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Ringing In the New Year with Image Union

December 31, 2018 at 11:38 am / Blog

Ring in 2019 with Image Union’s 10th anniversary special and New Year’s celebration. In this special, host and Chicago performer Donna Blue Lachman counted down some of Image Union’s best videos, from comedy sketches to animation. Besides celebrating a new year, the special reinforced the importance of experimental filmmaking and why it needs to be preserved. In the video below, Lachman introduces the special and how the countdown is structured. She’s joined by Image Union’s own Bob, who is featured prominently throughout … Continue reading →
ERWIN HELFER AND MAMA YANCEY AT HUNGRY BRAIN

December 28, 2018 at 3:16 pm / Blog

Media Burn presents a special evening of live music and archival video featuring legendary pianist Erwin Helfer and the late blues singer Estelle “Mama” Yancey on Saturday, January 5, at Hungry Brain in Roscoe Village. In 1982, future Chicago Blues Festival Coordinator Barry Dolins filmed an intimate performance and conversation between Erwin Helfer and an 86 year-old Mama Yancey at the Chicago apartment of blues pianist and singer Little Brother Montgomery. This footage, now part of the Media Burn Archive, … Continue reading →
Countering Fake News in Russia and the US

December 21, 2018 at 4:01 pm / Blog

Video has the power to shape our understanding of where we’ve been and where we’re going. And thanks to you we’re compiling the evidence and making the case. Today, we are thrilled to announce our most ambitious project yet:Countering Fake News in Russia and the US. With your contributions and a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a group of four Russian and American filmmakers will create archival-based documentary films to be screened in Chicago and … Continue reading →
What Do Santa Claus and a Frisbee-Loving Dog Have In Common?

December 21, 2018 at 10:29 am / Blog

Get into the holiday spirit with some of the archive’s best Christmas videos, from documentaries about Santa and a Frisbee-loving dog to an experimental film about snow fall. “The Santa Tapes” by Scott Jacobs In this short film, Jacobs follows an 80-year-old man preparing to appear as Santa for the Marshall Field’s department store. Watch as he transforms into ol’ Saint Nick and explains how his work has convinced children that he is in fact the real Santa Claus. “Christmas Morning in … Continue reading →
Actor and Director Penny Marshall Passes Away at 75

December 20, 2018 at 2:57 pm / Blog

Actor, director, and producer Penny Marshall passed away this week at age 75. Marshall rose to fame with her role as Laverne DeFazio in the sitcom, Laverne and Shirley. Her performance earned her three Golden Globe nominations for best actress in comedy television. But she didn’t just work in front of the camera. Marshall is responsible for some of the most iconic films from the 1980s and 1990s. She directed Big, starring Tom Hanks, in 1988. It became the first … Continue reading →
Call for Artists: Countering Fake News with Art and the Archive, in Russia and the United States

December 18, 2018 at 4:38 pm / Blog

Media Burn Archive announces an open call for applicants for a collaborative found-footage film project, which is partially supported by the International Connections Fund of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Four artists total from Chicago and St. Petersburg will each create an approximately 15 minute-long found-footage film which will be assembled into an anthology film. Artists will then spend a week together in Russia and also in Chicago for workshops, screenings, and cultural experiences. Each artist will … Continue reading →
David Orr, Mayor for 8 Days and County Clerk for 28 Years, Retires

December 14, 2018 at 10:49 am / Blog

David Orr was mayor of Chicago for just 8 short days, holding the record for shortest time in office. But, he holds another record: longest serving Cook County Clerk, with 28 years in the position. He retired on Friday after almost 50 years of service for the city of Chicago. Orr served as mayor for 8 days after the sudden death of Mayor Harold Washington in 1987. He previously served as alderman, working with Washington on initiatives such as banning … Continue reading →
When George H. W. Bush Was President…

December 7, 2018 at 3:51 pm / Blog

Amid the praise for 41st President of the United States, George H. W. Bush, after his death last week, some of the contemporary feelings about him and his war policy were mostly missing from the extensive coverage. We found another perspective in our video archives from his time in office. In this video letter sent to President George Bush in October 1990, Alex Molnar talks about sending his son to serve in the Persian Gulf. Part of the Global Perspectives … Continue reading →