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Bob Sirott interviews "Out of the Pit" producer Butch Campbell on Monday, January 26th at 7:00 p.m. on Chicago Tonight.
Check the schedule.
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"We had people calling yelling at us and crying, asking us how we could show something like that. It was like we had been the ones putting the dogs to sleep."
Other programs aired during Shefsky's tenure included the aforementioned Nancy Reagan spot.
"We had somebody submit a tape that had been very cleverly edited to have Nancy and Ronald Reagan talking about drugs, but talking about them in a very good way. It was hilarious, but I ended up having several meetings behind closed doors over that one," says Shefsky.
With the advent of stations like IFC and Sundance, Image Union has been forced to look beyond local submissions and into the limitless realm of cyberspace for challenging, high-quality material.
"Mainly we receive submissions and we screen those, but we also go out and seek films from places like IFilm, AtomFilms, Hypnotic, TriggerStreet. We regularly check out their websites and we get films from there," says Finn.
Besides the inclusion of a wider range of material from an increasingly national and international base of filmmakers, Image Union has fairly recently opened up its format to include longer form material.
"One difference that's happened in the last few years is that Image Union used to be a 30-minute program. That could mean one 30-minute piece or four short works and that's still happening, we do most of our programs that way. But we will accept a full length theatrical film, so it can be very flexible," says program director Dan Soles.
Dogfighting, The Riddler and the Long-Lost Ralph Macchio
Image Union kicks off its new season on January 27th with "Out of the Pit: Dogfighting in Chicago," a film from Butch Campbell profiling the underground culture and business of dogfighting in the Windy City.
"'Out of the Pit' is a really well done documentary," says Finn. "I personally didn't know anything about dog-fighting before I saw it, but it's a fascinating film. As soon as we saw it, we knew we wanted to have it as our season premier."
Other upcoming films include "Curio Trunk," featuring the original Riddler Frank Gorsham, "The Last Frontier," a locally produced sci-fi film shot entirely in HD and "Office Party," with Jon Stewart, Carole King and a long-haired Ralph Macchio.
The new season will also have the benefit of an improved timeslot (Fridays at 10:30 p.m.), which the producers hope will improve the series' ratings. While the show's programming isn't necessarily ratings driven, the benefit of an increased audience is clear.
"One thing that's great about showcasing these films is that if we just got a 1 rating, it means that 33,000 homes in Chicago have seen this work. Think about how many film festivals you'd have to go to in order to reach that kind of an audience. It's certainly not in the top tier of ratings, but when it gets an audience, there's a real value to the service that we're providing," says Soles.
Audience or no, you get the feeling that WTTW will be keeping Image Union available as a resource for the Chicago filmmaking community for quite some time.
“It’s just a real special thing I can think we can do. When we say we’re public
television that’s what we should be - for the public. Having a showcase where
independent films can air on a weekly basis is part of our mission. I think we’re
following up on our commitment to being local and serving the community by doing
a show like this,” says Soles.
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Written by Richard Sharp
[1] [2]
002: WTTW's Image Union
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