Arts & Entertainment
From a Black Film Festival to a 20th Century Cantata, Here Are 5 Arts Picks for Your Week
Ossie Davis' 'Black Girl' from 1972 (Black Harvest Film Festival)
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events. Subscribe to the Daily Chicagoan, a newsletter from WTTW News, to get this in your inbox.
This week, Chicago experienced a surprise lake effect snowstorm (including “thundersnow”), multiple aurora borealis sightings, and now mild temperatures that look to break 60 degrees over the weekend. While the city’s weather might be erratic and volatile, one thing you can always count on is having a local cornucopia of diverse, eclectic and essential cultural events to attend. From a film festival to a cantata and a left-leaning stand-up comic, here are a few arts picks for your week.
Film: Black Harvest Film Festival — Gene Siskel Film Center
The 31st annual Black Harvest Film Festival opened last week and has a packed slate of global, under-the-radar and excellent film programming at the Gene Siskel Film Center until Sunday. Close out the weekend with a screening of Ossie Davis’ 1972 feature “Black Girl.” Tickets and the full festival schedule can be found here.
Orchestra: “Carmina Burana” — Lyric Opera
Over three performances, the Italian conductor Enrique Mazzola leads the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus for a take on Carl Off’s 1905 cantata “Carmina Burana.” The 65-minute piece will be sung in its original Italian with projected English subtitles. Tickets for the Friday, Sunday and Tuesday shows can be found here.
Comedy: Hari Kondabolu — Den Theatre
You might recognize comedian Hari Kondabolu from his work on Comedy Central’s “Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell,” his podcast with “Bell Politically Re-Active” or his documentary “The Problem with Apu.” Whatever it may be, he’s always funny, righteous and scathingly biting. On Saturday, he tapes his new comedy special at The Den Theatre. Buy tickets here.
Film: The Chicago Film Society Presents: “Every-Night Dreams” (1933) — Music Box Theatre
Presented by Chicago Film Society and sponsored by Asian Improv aRts Midwest comes this 35mm screening of the 1933 Japanese film “Every-Night Dreams.” A silent film and one of the earliest available works of the iconic director Mikio Naruse, the Sunday morning event will also feature live musical accompaniment by the MIYUMI Project Japanese Experimental Ensemble. Buy tickets here.
Poetry: Blue Hour Featuring Iain Haley Pollock and Keetje Kuipers — Haymarket House
Presented by Chicago Poetry Center, Blue Hour is a free poetry reading series and open mic gathering held at the Haymarket House. November’s installment, happening on Wednesday, Nov. 19, includes featured readers Iain Haley Pollock and Keetje Kuipers. More details can be found here.
WTTW News arts coverage is supported by the JCS Arts, Health & Education Fund of the DuPage Foundation.
