Chicago Film Community Members Launch an Initiative to Stop Sexual Harassment and Abuse in Local Productions

by Legendary Lew

A group of local Chicago media executives have come forth with an initiative to combat sexual harassment and abuse in local media. Among the

Called Chicago Media Standards, the statement challenges all industry professionals and institutions to take steps needed for a “ground-level shift” that would affect the entire business. What I really like about the statement is the acknowledgment that simply outing wrongdoers isn’t enough:

We have recently witnessed a seismic shift in acknowledging these issues (sexism, misogyny, discrimination), as an avalanche of allegations against power-brokers has revealed a system built on abuse. Unfortunately, none of the alleged conduct is unusual or even surprising. Many of us in the Chicago film industry are well aware of such conduct happening right here on our own sets, in our production offices, at our festivals, and in our schools.

We are better than this. We cannot allow this toxic culture to exist any longer, and we ask our peers to take a collective stand against the entrenched sexism and misogyny of our industry. This requires far more than just “calling out” or publicly shaming a few individuals for their distasteful conduct. We need to implement a ground-level shift in how we understand and deal with sexual harassment and discrimination of all kinds against all members of our community.

Change of this magnitude must happen both at an individual level and at an institutional level. Each of us must look inwards at what we can do personally, and outwards at what we can do through our organizations. And we must work together as a committed network of industry leaders to forge the way forward.”

The Underground Multiplex welcomes the letter and joins IFP Chicago, Full Spectrum Features, Open TV, Film Fatales, Zaxie, Black Apple Media, Stage 18 Chicago, and Percolator Films in the call for action to end the abuses.

The full statement can be read below. You can join their conversation at the Facebook page for Chicago Media Standards.

“Make Out Party” Seeks to Blast Hollywood Norms on a DIY Budget

by Legendary Lew

I become very intrigued when I see projects like this one in development.

Writer/director Emily Esperanza is crafting a DIY no-budget film that, from the looks of the pitch video, is a hybrid polyamorous child of John Waters, jd films and indie queersploitation festival movies.  They’re getting support from Full Spectrum Features, a non-profit co-producer of the project.

As the Seed and Spark website describes it, “Make Out Party is a no-budget, high-style comedy of errors that follows three vibrant characters though a day of misadventure as they set out to attend hostess Mary Woah’s Make Out Party.”

Regardless of how the final product comes out, I’ll say this: I’d be much more interested in how this type of film gets made, with its challenging ideas and blasting of accepted cultural norms, than the next high-budget, soulless Hollywood product.

If you want to help the movie get completed, contribute to their Seed and Spark campaign.