The Block Museum and Gene Siskel Film Center celebrate 50th anniversary of ‘Films by Women/Chicago ’74’ festival

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The Block Museum of Art at Northwestern University and the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago will co-host a series of screenings, discussions and events that pay homage to the groundbreaking festival that championed women filmmakers and marked a watershed moment in the history of cinema.

“Films by Women/Chicago ’74” originally took place at the Gene Siskel Film Center in September 1974 at the height of the feminist movement. Organized by an all-woman collective, including several Northwestern University students and faculty members, and with support from the Chicago Tribune, the festival presented a diverse array of more than 70 cinematic works from around the world, ranging from mainstream Hollywood productions to activist documentaries, arthouse films and animations. It was the most comprehensive survey of women’s cinema in the United States to date and left an indelible mark on Chicago’s cultural landscape.

The Gene Siskel Film Center will kick off the anniversary celebration with a week-long series running Monday, Sept. 23 through Friday, Sept. 27, featuring screenings that revisit some of the most original and daring films and filmmakers showcased in 1974.

“Films by Women/Chicago ’74” programming continues at The Block Cinema through the end of November, concurrent with the original exhibition “Dissident Sisters: Bev Grant and Feminist Activism, 1968–72.” The exhibition draws from collections of The Block Museum and Northwestern Libraries and spotlights the documentary photography of Bev Grant, an American artist whose work captured the fervor and vitality of the feminist movement, anti-war protests and the Black liberation movement during a transformative period in American history. “Dissident Sisters” will be on view at The Block Museum through Sunday, Dec. 1.

“The ‘Films by Women/Chicago ’74’ festival was a pivotal moment in Chicago’s film culture, significantly impacting the landscape of film-going and film studies across the city,” said Michael Metzger, Pick-Laudati Academic Curator for Cinema and Media Arts. “The festival was instrumental in reviving the history of women in film from the very beginnings of cinema, and it continues to inspire us to explore and amplify those voices that have yet to be fully recognized.”

“The 1974 festival was groundbreaking for the Film Center and Chicago, and also received national and international attention,” said Gene Siskel Film Center Director of Programming Rebecca Fons. “Partnering with Block and working with the women who led the charge 50 years ago has been a rich and rewarding experience.”

Ticketing and program details are available on The Block Museum and the Gene Siskel Film Center websites.

Highlights of the Gene Siskel Film Center program include:

• “Lions Love (...and Lies)” (1969, Agnès Varda)
  Monday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m.

“Lions Love (...and Lies)” is a complex film that explores a woman director’s journey in Hollywood. Starring Warhol Factory actress Viva, underground director Shirley Clarke and co-creators/co-stars of the rock musical “Hair,” James Rado and Gerome Ragni, the film challenges traditional filmmaking methods and offers a unique perspective on the industry.

• “Sambizanga” (1972, Sarah Maldoror)
  Monday, Sept. 23, 8:30 p.m.

Set during the early days of the Angolan War of Independence, this film tells the story of Maria’s search for her husband, arrested by colonial authorities. Known for its focus on female resilience and solidarity, “Sambizanga” is a landmark in African and feminist cinema. The film is preceded by Joyce Weiland’s “Rat Life and Diet in North America.”

• “Dream Life” (1972, Mireille Dansereau)
  Tuesday, Sept. 24, 6:15 p.m.

This film explores the friendship between two women as they navigate societal expectations and seek liberation. Known for its role-reversal premise, “Dream Life” examines women’s freedom and relationships in a unique and introspective way.

• “Daughter Rite” (1978, Michelle Citron)
  Thursday, Sept. 26, 6 p.m.

A seminal work in feminist cinema, this film uses a mix of home movies, verité-style scenes, and a diaristic voiceover to explore the complexities of mother-daughter relationships. Includes a post-screening conversation between Michelle Citron and scholar B. Ruby Rich.

• “The Girls” (1968, Mai Zetterling)
  Thursday, Sept. 26, 8:30 p.m.

Featuring leading actresses from Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s films, this film intertwines the lives of three actresses with their roles in a production of “Lysistrata.” A commentary on gender and artistic liberation, “The Girls” is a response to gendered critiques of Zetterling’s work.

• “The Cool World” (1963, Shirley Clarke)
  Friday, Sept. 27, 6:15 p.m.

This film portrays the life of Harlem youth with a realistic and compassionate lens, set to the jazz sounds of Dizzy Gillespie and Mal Waldron. It offers a raw look at racial and economic inequalities through a blend of neorealism and cinéma vérité.

Highlights of the Block Cinema program include:

• Revisiting Films by Women/Chicago ’74
  Wednesday, Sept. 25, 6:30 p.m.

An evening of short films and discussion with original festival organizers B. Ruby Rich and Patricia Erens, featuring a selection of short films by women filmmakers of the 1970s. The program explores themes of sexuality, intimacy, self-image, family and creativity that were central to the original festival and remain relevant today.

• Dorothy Arzner Double Feature:
  “Craig’s Wife” (1936) and “What I Want” (1973)
  Saturday, Sept. 28, 12:30 p.m.

Featuring Arzner's “Craig's Wife,” a film about a woman’s pursuit of autonomy and control, paired with Sharon Hennessy’s short “What I Want,” which explores themes of female empowerment and independence.

• Dorothy Arzner Double Feature:
  “Dance, Girl, Dance” (1940) and “Take-Off” (1972)
  Saturday, Sept. 28, 3 p.m.

This double feature celebrates Dorothy Arzner, the only female studio filmmaker in Hollywood during the 1930s and ’40s, with a screening of her celebrated film “Dance, Girl, Dance,” preceded by Gunvor Nelson’s experimental short “Take-Off.”

• “Attica” (1974) and “I Am Somebody” (1970)
  Friday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m.

A powerful double feature of political documentaries by women filmmakers, highlighting struggles for labor rights and prison reform. The program includes Madeline Anderson’s “I Am Somebody,” depicting the fight for unionization by Black female hospital workers, and Cinda Firestone’s “Attica,” documenting the infamous prison rebellion in New York.

• Activist Lens: Bev Grant & Newsreel Films
  Thursday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.

This screening presents two films that showcase the work of lens-based artist and activist Bev Grant. As an early member of the Newsreel Collective, Grant contributed to radical documentary films that chronicled social movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The program includes “Janie’s Janie” (1971), a personal documentary about a working-class woman’s journey to self-realization, and “El Pueblo Se Levanta” (1971), capturing the activism of the Young Lords in East Harlem. Bev Grant will be in attendance for a post-screening discussion.

• “Will” (1981)
  Thursday, Oct.17, 7 p.m.

The Chicago premiere of a new 4k restoration of Jessie Maple’s “Will” (1981), a powerful narrative about addiction, redemption and community in Harlem that was also the first feature film directed by an African American woman filmmaker.

The Block Museum of Art is Northwestern University’s art museum. Free and open to all, The Block Museum is an engine that drives questioning, experimentation and collaboration across fields of study, with visual arts at the center. The Block does this by activating art’s power as a form of insight, research and knowledge creation that makes human experience visible and material. Fueled by diverse perspectives and ways of knowing, The Block creates shared encounters with art and with one another to deepen understandings of the world and our place within it.

The Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago presents a curated collection of eclectic international, independent and classic cinema with festivals and year-round programming while striving to provide a welcoming space reflective of Chicago’s diverse community. As a public program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Film Center fosters dialogue that sets films in historical and cultural context through panels, lectures and filmmaker conversations.