CIMMfest

The brand spanking new Chicago International Movies and Music Festival (CIMMfest) is occurring next March 5-8 at the Chicago Cultural Center and other venues around town. It's the brainchild of Ilko Davidov, one of the owners of the film studio where I work, and Josh Chicoine of the Chicago band The M's. I'm the Programming Director. During the day and evening there will be film screenings, panel discussions, and workshops; at night there will be a series of concerts at clubs around the city. The City of Chicago is sponsoring it, and we're already taking submissions through Withoutabox.

You're saying, "Another film festival?" But this one is different, even aside from the concert series. The movies are all about music: how it's made, who makes it, what drives them to make it, how it shapes people's lives. They could be Don't Look Back-style documentaries, Almost Famous-style narratives, Stop Making Sense-style concert films, or anything that is about music, or uses music in an interesting way. Music videos, experimental shorts, musicals, mockumentaries, you name it—if it has a strong tie to music, we want to see it.