Archive | Behind the Scenes

Jason Park is a Chicago-raised filmmaker whose award-winning short film BJ’s Mobile Gift Shop chronicles a young hustler in the streets of Chicago. We’re thrilled to present the World Premiere of his debut feature, Transplant, at the 60th #ChiFilmFest. We chatted with Jason about his inspirations, what it’s like working with a K-pop star, and more.

From where did you originally draw inspiration for this fast-paced, psychological drama?

Early in my filmmaking journey in Los Angeles, I had several friends and family in medical school, and some of the stories they would share about the intense challenges, the hierarchical culture, and their eventual transition from idealism to numbness and cynicism were eye-opening (and ripe for some cinematic storytelling).[…]

Eric D. Seals is a Chicago-based director and cinematographer who’s worked on projects from live sports and Netflix documentary series to ads. His directorial debut, Bike Vessel, follows a bike trip he took from St. Louis to Chicago with his father after his dad changed his lifestyle following three quadruple bypass operations. The film is both a funny and touching portrait of a father-son road trip while also commenting on racial health disparities and the systemic racism Black men face.[…]

Minhal Baig is a Chicago native whose first film, Hala, screened at the 55th Chicago International Film Festival in 2019. We’re thrilled to present the U.S. Premiere of her next feature, the Chicago-set coming-of-age story We Grown Now, for Opening Night of our 59th Festival. We chatted with Minhal about the origin of the story behind We Grown Now, recreating 1990s Cabrini-Green on screen, and her favorite Chicago movies.

How did you first come up with the idea behind We Grown Now?[…]