6:30-9:30pm
@ The Long Room
(in their back room)
1612 W Irving Park Rd
Email chicagoscreenwritermeetups@gmail.com with any questions!
FILMMAKERS: this one’s for you! We’re thrilled to announce our first ever filmmaker-focused session on Film Festival Strategy and Research hosted by @barbaratwist.
This 90 minute session will breakdown the business of film festivals, provide practical strategies for budgeting, and walk you through how to make the most of your festival experience.
Tickets are on sale now. Registration includes full access to the session recording for playback.
Join us for our series, At The Table, in partnership with SAG-AFTRA Chicago, for a table read of the script: The Caterpillar and The Butterfly
The Caterpillar and The Butterfly is a dual- narrative, character-driven drama about the road we take to being okay with things in life that are outside of our control.
TaLisha and Ronnie are two very different women who ride the same bus on the south side of Chicago; both being pushed to uncomfortable places and the film follows their parallel transformations as they travel in opposite directions emotionally.
This event is open to IFA Members and SAG-AFTRA invitees only. See below for membership details, or reach out to us at info@ifachicago.org
Come on out for our first ever Pixquid and IFA Chicago screening!
We’ll be showcasing a completed short film and a works-in-progress, each created by IFA and Pixquid members: Same Koehler, Andrew Weir, and Marc Marashi.
Screenings will begin promptly, so please be on time.
This is event is free to the public, but you must register by December 7th!
Click here for membership details, or reach out to info@ifachicago.org with questions.
IFA Chicago is honored to host an intimate conversation with Chicago's 90-year-old living legend and the creative force behind the hit NBC TV series 227, Dr. Christine Houston (she/her).
Join us for a rare and intergenerational conversation with Dr. Houston, an evening celebrating legacy, storytelling, and the power of honoring one's creativity.
We are proud to announce our fiscal sponsorship of 227 "Two-Twenty-Seven" Based on a Play by Dr. Christine HoustonTM, a short documentary illuminating the remarkable and nearly untold story of the visionary Chicagoan and African American woman whose work reshaped American television. The film will premiere in a few weeks at the Brixton Film Festival during London Film Week, where Dr. Houston will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.
NBC’s 1985 premiere of 227 revolutionized primetime television, bringing the everyday experiences of a middle-class African American family to millions with warmth, humor, and honesty. With +18 million weekly viewers across a 5-season run, the series launched talents like Regina King and Jackée Harry and helped redefine how Black life was portrayed on screen. Few know that 227 began not in Hollywood but on Chicago’s South Side, born as a stage play written by Dr. Christine Houston—a U.S. Air Force veteran, wife, mother of 3, full-time CTA ticket agent, and part-time student—whose extraordinary creative brilliance this film brings to light. The piece is directed by the Emmy-Award winning Chan. C. Smith, another South Side native!
If Dr. Houston’s journey resonates with you, we invite you to support the fundraising campaign and help share her legacy with the world. With IFA serving as the project's fiscal sponsor, every donation is fully tax-deductible and goes straight to the production and post-production team's preserving this important history.
Click here for IFA Chicago membership details, or reach out to info@ifachicago.org with questions.
The Last Election and Other Love Stories is a documentary fiction hybrid that was shot in one day in Times Square, NYC, during the 2020 presidential election. Chicago-based filmmakers Miguel Silveira and Missy Hernandez decided to make the movie on October 20, 2020, and were on the ground filming just two weeks later. Learn how they successfully pulled together this powerful snapshot of a pivotal moment in recent history and the production planning tactics they used that can help your next project, regardless of time or budget constraints, in this special IFA Chicago screening (72 minutes) and discussion.
Missy Hernandez is an award-winning independent filmmaker and screenwriter whose scripts center Latiné experiences in the US and Caribbean. Her work is intersectional, feminist, often political, and unapologetically fantastical as fits the genre or her whims. Missy’s feature script, I Don’t Dream in Spanish Anymore, is the winner of the 2024 Nantucket Film Festival's Tony CoxScreenplay Competition and winner of the 2024 Athena List, and a finalist for the Nashville Film Festival Screenplay Competition. Her short film script, Lejos de Aquí (Far From Here), was a finalist for the 2025 Shore Scripts Short Film Fund and winner of the 2025 Outstanding Screenplay Shorts Competitions. Missy’s short film, Madrina (2025), is currently on the festival circuit. Missy was a Writer and Co-Producer of American Thief (2020), the co-writer and producer of The Last Election and Other Love Stories (2021), and the Writer’s Assistant and Associate Producer for season one of the HBO/A24 series Random Acts of Flyness (2018). Missy graduated from Columbia University in New York with a BA in Cinema Studies and an MFA in Screenwriting. She is an Associate Professor in the School of Film and Television at Columbia College Chicago. Her previous projects have received support from the Illinois Arts Council, Cine Qua Non Labs, NALIP Media Market, the Chicago International Film Festival’s CIX: Lab, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, the Jerome Foundation, Stowe Story Labs, and IFP/The Gotham.
MIGUEL SILVEIRA is an award-winning independent filmmaker, arts educator, and Assistant Professor in the film department at Loyola University Chicago. He holds a BA in film productionfrom Columbia College Chicago and an MFA in film directing from Columbia University in New York City. Silveira’s documentary feature, I Am a Visitor in Your World (2013), was an Official Selection of the Woodstock Film Festival, the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, and the Athens Film + Video Festival. American Thief (2020), Silveira’s first feature narrative/documentary hybrid, was a Jerome Foundation Grantee, a participant in the IFP Completion Lab, and is distributed in North America via Film Movement. The Last Election and Other Love Stories (2021), a documentary shot entirely on Election Day 2020, screened at the Warsaw International Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro Film Festival, Urbanworld, and Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Miguel’s work celebrates topics related to human dignity and development. His projects have received support from the Sloan Foundation, the Directors Guild of America, Cine Qua Non Storylines Lab, the Jerome Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, and IFP/The Gotham. He is the writer-producer for Madrina, a short film directed and co-written by Missy Hernandez, and the producer of I Don’t Dream in Spanish Anymore, a narrative feature project in development.
Light appetizers and beverages will be served. Please notify us of any food allergies or aversions in your registration.
Please see our December 8th event for details!
This is event is free for IFA Members, and $10 for all other invitees. Click here for membership details, or reach out to info@ifachicago.org with questions.
A new and independent festival in Chicago - created by filmmakers, for filmmakers. Our first screening includes mostly local short films.
7:00pm Theater seating begins, 7:15 start time
90 minute Runtime, followed by a Brief Q&A and Award Presentation
9:30pm - Networking Afterparty
In our 1st year event, we will be showing short films from local indie filmmakers. We are dedicated to supporting and championing indie filmmakers throughout Chicago, the Midwest, and across the country.
IFA Chicago and Chicago Alliance of Film Festivals (CAFF) are ecstatic to once again bring you this program on November 11th. We’ll have a panel of expert organizers and filmmakers, ready to share their insights on how to maximize value and increase success when it comes to film festivals.
Back by popular demand, this Business of Film session will explore how to properly navigate the journey and evaluate which film festivals are right for you.
Complimentary beverages and light bites will be served. Stick around after the panel for socializing, and learning more about available tools and resources.
This event is FREE for IFA Chicago and CAFF members. Tickets are $5 for the general public.
Script Night! is a bi-monthly workshop which gives screenwriters and filmmakers a chance to connect, and provide feedback on scripts in development. The next Script Night! will be hosted at The IFA Chicago Hub, Cinespace Studios. Scripts are due October 2nd. RSVPs due by October 15th.
Sign up to share your script (30 page maximum), or volunteer to read selected scripts before attending. Up to five scripts will be selected for feedback. Everyone who registers will be given access to the scripts 1-2 weeks in advance, to read and fill out the response forms ahead of time.
Participants are *not* required to have their own script, but are asked to read the selected scripts and provide feedback via an online coverage sheet. (Instructions will be included when sent out.) Scripts are due by 11:59pm CST on October 2nd. Please submit your script using the provided Google Form.
**Please note you are also required to RSVP by October 15th for the event, using the registration button below.** This is an in-person event, open to the public. The names of all attendees must registered ahead. No one will be allowed past security without providing their full name, ahead of time, via event registration.
Script Night! Moderators are Jon Knecht, and IFA Members, Jennifer McMurtry, and Bish.
Questions? Email events@ifachicago.org
Peter, Peter is a nuanced coming-of-age story following a 12-year-old Peter Goldsmith as he emerges into adolescence. His life is complicated by being both a Jewish kid in a culturally blended household and a gay kid years away from understanding his own sexuality. With the help of a few supportive adults and his musical fantasy daydreams, Peter takes a few awkward steps along the path of making sense of himself.
Peter, Peter is in the early stages of pre-production and fundraising. This interactive event offers a unique opportunity to support a feature-length, independent LGBTQ+ film directed by an LGBTQ+ filmmaker.
The event includes:
Excerpts from the script performed by celebrated Chicago actors
A Q&A with the screenwriter
Information on how you can help share the story of Peter, spread the , build film industry connections, and join the Peter Peter fundraising effort.
Brief update on Chicago's independent film industry from IFA Chicago Executive Director Wesley Julian
Registration is FREE for all attendees. All LBGTQ+ professionals and supportive allies are welcome to attend! *Everyone must register in advance, or they will not be allowed past security. Please be sure to RSVP for all members of your party.*
Forgiving Dr. Mengele tells the story of Auschwitz survivor and former ‘Mengele twin’, Eva Kor and the firestorm of controversy about her decision to forgive the Nazi perpetrators as a way to heal herself. I am the co-director of the film.
The film will be shown at the Wayfarer Cinemas in Highland Park at 7 p.m. on Oct. 16. Director of photography Keith Walker, Eva’s son Alex (via Zoom), and I will be there for a Q/A after the screening.
6:30-9:30pm
@ The Long Room
(in their back room)
1612 W Irving Park Rd
Email chicagoscreenwritermeetups@gmail.com with any questions!
Film Girlz Brunch Fall Career Development Series on Wednesday, October 8th at 6:30 pm! OTV | Open Television is graciously hosting us in their space and partnering with us to have a conversation about the one thing that constantly seems to be running and hiding from us indie filmmakers: MONEY!!!
Matwaala Mehfilm Poetry Film Festival
October 4, 2025
2-5PM
South Asia Institute (1925 S Michigan Ave)
Program tickets: GA $10 | Student/Senior $8
https://www.saichicago.org/calendar/matwaala-mehfilm
Hosted by the South Asia Institute, Chicago – October 4, 2025 In 2025, Matwaala celebrates a milestone—its tenth anniversary—marking a decade of amplifying South Asian diaspora voices and building community through poetry. To honor this journey, we are proud to launch the first-ever South Asian Poetry Film Fest, a curated exhibit of poetry films, on October 4, 2025, at the South Asia Institute in Chicago.
This groundbreaking event is one of the many events under the aegis of Matwaala Mehfilm, celebrating this milestone. This festival will showcase the intersection of poetry and film, where lyrical language meets visual storytelling. Featuring diverse South Asian poets and filmmakers from across the diaspora, the festival will explore themes of identity, migration, memory, and resilience. By bringing these works together under one roof, Matwaala Mehfilm offers audiences a rare opportunity to witness how poetry expands beyond the page into cinematic expression.
We have an incredible night planned for all who attend. RSVP no later than 1pm September 30th. Only a few spots left!
** Industry Days is the Chicago International Film Festival’s hub for filmmakers and industry professionals to connect, share ideas, and be inspired. During this conference you will have the opportunity to meet with development executives, producers and distributors in our Decision-Maker Roundtables, informative panel conversations, master classes, networking events, and more. **
6:30-9:30pm
@ The Long Room
(in their back room)
1612 W Irving Park Rd
Email chicagoscreenwritermeetups@gmail.com with any questions!
Join us for our series, At The Table, in partnership with SAG-AFTRA Chicago, for a table read of the script: Don’t Worry About It
After her father's death, a woman's obsessive-compulsive disorder spirals out of control. She enters an intensive therapy program, where she must confront his death and her OCD before it takes over her life.
Written & Directed by Melissa Kong
Produced by Grace Hahn
This event is open to IFA Members and SAG-AFTRA invitees only. See below for membership details, or reach out to us at info@ifachicago.org
A hands-on workshop to help freelancers manage their finances better and achieve financial goals.
This is an in-person event at IFA Chicago! Light refreshments will be served.
Everyone must RSVP by 11:59pm August 25th. No one will be allowed past security without providing their first and last name via registration.
After a triumphant 2024 run, the XL Film Festival is back, and founder Troy Pryor is taking it up a notch. The XL Film Festival 2025 is set to captivate audiences from Aug. 14 to Aug. 23, promising a groundbreaking cinematic experience like no other.
This annual Film Festival and Summit brings together industry professionals, providing an immersive experience for audiences to dive into. From thought-provoking panels to film showcases we aim to celebrate the power of storytelling through the captivating art form of cinema.
IFA Chicago members, check the member portal for your discount code.
Script Night! is a bi-monthly workshop which gives screenwriters and filmmakers a chance to connect, and provide feedback on scripts in development. The next Script Night! will be hosted at The IFA Chicago Hub, Cinespace Studios. Scripts are due August 6th. RSVPs due by August 13th.
Sign up to share your script (30 page maximum), or volunteer to read selected scripts before attending. Up to five scripts will be selected for feedback. Everyone who registers will be given access to the scripts 1-2 weeks in advance, to read and fill out the response forms ahead of time.
Participants are *not* required to have their own script, but are asked to read the selected scripts and provide feedback via an online coverage sheet. (Instructions will be included when sent out.) Scripts are due by 11:59pm CST on August 6th. Please submit your script using the provided Google Form.
**Please note you are also required to RSVP by August 13th for the event, using the registration button below.** This is an in-person event, open to the public. The names of all attendees must registered ahead. No one will be allowed past security without providing their full name, ahead of time, via event registration.
Script Night! Moderators are Jon Knecht, and IFA Members, Jennifer McMurtry, and Bish.
Questions? Email events@ifachicago.org
After a triumphant 2024 run, the XL Film Festival is back, and founder Troy Pryor is taking it up a notch. The XL Film Festival 2025 is set to captivate audiences from Aug. 14 to Aug. 23, promising a groundbreaking cinematic experience like no other.
This annual Film Festival and Summit brings together industry professionals, providing an immersive experience for audiences to dive into. From thought-provoking panels to film showcases we aim to celebrate the power of storytelling through the captivating art form of cinema.
IFA Chicago members, check the member portal for your discount code.
We’ve all been there. You’ve created something for a client, but you haven’t been paid for your work. Artists are often asked to work “for exposure,” promised payment and creative credit that seems to never come, and frequently take work without an official contract. What can you do to advocate for yourself and hold employers accountable?
Join Lawyers for the Creative Arts for an informative and actionable session on how to handle payment and credit issues, particularly when you don’t have a contract. We’ll share some tactics and actions you can take to ensure that you are properly paid and credited, debunk common myths, and we’ll cover helpful laws in Illinois, including the Freelance Worker Protection Act. We’ll also take your questions.
Register for this free program and learn how to protect your livelihood and artistic work.
About the Speaker:
Katie O’Neill is a litigation associate in the Chicago office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. She has represented a wide variety of clients in state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as in arbitration.
Katie also maintains an active pro bono practice and has represented clients in clemency proceedings, asylum proceedings and other matters. As a member of the Associate Board for Lawyers for the Creative Arts, she has also represented several clients in arts-related disputes.
6:30-9:30pm
@ The Long Room
(in their back room)
1612 W Irving Park Rd
Email chicagoscreenwritermeetups@gmail.com with any questions!
After a triumphant 2024 run, the XL Film Festival is back, and founder Troy Pryor is taking it up a notch. The XL Film Festival 2025 is set to captivate audiences from Aug. 14 to Aug. 23, promising a groundbreaking cinematic experience like no other.
This annual Film Festival and Summit brings together industry professionals, providing an immersive experience for audiences to dive into. From thought-provoking panels to film showcases we aim to celebrate the power of storytelling through the captivating art form of cinema.
IFA Chicago members, check the member portal for your discount code.
Tech Chicago Week is a wrap, let's keep this party going and continue celebrating the artists and the creators of Chicago!
Join IFA partner Pixquid for a short and sweet hangout on August 11th!
6p -Reception + Networking
6:30p -Screening of Award-Winning Short Films on Pixquid
7:15p -Meet the Filmmakers/Creators!
Lineup to be announced - because it's more fun that way 😆
See you there!
THE SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS & LYRICISTS
INVITES YOU TO
Scoring Synergy
How Composers, Music Editors, and Music Supervisors Collaborate
Featuring
Composer
JONATHAN ZALBEN
MODERATED BY TONY SCOTT-GREEN
Composer, SCL Chicago Chapter Chair
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Doors: 6:30 PM CST
Program begins: 7:00 PM CST
Lincoln Park Room
2242 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
This event is GENERAL ADMISSION. Arrive early to the theater to secure groups of seats.
I Agree With You
Directed by Jake VanKersen
Written by Ross Compton
Starring: Stevie Shale and Ross Compton
Runtime: 79 minutes
Genre: Comedy, Relationship Comedy
Contains strong language, references to sex
Plot Summary: After canceling plans with friends, Hector and Penny begin a game of role-play that threatens to undo their relationship.
Official trailer here!
This is an in-person event at The Davis Theater
Get ready for a revolution in entertainment 😎
Join our partner, Pixquid, at #TechChicagoWeek2025 with a night of celebration, creativity, and connection!
For the first time ever, we’re pulling back the curtain on Pixquid® 3.0 — the only platform where streaming, community, and marketplace collide in one bold, beautiful space that will take place at CineCity Studios, Chicago's premier film and TV production facility. An estimated 400 people are expected to attend from industries including film, TV, production, and technology during TechChicago Week.
This isn’t just an upgrade — it’s a total game-changer. Discover how Pixquid® 3.0 flips the script on traditional entertainment deals, empowering filmmakers, investors, and distributors to collaborate in exciting new ways — all while serving up endless fresh, independent content for curious audiences like you!
7:00p–8:00p | Reception (sip, snack, and mingle)
8:00p–9:00p | Opening remarks, partner/sponsor spotlights, the big Pixquid® 3.0 reveal, Pixquid Awards announcement, and closing thoughts
9:00p–10:00p | Dancing & Networking (yes, in that order — but we won't judge)
Come for the future of entertainment. Stay for the party.
Discounts for IFA Chicago members! Check your member portal for codes. (Or go here to learn about IFA membership.)
Black & Brown Femme Films (BBFF) 2025
July 25–26, 2025 | Friday 4-9PM | Saturday 1-8PM
Logan Center for the Arts | 915 E. 61st St., Chicago | Screening Room 201
Join BBFF for two powerful days of global storytelling, creative community, and femme-centered film at the BBFF 2025 Film Festival!
Featuring:
● 43 films from around the world — including documentaries, animation, horror, comedy, and drama
● Inspiring panel talks (distribution, indie producing, and more)
● Meet & greets, community networking, and BBFF After Dark for mature audiences.
● Senior (65+ and EBT/low-income ticket options. (With Proof)
Tickets:
● All-Access Passes, Day Passes, and Individual Screening Blocks
● Discounted tickets available for Seniors (65+ and EBT card holders) — bring proof to the door!
Come for the films, stay for the conversations.
Celebrate women of color in film — on screen and behind the lens.
️ Grab your ticket today & tell a friend! Eventbrite
