Eyes On the Road

Presented by Tone Glow

Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema (1326 W. Hollywood Ave) |Tuesday, April 21, 7:00pm

Note: This screening is presented by Tone Glow and hosted by Chicago Filmmakers, it is not a Chicago Filmmakers event. Tickets are available directly from Tone Glow at this link or at the door. 

Tone Glow is excited to present “Eyes On the Road”, a film screening highlighting four structuralist, road-movie masterworks. The event will take place on Tuesday, April 21st at Chicago Filmmakers at 7PM. This is a rescheduling of a previously cancelled event with two new films.

James Benning & Bette Gordon’s THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1975) finds the two directors trekking from New York to Los Angeles, capturing the trip with a camera mounted to the back of their car. As we see America through a windshield, the radio plays pop songs and news broadcasts, painting a contemplative and expansive portrait of the country during its bicentennial. The film will be presented digitally via a 2K restoration completed last year.

Thom Andersen’s GET OUT OF THE CAR (2010) is a self-proclaimed “city symphony” of Los Angeles, with stationary shots of billboards, buildings, and murals in varying states of disarray. Describing the work as one of “militant nostalgia,” Andersen memorializes the past but forces consideration of why these signs and structures become neglected and will no longer exist in the future. “What are you doing,” someone asks in the film. “We’re just trying to document what’s left.” The film will be shown on a 16mm print courtesy of Canyon Cinema.

There are two new films added for this screening: James Benning’s CHICAGO LOOP (1976) and 9/1/75 (1975). Both films have never been digitized, are rarely screened, and will be shown on 16mm prints courtesy of The Film-Makers’ Cooperative.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance here. Special thanks to Chicago Filmmakers, Canyon Cinema, The Film-Makers’ Cooperative, James Benning, Dylan Lustrin, Thom Andersen, and Ben Creech.