LOGAN SQUARE — There’s a lot to love about more than 130 films set for this year’s Chicago International Movies and Music Festival, and a few changes in format could separate the 2015 fest from past years.
The 7th annual CIMMfest runs April 16-19 in Logan Square, Hyde Park, Pilsen, West Town and Uptown. The event list is exhausting in its creative scope and large-scale celebration of “the inseparable connection between music and movies.”
In addition to the slew genres and a variety of countries represented, the four-day festival features films across several different types including feature and short fiction films, short documentary films, music videos and live scores.
The number of films is roughly the same as last year’s fest, but CIMMfest will expand from its original strip along the Milwaukee Avenue Corridor to more than 20 outlets, according to an announcement for the fest.
The 2015 fest includes usual suspects like the Logan Theater, Comfort Station, the Music Box Theatre and the Empty Bottle in addition to venues like Emporium Arcade Bar, Township, Rosa's Lounge and City Winery.
New programs such as a sidebar of contemporary African cinema are also on deck to increase CIMMfest’s range, according to CIMMfest publicist Rob Walton, who suggested “Rain the color of Blue with a Little Red in It” as a film to see (Friday, April 17 at the Logan Theatre, 11:25 p.m.)
Also unique this year is a mini-festival of rarities and curiosities from filmmaker Julien Temple, who will be in attendance as recipient of the fest’s third annual Baadasssss Award. The Julien Temple fest includes a rare 35mm screening of his musical “Absolute Beginners” (featuring David Bowie).
This will also be the first year for the city’s Lake FX Summit, which coincides with CIMMfest, according to Walton, who recommends the multimedia showing of “Buster Keaton Goes to Bollywood.”
A soldout special Evening of Music, Film & Wine with Spike Lee where DJ V-Dub will spin a mix of music from Lee’s films before the filmmaker himself tells stories about his movies over a City Winery wine is sure to be highlight, as the famed director moves forward with his recently announced “Chiraq” project set for filming in Chicago.
A full schedule of the dizzying list of events can be found here.
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