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The Illinois Parables
Directed by Deborah Stratman
Free. First come, first served.
Thursday, April 20, 7 pm
“It has the power both to soothe complicated feelings about America and to inflame them.”—A.O. Scott, New York Times
Deborah Stratman’s latest documentary essay is a vibrant and often disturbing exploration of unmarked landscapes as visible traces left by a troubling history. Composed of image and text, archival footage and reenactments, the film delves into histories of settlement, removal, violence and resistance—all in what is now Illinois.
Organized into 11 chapters (or “parables”), the film addresses the expulsion of the Cherokee and other Indian tribes along the Trail of Tears in the 1830s; anti-Mormon violence in Nauvoo in the 1840s; the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago during WWII, the Icarians utopian sect, the destruction of the 1925 tornadoes, and the assassination of Black Panther Fred Hampton among other historical moments. Winner of the Stan Brakhage Award at the Ann Arbor Film Festival. 2016, U.S., DCP, 60 minutes. Recommended for 16 +.