While CFS screenings are postponed, we are catching up on a variety of behind-the-scenes projects — including some digitization work suitable for at-home viewing (and more):

• Larry Lujack snipes

Four vintage 35mm policy trailers from the 1980s produced by WLS in Chicago, featuring the late, great Larry Lujack. You’ll never misbehave at the movies again. These were generously lent to us by a private collector specifically so we could scan them & share with you.

• THE SPIDER AND THE FLY

This 16mm home movie — shot on the Northwest side of Chicago in 1938 — features sound, scenes of the Riverview amusement park, and a terrifying Halloween puppet show. Preserved by the Chicago Film Society at Colorlab in 2018 with support from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Learn more about the history of the film and the story of its preservation here.

• Snipes from the CFS film collection

A snipe is a clip that is run before a feature presentation or during an intermission. Unlike other preshow content — trailers, newsreels, cartoons, and short subjects — which primarily serve as entertainment, snipes serve a functional purpose, such as advertising, making notifications, or structuring other content. We love them. These snipes from the CFS collection were generously scanned by our friend (and snipe expert) Walter Forsberg. The scans are “edge to edge”, allowing you to see the perforations, soundtrack, and some markings and bits of Scotch tape in between the framelines.

No indoor screenings until further notice

Barring any unforeseen miracles, we’re not planning to do any indoor programming before the end of the year. We look forward to getting back to packing everyone in like sardines again as soon we can do it safely and in good conscience.

Thinking of all of you,

Becca, Kyle, Cameron, Rebecca, and Julian

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