Lights, Camera, Lock Down

COVID-19 may have locked everything down, but it couldn’t stop the creative energy and journalistic drive of these filmmakers who provide a fresh look at our tumultuous now.

Note: Films in this program may not be suitable for all ages.

Films

Fragments of Gage

Emilio Nieto | Chicago | Age 21

A woman balances her bakery business with her medical work at a hospital threatened with closure in this pandemic portrait of Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood.

“Only Love” by Gem Tree

Bridget Johnson | Chicago | Age 21

Two queer female skateboarders meet at their favorite spot: the skate park. They crush on each other and document their memories on a VHS, celebrating their love in this vibrant music video.

Korridor

Walter Duncan | Germany | Age 7

A mother and son transform their home corridor into a ghostly and experimental place marked by gamelan sounds and transfixing light imagery in this playful lockdown collaboration.

Under the Same Sky. Trinitat From Within

Students of “Cinema en curs” (Catalunya) | Spain | Age 12-13

While preparing a documentary about their neighborhood’s diversity, a group of students are sent home as schools close. They decide to explore their neighborhood from their windows.

this is a completely normal home movie

Tessa Hill | Canada | Age 19

Capturing mundane life through her laptop screen and layering sounds of the natural world, the filmmaker reflects on beauty, family, and creativity in the midst of lockdown.

Exposure

Claire Imler | California | Age 21

A year into the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, this intimate portrait of ICU nurse Deanna Okajima illustrates how this health crisis has impacted her professional and personal life.