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Writer's pictureChinyere Ibeh

Chicago Underground Film Festival Back with Another Round of Independent Films for its 31st Year

Updated: 3 days ago

The largest independent film festival is back for another year!

Chicago Underground Film Festival promo poster
The 31st rendition of the Chicago Underground Film Festival features up to 40 independent films. (Poster by Thrifty Davinci @thrifty_davinci on Instagram)

This year’s Chicago Underground Film Festival will begin Sept. 11, lasting until Sept. 15 with a slew of almost 40 independent films. 


Opening night features an 8 p.m. screening of No One Asked You at the Gene Siskel Film Center in the Loop. The festival will also end at the Gene Siskel Film Center with a 7:30 p.m. screening of Just Above the Surface of the Earth. Unlike last year, there won’t be artistic afterparties, though, there will be plenty of films focusing on artists and their respective art forms.


For one, To Make Our People Dance & The Bastard Child: Exploring the Origins of Chicago House Music highlights the history of house music as well as the experience of DJs of color within the community. Instead of the Gene Siskel Film Center or the Harper Theater, this screening will take place at the First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.


The film will explore “the beauty in the queer club scene that has always been there but has often been overlooked by prejudices of party culture,” according to the Chicago Underground Film Festival website. With a runtime of less than 20 minutes, the film features three DJs: Blesstonio, Miss Twink USA and Nanoos.


No Asked You, the inaugural film of the festival, follows comedian and The Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead and her team of activists as they traverse the nation to support abortion clinic staff. The film covers six years of on-the-road action and exposes “wrongdoer politicians, domestic terrorists and media neglect,” according to the Chicago Underground Film Festival website.


The schedule, screening tickets and festival passes are available on the festival’s website.

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