While CFS screenings are postponed, we are catching up on a variety of behind-the-scenes projects — including some digitization work suitable for at-home viewing (and more):
• THE SPIDER AND THE FLY
This 16mm home movie — shot on the Northwest side of Chicago in 1938 — features sound, scenes of the Riverview amusement park, and a terrifying Halloween puppet show. Preserved by the Chicago Film Society at Colorlab in 2018 with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Learn more about the history of the film and the story of its preservation here.
• Snipes from the CFS film collection
A snipe is a clip that is run before a feature presentation or during an intermission. Unlike other preshow content — trailers, newsreels, cartoons, and short subjects — which primarily serve as entertainment, snipes serve a functional purpose, such as advertising, making notifications, or structuring other content. We love them. These snipes from the CFS collection were generously scanned by our friend (and snipe expert) Walter Forsberg. The scans are “edge to edge”, allowing you to see the perforations, soundtrack, and some markings and bits of Scotch tape in between the framelines.
• “The Theatreman’s Wartime Guide“
From our collection of theater operator and projection ephemera, this booklet was assembled by The Strong Electric Corporation as a guide for theater operators preparing for the challenges of operating a theater during World War II.
• Our interview with negative cutter Mo Henry
If you’re the kind of person who stays until the end of the credits in movies, you’re probably familiar with Mo Henry, who has worked as a negative cutter on hundreds of feature films from the early ’90s onwards. Earlier this year, we interviewed her.
All shows postponed until further notice
Our summer season has been postponed. We hope to reschedule all screenings in the future, when it will be safe and fun to gather again with strangers in the dark.
Thinking of all of you,
Becca, Kyle, Cameron, Rebecca, and Julian
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