The LGBTQ community will find a number of documentaries and narrative features of interest presented as premieres and second runs at the Gene Siskel Film Center, a movie theater that celebrates diversity and inclusion. The provided links include more details and showtimes about each film.
Chicago premiere! Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes ( January 4-10 ) is a vivid documentary portrait tracing the rise-and-fall of Roger Ailes, the chief architect of Fox News. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/divide-and-conquer-the-story-of-roger-ailes .
Rupert Everett directs and stars in The Happy Prince ( January 4-10 ), an account of the tumultuous final years in the life of writer and gay icon Oscar Wilde. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/the-happy-prince .
Chicago premiere! In Family in Transition ( January 4, 7 ) Filmmaker Ofir Trainin follows an Israeli family's journey over two years after husband and father Amit comes out as a transgender woman. Presented as part of the series Stranger Than Fiction: Documentary Premieres ( January 4-31 ). www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction .
First Chicago run! In El �ngel ( January 11-17 ), a wild-child teen teams up with a working-class dandy for a runaway crime spree in this picaresque tale based on the life of Carlos Robledo Puch, a legendary serial killer known as "the Death Angel." Presented as part of Panorama Latinx. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/el-angel .
In Maria by Callas ( January 11-17 ), Maria Callas' biographer Tom Volf lovingly assembles interviews, paparazzi shots, home movies, and legendary performance footage to create this extraordinary portrait of the opera star. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/maria-by-callas .
Chicago premiere! In The Heiresses ( January 25-31 ), a sheltered Paraguayan woman begins to emerge from her shell after her protective lesbian partner is sent to prison. Presented as part of Panorama Latinx. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/the-heiresses .
Chicago premiere! The Sunday Sessions ( January 11, 16 ) is a searing journey inside so-called conversion therapy following a young Catholic's troubled two-year quest to change his sexual orientation. Presented as part of the series Stranger Than Fiction: Documentary Premieres ( January 4-31 ).
www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction .
Chicago premiere! Deftly combining various techniques and media, the documentary/road movie Paternal Rites ( January 19, 21 ) follows a route to catharsis for a gay transgender Jewish filmmaker. Director Jules Rosskam is scheduled to appear at both screenings. Presented as part of the series Stranger Than Fiction: Documentary Premieres ( January 4-31 ). www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction .
Chicago premiere! In Silicone Soul ( January 27, 28 ), director Melody Gilbert compassionately explores the connection between lonely humans and silicone surrogates, commonly regarded as mere sex toys, as they become wives, friends, or children for their owners. Director Gilbert and special guests are scheduled to appear at both screenings. Presented as part of the series Stranger Than Fiction: Documentary Premieres ( January 4-31 ). www.siskelfilmcenter.org/strangerthanfiction .
National Theatre Live presents Antony and Cleopatra ( January 27 ): Obsession becomes a catalyst for war in Shakespeare's great tragedy of politics, passion and power. National Theatre Live tickets are $14/general admission and $8/Film Center members. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/ntl .
All screenings and events are at the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, located at 164 N. State St.
Tickets to each screening—unless stated otherwise—are $11/general admission, $7/students, $6/Film Center members, and $5/Art Institute of Chicago ( AIC ) staff and School of the Art Institute of Chicago ( SAIC ) faculty, staff, and students. All tickets may be purchased at the Film Center Box Office. Both general admission and Film Center member tickets are available through the Gene Siskel Film Center's website www.siskelfilmcenter.org/content/tickets or through the individual films' weblinks on www.siskelfilmcenter.org . There is a surcharge of $1.50 per ticket. The Film Center and its box office are open 5:00 to 8:30 pm, Monday through Thursday; 1:00 to 8:30 pm, Friday; 2:00 to 8:30 pm, Saturday; and 2:00 to 5:30 pm, Sunday.
National Theatre Live tickets to see Antony and Cleopatra ( January 27 ) are $14/general admission and $8/Film Center members.
A Gene Siskel Film Center membership is a year-round ticket to great movies for only $6 per screening! Memberships are $50 ( Individual ) and $80 ( Dual ). For more information, call 312-846-2600 or visitwww.siskelfilmcenter.org/content/membership .
Discounted parking is available for $19 for 24 hours at the InterPark SELF-PARK at 20 E. Randolph St. A rebate ticket can be obtained from the Film Center Box Office.
The Film Center is located near CTA trains and buses. Nearest CTA L stations are Lake ( Red line ); State/Lake ( Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple lines ); and Washington ( Blue line ). CTA bus lines serving State St.: 2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 144, and 146.
For more information about the Film Center, call 312-846-2800 ( 24-hour movie hotline ) or 312-846-2600 ( general information, 9:00 am-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday ), or visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org .
—From a press release
About the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has presented cutting edge cinema to an annual audience that has grown to 88,000. The Film Center's programming includes annual film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures, premieres of trailblazing work by today's independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful provocative discussions with filmmakers and media artists. Altogether, the Film Center hosts over 1,500 screenings and 200 filmmaker appearances every year. The Film Center was renamed the Gene Siskel Film Center in 2000 after the late, nationally celebrated film critic, Gene Siskel. Visit www.siskelfilmcenter.org to learn more and find out what's playing today.
About Panorama Latinx
Panorama Latinx is an initiative at the Gene Siskel Film Center supported by a three-year grant from the Reva and David Logan Foundation. Panorama Latinx engages the local Latinx community through advocacy, community partnerships, and year-round programming. The Film Center is proud to be home for international screenings, including Spanish-Language films and the important work being made by Latinx filmmakers. www.siskelfilmcenter.org/panoramalatinx .
About the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
For 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago ( SAIC ) has been a leader in educating the world's most influential artists, designers, and scholars. Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program ranked number two by U.S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities. SAIC's undergraduate, graduate, and post-baccalaureate students have the freedom to take risks and create the bold ideas that transform Chicago and the world—as seen through notable alumni and faculty such as Michelle Grabner, David Sedaris, Elizabeth Murray, Richard Hunt, Georgia O'Keeffe, Cynthia Rowley, Nick Cave, and LeRoy Neiman. Learn more at saic.edu .
