We head into 2025 continuing our monthly screenings on the last Sunday of each month at 4pm at the Savoy 16 + IMAX, and adding additional screenings where possible. Tickets are available at https://the-chambana-film-festival.square.site.
We are starting the year with 7 screenings in 6 weeks.
To encourage attendance for our short-term accelerated schedule, we’re offering a $30 pass for all 5 screenings.
January 26
After The Fall: Two Generations of The Vietnam Conflict
I started year one of the screening series with a free screening of QWERTY, a film I produced in the 2010s. Now, I’m starting year #2 with a $2 screening (please order by January 20th) of another film from the 2010s I was a producer on. While I only played a couple of small roles in the creation of the film, the director is a good friend, and I followed this film through it’s creation.
After the Fall is an extremely compelling film about a few lesser-known aspects of the Vietnam War, two heroes of the war, a bit about “modern” (now twenty years ago) Vietnam, and the generational impact.
John Bissell was a Marine Captain who volunteered for the war. He was the type of guy who, when he was sitting in Japan after being injured, and told he had earned a ticket back home, said that he couldn’t leave his brothers behind, and went back to the war.
Bill Meis is from Decatur, IL. As the draft was progressing, he fled to Montreal to dodge the draft, and in protest to the war. When Nixon announced his restrictive amnesty program to bring draft dodgers back home, he protested that too, and came home anyway. The government’s case against him went to the circuit court, and he testified to Congress about the government’s clemency program. Potentially, this shaped Ford’s reintroduction of the amnesty program, with better terms for draft dodgers.
John & Bill’s sons went with director Joe Pacheco to Vietnam for the 30th anniversary of the reunification, to see what it is like post-war. Planning interviews with numerous figures, including contemporary artists, and the former Vice President of South Vietnam (who had only recently been allowed back in the country).
Unbeknownst to them, their activities are being monitored by the Vietnamese Secret Police, and they get an all-too-real glimpse into the current state of the country, with their own encounter ending in a minor international incident.
As we approach the 50th Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon just three months after this screening, I’m excited to revisit this film, discuss the various side-stories of production and updates on where things are now.
February 2
The Thinking Game: An IRLMovieClub Screening.
If you attended our September screening of Join Or Die, you probably already got an email from the IRL Movie Club about next month’s film, The Thinking Game.
The official synopsis of the film:
The Thinking Game takes you on a fascinating journey into the heart of DeepMind, one of the world’s leading AI labs, as it strives to unravel the mysteries of artificial general intelligence (AGI).Inside DeepMind’s London headquarters, founder Demis Hassabis and his team are relentlessly pursuing the creation of AI that matches or surpasses human abilities on a wide range of tasks. Filmed over five years, the documentary puts viewers in the room for the pivotal moments of this quest, including the groundbreaking achievement of AlphaFold, a program that solved a 50-year grand challenge in biology.
This film captures the exhilaration of historic breakthroughs like AlphaFold, the crushing weight of disappointment during setbacks, and the unwavering pursuit of knowledge that defines Demis’ commitment to scientific innovation. This film invites viewers to witness one of the most important scientific adventures of our time, exploring the potential of AGI to reshape our world.
While I have NOT seen the film yet, it is from a director that I’m a fan of. This year I compiled a list for my 50th birthday of my 50 favorite documentaries, and director Greg Kohs’ first film, Song Sung Blue is on the list. (Song Sung Blue is currently available to rent for two dollars).
Additionally, I enjoyed one of Kohs’ previous films, AlphaGo, which follows a group’s attempt to develop an artificial intelligence that could beat a Go grandmaster. Watching the trailer for The Thinking Game, it looks like the events of AlphaGo are mentioned in it. You can watch AlphaGo for free on YouTube.
Don’t forget that this screening is only $5 if you sign up for the IRLMovieClub.
February 9
Secret Test Screening
While the screening originally had to be cancelled due to the delay of the Oscar Nominations, I was on the phone with a filmmaker last week about showing a movie he made later this year, when he told me that he had a brand new movie that had just reached a level where he felt comfortable enough to show it to an audience, and get feedback. I jumped at the chance to give my audience a chance to see a secret test screening.
If you’ve never been to a test screening before, here’s what you need to know:
1) You will be the first audience to see this movie.
2) The film is not technically finished. You’ll find that the audio might fluctate in volume, or have some background hiss, and the picture quality, or colors are a little less shiny than you’re used to.
3) While the film is well put together, the director is interested in having your feedback on if the story works, or if anything should be changed. The director will be fielding questions and comments after the film, and at Smoky’s BBQ afterwards.
We are keeping the name and subject of the film secret, but we can tell you this:
The film is a music documentary about a Chicago-area folk-rock (now this might be called Americana) musician. You probably don’t know his name, but he has put out 3 major-label albums in the 90’s, and sixteen over the last 30+ years. Heralded in the press as “The New Dylan”, I think Springsteen is a much more appropriate stylistic comparison.
February 16, 23, & March 2
Oscar Nominated Short Films
I have to credit Amy Penne for this one. We sat down for a long interview a couple of months ago, and she mentioned that the New Art, and then maybe the AMC, used to show these collections of Oscar-Nominated short film collections. Apparently, no one has shown them locally the last few years, so I reached out to show them across successive Sundays. (The following Sunday, March 2nd is the actual Academy-Award Ceremony).
February 16: Oscar-Nominated Short Films – Live Action Nominees
February 16: Oscar-Nominated Short Films – Animation Nominees (this will be our first screening that is NOT at 4pm, it will take place shortly after the Live Action Nominees screenings ends. It’s assumed this will be about 6:15pm.
February 23: Oscar-Nominated Short Films – Documentary Nominees
March 2: Oscar-Nominated Short Films – Animation Nominees
To encourage attendance for our short-term accelerated schedule, we’re offering a $30 pass for all 5 screenings.
