Tone Glow

Tone Glow is excited to announce the Tone Glow Film Festival (TGFF), a festival committed to showcasing the best in experimental film. The screenings will take place on Thursday, May 21st to Sunday, May 24th at three venues in Chicagoland. 45 films will be shown across 14 programs, and 26 of these films will be shown on 16mm prints, some of which were imported from overseas. Eschewing traditional submission-based programming, TGFF hand-selects works that highlight the ingenuity, originality, and radical possibilities of independent and avant-garde filmmaking. Its mission is to provide local audiences with the chance to see masterworks both new and old, inviting contemplation on the cinematic form’s history and future. TGFF is co-presented by @chicagofilmmakers . Tone Glow Film Festival will include: • The largest retrospective of works by Arthur & Corinne Cantrill in the United States in 25 years, all on 16mm. • Films from overlooked French experimentalists Ahmet Kut, Dominique Willoughby, Philip Dubuquoy, and Claudine Eizykman, all on 16mm. • Three recent feature films that highlight the ingenuity of contemporary independent filmmaking: Rhayne Vermette’s LEVERS (2025), Zhou Tao’s THE RIB OF THE GREATER BAY AREA (2026), and Kevin Walker & Jack Auen’s CHRONOVISOR (2026). Vermette will be in person for a post-screening Q&A. • A new 2K restoration of SHADES OF SILK, the 1978 feature film by Mary Stephen, a longtime editor for Éric Rohmer. Stephen will be present for a virtual Q&A. • Two free screenings highlighting works by overlooked American filmmakers Peter Bundy and Allen Ross, the latter of whom co-founded Chicago Filmmakers in 1973. • Recent digital restorations of works by Isao Kota. • A program of text-based works by David Gatten, all on 16mm. • A late-night screening of films by Anthony McCall—smoking is permitted, even encouraged. Early bird fest passes go live Friday, May 1st at 10am Central Time. All other passes and tickets go live on Tuesday, May 5th at 10am Central Time. More info, tickets, the official announcement, and a trailer all at the link in bio.

Tone Glow and Prismatic Ground are excited to present “The Land Lies Heavy,” a special program of contemporary Chinese experimental films. These works are by Chinese and Taiwanese filmmakers and grapple with land and space by navigating legal codes, transformed geographies, and personal manuscripts, considering how people and their identities have been shaped, lost, forgotten, or fabricated by surveillance, bureaucracy, and history. These films revel in the mystery and unknowability of these different places, considering both the materiality of film and the ostensible veracity of text to rupture our understanding of the areas we inhabit and call home. Tickets are at the link in bio. The event will take place on Sunday, May 3rd at the @anthologyfilmarchives . More information can be found at the Prismatic Ground website. @prismaticground runs from April 29th to May 3rd. Special thanks to @hsin.y.chen , @yu_zhen_zhou , @cheungshay , @texts1997 , @inneyp , and @pincentpc . “The Land Lies Heavy” Program: 1. Article 4 (Hsin-Yu Chen, 2026, 4 mins) 2. Branches From Concrete (Zhou Zhenyu, 2026, 14 mins) 3. Words Fly Back to the Black Earth (Xiao Zhang, 2025, 19 mins) 4. Redland Hooves (Kaiwen Ren, 2025, 27 mins) TRT = 64 mins

Tone Glow is excited to announce “My Heart Falls at Daybreak,” a special screening presenting the works of Iraqi-Lebanese filmmaker Parine Jaddo. This event takes place on Saturday, May 16th at 6pm in Chicago’s @eyewash.station.diy , a new microcinema in Logan Square. Tickets are $10 suggested donation. The venue’s location will be emailed to everyone who RSVPs on the day of the event. Alternatively, please DM @misterminsoo on Instagram for the address. Parine Jaddo was born in Baghdad into a secular Turkmani family. As most minority languages were forbidden to be taught in schools, the Turkish language that Jaddo’s family spoke at home was passed down orally within her community, both through everyday speech and within the Turkmen folk music and poetry known as koryat. Parine grew up speaking Turkmani at home, Arabic on the streets, and when she migrated to Beirut with her family at the age of 8, French and English in school. Her films feature multiple languages and dialects, and this specificity speaks to the way in which one language may have been used to speak about family, while another would have been used to speak about desire or shame. The Gulf War began in the early 1990s, and with it came US bombing and a decades-long military project in Iraq that transformed the lives of its 18 million inhabitants, displacing 4 to 5 million people. Parine Jaddo’s parents and sister relocated to Beirut for several years and eventually found sanctuary in Canada. Jaddo was living in the US during this time, and enrolled in the graduate film program at Howard University. She found hope in the pan-African ideals, solidarities, and aesthetics of her filmmaker peers and mentors: Haile Gerima, Abiyi Ford, and Alonzo Crawford. Jaddo created three short films in the ensuing years: ATASH (THIRST) (1995), AISHA (SURVIVING) (1999), and TEYH (ASTRAY) (2002). The latter was only screened for the first time at this year’s @prismaticground . These three works were the highlight of the entire festival, and @toneglow is honored to present the second-ever screening of this trilogy. Special thanks to @nadiashihab and Parine Jaddo for making this screening possible. RSVP link in bio.

“The Land Lies Heavy” is a program of contemporary Chinese experimental films. These works consider land and space, navigating legal codes, transformed geographies, and personal manuscripts to consider how people and their identities have been shaped, lost, forgotten, or fabricated by surveillance, bureaucracy, and history. These films revel in the mystery and unknowability of these different places, considering both the materiality of film and the ostensible veracity of text to rupture our understanding of the areas we inhabit and call home. — @misterminsoo /@toneglow 🎟️🌐 Tickets and full program guide at prismaticground.com

**This is a rescheduling of a previously cancelled event with two new films.** Tone Glow is excited to present “Eyes On the Road,” a film screening highlighting four structuralist, road-movie masterworks. The event will take place on Tuesday, April 21st at Chicago Filmmakers. James Benning & Bette Gordon’s THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1975) finds the two directors trekking from New York to Los Angeles, capturing the trip with a camera mounted to the back of their car. As we see America through a windshield, the radio plays pop songs and news broadcasts, painting a contemplative and expansive portrait of the country during its bicentennial. The film will be presented digitally via a 2K restoration completed last year. Thom Andersen’s GET OUT OF THE CAR (2010) is a self-proclaimed “city symphony” of Los Angeles, with stationary shots of billboards, buildings, and murals in varying states of disarray. Describing the work as one of “militant nostalgia,” Andersen memorializes the past but forces consideration of why these signs and structures become neglected and will no longer exist in the future. “What are you doing,” someone asks in the film. “We’re just trying to document what’s left.” The film will be shown on a 16mm print courtesy of Canyon Cinema. There are two new films added for this screening: James Benning’s CHICAGO LOOP (1976) and 9-1-75 (1975). Both films have never been digitized, are rarely screened, and will be shown on 16mm prints courtesy of The Film-Makers’ Cooperative. Tickets at link in bio. Special thanks to @chicagofilmmakers , @canyoncinema , @filmcoop , James Benning, Dylan Lustrin, Thom Andersen, and @creechlikesthisone . “Eyes on the Road” Program: 1. James Benning & Bette Gordon, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1975, 27 mins; 2K restoration, DCP) 2. James Benning, CHICAGO LOOP (1976, 9 mins, 16mm) 3. James Benning, 9-1-75 (1975, 22 mins, 16mm) 4. Thom Andersen, GET OUT OF THE CAR (2010, 35 mins; 16mm) TRT = 93 mins

LATE NIGHT WITH TYCOON Saturday, April 11, 2026 at 8pm, Chicago Filmmakers Firehouse Cinema (1326 W Hollywood Ave). Competition No.5. We are thrilled to welcome Charlotte Zhang in person one week from today for Q&A with Chicago film programmer Joshua Minsoo Kim @charlottezhuojiazhang @misterminsoo . Co-presented by Tone Glow @toneglow . In her feature directorial debut, TYCOON (2025), Charlotte Zhang remixes low-budget filmmaking techniques to reimagine a dystopian Los Angeles in the near future, seen through the eyes of two wandering youths. The program opens with DIRTY EYE (2025) by Keng U Lao @keng_u_lao , a journey through the illusionistic city of Macau—the Las Vegas of the East—blurred by sleights of hand. Charlotte Zhang photographed by Harry Gamboa Jr. #OCFF36#OCFF#OnionCityExperimentalFilmFestival

Join us on Saturday, March 21 at 3pm for “Georgian Polyphonics” featuring 𝗦𝗼𝘀𝗼 𝗖𝗵𝗸𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗱𝘇𝗲’s 𝘖𝘭𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘺𝘮𝘯𝘴 (1970) and 𝗢𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗜𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶’s 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 (1969), followed by a live performance by 𝗚𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗶 𝗞𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗱𝘇𝗲. Georgian polyphonic song is one of the longest-tenured musical traditions across human history, with scholars placing its origin before the arrival of Christianity in Georgia in the 4th century CE. The practice consists of 15 regional choral variations, each made up of their own chemistry of staggered melodies, interlocking vocal threads, and folklore. Its lineage today travels even in a bottle launched “into the cosmic ocean,” with the chant Chakrulo having been included as one of the Voyager space craft’s 29 representative musical compositions selected for the contingency of extraterrestrial contact. Bringing together a live performance by classical and electronic composer @giorgi__koberidze , who experiments with an eclectic palimpsest of Georgian polyphony and Caucasian instrumentation and most recently performed the soundtrack for his brother’s film Dry Leaf, with two films by the legendary Georgian filmmakers the event attends this tradition, its visual and aural texture, as a living form. The event is co-organized with @toneglow and @cinemaguild . For tickets and more information check the link in our bio or e-flux.com/events !

“The decline of culture in musical terms—if you will excuse a bit of my own historicism—is the devolution from polyphony to monophony.” —Igor Stravinsky @toneglow , @cinemaguild , and @efluxscreeningroom are excited to present “Georgian Polyphonics,” a screening of Soso Chkhaidze’s OLD GEORGIAN HYMNS (1970) and Otar Iosseliani’s ANCIENT GEORGIAN SONGS (1969), followed by a performance from Georgian composer @giorgi__koberidze , who most recently performed the soundtracked for his brother Alexandre Koberidze’s film DRY LEAD (2025). Last year, Giorgi also released the album FORESTS, TALES, CITIES, FORESTS (2025). Join us at e-flux Screening Room on Saturday March 21 at 3pm. Tickets can be found at the link in bio. Georgian polyphonic song is one of the longest-tenured musical traditions across human history, with scholars placing its origin before the arrival of Christianity in Georgia in the 4th century CE. The practice consists of 15 regional choral variations, each made up of their own chemistry of staggered melodies, interlocking vocal threads, and folklore. Its lineage today travels even in a bottle launched “into the cosmic ocean,” with the chant Chakrulo having been included as one of the Voyager space craft’s 29 representative musical compositions selected for the contingency of extraterrestrial contact. Electronic and classical composer Giorgi Koberidze experiments with an eclectic palimpsest of Georgian polyphony and Caucasian instrumentation, painting tradition over with modernity and vice-versa. This program mirrors that aim by pairing the performance with two films that delve into the tradition’s history. Program: 1. Soso Chkhaidze, Old Georgian Hymns (1970, 31 minutes) 2. Otar Iosseliani, Ancient Georgian Songs (1969, 21 minutes) 3. Performance by Giorgi Koberidze Poster by @foleyboi

Tone Glow is excited to present “Life’s Collapsed Stanzas,” a two-program event featuring 12 films by the pioneering filmmaker Bruce Baillie (1931-2020). All films will be shown on 16mm. The son of a sculptor, Baillie studied art himself at the University of Minnesota, the University of California at Berkeley, and the London School of Film Technique. In 1961, he began hosting backyard screenings in Canyon, California; these events would lead to the formation of two major institutions of independent and experimental film: the San Francisco Cinematheque and the Canyon Cinema Co-op. The films in this event present an expansive look at his filmography during the 1960s, his most prolific and influential period. These works span different modes, from the intimate and direct to the hallucinatory and avant-garde. All his works nevertheless reveal a sensitivity to their subject matter, finding ways to encourage viewers to look, think, and absorb both image and sound intently. Tickets can be purchased at the link in bio. One ticket is good for the entire event. The @chicagofilmsociety will also be showing Bruce Baillie’s film Quick Billy (1971) on Wednesday, March 18th at Constellation. Special thanks to @elasticarts , @canyoncinema , and @creechlikesthisone . PROGRAM 1 at 6:00PM 1. Show Leader (1966, b/w, sound, 1 minute) 2. The Gymnasts (1961, b/w, sound, 8 mins) 3. Here I Am (1962, b/w, sound, 11 mins) 4. Mass for the Dakota Sioux (1964, b/w, sound, 20 mins) 5. Still Life (1966, color, sound, 2 mins) 6. A Hurrah For Soldiers (1963, color, sound, 4 mins) 7. To Parsifal (1963, color, sound, 16 mins) 8. Valentin De Las Sierras (1968, color, sound, 10 mins) 9. All My Life (1966, color, sound, 3 mins) TRT = 75 mins PROGRAM 2 at 8:00PM 1. Tung (1966, color, silent, 5 mins) 2. Castro Street (1966, color, sound, 10 mins) 3. Quixote (1963, color, sound, 45 mins) TRT = 60 mins

Hello everyone, for reasons outside of our control, this event unfortunately has to be postponed. Everyone will be refunded immediately. A new date will be announced soon; sorry for the last minute switch-up.

Tone Glow is excited to present “Eyes On the Road,” a film screening highlighting two structuralist, road-movie masterworks. The event will take place on Tuesday, February 24th at Chicago Filmmakers. James Benning & Bette Gordon’s THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1975) finds the two directors trekking from New York to Los Angeles, capturing the trip with a camera mounted to the back of their car. As we see America through a windshield, the radio plays pop songs and news broadcasts, painting a contemplative and expansive portrait of the country during its bicentennial. The film will be presented digitally via a 2K restoration completed last year. Thom Andersen’s GET OUT OF THE CAR (2010) is a self-proclaimed “city symphony” of Los Angeles, with stationary shots of billboards, buildings, and murals in varying states of disarray. Describing the work as one of “militant nostalgia,” Andersen memorializes the past but forces consideration of why these signs and structures become neglected and will no longer exist in the future. “What are you doing,” someone asks in the film. “We’re just trying to document what’s left.” The film will be shown on a 16mm print courtesy of Canyon Cinema. Tickets can be purchased at the link in bio. Special thanks to @chicagofilmmakers , @canyoncinema , James Benning, Dylan Lustrin, and @creechlikesthisone . “Eyes on the Road” Program: 1. James Benning & Bette Gordon, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1975, color, sound, 27 mins; 2K restoration, DCP) 2. Thom Andersen, GET OUT OF THE CAR (2010, color, sound, 35 mins; 16mm) TRT = 62 mins

Our favorite albums of the year, as voted on by Tone Glow’s writers. Check all our reflections and individual lists on the site. Thanks to everyone who reads Tone Glow and supports us in any way. Happy new year.