The Good Night Ladies

The Good Night Ladies is a collective committed to empowering female artists by producing outstanding works by women in a variety of media.

[thegnl]

A few shots from our most recent play La Lune de Femme: The Seance Show, written by Caroline Kingsley Rau (in collaboration with The Good Night Ladies and Brett Schneider) and performed as a part of The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival in Asheville, NC.

Photos by Jennifer Bennett

[thegnl]

The Good Night Ladies and Winifred Coombe are taking their La Lune de Femme family to the Asheville Fringe Festival where they will be premiering a brand new play! So join us for 2 performances of this spooky and irreverent exploration of darkness and light. 

Buy your tickets here: http://www.ashevillefringe.org

[thegnl]

Lonnie Edwards’ award winning documentary, ‘A Ferguson Story,’ shows tonight at CUT! Afterwards, stick around for a talkback with the filmmaker! You can read his answers to our questions below:

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away?

That's always tough for most artists because most of us are perfectionists. Shit, there are so many projects that don't see the light of day because people are just nitpicking the work. I try my hardest not to do that, though I'm guilty of it at times...with that being said, there are so many things that the audience doesn't notice that the filmmaker does and any filmmaker will tell you it's the WORST feeling! For me though, when I can watch my work without cringing or looking around to see if anyone noticed a miss edit... That's when I can step away from the process...maybe. (Haha).

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh?

I have 2 different answers for this actually (haha). In regards to being inspired (motivated) I have to say I been blessed to have had such an amazing 1st year as a filmmaker and it allowed me the opportunity to meet so many people young & old. I get messages and phone calls and all sorts of things in regards to how my work inspires people around the world. That In itself keeps me motivated to continue working my ass off.  As for creative inspiration, I'm still a nymph in this industry. I've written 12 screenplays & 4 graphic novels. I've only produced one of those films from the 12. It all comes from an imagination that I've held onto since childhood. Along with my own experiences, how I see the world and how it effects me. So Present tense, I'm definitely not at a loss for creative inspiration... Though I would love for you to ask me this question in about 10 years. (Haha).

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience?

In regards to film, I think taking yourself or taking your work toooo seriously. And I mean that in the sense that no one creates a production plan and it works EXACTLY they want it to all the time. There are going to be mishaps and we need to adjust and not allow those things to effect us too much.

As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work?

I've kept a very tight team the last couple years. And I only see my group growing in terms of our continued work together. I've been quite spoiled in the sense that the guys I work with can do everything as far as film & editing go. We also seamlessly flow throughout the process on one wavelength. When I can work with a crew like that it's hard to do anything outside of that. But I'm currently working on this film with a young aspiring filmmaker/writer from UK, Hezatu Jalloh. She approached me with a story & idea that I was extremely intrigued by so I jumped on board as producer. So I guess I could say the most important part of collaboration for me is getting the opportunity to do something that's out of your "comfort zone" so to speak. I'm not big on romance or noir films and this current project has given me the opportunity to test my boundaries.

Why make films in Chicago?

I grew up in Chicago so its been a dream of mine to make films in and around this city for a long time! Besides that, I feel like there are so many places in this city that just don't look like its Chicago. Each neighborhood has its own essence and it's own personality. Pilsen isn't the same as Logan Square. Wicker Park isn't the same as Humbolt Park... yet. (Haha). Shit, I could go to a forest preserve and shoot a film about people in the wilderness. Everything is in Chicago and Chicago is everything.  

[thegnl]

We're so proud to be showing Alex's heartwarming film 'Calumet' at CUT. Learn more about Alex here: http://www.alex-thompson.com/ How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away? I walk away from a script when the actors begin rehearsal. Then I ride my ear, and my gut and the script becomes a vehicle for their specificities and impulses. Those are gifts. Walking away from an edit has something to do with screening it for an audience and leaving the experience without anything nagging at me. Knowing folks are watching is a great, humbling experience. You don't get cocky with an audience the way you might with an editor. When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh? To be inspired as a filmmaker, I watch independent films outside the U.S. when I'm feeling barren. They remind me that so much is being done to push the language of film forward, and the language of storytelling. It doesn't have to be outside the U.S., but from where I'm standing so much more support is being given elsewhere for artists looking to do something simply unconventional or off the beaten path. I think if I'm not setting my ego aside long enough to consider the merits of other work, I'm missing out on excitement. Tennessee Williams wrote to Carson McCullers that when he read her stories his writers' block grew less despairing, knowing that "it is not necessary for me to do or say everything, that there are other writers in the world with souls of more sensibility than mine and greater power...a single wave can be thwarted, but not the tide!" I also read novels, particularly Ernest Hemingway, Denis Johnson and Raymond Carver get me in a cinematic, storytelling mode because so much editorializing has to be added by the reader. Imagining those stories as cinema is a mental game I like to play. Often, too, I'll talk to my actors and to friends - just talking to the people you love and respect. Sometimes when you need help the greatest thing you can do is ask for it. For instance, I'm working on a film right now about fatherhood that's really just a series of interesting images and moods; the content is beyond my experience. So I ask the people I know who are fathers, "what's it like?" and it might not be surprising but there are a lot of specificities my imagination can't live up to. Fatherhood has proven to be one of them. What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience? I don't know mistakes everyone makes. I know mistakes I make! Plenty of mistakes. For one, for whatever reason, I never plan for post-production and I always get boned. I'd like to change that in the future. As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work? Between myself and the group of people who read the script, between my actors who are often also a part of that think tank, to their friends who read it, too; these are all necessary collaborations. Sometimes a script's truth will be unlocked by an individual's personal reaction to its potential - "this reminded me of my an experience my mother-in-law had..." or "it's funny you mention this subject because my neighbor..." and those tangential, often apologetic anecdotes become the clearest truths, gifts that shouldn't be ignored. Then the rewriting occurs in earnest. Why make films in Chicago? Chicago's film narrative is still unwritten; we have active hubs of television production and our film schools are nationally vocal, but our independent scene is fractured. That's a community that's waiting to be defined and explored, and that's an exciting opportunity to have. Being less saturated with the industry, filmmakers in Chicago are also forced to find inspiration in conversation with artists from other mediums and concentrations and that's exciting, and doubly inspiring. Since Chicago is a relatively affordable place to live, artists from many different walks of life and communities are able to focus and develop art that might have been relegated to a hobby in a more expensive, less encouraging community. That's what excites me. Hundreds of unique faces showing up at an alternative-avant-garde-XYZ fest on a work night.

[thegnl]

CUT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Marina Miliou-Theocharaki

Marina Miliou-Theocharaki is an interdisciplinary artist who’s work blends personal, fictional, and transnational narratives of landscape and migration. She will be showing a video installation at CUT! You can peep more of her work here: http://marinamt.com and hear what she has to say below.

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away? Stories to be heard are endless, boundless, never ending. Choosing when to stop and what conceptual elements to eliminate in order to accurately translate/transcribe the information I am stimulated by and transform them into abstraction is the most productive challenge for me. The work is characterized by sensitivity toward sociopolitical urgencies; I extract their information, find their place in poetry and excavate their layers as a way to bridge my identity and history with its reconstructions. Once this balance is found, I step away. Mirroring life, there is always an endless flow of possible changes, but I choose to rest on the present and embrace the temporal feeling of satisfaction. It’s a hard choice but when done thoughtfully it’s a rewarding one.

 When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh? I burst my membrane; I challenge my comfort by swimming on foreign waters. Firstly, I do not stop writing; additionally I read, dance and practice flamenco. All I can do is push my body and keep on making, feeling curious, critical- but non-judgmental- being honest with myself and keeping up with my conceptual interests, the news, my homes, the people who inspire me, the world.

 What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience? Producing for other people’s needs rather for oneself; overproducing and not being critical or meditative about what and why you are making. Not asking oneself what is the reason for adding more information [and/or materials] to a world that inheritably has more than it needs.

 As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work? Several forms of collaborative practices are fundamental for my work. I believe that in the era we live in, and since most art of the past was based on individualistic processes of making, all is left now is to be part of each others work, to be immersed in a horizontal and democratic exchange of making. Dialogue, intellectual conversations, and critical exchange of ideas as well as labor are vital for my work. I have come to the realization that collaborating with others and aspiring to an all-inclusive philosophy while respecting oneself, is key for a successful learning environment directed by democratic beliefs.

 Why make films in Chicago?  My body is one of migrants. I am in constant flux, traveling through liminal spaces, reconfiguring geographies, the land I grew up in, a Greek citizenship, a Turkish ancestry and an existence in London followed by a prolonged stay in Chicago. In my work, definitions of culture and ethnic identity are silently confronted. With interdisciplinary approaches, I challenge my body’s limits by extending and translating them into membranous objects, video and sculptural installations; containers of fictional histories. Spatial and conceptual drifts between geographies push me to delicately investigate the definitions and compositional arrangements of distance, space, borders, non-belonging and immigration.

Although I have been in Chicago for a little more than 5 years, I am only recently realizing that this city discreetly mesmerized me, embraced and offered me a place to productively rest my otherwise liquid, uninhabited, and always becoming identity. I am proud of Chicago and content that the city has attained this unique and transformative place in my spirit. To me, Chicago is a space defined by emerging and culturally diverse artists who develop their untainted practice and radical independent making with dedication and borderless freedom- and this is inspiring.

[thegnl]

CUT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Bradley Bischoff

Brad is an award winning filmmaker whose film ‘Nomad’ is currently screening at The Chicago International Film Festival. We are thrilled to be premiering his new film, a delicate portrait of motherhood and domestic life, ‘Lady of the House’ at CUT, opening this weekend. Learn more about his thoughts on filmmaking below. http://www.bradleybischoff.com/

How do you know when your story’s finished, when to walk away?

I had a very hard time with this question. To be honest, I feel like I’d be lying if I ever felt I truly felt as if I had finished a script. It’s really only the beginning of the project’s life, and I know it is far from complete. It is only learning to crawl, and then with actors it learns to walk and speak. I always want the story growing. Like any protective parent, I also want to keep it safe and only in the hands of people I trust to help raise or babysit. I keep room for spontaneity on my sets and keep my eyes open and roaming for happy accidents at all times. Even though we may light for a certain area, I will sometimes shoot in another. The project must always be alive, walking, talking, breathing… always. Even in the editing room. When I grew up, I was allowed to make mistakes. I try to do the same with my stories… raise them the best I can and with people I trust. They say it takes a village to raise a baby.

It’s very hard for me to walk away… sometimes I never do. No one gets to see those projects.

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh?

Drink liquor (note: this never amounts to anything productive, but I always try it). Go for a walk with my wife, Mirella, and talk her ear off. Try to forget about it completely, which never works. Start something new. Also, sometimes it helps to literally just take an idea and run with it and see it through… even though it might not be feeling “just right.” I don’t believe there is ever a truly right time for anything, people just make decisions and follow through on them. It can be insanely difficult to do, but just following through on something can sometimes lead you into unexpected happiness. Write your way out of the hardest scene by any means necessary. Take the camera off the tripod and do one take handheld just to see what it feels like before moving on. A weather forecaster predicts, while mother nature happens. Never be afraid to make a mistake.

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience?

Forgetting to thank someone in the credits who was involved with your film.

As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work?

I feel like it depends what you are trying to do. You can make a film by yourself now-a-days. I mean, you always could. It just depends what type of film you are trying to make. A few years ago, I wasn’t collaborating with anyone. Not out of disdain, I just couldn’t get a project off the ground. The script was never right, or people were never available or interested. I also didn’t believe in myself as a producer (more on this later). But, I did a lot of writing in this time and eventually started making found-footage films. I’d write a fictional story and then cut it together using existing footage. This was a great exercise in many ways, and I ended up with some of my favorite pieces to this day. But, it taught many great lessons in storytelling, opened my eyes to new techniques, and I also got a chance to play the editor. Which in turn helps all aspects of filmmaking.

I feel a big reason that some films never get made in the first place, is that the filmmaker is unsure of their own weight. Coming from experience, I felt like I needed someone else to sign off on my project. Or I needed the “right producer to come along.” My biggest advice to directors is to be your own producer. You have to be. No one will raise the flag higher than you. It starts with you and it ends with you. If you want something bad enough, you’ll make it happen. And if you don’t believe me, then you don’t believe in your project enough.

Why make films in Chicago?

Because I live here. And because John Hughes made movies here.

[thegnl]

CUT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Zoe Lubeck

In case you couldn’t tell from her picture, Zoe Lubeck is a baller. Her film ‘Lucy’, which we are showing at CUT this year, is so lovely, so heartwarming, so clever it won a student BAFTA. See what she has to say about filmmaking below:

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away? As I learn more as a filmmaker I’m beginning to think that a story is never truly completed. For me, it changes and transforms on each visit. Sometimes I walk away from a project thinking I put a bow on it, then I’ll watch it months later and find ways to improve it or change it -- the color could be better here, or this cut could come one beat sooner, or this take doesn’t fit as well as I thought it did. if there isn’t anyone telling me to turn something in, the revisions could go on forever! Thankfully I have collaborators and teachers who keep me on track. But, when I have to call it, It’s more of an intuitive physical feeling. If I check out watching it, then it’s not done. But if the story evokes some emotional or physical reaction, then I know that it is where it should be. If I screen it for an audience and I can hear them reacting, or engaging, then I know it’s finished.

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh? I like drawing inspiration from nature and other peoples art - spoken word, music, storytelling, painting, performance art...And when that doesn't work I try to do things that are completely unrelated to the thing I want to accomplish. I get out of the city and see some trees and stars. Or I’ll spend time riding my bike and listening to music. I’m not a musician, but music is constantly inspirational. A lot of my better ideas come when I’m visualizing images to go along with music.

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience?Overcommitting and under delivering! I don’t know what it is, but this happens over and over. I say yes to too many things, thinking I can do a great job on all of them. Turns out I’m not that good at juggling. I’m getting better, but I still drop balls all the time. I think a true skill for working collaboratively in the arts is knowing how much you can actually take on without going out of your mind or letting folks down. In a perfect world all of my attention would be on one project at a time, but I want my hands in all the cookie jars at once! There is so much great art being made, and I want to be involved. Sometimes this bites me in the butt. I can't say this is true for everyone, but I’ve met a lot of people who have experienced a similar thing. 

As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work? Extremely. Discovering that I had a knack for composition and storytelling was only the initial attraction of filmmaking for me. What it offered, I quickly learned working with a wide variety of collaborators (from animators to musicians, DP/Directors, composers and Director/Producers), was an opportunity to tell specific stories in a way that is both relevant and of-the-present. Filmmaking is a tool for self-understanding through the collaborative process. A film, to me, is at its fullest when it means not only the experience of its running time, but also the hours and days and months spent in pre production, production and post with a committed team. I love the late nights spent brainstorming, and long production meetings that leave you feeling exhausted and energized all at the same time. Having a knock off drink with the crew at the end of the day. In high school I was a bit of a jock- making a film is reminiscent of the high of being on a team. Living and breathing whatever that thing is you are trying to accomplish; be that winning a tournament, or making weird movies with your friends.

Why make films in Chicago? I want to tell stories that are not often told, and highlight characters that aren't typically highlighted or given a voice. I feel like Chicago is an incredibly diverse backdrop/character/visual richness for those stories. Besides the architecture it's the people and the community. So many people in the industry tell me, “GIRRRL GO TO LA, that's where all the work is, Chicago is a dead film city.” But I look around and see all of these amazing driven hyper creative people who inspire me all the time. And I’m like hell no, I’m going to keep trying to make things here. I’m stubbornly in the camp of ‘building the things you want.’ I think that’s more than possible here.

[thegnl]

CUT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Emily Esperanza

Emily is the whole package, she’s a director, writer, editor who's killing at the music video scene right now. We are thrilled to be showing her visually arresting film ‘day/night’ which she directed in collaboration with Abby Young this year at CUT. She runs her own production company called Nowhere Films. Learn more here: http://www.emilyesperanza.com

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away? As an artist, you are never truly done with a project or finished with a story. It is virtually impossible to reach the level of perfection that many strive for -- technically or conceptually. And if an artist does achieve a personal sense of fulfillment in accurately conveying intention or technique, there is no guarantee that the audience will receive the information or like it. Many artists create different iterations of the same piece, over and over again, utilizing similar thematic elements, inspirations, or motifs. One could say that each iteration is just a new effort to say the same thing, perhaps getting closer or further away to succeeding each time. But I find that beautiful. That no matter how many times we, as artists, try to speak through our work, it will never be finished or perfect. Yet with every project there comes a point to make peace with imperfection, with continuity errors, with potential conceptual misinterpretation, and move forward. Learning how to recognize that point in a project is visceral exercise, it is not quantifiable or sensible, it comes from within. It's something the artist must learn to acknowledge and act on. Art and film are vehicles for passion and insanity, and allowing the perfection-oriented and rational mind to govern passion makes for many unfinished projects.

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh? I haven't had that problem in a while. Some things I enjoy which help with this include spending time in nature, reading, watching films by myself, travel, exercise, meditation. It is important to stay rested and creatively activated to keep an open mind.

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience? Allowing one's self to become stressed, forgetting to breathe deeply.

As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work? Collaboration is absolutely the pinnacle of strong and inspired creative work. Finding a group of individuals you absolutely respect, trust, and can work with artistically is a very rare privilege and is something I've been very lucky to find.

Why make films in Chicago? Chicago is a perfectly strange city. There is a lot of inspiration to be found in the architecture, weather, people, decay, and corruption. There is also a lot of weird beauty hidden a scratch beneath the surface. Also, the underground and DIY scene and community in Chicago is off the charts.

photo: Jordan Phelps

[thegnl]

CUT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Sally Lawton

Sally is a self described moving image artist. Her films are a fascinating and honest juxtaposition of shot and found images. We are showing her film ‘Boobs Under A Flannel Shirt’ at this years fest as well as featuring her as one of our moving image installations artists in the lounge. 

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away? If a song gets stuck in my head when the videos rendering or I get hungry, then I tend to think I've probably squeezed the story out of that one.

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh? I watch other peoples videos, but then I have to walk a thin line between fresh and plagiarized. So I usually feel inspired to make something that looks a lot like someone else's and then I figure out how what I want to make is different. It kind of feels like having a pledge drive with yourself.

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience? Underbudgeting.

As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work? It's really important because your collaborators become your audience. The stakes feel higher for me when the audience is in dialogue with you. I think the accountability makes me feel more professional and I make things with more intention.

Why make films in Chicago? There are maybe less things getting in the way here then other big big cities. There's not many vendors on the street getting in a shot or people in costumes who want you to pay them to take a picture when they see a camera. The street lights are a great blanketing orange (only available here), so you can run a dolly down the road in the evening and get something pretty good.

[thegnl]

CUT! ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Hannah Welever

We will be showing Hannah’s charming and insightful film ‘Playing Games’ which examines the gray area in the casual world of relationships today. In addition to writing and directing Hannah first love is cinematography, she also runs a monthly film screening called The Spectacle. Learn more here:  www.hannahwelever.com and www.thespectaclechicago.com

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away? The only way a story is ever really finished is by making deadlines for yourself. Things can linger on for eternity unless there's some sort of motivation to wipe your hands clean. For me, I still have moments where I want to fix things or change things or just re-start, but having a polished project is just enough motivation for me to want to start on to something new. Sometimes one project's main goal is to inspire your next creative venture, and that is totally okay.

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh?I t's interesting how validation is a key to running with creative ideas. Sometimes I'll sit on an idea and wait and wait until someone says 'OH HEY, I kind of like that!' then I'll get moving on a script. But strangely enough, Playing Games was the exact opposite. I was sick of making films that didn't breath an organic air, so I just went with my gut, and played with things that I wanted to see on screen. There is power in 'just going for it' and sometimes we surprise ourselves with the outcomes of those risks.

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience? Looking at the big picture. Sometimes we're shoved too deeply into what is happening now in our lives or what we are working on at this very moment that we lose sight of what's ahead. But looking weeks and months down the line can help keep a proper perspective on what's really important to us as creatives while also helping us see the progression of our own work. As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work? I think the main reason I gravitate towards filmmaking is because it is so reliant on a collaborative effort. Almost all of the creative work I've made is thanks to the people that were willing to help me out and join in on the fun. But on the other hand, the most vital part about collaboration is finding those people that not only want to collaborate with you but that bring something to the table that you yourself can't do alone. It's finding those people that is the hardest but most satisfying part of collaboration. 

Why make films in Chicago? What makes Chicago so fucking great is the attitude of its artists. The people I meet here not only want to help me succeed but they want to watch me succeed. The competitive nature of other big cities just doesn't exist here. It's like one big collaborative space, where rent is affordable and the hot dogs are on point.

[thegnl]

CUT ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: DAV YENDLER

Dav is an illustrator, designer, and art/performance director living and working in Chicago, IL. His work has been seen at Cards Against Humanity, Salonathon, Chicago Public Libraries, Steppenwolf Theatre, The House Theatre, Redmoon Theatre, Collaboraction, and Groupon, among others. He will be showing his insightful and charming hand illustrated film, ‘On God’ at CUT! this year. To learn more check out his website: http://www.davyendler.com

How do you know when your story's finished, when to walk away?

The story's mostly done I think when I've finished my second round of edits, if I even get that far. Usually I just write the thing out, walk away, come back to do spot edits, then appraise the thing from afar. That's all if I get lucky and the thing comes out whole, which so far has thankfully been the case.

When you feel inspiration is waning, what do you do? How do you stay fresh?

I get out. Best advice my mom ever gave me when I was super depressed and living abroad: I called her all sad and she from an ocean away was all, "David- you're in London. Go for a walk." Very solid advice to stay fresh. And it tracks no matter where you are in the world! Feelin' stuck? Get out.

What is one mistake everyone makes regardless of experience?

I've been noticing that I overwrite a bunch, worrying that the audience won't be able to follow along. Everything feels so personal, so individual, when you're sitting and making a thing- how could any one else get it? So I make lots of handholds and gifts, forgetting that audiences are smarter than I give them credit for.

As a filmmaker, how important is collaboration in your work?

Not important enough. I could get away with doing absolutely everything on my own- such is the nature of the beast- but boy howdy am I boring. So I try to reach out to musicians I respect to create scores for my pieces, talk to other artists and get feedback, and I hopefully soon will be employing an assistant to help create crowd scenes, backgrounds, etc. It all goes toward making the stew richer.

Why make films in Chicago?

Goes back to what my mom told me to do back in question 2. This place has a lot to get out in- there's space, we have the third largest population in the US, the lake and its razor thin horizon, a skyline built like some vision of the midcentury future, hot dogs, parks, an arts scene so vibrant it's making me blush- and that's all the stuff in the brochure. 

Then there's the stuff that chafes, that needs attention: the unbelievable segregation, a school system so broke it's making people starve, the marquee violence, the quiet violence, corrupt leaders- the list goes on. Our city's huge and there's never enough to say about it. Make work in Chicago because it's your home, yeknow? And every home needs a little work.

[thegnl]

LA LUNE DE FEMME cast, shot by Megan Lee Miller.

[thegnl]

Buy your tickets here: https://dime.io/events/la-lune-de-femme

THE GOOD NIGHT LADIES and WINNIFRED COOMBE present a highly anticipated Chicago remount of the show that took the New Orleans Fringe Festival by storm. La Lune De Femme is an experiential play: a punk-pagan ritual designed to reflect the divinity in you-the divinity that looks more like a Warrior Queen Made of Earth than an old dude in the sky. Led by PBR swilling High Priestess Winnifred Coombe (Caroline Kingsley Rau), this raucous encounter with the Goddess melds song, dance and comedy into a hilarious yet poignant hour-long spectacular. You will be fed fruit and raw cacao, have honorifics lavished upon you by Winnie's Man-Wives, get turned on by our TranSisters and be lulled to ecstasy by the soulful devotionals of Medicine Women.

[thegnl]

Some behind the scenes shot of our latest film project Sis and Boo. Stay tuned for more.

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Check out Quinn Tsan's video for her song 'Good Winter' produced and directed by The Good Night Ladies.

[thegnl]

A few snaps from The Good Night Ladies third annual film festival CUT: An Evening of Short Films held at the wonderful Canvas Chicago.

Photography by: Ashley Thompson & Nic Jones

[thegnl]

CUT Artist Spotlight: Lonnie Edwards

We are so excited to be showing Lonnie Edwards impressive and timely film 'Parietal Guidance'. It is a poetic piece about a young girls life in Chicago and it hits home hard. As Lonnie's first venture into film making it has already played at the Chicago International Film Festival and New York No Limits Festival and we are so thrilled to be sharing it tonight and tomorrow at CUT!. Here's what Lonnie had to say:

Who is your favorite director? Why? This is gonna be a long winded answer because for someone that loves film as much as I do, there is no one person. HOWEVER, I will narrow it down to the most influential directors for me here goes... Hayao Miyazaki, I'm a HUGE fan of anime and Miyazaki's films are gorgeous. I also love how his films are an extension of who he is. Park Chan-Wook, "Oldboy" is one of my favourite movies ever as well as "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance". The way he makes a story line crescendo is kinda unmatched and very subtle. 

Stephen Chow, when I first saw "Shaolin Soccer" I was immediately a fan, but he followed that up with "Kung Fu Hustle" which is still making me speechless right now. Actually I think I'm gonna watch it as soon as I'm done with this interview.

Christopher Nolan, in my opinion, he has yet to make a shitty film. Kudos to him as well for taking on the "Man of Steel" & "Dark Knight trilogy" films, fanboys ate him alive for those but they are smart well crafted films. Not to mention the cinematography in Nolan's films are the best for big budget films. Spike Lee, not much to say that hasn't already been said about Spike, his films speak their mind and don't conform. Until he came out with the American "Oldboy" film. That was very mediocre. Gareth Evans, he is the director of my 2 all time favourite action films Raid and Raid 2! He took the action genre and made it gorgeous. Not cheesy, fantastic cinematography solid story line. An last but but not least, Tarantino. QT is so dope he took a slave film and turned the protagonist into a super hero basically. I mean, taking a subject that you would've expected a black person to make a film like Django LONG ago, and turning it into the ultimate tale of vengeance... That alone wins my vote. Not to mention the other amazing films he's done. My apologies on the acceptance speech worthy length of that answer. 

Is there an art form outside of film that has influenced your filmmaking? Photography and music. I feel that these 2 things are extremely important when creating a film. The main goal when I go into a project is to create an experience and tap into as many senses as possible within the audience. By using beautiful cinematography similar to that which is captured in photography combined with a great storyline and brilliantly scored soundtrack you can't lose! 

Why is film important in our world today? Or is it? Artists are important. As filmmakers we are part of a collective of creators. Artists have been growing into this role as leaders of society throughout history.  Now more than ever we hold the voice of the people. Filmmakers tell the stories of the oppressed, we also enlighten people, we have the ability to inspire as well.  Most of the actions of people in this world are influenced by film, music and so on. So if we can continue to create more intelligent entertainment as opposed to a lot of the mindless things that are out there, such as "reality tv" for instance...that would be a great moment for me.