On my way to Filmfront a little girl in my neighborhood in Marquette Park asked me where I was going. I told her I was going to see a movie. She asked why I didn’t just watch it at home. I laughed and told her it was free and that the chairs were comfortable. She laughed and ran off.
Those are only two reasons to go to Filmfront. Where else would one see an experimental animated short followed by a movie like Stinking Heaven meet the directors and ask them questions? Filmfront is in the Pilsen neighborhood, it shows foreign films and contemporary movies of every genre that are followed by discussions. This engagement makes the viewing experience whole. These are just some of the qualities that distinguish this space from others in the city.
Alan, Alyx, Malia and Rudy are the four lovers of cinema who run Filmfront. Following is a collage of their thoughts on film, directors and Filmfront. Alyx and Rudy said that it opened in June 2015. A cine-club had been in their scope for some time. It took them nine months to get themselves together and open it. They said it is difficult to negotiate with the conflictions of space, time and thought amongst a group of four at times. But their energy has kept it together. There is a learning curve that comes with a communal effort, one that is most gratifying when you’re able to engage the mystical idea of culture. So a year later they discovered something beautiful that wasn’t present in the beginning, mobility. The plasmic gears of moving something already in motion: film, video, moving images, and this has been one of the most exciting rewards in being a part of this project. At times they are in different philosophical corners. Strange things happen behind closed doors, but film nonetheless compliments the chaos in their collective efforts. Rudy and Alyx say that next to these transmutations of ideas and forms, it has been encouraging to experience a critical film community in the making. The space has dug deep into the minds of many people, some of whom are now working with them to continue the tradition. They are sure that it is a mix of both the artistic and communal growth that gives Filmfront this strange sense of “purpose.”
What interests these two is form, image, thought and a sense of curiosity. Claiming that engaging the viewer is what keeps their “Boat afloat,” because they “don’t guarantee a destination.”
Alyx and Rudy like moments in movies “That blur the line between people and time, people and place, people and people, or people as people.” They don’t have a major role in picking movies, what they enjoy is the after-party of picking brains, including their own. They meet people from diverse backgrounds and this brings spice to the selection of movies. They said the future is unknown, but are certain that making films and writing about them is what lies ahead.
Now we come to Malia who says that Filmfront’s purpose is to bring people together, to watch a movie and then talk about it. When she was little she likedGroundhog Day because of its obsession with death. Then watching Raging Bull in high school helped her realize the power of editing. Among her chart of directors and personal experiences with their movies are: Ozu, Mizoguchi and Buñuel as well as “the intense and intricate sense of reality in Jia Zhangke’s way of showing his world.” Then there is John Ford and Agnes Vardas many incarnations, her humanism, like Renoir, and her portrayal of independent women. She adds Chaplin and Keaton’s ability to achieve wondrous moments through comedy and, sometimes, tragedy. She says, “she hopes the list will go on and on as I watch more.”
When it comes to the issue of diversity in choosing what movies to show, she doesn’t want that to become a rule. She mentions that, “You can’t really represent everything, especially not all at once. Filmfront is run by four people with day jobs and other interests. The diversity of our interests tends to grow as we do.”
One thing that everyone emphasized was the importance of watching and discussing a film since it adds to the visual experience. Malia ends with a bit of the unknown future for Filmfront as well as for herself. She asserts that she wants the projects and programs to constantly challenge herself and others.
Alan on the other hand says the space itself was supposed to be an artist studio space/cine-club. According to him there are very practical conversations about the space and how to keep it running, conversations “of how we can re-imagine programs and the space itself, conversations about money and its role in the arts.” Adding that Filmfront is always changing — it is not a fixed “theater.” “We are trying to claim a sort of independence from the world inside of this little storefront which is a very difficult thing to do.” He thinks an interesting experiment was the introduction (and continuation) of reading/watching groups. The groups are very practical and direct. The people in the first reading group on Bertolt Brecht really enjoyed the solidarity that comes with speaking freely on topics. He continued to say that these “people seek independence and a need to forget (for the slightest moment) about having to go to work the next day.”
Alan says that he likes to think of themselves as working towards something. “Towards what? We’re still figuring that out day by day.”
What motivates him is his love for film. Adding that love is exchanged socially, unless you are narcissistic, and believes many people with film backgrounds are. According to him, people forget how much you can learn from others. One interesting truth he mentioned was that most of us often forget directors are people too. He finds film to be an interesting medium because of its inception, because film seems to be inherently time driven. Directors were people in time. He says, “But wouldn’t it be more interesting and exciting to reconsider directors? To re-evaluate? The only reason history is written definitively is to give a person or an idea power.” He continues that in the case of directors, their films should constantly be re-evaluated, because in re-evaluating there’s always room for imagination.
He remembers the opening of Filmfront, and felt a feeling of entering the unknown. He says that if he were to work towards something it is to recreate that sense of not knowing. They try to show movies from around the world. “We can learn a lot from the world, he says. He feels he’s still learning. For example, when we showed La batalla de Chile, it “taught him about this U.S. empire enterprise and its sense of superiority.” This he found frightening. “That movie is a true horror story, unlike these campy movies that come out of Hollywood.”
His goal for the future is to make movies. He feels he’s looking out into the mist, “there’s something beyond it. The world is round.”
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Leticia Cortez is a teacher, writer, activist who loves film. She was born in Mexico and grew up in Chicago. She travels the art world, both in her imagination and in her book, art and film reviews. She writes political essays, short stories and poetry. Presently she teaches Latin American Literature in English and Spanish at St. Augustine College.