Film Studies Center

05/22/2026

Tonight's the night! Dr. Carla Hayden will present the annual Mitchell Cobey Lecture on Cinema with Prof. Jacqueline Stewart moderating.

For more information, and for tonight's check-in procedure/policy: bit.ly/4dJlKLE

FRIDAY MAY 22 marks our final event of the year: The Mitchell Cobey Lecture on Cinema, presented by Dr. Carla Hayden!

Please note: Registration is now full for this event. Check-in will begin at 5:00pm in conjunction with the reception, with priority given to all registered guests.

If you have already registered, please refer to the following link for the check-in procedure and policy: bit.ly/4dJlKLE

As a reminder, registration does not guarantee a seat; we encourage registered guests to arrive early.

05/20/2026

FRIDAY MAY 22 marks our final event of the year: The Mitchell Cobey Lecture on Cinema, presented by Dr. Carla Hayden!

Please note: Registration is now full for this event. Check-in will begin at 5:00pm in conjunction with the reception, with priority given to all registered guests.

If you have already registered, please refer to the following link for the check-in procedure and policy: bit.ly/4dJlKLE

As a reminder, registration does not guarantee a seat; we encourage registered guests to arrive early.

05/18/2026

Rounding out the Year of Games at the Film Studies Center, David Cronenberg's 1999 body horror extravaganza EXISTENZ screens on 35mm this Thursday, May 21 at 7pm.

Free and open to the public; doors open thirty minutes prior to showtime. For more information: https://bit.ly/4nDxrrC

05/15/2026

Happening TONIGHT at 7pm in the Logan Center Screening Room! HIGHLANDERS WEDDING premieres on 16mm with English subtitles.

Highlanders Wedding was screened only a handful of times in Chicago in the 1960s, exclusively within the Highlander community. Recently, the original reels were discovered in a private collection. In 2025, with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation, the film was digitized in 4K and a new 16mm print was struck. The May 15 screening will mark the premiere of the new 16mm print, presented with live English subtitles – the first, and possibly only, opportunity to see this film in English! (Ludwina Ról-Łuszczkowa, Antonina Błazończyk & George DeBelina, USA, 1961, 88 minutes, 16mm)

Presented in partnership with Chicago Film Archives, the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America, and Agata Zborowska’s Not-So-Ordinary project, with support from the Department of Slavic Languages & Literature and the Department of History.

The screening of Highlanders Wedding will be followed by a reception. This event is free and open to the public. Doors will open thirty minutes prior to showtime. For more information: http://bit.ly/4uDBlTs

05/11/2026

Join us on Friday 5/15 at 7pm for this recently preserved piece of Chicago Polish history!

Highlanders Wedding (dirs. Ludwina Ról-Łuszczkowa, Antonina Błazończyk & George DeBelina) was screened only a handful of times in Chicago in the 1960s, exclusively within the Highlander community. Recently, the original reels were discovered in a private collection. In 2025, with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation, the film was digitized in 4K and a new 16mm print was struck. The May 15 screening will mark the premiere of the new 16mm print, presented with live English subtitles – the first, and possibly only, opportunity to see this film in English.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information: bit.ly/4uDBlTs

05/08/2026

Tonight's the night! Tatsu Aoki visits the Film Studies Center to present a selection of his films, all on 16mm.

Free and open to the public; doors open thirty minutes prior to showtime.

This Friday 5/8 at 7pm: Film on film continues at the Film Studies Center with our quarterly Graduate Student Curatorial Program, RAPTUROUS: TATSU AOKI, A CHICAGO ASIAN-AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE.

Though he is best known internationally as a jazz musician, for more than 45 years, Tatsu Aoki has been making avant-garde films in and about Chicago. These films showcase his remarkable skills in optical printing to create dazzling abstract images that stretch the boundaries of analog film technology. As the recipient of a recent Avant-Garde Masters grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation, this evening features new restorations by the Chicago Film Society of his singular films.

The program will be presented entirely on 16mm, including three newly preserved works from the Chicago Film Society, and a new work-in-progress.

Free and open to the public. For more information: bit.ly/4d0s2pE

05/04/2026

This Friday 5/8 at 7pm: Film on film continues at the Film Studies Center with our quarterly Graduate Student Curatorial Program, RAPTUROUS: TATSU AOKI, A CHICAGO ASIAN-AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE.

Though he is best known internationally as a jazz musician, for more than 45 years, Tatsu Aoki has been making avant-garde films in and about Chicago. These films showcase his remarkable skills in optical printing to create dazzling abstract images that stretch the boundaries of analog film technology. As the recipient of a recent Avant-Garde Masters grant by the National Film Preservation Foundation, this evening features new restorations by the Chicago Film Society of his singular films.

The program will be presented entirely on 16mm, including three newly preserved works from the Chicago Film Society, and a new work-in-progress.

Free and open to the public. For more information: bit.ly/4d0s2pE

05/02/2026

On today's Pre-Code Picture Party lineup: Jean de Limur's THE LETTER (1929), Berthold Viertel's THE WISER S*X (1932), and William A. Wellman's WILD BOYS OF THE ROAD (1933) play at 3pm, 5pm, and 8pm, respectively.

All films presented on 35mm. For more information, and advance tickets: bit.ly/4sYUdeG

05/01/2026

Beginning TONIGHT with HORSE FEATHERS at 7pm and LADIES MUST LOVE at 9pm! Arrive early for a Pre-Code Pizza Party reception.

THIS WEEKEND MAY 1-MAY 3! The Film Studies Center and the Chicago Film Society are thrilled to present PRE-CODE PICTURE PARTY, an entire weekend of early talkies, all on film.

$10 tickets will be available at the door, or in advance at chicagofilmsociety.simpletix.com. For more information about the lineup: https://bit.ly/4eOi6SC