The Doc of War
After winning this year's best documentary award at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, Deborah Scranton's "The War Tapes," a film shot by soldiers fighting in Iraq, is coming to Chicago. Three National Guardsmen recorded the film at the height of the insurgency in 2004 and the movie features scenes of intense combat, humor and struggle, both on the battlefield and off. Producer and editor Steve James, a Chicagoan and the acclaimed director of "Hoop Dreams" and "Stevie," says the filmmakers "wanted to make a film that was political in the fullest sense of the word, meaning that it wouldn't pull punches on what these guys think and wouldn't handpick soldiers [for their political views]." The soldiers in the film have varying perspectives on the war, from "all sides of the political spectrum." James added that he thought one of the most surprising things about the movie was how the soldiers "wrestle with what the war's about just like all Americans, only they have to fight it, too." "The War Tapes" will be screened at the Film Row Cinema on June 29 at 7pm and both James and one of the soldiers, Sgt. Stephen Pink, will be there. To attend, RSVP to chicago@ifp.org.

Local Love
In a city that has either a Starbucks or McDonalds on nearly every other block, it's good to know someone is looking out for our local businesses. "It's a campaign that's about choice. No one's saying local only. We're trying to convince people to shift a portion of their spending to local businesses," Local First Chicago member and Andersonville Chamber of Commerce coordinator Ellen Shepard, says. "[Local businesses are] keeping money in the local community. Local businesses keep character in your neighborhood." Local First Chicago is the local chapter of Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, which spans both the US and Canada. The Chicago chapter was started in October of 2005 with four Chicago neighborhoods and now has expanded with participating businesses all over Chicago. "We're literally on every corner of the city," Shepard says. Local First will be celebrating "Independents Week" from July 4-11, featuring promotions through local businesses and a screening of the film "Independent America" on July 11 at the Chopin Theatre. "Independents Week is basically a way to use the Fourth of July holiday to help educate consumers about the importance of supporting locally owned independent businesses... and the fact that we can say 'Celebrate your independent businesses, celebrate your community, celebrate what keeps your community strong,'" Shepard says.

(2006-06-27)

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