Lead Curator/Artist Programming
*Thursday Free Form is a series organized by Black Cinema House Film Fellow, Marco G. Ferrari, which supports “Surfaces”, his outdoor projection project that will culminate in early June. Over the course of the next six months screenings, performances and discussions will revolve around artists that push cinematic conventions; works that draw out themes tied to urban development; and performances that mix live image and sound. The evenings seek to celebrate an imperfect quality of cinema that can reveal a deeper consciousness of place.
*- January 29, 2015, The Long White Cloud, William Pope.L, 2014, 37 minutes). Screening to be followed by a discussion with William Pope.L, led by Marco G. Ferrari (BCH Film Fellow) who worked as co-editor on the film. Curator.
– February 19, 2015, Memories of Underdevelopment, Tomas Gutierrez Alea, 1968, 1968, 97 minutes. Curator.
*- April 4, 2015, Ganja & Hess, Bill Gunn, 1973, 110 min. Co-Curator.
*- April 16, 2015, Nacelle, 2015, 30 min & Resti, 2014, 15 min, Marco G. Ferrari
*- April 30, 2015, The Godfather of Disco screening (Gene Graham, 2007, 82 min) + DJ Set by Lady D and live visual projections by Marco G. Ferrari. Curator.
*- May 4, 2015, The Bridge: Sonic Communion Exploratory Tour, Black Cinema House, Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA. Marco G. Ferrari performed live single-channel hd video projections with a live musical performance by The Bridge and musician Yaw Agyeman. Co-curator.
*- June 21, 2015, Surfaces: An Outdoor Video Projection, Black Cinema House, Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, Illinois. Marco G. Ferrari, personal exhibit, public projection. Included—Surfaces: Grand Crossing I, 2015, hd color video, sound, 45 min. Single-channel, high definition video projector, image approx. 20 x 30 ft, silent, continuous loop, outdoor projection onto to the Saint Laurence School building, 1392 E. 72nd, Chicago, IL, USA, June 21, 2015; & Surfaces: Grand Crossing II, 2015, high definition color video, sound, 6:41 min, single-channel screening, continuous loop, Black Cinema House, 7200 S. Kimbark, Chicago, IL, USA.
– November 5, 2015, Dream State: an improvised audiovisual performance, Black Cinema House, Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA. Performed live single-channel hd video projections with live musical performances by The Turbine Tour/The Bridge, and guests George Schaefer (16mm film) and John Nelson (percussion). Co-curator.
– May 5, 2016, Performed live single-channel hd video projections with live musical performances by The Sync (The Bridge #5) featuring John Sutton, Ben Lamar Gaye, Sylvaine Hélary & Ève Risser, Stony Island Arts Bank, Rebuild Foundation, Chicago, IL, USA. Co-Curator.
– December 13, 2015, Pre-Kwanzaa celebration event, organized by the Gross family.. Co-Organizer.
Assistant Curator Programming
Friday Film Forum @ Black Cinema House kicks off with a series presented in conjunction with Professor Jacqueline Stewart’s University of Chicago course, “African American Cinema Since 1970.” For 10 weeks we will look at key Black films made since the Civil Rights Era. Prof. Stewart will introduce the films, and after every screening we’ll have conversation about a wide range of issues, such as developments in Black “independent” film, from the pioneers of the L.A. Rebellion (Charles Burnett, Julie Dash, Alile Sharon Larkin) to the rise of Spike Lee; intersections of race, gender, sexuality and class; cinematic constructions of Africa by U.S. filmmakers; the complex legacy of melodrama witnessed in the controversial works of Tyler Perry and Lee Daniels; and expressions of Afrofuturism on film.
– January 9, 2015, Killer of Sheep, Charles Burnett, 1977, 83 min.
– January 16, Illusions, Julie Dash, 1982, 34 min; Your Children Come Back to You, Alile Sharon Larkin, 1979, 30 min.
– January 23, 2015, Coming to America, John Landis, 1988, 116 min.
– January 30, 2015, Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee, 1989, 119 min.
– February 6, 2015, Tongues Untied, Marlon Riggs, 1989, 55 min; & Looking for Langston, Isaac Julien, 1989, 45 min.
– Feb 13, 2015, Daughters of the Dust, Julie Dash, 1991,113 min.
– February 20, 2015, Diary of a Mad Black Woman, Darren Grant, w.Tyler Perry,2002, 116 min.
– February 27, Precious, Lee Daniels, 2009, 110 min.
– March 6, 2015, Space is the Place, John Coney, 1974, 85 min; & Last Angel of History, John Akomfrah, 1996, 45 min.
Misc. Curatorial Assistance Programming
– December 11, 2014, The Cool World, Shirley Clarke, 1963, 125 min.
– February 1, 2015, Remembering Harold Washington, presented by South Side Projections and Black Cinema House.
– March 20, 2015, Devine Feminine curated by Rashayla Brown.
– March 29, 2015, Chi Voices screening premier.
– April 23, 2015, No Way Out, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950, 107 min, presented by Sergio Mims.
– April 25, 2015, 70 Acres screening and talk, presented by presented by Judy Hoffman (University of Chicago) and Ronit Bezalel (filmmaker).
– April 26, 2015, Ulysses S. Jenkins in person discussion and presentation of work.
– May 3, 2015, Chicago Film Archives: CFA Crashers Series.
– May 8, 2015, An Evening with Yvonne Welbon.
– May 16, 2015, Urban Renewal and Its Aftermath, presented by Judy Hoffman (University of Chicago) and Ronit Bezalel (filmmaker), Southside Projections.
– August 9, 2015, Carlos Bunga artist talk.
– Screenings of Strandbeast: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen in collaboration with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Events. Organizer.
Related Projects
– Cinema Education at Black Cinema House: https://marcogferrari.com/project/rebuild-foundation-black-cinema-house-selfotherness-introduction-to-filmmaking-classes/
– Cinema Artwork at Black Cinema House: Screening of “Nacelle” & “Resti” by Marco G. Ferrari, April 16, 2015, https://marcogferrari.com/exhibition/screening-of-nacelle-resti-by-marco-g-ferrari/; The Bridge: Sonic Communion Exploratory Tour, May 4, 2015, https://marcogferrari.com/work/the-bridge-sonic-communion-exploratory-tour/; Surfaces: An Outdoor Video Projection, June 21, 2015, https://marcogferrari.com/work/surfaces-an-outdoor-video-projection/; Surfaces: Grand Crossing I; Outdoor Projection on the Stony Island Arts Bank, October 3, 2015, https://marcogferrari.com/work/surfaces-grand-crossing-i-outdoor-projection-on-the-stony-island-arts-bank/; Dream State: an improvised audiovisual performance, November 5, 2015, https://marcogferrari.com/work/dream-state-an-improvised-audiovisual-performance/; The Sync: The Bridge #5, May 5, 2016, https://marcogferrari.com/work/the-sync-the-bridge-5/