Friday | January 25
Salt Lake City may be getting all of the critical acclaim and blame this weekend, but no place does a Sundance spoof like Chicago. B-Fest 2013 at Northwestern University’s Norris University Center is a 24-hour festival of unforgettable films like Sorority House Massacre (1986), Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991). Door prizes, a raffle, and encouraged audience commentary are just a few perks that will turn your attention from celebrity ski lodges to outer-space invaders. The Mayne Sage is also hosting a festival—William S. Bourroughs, Movie Star!—proudly presented by the Psychotronic Film Society. The event features a screening of Burroughs: The Movie, a 1983 documentary that has never previously been screened in Chicago, and a lecture on the time Burroughs spent in Chicago. B-Fest: 1999 South Campus Drive, Evanston. Fri 6 p.m.–Sat 6 p.m., $35, $25 students. Burroughs: 1328 West Morse Avenue. Shows start at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m., $10, 18+.
I will get you to go to a movie today, even if you’re too lazy and/or cold to leave Hyde Park. Head over to Logan to watch Moving Picture Alphabet Series: Poet as Subject, featuring a screening of The Color of Pomegranates (1968), written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film tells the true story of “Sayat-Nova, the 18th Century Armenian poet and troubadour” whose style is marked by poetic imagery and medieval iconography. Professor Robert Bird will lead a Q&A before the screening. 915 East 60th Street, Screening Room 201. Starts at 7 p.m., free.
Blintzes make way for New England kitsch with Da Lobster’s premiere day of food service. The Gold Coast restaurant—inspired by L.A.’s Lobsta Truck—will fill the space that once housed Ashkenaz Deli, which closed recently after literally more than a hundred years of service. The chef and owner of this 12-seat joint, Michael Taus, creates rolls influenced by the cuisine of the Southwest United States, Asia, Greece, and India (in lobster, shrimp, and crab varieties, no less). Additional menu items include lobster mac and cheese and clam chowder. 12 East Cedar Street. 10 a.m.–11 p.m., Average roll: $12.
Saturday | January 26
Mingle with Minouk Lim, the next Jackman Class resident artist, at the Hyde Park Art Center’s Open Studio. Lim, who lives primarily in Seoul, produces video projects and live performances that depict and critique contemporary Korean society. The artist will partner with Chicago blues musician Chris Foreman to perform her original work Firecliff 4 Chicago on January 31st at the Logan Center, and her solo show, Hall of Khan, will open at HPAC this coming April. 5020 South Cornell Avenue. 2–4 p.m., free.
The Point—a lit magazine that has featured the writings of Slavoj Žižek and Mark Lilla—is launching “Issue Six” with a party at Logan Square’s High Concept Laboratories tonight. Mingle with the founding editors (all UChicago grad students who conceived of the magazine at the Pub), amidst a backdrop of DJs and probable live jazz. Please RSVP on Facebook or through e-mail, lest you get turned away at the door. 1401 West Wabansia Avenue. 8 p.m.–1a.m., $5–10.
Sunday | January 27
Let’s face it, as temperatures decrease, the desire to sit in a warm, dark theater and be transported to another time and place increases. For the mathematically proportionate moviegoer, it’s unclear what will happen when rhythm is added to the equation, but this is exactly what The Hideout will seek to discover in its Sprocket Hole/Speaker Box: Music-About-Film & Film-About-Music Show. The event features performances by Lori Felker, Tatsu Aoki, and Farewell Scarlet—a group of pop-song singers and film-director impersonators consisting of local critics Edward Crouse from the Village Voice and Ben Sachs of the Chicago Reader. Films by Tony Conrad and The Residents will also be screened. 1354 West Wabansia Avenue. Starts at 7 p.m., $10.
