Chicago Film Archives
@chicagofilmarchives.org
Regional film archive dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to films that represent the Midwest. More at chicagofilmarchives.org
16mm scenes shot circa 1956 at the Silvestri Art Manufacturing Co. factory in Chicago, from our Frank Koza Collection. Watch the whole reel here! collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objec...
December 23, 2025 at 7:40 PM
16mm scenes shot circa 1956 at the Silvestri Art Manufacturing Co. factory in Chicago, from our Frank Koza Collection. Watch the whole reel here! collections.chicagofilmarchives.org/Detail/objec...
“Blackhawks Xmas Party,” a roll of mag-striped 16mm from the Frank Koza Collection depicting the 1975-'76 Chicago Blackhawks playing hockey against a gaggle of Sesame Street Muppets, has been 'liked' by over 34k people via our social media accounts.
December 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
“Blackhawks Xmas Party,” a roll of mag-striped 16mm from the Frank Koza Collection depicting the 1975-'76 Chicago Blackhawks playing hockey against a gaggle of Sesame Street Muppets, has been 'liked' by over 34k people via our social media accounts.
Stickers of the day. Found while making an inventory for films in the Maria Moraites Collection.
December 10, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Stickers of the day. Found while making an inventory for films in the Maria Moraites Collection.
Unedited 16mm footage of boxing matches set up in a ballroom at the Palmer House on Nov 30, 1977.
📽️ From the Frank Koza Collection.
📽️ From the Frank Koza Collection.
December 9, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Unedited 16mm footage of boxing matches set up in a ballroom at the Palmer House on Nov 30, 1977.
📽️ From the Frank Koza Collection.
📽️ From the Frank Koza Collection.
Today we're remembering the tragic 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, which killed 92 children and three nuns.
Our collections contain several reels depicting the fire and its aftermath, many of which are excerpted in the @wttw.bsky.social "Chicago Stories" doc about the fire:
Our collections contain several reels depicting the fire and its aftermath, many of which are excerpted in the @wttw.bsky.social "Chicago Stories" doc about the fire:
Angels Too Soon: The School Fire of '58 | Chicago Stories
In 1958, a tragic Catholic school fire at Our Lady of the Angels in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood took the lives of 92 children and 3 nuns. The fire at Our Lady of the Angels was an unimaginab...
www.wttw.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Today we're remembering the tragic 1958 fire at Our Lady of the Angels School in Chicago, which killed 92 children and three nuns.
Our collections contain several reels depicting the fire and its aftermath, many of which are excerpted in the @wttw.bsky.social "Chicago Stories" doc about the fire:
Our collections contain several reels depicting the fire and its aftermath, many of which are excerpted in the @wttw.bsky.social "Chicago Stories" doc about the fire:
Our Peter A. Nikulin Collection contains elements from 1952 TV program "The Adventures of Uncle Mistletoe." The titular character, a charming, winged assistant to Santa, debuted in 1946 as part of a Christmas display at Marshall Field's.
This excerpt from Episode 4 features a friendly squirrel.
This excerpt from Episode 4 features a friendly squirrel.
November 25, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Our Peter A. Nikulin Collection contains elements from 1952 TV program "The Adventures of Uncle Mistletoe." The titular character, a charming, winged assistant to Santa, debuted in 1946 as part of a Christmas display at Marshall Field's.
This excerpt from Episode 4 features a friendly squirrel.
This excerpt from Episode 4 features a friendly squirrel.
CFA has got a lot to be thankful for this year! Thanks to a steadfast and consistently generous donor, we're fortunate to have recently acquired a ⚡️Lasergraphics ScanStation⚡️ as part of our film digitization suite.
November 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
CFA has got a lot to be thankful for this year! Thanks to a steadfast and consistently generous donor, we're fortunate to have recently acquired a ⚡️Lasergraphics ScanStation⚡️ as part of our film digitization suite.
Chicago-based ballerina and choreographer Ruth Page's version of "The Nutcracker" premiered at McCormick Place's Arie Crown Theater in Dec 1965 and was presented there every holiday season through 1997.
This clip is from a 16mm roll filmed from the mezzanine of the Civic Opera House in 1967.
This clip is from a 16mm roll filmed from the mezzanine of the Civic Opera House in 1967.
November 18, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Chicago-based ballerina and choreographer Ruth Page's version of "The Nutcracker" premiered at McCormick Place's Arie Crown Theater in Dec 1965 and was presented there every holiday season through 1997.
This clip is from a 16mm roll filmed from the mezzanine of the Civic Opera House in 1967.
This clip is from a 16mm roll filmed from the mezzanine of the Civic Opera House in 1967.
This Saturday 11/8 at 4:30pm, CFA and Honey Pot Performance present a 16mm screening of LORD THING (1969) followed by a conversation around the histories North Lawndale, violence mitigation, and self-transformation through literature and the arts.
Learn more about the screening & our speakers here:
Learn more about the screening & our speakers here:
Lord Thing - Chicago Film Archives
www.chicagofilmarchives.org
November 3, 2025 at 10:16 PM
This Saturday 11/8 at 4:30pm, CFA and Honey Pot Performance present a 16mm screening of LORD THING (1969) followed by a conversation around the histories North Lawndale, violence mitigation, and self-transformation through literature and the arts.
Learn more about the screening & our speakers here:
Learn more about the screening & our speakers here:
Happy Halloween AND Happy Chicago Home Movie Day Eve!
See you tomorrow at the Chicago History Museum.
See you tomorrow at the Chicago History Museum.
October 31, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Happy Halloween AND Happy Chicago Home Movie Day Eve!
See you tomorrow at the Chicago History Museum.
See you tomorrow at the Chicago History Museum.
Spent the day looking through some messy cans of production elements from a new collection and found this guy looking back at us.... plus a hidden razor blade 👀 🍎
October 27, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Spent the day looking through some messy cans of production elements from a new collection and found this guy looking back at us.... plus a hidden razor blade 👀 🍎
Happy birthday to Illinois filmmaker John Nash Ott!
Ott shot his remarkable timelapse films in his Winnetka, IL greenhouse, where he installed environmental control and irrigation systems along with automatic photofloods and an army of Bell & Howell "Filmo Model 70" 16mm cameras mounted on dollies.
Ott shot his remarkable timelapse films in his Winnetka, IL greenhouse, where he installed environmental control and irrigation systems along with automatic photofloods and an army of Bell & Howell "Filmo Model 70" 16mm cameras mounted on dollies.
October 23, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Happy birthday to Illinois filmmaker John Nash Ott!
Ott shot his remarkable timelapse films in his Winnetka, IL greenhouse, where he installed environmental control and irrigation systems along with automatic photofloods and an army of Bell & Howell "Filmo Model 70" 16mm cameras mounted on dollies.
Ott shot his remarkable timelapse films in his Winnetka, IL greenhouse, where he installed environmental control and irrigation systems along with automatic photofloods and an army of Bell & Howell "Filmo Model 70" 16mm cameras mounted on dollies.
Chicago Home Movie Day is coming up on Saturday, November 1 at the @chicagomuseum.bsky.social! Our staff archivists and projectionists from @chicagofilmsociety.org will be on hand to inspect and project a selection of YOUR celluloid home movies in 16mm, 8mm, or Super 8.
More details here!
More details here!
Chicago Home Movie Day 2025 - Chicago Film Archives
www.chicagofilmarchives.org
October 22, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Chicago Home Movie Day is coming up on Saturday, November 1 at the @chicagomuseum.bsky.social! Our staff archivists and projectionists from @chicagofilmsociety.org will be on hand to inspect and project a selection of YOUR celluloid home movies in 16mm, 8mm, or Super 8.
More details here!
More details here!
Join us at the University of Chicago's Film Studies Center this Friday at 7pm for a FREE screening of films by Chicago-based photographer, writer, filmmaker, and man-about-town Bill Stamets, who will be appearing in person!
Small Gauge, Big Shoulders: Films by Bill Stamets - Chicago Film Archives
www.chicagofilmarchives.org
October 14, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Join us at the University of Chicago's Film Studies Center this Friday at 7pm for a FREE screening of films by Chicago-based photographer, writer, filmmaker, and man-about-town Bill Stamets, who will be appearing in person!
Last year CFA preserved six films by JoAnn Elam. Tomorrow night, two of the new 16mm preservation prints created through this project will debut in Program 1 of @chicagofilmsociety.org's Celluloid Now! Be there, and check out the program at celluloidnow.org
![A frame from JoAnn Elam's film "[Garden & Joe]" depicting the filmmaker's husband Joe in silhouette against a window, double-exposed with garden plants and flowers.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:ktlqaubjcqutjhyqbcmkhuz4/bafkreiaheckp5ahgxrh3iarmovudwgpbex6kkdymtjxoj6qfkwumywenfa@jpeg)
October 8, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Last year CFA preserved six films by JoAnn Elam. Tomorrow night, two of the new 16mm preservation prints created through this project will debut in Program 1 of @chicagofilmsociety.org's Celluloid Now! Be there, and check out the program at celluloidnow.org
154 years ago today, the Great Chicago Fire started to burn. And 70 years ago, Walter Cronkite recorded this mock news report about the fire for CBS's "You Are There," a series that reenacted events from history as breaking news.
From a 16mm reel collected by Chicago filmmaker Margaret Conneely.
From a 16mm reel collected by Chicago filmmaker Margaret Conneely.
You Are There: “The Chicago Fire”
Episode of the television series “You Are There” featuring a fake news report on the Chicago Fire of 1871. Walter Cronkite acts as the news anchor from behind a desk, accompanied by “in the field” voi...
collections.chicagofilmarchives.org
October 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
154 years ago today, the Great Chicago Fire started to burn. And 70 years ago, Walter Cronkite recorded this mock news report about the fire for CBS's "You Are There," a series that reenacted events from history as breaking news.
From a 16mm reel collected by Chicago filmmaker Margaret Conneely.
From a 16mm reel collected by Chicago filmmaker Margaret Conneely.
On this day in 1991, Chicago's Harold Washington Library Center opened to the public!
This clip was shot about a week later as 16mm B-roll for "Skyline: Chicago," a series on the city's history and urban design that aired on @wttw.bsky.social It's part of CFA's Judith Paine McBrien Collection.
This clip was shot about a week later as 16mm B-roll for "Skyline: Chicago," a series on the city's history and urban design that aired on @wttw.bsky.social It's part of CFA's Judith Paine McBrien Collection.
October 7, 2025 at 9:48 PM
On this day in 1991, Chicago's Harold Washington Library Center opened to the public!
This clip was shot about a week later as 16mm B-roll for "Skyline: Chicago," a series on the city's history and urban design that aired on @wttw.bsky.social It's part of CFA's Judith Paine McBrien Collection.
This clip was shot about a week later as 16mm B-roll for "Skyline: Chicago," a series on the city's history and urban design that aired on @wttw.bsky.social It's part of CFA's Judith Paine McBrien Collection.
🎂 Happy birthday, Tom Palazzolo! Our tribute: this supercut of his varied and wonderful title cards.
September 30, 2025 at 11:05 PM
🎂 Happy birthday, Tom Palazzolo! Our tribute: this supercut of his varied and wonderful title cards.
Go behind the scenes at CFA with WGN-TV legend Larry Potash! His visit was a lot of fun for all of us, and we're impressed by the great films Larry and his team picked to highlight in this segment.
Preserving history: The rarely seen reels of the Chicago Film Archive | Backstory with Larry Potash
YouTube video by WGN News
www.youtube.com
September 29, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Go behind the scenes at CFA with WGN-TV legend Larry Potash! His visit was a lot of fun for all of us, and we're impressed by the great films Larry and his team picked to highlight in this segment.
Come see us at our (super casual) open house this Sunday!
CFA Open House September 2025 - Chicago Film Archives
www.chicagofilmarchives.org
September 24, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Come see us at our (super casual) open house this Sunday!
From "Joe & Apples" (JoAnn Elam, 8mm, circa 1980)
September 23, 2025 at 9:38 PM
From "Joe & Apples" (JoAnn Elam, 8mm, circa 1980)
Join CFA and Honey Pot Performance on Sat 11/8 for a free screening of Lord Thing (1969, DeWitt Beall).
The screening will be followed by conversation around the histories of the North Lawndale neighborhood, violence mitigation, and self-transformation through literature and the arts. Details:
The screening will be followed by conversation around the histories of the North Lawndale neighborhood, violence mitigation, and self-transformation through literature and the arts. Details:
Lord Thing - Chicago Film Archives
www.chicagofilmarchives.org
September 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Join CFA and Honey Pot Performance on Sat 11/8 for a free screening of Lord Thing (1969, DeWitt Beall).
The screening will be followed by conversation around the histories of the North Lawndale neighborhood, violence mitigation, and self-transformation through literature and the arts. Details:
The screening will be followed by conversation around the histories of the North Lawndale neighborhood, violence mitigation, and self-transformation through literature and the arts. Details:
Jim Edgar, who served as governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999, died this past weekend.
This clip from a Super 8 reel in the Bill Stamets Collection shows Gov. Edgar holding a soccer ball and speaking to the press at Soldier Field ahead of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
This clip from a Super 8 reel in the Bill Stamets Collection shows Gov. Edgar holding a soccer ball and speaking to the press at Soldier Field ahead of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
September 17, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Jim Edgar, who served as governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999, died this past weekend.
This clip from a Super 8 reel in the Bill Stamets Collection shows Gov. Edgar holding a soccer ball and speaking to the press at Soldier Field ahead of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
This clip from a Super 8 reel in the Bill Stamets Collection shows Gov. Edgar holding a soccer ball and speaking to the press at Soldier Field ahead of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
New York, see THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON in a 35mm print from our collections tonight at 6:15pm and 9/21 at 7pm:
MALCOLM X: MULTIDIMENSIONAL
September 11 – 21
Program details: www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screeni...
September 11 – 21
Program details: www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/film_screeni...
September 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM
New York, see THE MURDER OF FRED HAMPTON in a 35mm print from our collections tonight at 6:15pm and 9/21 at 7pm:
This project would not have been possible without the support of @clirnews.bsky.social!
After a year of work, we've finished digitizing and cataloging hundreds of reels shot by photojournalist Bill Stamets, who described his subjects as "a miscellany of civic occasions where Americans make sense of power."
You can watch them all our website for free.
You can watch them all our website for free.
Hundreds of reels of Chicago history through the lens of Bill Stamets, digitized with support from a CLIR Recordings at Risk grant - Chicago Film Archives
www.chicagofilmarchives.org
September 15, 2025 at 7:14 PM
This project would not have been possible without the support of @clirnews.bsky.social!