Stay the Same
Marc Moscato, 2008, video, 12 min
The More Things Stay The Same examines
the life and world of Hobo King, "Clap Doctor" and whorehouse physician
Dr. Ben Reitman (1879-1942). From labor unrest to sex education to the
genesis of the homeless crisis in America, Reitman's work continues to
have importance and relevance to the hard-hitting issues of today. The
More Things Stay The Same not only sheds new light on this lost but
vital slice of underground Americana, but also provides an urgent
rallying cry for the present.
BIO
Marc Moscato is a filmmaker and curator
living in Portland, OR. His short films and videos have screened at
film festivals, theatres and non-traditional spaces across the country,
including the New York Underground Film Festival, the Chicago
Underground Film Festival and the Video Mundi Festival. He has over 10
years experience working in marketing and communications, and has
worked for Museum of Contemporary Craft, City Club of Portland,
Microcosm Publishing, Peripheral Produce, in addition to directing DIY
arts center My House in Eugene, OR, 2001-2003.