Open Hearing

An experimental film combining footage shot by Brian Ashby with a story by Terri Kapsalis. Filmed at City Hall Chicago, 2013-2015. Additional footage: public meetings of the Chicago Board of Education.

0:00Copy video clip URL Open on a shot of an empty hallway with maintenance supplies. The narrator begins to tell a story about the discovery of an abandoned dog tied to railroad tracks. Cut to a shot of a sparsely attended zoning board hearing of the Chicago City Council as the story continues. Among those in attendance are: 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno, 2nd Ward Ald. Bob Fioretti, 14th Ward Ald. Ed Burke, 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney, and 49th Ward Ald. Joe Moore.

3:35Copy video clip URL Footage of public meetings of the Chicago Board of Education. A parade of speakers is shown in their final seconds of allotted speaking time. Also pictured is Chicago Board of Education President David J. Vitale.

5:16Copy video clip URL Return to a zoning board hearing at the Chicago City Council, discussing, among other things, a zoning variance to build an Olive Garden on the northwest side of Chicago. The voiceover resumes with a tale of a wrecked circus.

7:09Copy video clip URL Footage shifts to the hallways, murals, and ornamentation of City Hall as the narrated story finishes.

9:04Copy video clip URL Credits.

9:34Copy video clip URL End.