Melonie Diaz

CHICAGO – The 2017 Tribeca Film Festival was not all about film. Besides showcasing Immersive and Virtual Reality programming, this edition of the festival opened up submissions from independent television pilot creators for the first time. One of the four finalists that were accepted to the “Tribeca: TV” portion of the festival was “Lost & Found,” created and directed by Haroula Rose, who is from the nearby Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood, Ill.

CHICAGO – The Sundance Audience Award winner, “Fruitvale Station,” opening in many markets this month, including Chicago this Friday, tells the story of the murder of Oscar Grant in the first hours of 2009. Killed after a fight on a BART train on New Year’s Eve, writer/director Ryan Coogler’s film flashes back 24 hours to detail the final day of Grant’s life.

CHICAGO – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film with our unique social giveaway technology, we have 40 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner “Fruitvale Station” produced by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker!

CHICAGO – When it was still called “Humboldt Park” and was probably more closely related to Chicago’s thriving Hispanic neighborhood, Alfredo De Villa’s “Nothing Like the Holidays” was probably a lot more interesting than the cookie-cutter dramedy that ended up on the big screen.

CHICAGO – Steve Coogan is a British comedy icon. Forging a career from creating an array of characters, though, he’s not as well known in America (except to BBC cultists).

He brings this talent for characterization to the lead role of an American high school drama teacher in the new film “Hamlet 2”.

CHICAGO – Michel Gondry’s latest cinematic breakthrough “Be Kind Rewind” grants passage into his magical imagination and proves yet again he’s one of today’s artistic giants.