A charismatic sociopath, Evangeline Slote is a master manipulator of both people and information. Accompanied by her alcoholic husband Warren and fanatically devoted son Devin, she ricochets between Beverly Hills, Palm Springs and Las Vegas in a maelstrom of fraud, identity theft and other sundry crimes. But unbeknownst to them, Warren’s embittered daughter has tipped off the authorities and the FBI is rapidly closing in.Based on Gary Indiana’s acclaimed novel, "Depraved Indifference" is a scathing, darkly hilarious panorama of narcissism, greed and celebrity: the American dream’s septic tank.

Barry Gifford is one of America’s greatest storytellers. His work includes the novel "Wild at Heart," which was adapted by David Lynch into a Palme d’Or-winning film, and dozens of other screenplays, novels and books of poetry and essays. In a series of autobiographical stories spanning more than forty years he has chronicled the adventures of Roy, a boy coming of age largely on the gritty streets of 1950s Chicago.In "Roy’s World: Barry Gifford's Chicago," excerpts from the Roy stories performed by Willem Dafoe, Matt Dillon, and Lili Taylor are interwoven with Gifford’s recollections of his childhood. Fusing vintage footage and photographs of Chicago with an evocative jazz score by Jason Adasiewicz, "Roy’s World" presents an impressionistic portrait of a vanished world. Learn more at roysworldfilm.com.

I coordinate marketing for ALA Editions, Neal-Schuman, ALA TechSource, and Huron Street Press.

The Queer Film Society (QFS) is a consortium of LGBT film critics, historians, artists, and scholars dedicated to the exploration and celebration of queer images in world cinema. Recognizing the diversity of identities and perspectives that comprise its membership, QFS is committed to showcasing vital films from equally vital, and sometimes widely varied, vantage points. From mainstream to underground and from artist to audience, a distinct and communal sensibility informs the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) cinema experience.

CINE-FILE is an independent, non-profit web resource, providing information about film & video screenings, and connecting Chicago cineastes.

RIP Chicagoist! I covered film, music, cocktails, books, and sundry Chicago stuff. Check out my posts at http://chicagoist.com/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view&id=3636&blog_id=7

On November 1, 1994 I finished writing the first draft of a screenplay called “Pause of the Clock.” I was 19, and a film student at Columbia College in Chicago. I showed the screenplay to some of my friends and a few adults, then started fundraising and assembling a cast and crew. In January 1995, using 16mm film equipment from various colleges and rental houses, we started shooting the film in Colorado. Filming would continue in Chicago, in fits and starts, over the course of the next year. Finally on April 1, 1996 we shot the last scene. And then, basically, the film sat in my closet for the next 18 years.Until now.PAUSE OF THE CLOCK was completed in 2015, in time for the 20th anniversary of the start of production. If you’d like to keep up to date with the latest news please drop me a line!

"Queue Tips: Discovering Your Next Great Movie," published in November 2012http://www.ipgbook.com/queue-tips-products-9781937589097.php?page_id=32&pid=HUS

My introduction, "Barry Gifford's Chicago," appears in the hardcover edition of "Sad Stories of the Death of Kings," published by Seven Stories Press, October 2010.

I write short entries about film events, restaurants, music, art and other sundry Chicago-related topics.