Chicago Underground Film Festival
Encyclopedia
Chicago Underground Film Festival, (CUFF) founded in 1994, occurs each spring at various venues in Chicago
, Illinois
in the USA.
Over the last 18 years it has become one of the most respected festivals in the USA and is today well attended by critics and programers. The festival's stated goal is "to focus on the artistic, aesthetic and fun side of independent filmmaking. CUFF promotes works that dissent radically in form, content and technique from both the tired conventions of Hollywood and the increasingly stagnant IndieWood mainstream".
While the festival has always explored the many different definitions of underground film
, in its early years the festival's programming consisted mainly of low-budget b-movies and films in the tradition of the Cinema of Transgression
but more recently moved its to focus more toward experimental
and avant-garde
films and videos and documentaries. In February 2008 it was announced that the festival has become an official program of IFP/Chicago Independent Feature Project. Since 2009 the festival has been held at the Gene Siskel Film Center
, a state of the art cinematheque
connected to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
in the USA.
Over the last 18 years it has become one of the most respected festivals in the USA and is today well attended by critics and programers. The festival's stated goal is "to focus on the artistic, aesthetic and fun side of independent filmmaking. CUFF promotes works that dissent radically in form, content and technique from both the tired conventions of Hollywood and the increasingly stagnant IndieWood mainstream".
While the festival has always explored the many different definitions of underground film
Underground film
An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre, or financing.-Definition and history:The first use of the term "underground film" occurs in a 1957 essay by American film critic Manny Farber, "Underground Films." Farber uses it to refer to the work of...
, in its early years the festival's programming consisted mainly of low-budget b-movies and films in the tradition of the Cinema of Transgression
Cinema of Transgression
The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a New York City, United States based underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of like-minded artists using shock value and humor in their work...
but more recently moved its to focus more toward experimental
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
and avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
films and videos and documentaries. In February 2008 it was announced that the festival has become an official program of IFP/Chicago Independent Feature Project. Since 2009 the festival has been held at the Gene Siskel Film Center
Gene Siskel Film Center
"The Film Center" redirects here. Not to be confused with the Film Center Building in New York CityThe Gene Siskel Film Center, formerly The Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and commonly referred to as The Film Center or The Gene Siskel, is the cinematheque attached to The...
, a state of the art cinematheque
Cinematheque
A cinémathèque is a French word used to refer to a film archive with small cinemas that screens particularly classic and art-house films.- History :...
connected to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
External links
- Chicago Underground Film Festival Official website
- Chicago Underground Film Festival at the Fargo Filmmaking Wiki Project