Here are Chicago’s CHANGEMAKERS—Advocates & Educators
Jess King/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
49 Jess King Instructor, School of Cinematic Arts, DePaul University and Author
Jess King teaches courses in screenwriting and independent television at DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts, where they are co-chair of screenwriting. King is working on an inclusive filmmaking lab with Anu Rana to “research and standardize trauma-informed development, production and distribution models that address the harmful history of Hollywood film and television practices.” King has published “Inclusive Screenwriting for Film and Television,” “which interrogates how traditional screenplay paradigms are rooted in white supremacist, patriarchal and heteronormative biases. The book addresses the current demand for diverse representation in film and TV and equips screenwriters with tools to ensure their screenplays tell authentic stories and o?er innovative ways to reimagine current screenwriting practice toward radical equity and inclusion.” So filmmaking and the filmmaking community is sustainable? “When I think about sustainability, I think about long-term investments in local communities that result in the thriving and flourishing of people and the local environment. I don’t see the Hollywood model—which is built on extraction, industrialized storytelling and power and profit—as sustainable. I understand that it functions, but true sustainability is not about mere functionality. Building a culture of care and accountability into the Hollywood industrial machine requires more than temporary hashtag movements like #OscarsSoWhite, inclusion riders or DEI divisions and fellowships: social transformation requires sustained research, re-imagination, and substantive investment. In order to drive the change needed for social transformation, we have to join together in rejecting the status quo and ‘business as usual’—we have to imagine a better future past our own individual careers and lives. I can’t think of a better challenge to creatives in the moment.” What is this moment? “We’re living in a time of complete failure of moral, creative and political imagination. I’m invested in challenging harmful paradigms, and I’m intensely interested in examining the ways that structural violence is baked into filmmaking norms. People talk about representation but that’s too often a band-aid approach. Things like inclusion riders and quantifying the bodies that are in a room are good and small first steps, but in order for us to truly transform the film and television industry, we have to deeply examine the sexism, ableism, racism, and more at the heart of not only the industry’s business practices. But also the ways stories are written, shaped, selected and anointed. Without that, we have different mouths telling the same stories perpetuating the same harms. This is why I wrote ‘Inclusive Screenwriting for Film and Television,’ in order to start the conversation about how exclusivity is core to current screenwriting norms, so much so that we don’t even recognize how limiting they are. I’m afraid once you see it, you can’t stop noticing it.” King began as an independent filmmaker. “I’ve gone from being an independent filmmaker with a penchant for telling queer stories to a creative scholar and filmmaker interested in collaborating and experimenting with others to challenge the normative paradigms. A lot of where I am comes from spending over a decade producing small-scale queer stories with my partner, Julie Keck. It was never enough to have written a script and hired a bunch of people to bring it to life. We wanted the production spaces we helmed to be places where people felt like they could be themselves, where joy and care were just as important as doing the job. The production environment matters. The barrier, in my opinion, is a pervading scarcity mindset, the idea that each of us is only beholden to ourselves, that we as individuals deserve the best we can carve out or purchase for ourselves and, only after we reach what we define as ‘success’ can we work toward a better industry or world for all.”
Liliane Calfee/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
44 Liliane Calfee Instructor, DePaul University and Director, DePaul + CHA Youth Programs
DePaul University instructor Liliane Calfee is director of a collaboration between the university and CHA Youth Programs. The core of her work, she says, is the creation of films “that shed light on social challenges and uplifts marginalized voices. I am a documentary filmmaker particularly drawn to stories that explore how investing in women, often the pillars of their communities, creates an immense opportunity for social impact and change.” As an educator, she has spent the last seven years “building up film programs for youth in public housing. The mission is to increase the representation of Black and Brown voices in film while creating economic pathways. We provide mentors, give them skills training and create spaces to share their work with the world.” Chicago, Calfee says, “is one of the most segregated cities in the country. We all have a responsibility to build bridges where we can. In my particular line of work, the not-so-secret but necessary element is to build trust and create spaces where people feel safe sharing their stories. Media has equal power to divide and unite. Chicago has offered such fertile ground for collaboration with like-minded people and groups (DePaul, Chaz Ebert, Rita Coburn, Elevated Films) who have supported our impressive catalog of twenty-five socially conscious short films and ongoing mentorship. We’ve seen Chicago and the Midwest become a much more film-friendly space over the last decade with Illinois’ film tax credit, Cinespace, and our film schools rising in the ranks. I have the privilege of being in the educational space where I personally witness the bold, creative energy of budding filmmakers being released out into the world.
41 Wendy Roderweiss Senior Professional Lecturer and Chair, Visiting Artists Series, School of Cinematic Arts, DePaul University
Wendy Roderweiss is a lecturer at the DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts, but also chairs the vital Visiting Artists Series. Her work on that, she says, has two sides. “On the one side, I do the boots-on-the-ground production, which includes booking guests, arranging all of the logistics, and overseeing the events. The other half of my job involves supervising the live television show that is part of the series. Each event is modeled after a talk-show television format, and a twenty-member student crew fills traditional live television roles, such as stage managers, a floor team, technical director, camera operator, media playback. We shoot with an in-studio audience with a four-camera set-up that is cut live, and we stream to our YouTube page.” It’s a student-run production that “strives for professionalism, and usually achieves it. By providing a stage for filmmakers to talk about their process and practice, we reinforce Chicago’s place in the filmmaking conversation.” The series also shows future filmmakers they don’t have to relocate. “It’s important to strike a balance between highlighting artists living and working in Chicago, such as Lena Waithe, the Wachowski sisters, Jennifer Reeder, Steve James, Gordon Quinn and Stephen Cone, and those from Los Angeles, New York City and abroad. It’s wonderful to bring in guests from outside, so they can see what we are building in Chicago. We’ve had conversations with Paul Schrader, Bo Burnham, John Musker, Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, Stephen Merchant and Sean Baker, to name a few. Showing them what we are doing at DePaul and in Chicago also broadens our filmmaking community. Event days are beyond hectic, but I always try to take a moment to look around the room at the crew. What I see is a group of young people, learning, teaching, growing and supporting each other. Twenty people who didn’t know each other a few months ago are working together to make something they truly care about. The past few years have been so divisive, but when I look around that room, I can’t help but feel hope for the future.”
Susan Kerns/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
39 Susan Kerns Associate Provost, Faculty Research and Development/Associate Professor, Cinema and Television Arts, Columbia College Chicago and Co-Founder/Co-Director, Chicago Feminist Film Festival
Susan Kerns has a rangy roster of work: producer, director, associate professor, associate provost at Columbia College Chicago; content acquisitions at Cow Lamp Films, intimacy coordinator and co-founder and co-director of the Chicago Feminist Film Festival. “The Girl Scouts used to have dabbler badges where you learned a little bit about a lot of elements of one ‘world’ (world of art, world of science). I sometimes think I am the dabbler badge of the world of filmmaking. I love having my paws in a little bit of everything,” Kerns says. “Since I make films and have an academic job, every day is different. Columbia has been amazing about supporting my desire to participate in the industry in every way possible. I am so fortunate to have a job that allows me flexibility of schedule to pursue projects as they arise, and an unparalleled group of colleagues to work with.” (This includes editing a nearly finished collection of essays on the films of Susan Seidelman.) I don’t want to be bored by what I’m making. If I’m bored making it, I suspect people will be bored watching it. We have been working on ‘Uncoiled,’ a limited true-crime series with director Lilly Warren for years, and I still get goosebumps pitching it. I love off-kilter pop culture, and I want to help make space for more of it. When I feel like I can envision an idea other people might be afraid to pursue, because it’s too strange or experimental, I’ll sign on to produce. I also don’t want to cause harm,” Kerns says, “which is why I spent the pandemic training to be an intimacy coordinator. I’m also as influenced by my white privilege as anyone, and I think many white people believe we can neutrally plop all kinds of people into character roles without realizing we’re often still telling white stories, regardless of who we cast. I’m really trying to fight this tendency in myself. I’m also passionate about the film industry being humane for workers. We don’t need to traumatize people to make great movies.”
Robin R. Means Coleman/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
37 Robin R. Means Coleman Vice President/Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer, Northwestern University
Robin R. Means Coleman is the chief diversity officer at Northwestern University as well as a professor of communication studies, with an interest in the study of the Black horror film genre. “I am often asked how my leadership in the diversity, equity and inclusion space connects to the critical, cultural study of Black horror,” she says. “It may surprise some to learn that the two are wonderfully complementary! Notably, a great many Black horror films have a social justice focus. ‘Welcome Home Brother Charles’ examines the horrors of police brutality, the carceral state and recidivism. ‘Sugar Hill’ is a revenge film striking back against violent, racist gangsters. ‘Tales from the Hood’ is a horror anthology that takes on race-baiting politicians, murderous police, and gang violence. Of course, it is not the burden of Black horror films to be pedagogical; they can be purely entertaining. One of my favorite films is the gorgeous ‘Eve’s Bayou’ which is about love lost, family and fractured memory. I absolutely cherish movies that lead with good storytelling. In the horror genre, ‘Attack the Block’ is a tightly constructed, delightful narrative.” She recently collaborated on a Black horror book project, with film critic-journalist Mark H. Harris, “The Black Guy Dies First.” Born and raised in Pittsburgh, she says the films of George A. Romero mean “horror films are in my DNA.” And Chicago’s in her bloodstream: “Chicago’s past and present is uniquely human and complex. Being enveloped in Chicago’s depth and richness means there is a sophistication and maturity steeped into one’s storytelling. I pray that every filmmaker gets to sit here for a while… That is, if they want to develop creative chops that are sophisticated and innovative.”
Susie Linker/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
36 Susie Linker Co-Founder, Elevated Films Chicago and Partner, Become a Filmmaker Program
Susie Linker is co-founder of the nonprofit outdoor exhibition program Elevated Films Chicago, with her husband, Eddie Linker, and now puts time into supporting a new generation of filmmakers. “Starting this non-profit to support young filmmakers in Chicago was a passion project, to provide meaningful outlets for our youth to tell their stories. Low-income and at-risk teens are not telling stories about their travels or college disappointments. Their stories reflect struggles, in real time, and they need to be heard and they need to know they’re being heard. My personal mission is to give a voice to those that may not have one, and to provide hope for opportunities in a world that they may feel left behind in.” What does that take? “Listening, validating, supporting.” Linker says that she’s “aware of the privilege that surrounds me, and feel a responsibility to support those that lack the resources to achieve their own definition of success. The ‘Become a Filmmaker’ program through Elevated Films Chicago, helps give a voice to those that feel they don’t have one, and provides resources to help share their artistic expression through the powerful medium of film. As an investment banker of twenty-five years, it was important to me to take initiatives to pay it forward. After leaving Wall Street, I made it a full-time mission. Our teenagers are the most vulnerable, so my focus is on helping our young adults find a path by mentoring those academically motivated to go to college, or support those that are more artistic and need resources to tell their stories. In both cases, I want them to feel supported and heard. This is how to empower our youth.”
Maggie Bowman/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
32 Maggie Bowman Independent Film Advocate/Interim Facilitator, Indie Media Arts Group, Sundance Institute
Documentary filmmaker Maggie Bowman has turned her sights to being an advocate for an independent film ecosystem. “I’m most passionate about organizing for collective action. Before I was a filmmaker I was a union organizer. It’s been really exciting to bring some of that energy into the film world, where people tend to work in silos. Most of the documentary world and much of the indie sector in general is not unionized, which means that we have a lot of work to do to make sure our voices are represented in rooms where decisions are being made. There has been an incredible surge of grassroots organizing among filmmakers in the last decade which is thrilling. The field is seeing where gaps in infrastructure, standards and resources exist and is building networks to fill them. I want to do what I can to help encourage this movement toward self-determination.” Bowman is currently an independent consultant and was at the International Documentary Association as director of advocacy and programming before a mass exodus from the IDA earlier this year. “I’ve shifted my focus from making films to advocating for a stronger, more ethical, and equitable independent film ecosystem. That work has ranged from curating panels on issues of importance to the field, such as responsibly documenting survivors of trauma to organizing a group of filmmakers to share their professional experiences with members of the Federal Trade Commission who are examining media mergers. Most recently, I’ve written a field briefing on the state of independent film during my stint as facilitator of the Independent Film and Media Arts Group, a collaboration between the Sundance Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts. The briefing is intended to help folks in the indie sector explain our work to policymakers and other potential allies outside of our field. We need to engage and develop champions for our field and I hope this document is a useful tool in that work.” Says Bowman, “As it becomes harder and harder to build a sustainable career as an independent maker (one in which you can support yourself financially and care for your physical and mental health), I feel compelled to address the structural conditions beneath that challenge. For example, we need to look at the impact of massive corporate media consolidation and then strengthen antitrust law which can slow further consolidation. When I reconnect with my local community of filmmakers here in Chicago and the Midwest, I am inspired by the work that is being made here and reminded how much my sense of belonging to this community drives what I do. I want to always stay connected to that hyper-local aspect of the work.”
Yvonne Welbon/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
28 Yvonne Welbon Founder/CEO, Sisters in Cinema
Yvonne Welbon, filmmaker and CEO of Sisters in Cinema, founded the group in 1997 as an online resource for and about African American women media makers. “Today we are a Chicago based 501(c)3 non-profit with an inclusive mission to celebrate Black girls, women and gender-nonconforming media makers, providing programs designed to educate, raise visibility and support and serve our communities.” The programs that Welbon oversees include the group’s flagship program, a career-long Documentary Fellows Program for emerging media-makers. “When we began the program it was a year long. We quickly realized that one year isn’t enough for emerging filmmakers and shifted to a career-long model that allows the filmmaker to continue to receive support throughout their career, build community and give back to future Documentary Fellows. In order to sustain an industry, you have to sustain the creative talent and provide support in the community for the talent to have thriving careers—however they define success.” She retains her passion after these three decades. “Given our mission, I’m most passionate about working toward a world where all Black girls, women and gender nonconforming media makers and storytellers have equal opportunities to create and thrive. It has inspired me to work on our biggest and boldest iterations of the Sisters in Cinema project, the Sisters in Cinema Media Arts Center, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2023. The Media Arts Center will house gallery space, a forty-seat theater, an editing and computer lab, offices, classroom and conference space. It will be open to the community and media makers, with a plan to offer free workshops, courses and comprehensive programming.” Weldon began film school in 1991, “and I only knew the name of one African American woman director, Julie Dash. I knew there had to be other Black women filmmakers, so I set out to find them. My curiosity sent me on a journey to find my sisters in cinema that has continued for over thirty years.” Chicago, she says, is still focused on the television industry, “but there is also documentary, narrative, online and other media production happening here. It’s a great foundation, but we are nowhere near where we could be compared to a city like Atlanta. What is exciting is that there is a lot of investment in building on Chicago’s current foundation, but that foundation requires a diverse workforce to truly be reflective of our country’s diversity and to ultimately thrive. Our contribution at Sisters in Cinema is to help create pathways, opportunities and new media infrastructure to prepare Black women, girls and gender nonconforming media makers and others for successful careers in Chicago, the Midwest and beyond.”
Gary Novak/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
26 Gary Novak Director, School of Cinematic Arts, DePaul University
As director of DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts, Gary Novak says he is an advocate, a point person, for students, faculty and staff of the school. “My role is to ensure that everyone has what they need to succeed.” How does an institution or an industry sustain itself? “Believing that what you’re doing is worthwhile and that achieving the dream is attainable. For Chicago to be seen as a production hub on par with Los Angeles and New York by the industry, content needs to be created, shot, and finished here. I want to do everything I can to support the local film and television community, especially local content creators. Chicago’s diverse voices are key to keeping cinema a relevant art form. We’re never settling for the status quo and will continue to make the School of Cinematic Arts a top film program; we’re educating the next generation of visual storytellers–locally, nationally, and internationally.”
Betsy Steinberg/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
18 Betsy Steinberg Film Producer and Director of Strategic Initiatives, Independent Film Alliance
Betsy Steinberg’s career since 1998 has included producing and directing, business development, working as managing director of the Illinois Film Office and as executive director of Kartemquin Films. She’s presently a film and nonprofit consultant as well as a producer and director of strategic initiatives for the Independent Film Alliance Chicago. A “dot-connector extraordinaire,” she jokes. Steinberg is producing Kevin Shaw’s “One Golden Summer,” a documentary on the Jackie Robinson West Little League scandal. As a consultant she advises film projects and small organizations on creative issues, tax credit financing and general best practices. Steinberg’s work in the greater film community is with IFA Chicago in a position that entails overall strategic advising, program development and fundraising. “I started advising IFA when it was still Stage 18 and guided the process of merging with IFP to become IFA Chicago. Informally, I spend a lot of time introducing people to each other in hopes that they will collaborate, innovate and create.” Chicago, Steinberg believes, “has the talent to rival Los Angeles or New York, from crew positions to producers, directors and writers.” But to sustain that industry, she says, “our above-the-line talent pool needs to be supported and expanded. That way we can build a community that is less dependent on decision-makers on the coasts and local projects can get the support they need. This is at the heart of the work IFA Chicago does.” She applies lessons learned as a producer to the larger scene: “I think about how to prioritize limited resources for maximum impact—budgeting well is an art in and of itself. With all my consulting work, I look at everything through a strategic lens: what does this organization or project ultimately want to achieve and how can you best serve that outcome?” It always comes back to good storytelling: “A well-told story, in any medium, is the most effective form of communication. From producing a film to successfully running an organization, it’s all about telling your story in a way that has impact. And all pursuits are stronger when you have the right team in place. I started my career in Washington, D.C., working in politics and media and what I do now brings it full circle: using words and pictures to get important ideas, issues and yes, that word again, stories, to the public. I hope to continue to build this diverse, brilliant, resourceful film community we have in Chicago.” Collaboration is also key: “Surround yourself with people who both challenge and respect you. Choose collaborators with perspectives and experiences different from your own. When I find an individual or a team with whom I really click creatively and intellectually, it’s a gift.”
Colette Ghunim and Elena Valentine/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
9 Colette Ghunim and Elena Valentine Co-Founder/Executive Director and Co-Founder/Board President, Mezcla Media Collective
“As a documentary filmmaker and nonprofit leader, my life mission is to create healing through storytelling, art, and community,” says Colette Ghunim. She’s in post-production with Kartemquin Films on her first feature-length documentary, “Traces of Home,” which documents a journey of return to her parents’ childhood homes in Mexico and Palestine—which they were forced to leave as children—and how forced migration shaped relationships in the suburbs of Chicago. Ghunim also founded Mezcla Media Collective in 2017 “after realizing there was no community for specifically women and non-binary filmmakers of color in Chicago. Five years in, we have over 700 members and are becoming a full-fledged nonprofit to ensure these storytellers can thrive in their vital roles as visual storytellers and healers.” For community, she says, “The three main ingredients are consistency, teamwork and love. We were able to break down our greatest vision of transformation to monthly steps, ensuring that our core programming could sustain no matter what. We also quickly realized we would not be able to achieve this alone; by opening space for other Mezcla members to become leaders and change agents themselves, we have been able not only to sustain our work, but to multiply our programs and resources. But our most special not-so-secret sauce is love. All those who are in Mezcla deeply care for one another, looking out for one another as a family, backbone and support system for our collective growth. The collaborative spirit in Chicago is very alive and well in all that we do as creators in this collective.” Ghunim says she recognizes the privilege of growing up in the United States “in a stable household with excellent educational opportunities. Being part of multiple extracurriculars as a child and young adult allowed me to explore my interests, and my parents were fully in support of me choosing filmmaking as my career from the start. I was able to work jobs that confirmed what I didn’t want to do, as well as those that confirmed what was most fulfilling my soul path. As I grow older and face larger life transitions, I am learning that while the external achievements of filmmaking success can be temporarily gratifying, my true fulfillment will only come by finding home in myself. Only then will I be able to do the highest work of supporting others to elevate themselves.” That can happen in the film industry, she says. “With more and more major productions coming to Chicago, it is an exciting opportunity for local filmmakers and crew to sustain their work in the film industry. While we still haven’t reached our ultimate goals of ensuring inclusivity and access to independent film funding and job opportunities, Mezcla has started the pipeline for steady streams of work for hundreds of womxn of color looking to work in the field.” Elena Valentine is a co-founder of Mezcla Media Collective as well as CEO/co-founder of Skill Scout Films. “One of the mantras of Mezcla, and myself, is: ‘If you want to change the story, you have to change the storyteller.’ This means that we must hold as much reverence for the stories we tell, as we do the storytellers behind it. The biggest way I can ensure the success of a film project, are efforts made behind the scenes, to ensure that my teams feel safe, celebrated, and empowered to do their best work. When we can do that, the stories we tell not only benefit, they have far more long-lasting impact. The first thing I say to new Mezcla attendees is, ‘Welcome to your community.’ There is nothing exclusive or proprietary to how we bring people close to our mission. In that phrase, I go beyond networking in an effort to move toward meaningful connection. And in our case, it goes beyond our roles as filmmakers.” Valentine says, “The first chapter of my professional career was grounded in the motto that ‘You cannot be what you cannot see.’ As a storyteller that meant highlighting stories that become sparks and important exposure opportunities for others. This coming chapter is ‘You cannot be what you cannot believe.’ It’s no longer about providing models for what others can become based on others who have come before them. The stories we tell ourselves can unlock our growth. This takes a lot of work, and a lot of repetition. I’m ready for it. May I be a storyteller that helps others build positive momentum in their lives by owning and celebrating their stories of resilience and healing.”
6 Christine Dudley Executive Director, Illinois Production Alliance
Christine Dudley has been executive director of the Illinois Production Alliance since 2020, and was the head of the Illinois Film Office from 2015 to 2019. This gig includes “industry-community relations, government relations, strategy and research development and marketing.” In short? “Connecting the connectors in our growing film community. Keeping the industry informed, educated and mobilized.” Dudley remains focused on the film tax credit as a critical component in capturing a greater market share for Illinois, and to make the production scene viable. “For the independent filmmaker, access to capital remains a challenge. Development of the workforce with training for below-the-line positions was a key consideration in the development of the legislation expanding the Film Production Tax Credit Act, which was passed by the General Assembly in April and became effective in July. A tax credit transfer fee is appropriated to a Workforce Development Fund, which will fund grants issued by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Illinois Film Office for qualified training programs. Simply put, the industry, not the government, will fund the programs. The goal is not only to sustain but to increase film production opportunities. Illinois is positioned for greater and diverse development in all sectors of production.” While the industry association hopes to provide the support, tools and solutions necessary to sustain an inclusive full-service production center, “the Film Production Tax Incentive has been the driving force in the last decade of production growth in Illinois,” Dudley says. “Our film, television and commercial production industry has come a long way from the nascent days of the first film tax credit legislative initiative in 2003 to the expansion of the program in 2022. The film industry is now one of the fastest-growing and most reliable sectors of the Illinois economy. Despite the disruption of the COVID crisis, in the last five years, Illinois has recorded over $3.5 billion in production spending and an average of 15,000 job hires annually. The IPA,” she says, “has been at the forefront in achieving those positive gains.”
Thavary Krouch/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
3 Betsey Grais and Thavary Krouch Deputy Director and Independent Film Coordinator, Chicago Film Office
As deputy director, Betsey Grais says that the Chicago Film Office “works to support all film productions filming in Chicago. We like to say that we are a one-stop shop for all that is needed to support filming in the city. We assist with everything from permitting to aldermanic and community relations to assisting with securing the appropriate city services.” The office is a “mighty team” of only five people, “working on film permitting, programming and supporting independent film initiatives.” The office is flexible to the needs of each production. “An important element in sustaining an industry and building community is maintaining strong communications with the businesses and residents of the neighborhood of a film location to build buy-in from the entire community.” But the small details etch a larger picture. “I am passionate about helping filmmakers to create work to showcase our great city,” Grais says. “My background is in events planning and politics and I have always had a love of films. I started my film career as location coordinator on ‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’ in 2011. Now I have the honor and privilege to work with colleagues who I met on that film who have stayed in our city to build careers. It was the experience of a lifetime and changed the course of my life. I’m grateful to have landed in the Chicago Film Office and to be part of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.” And the community continues to expand. “The impact that our TV and film industry has on the economy is immense. Chicago’s creatives make our city the cultural hub that it is. Our ‘Chicago Made’ development program aims to transform the region’s TV and film workforce through job training and placement to Chicago residents ages twenty-four-to-fifty, primarily from underserved areas of our city, to meet the industry’s increasing demand for skilled workers. Connecting Chicago’s makers and dreamers to the resources helps us maintain and expand the industry. My purpose is to serve the needs of the local film, TV and media industry, and be its advocate. It’s necessary that we foster relationships with our film and media arts nonprofits and partner on initiatives that highlight their mission, as well as create opportunities for learning and networking. We support independent filmmakers and film organizations through program partnerships, screenings, professional development workshops, independent film initiatives such as the Chicago Independent Producers Lab and workforce development initiatives including the Chicago Made Film And TV Workforce Training Program. It will take collective action to create a thriving and sustainable industry and community. We keep sustainability in mind, ensuring that filmmakers, the industry and community at large have the resources, tools, training and opportunities needed to create a lifelong career.” Thavary Krouch is driven by the desire to tell stories but also to serve the community. “My job allows me to operate at the intersection of filmmaking, education, and community building. We’re aware of the challenges and the long road it will take to create a sustainable and thriving industry and community. But it’s been exciting to see how the film and TV Industry has grown in the last ten years and the significant economic gains for Chicago that will ensure the sustainability of our industry.” Krouch also hopes to further expand “our independent film initiatives and workforce training to other below-the-line roles and to increase funding in support of independent filmmakers and their projects.”
Peter Hawley and Louis Ferrara/Photo: Sally Blood (Sandy Morris)
2 Peter Hawley and Louis Ferrara Director and Deputy Director, Illinois Film Office
Here’s how Peter Hawley describes his work at the Illinois Film Office: “Primarily, the IFO does two things: Process applications and claims for the Film Production Tax Credit, the reason why many film, TV and commercials film in Illinois. The other half of my office works directly with filmmakers and studios to solve production problems, market the state to studios, and be generally film-friendly.” Toward that aim, Hawley tries “to meet with everyone, Hollywood studio executives, local union representatives, producers and even student filmmakers. We want the world to know Illinois is open for film business.” Hawley has been a filmmaker for more than thirty years, and a college teacher in film since 1996. As a result, he says, “I know a fair amount about production and preparing people to join the film workforce. When I was interviewing for my position I stressed the need for more infrastructure. Infrastructure is two things: more soundstages and more crew, especially entry-level crew. I am passionate about building the infrastructure here, and I get inspired when I see call sheets filled with names of people I know working in the industry.” In each year except 2020, the first pandemic year, “we have grown year-to-year. In the spring, Governor Pritzker signed the expanded film production tax credit, which went into effect July 1, and allows for a limited number of non-resident crew and cast. That expansion triggers an ongoing film workforce training program which will help get 2,500 to 3,000 new people into the workforce in Illinois. We are on a solid upward trajectory.” Louis Ferrara is the IFO’s deputy director. The industry has changed since the IFO opened in 1976, he says, but “our mission is broadly the same; to build Illinois as a film and media production and development center. The business is about information and relationships. We do a lot of research, scout many locations, and meet creatives, crew and vendors on a constant basis.” The Midwest has stories and storytellers, he says. “The storytelling available in this region provides a backdrop to a diverse canvas that can come alive from so many points of view. That’s exciting, and there is nothing more fun than helping any of those unique visions into production. I’m blessed to have a long career in the entertainment industry, but I’m always excited to hear the pitch for a new show and troubleshoot with producers, whatever challenges are brought to bear.”
Hall of Fame CHANGEMAKERS—Advocates & Educators
* new this year
*Margaret Caples Executive Director, Community Film Workshop of Chicago
*Eric Chaudron Executive Director, SAG-AFTRA Chicago Local
*Steve Cohen and *Paula Froehle Co-Founders, Board Chair and CEO, Chicago Media Project
*Angie Gaffney Executive Director, Independent Film Alliance Chicago
*Steven A. Jones Producer in Residence, DePaul University
*Eddie Linker Co-Founder, Elevated Films and Executive Producer, Co-Founder, Forager Films
*Ted Reilly and *Kelly Waller Founder and Executive Directors, Chicago Media Angels
*Jacqueline Stewart Director, President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures/Professor, Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago/Founder, South Side Home Movie Project/ Host, TCM Silent Sunday Nights
* David Tolchinsky and *Debra K.Tolchinsky Director of the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab, Founding Director, MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage program, Department of Radio/Television/Film, Northwestern University; and Filmmaker, Founding Director MFA in Documentary Media, Associate Professor, Department of Radio/Television/Film, Northwestern University
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His multimedia history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” will be published soon. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram as Ghost Signs Chicago. More photography on Instagram.
Film 50 2022: PROJECTORS—Exhibitors & Archivists
