Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with something rather cool for you Chicago... ites? ...ians? For you folks in Chicago, anyway. Patrick Read Johnson is a director that I particularly like. He hasn't done much recently, but I hold a soft spot for ANGUS (I mean, it's the fat kid who gets the hot blonde chick!) and I LOVE SPACED INVADERS. That movie rocks... Anyway, he's got himself a labor of love called 5-25-77 all about how his life changed when he saw STAR WARS on that particular date. This film promises to be DAZED AND CONFUSED for the geeks out there. And it's produced by Gary Kurtz, producer of the original STAR WARS flicks. All kinds of geek goodness surrounding this project.

I'm hearing rumor that PRJ might be bringing this 30 minute preview to the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin, so I'll have to wait until after you lucky Chicago peoples get a peek. Make sure you let me know how it is! Anyway, all the info is below! Enjoy!

The Illinois premiere of the award-winning Lifelike and a preview of the feature 5-25-77 headline another outstanding program as the Midwest Independent Film Festival presents the fourth installment of its 2005 season. On Tuesday, August 2nd at 6 p.m. the festivities will be hosted by Chicago's beautiful Landmark Century Centre Cinema, 2828 North Clark.

Lifelike was named Best Dramatic Short at the 2005 Wisconsin Film Festival and was awarded the Platinum Remi in the Dramatic Short Film Category at the 38th Annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. Lifelike is the directorial debut of John Besmer and was produced through Double Dutch Films, a Chicago-based production company run by Leigh Jones and Kodak's Ericka Frederick and Besmer's P Star Pictures, based in Madison, Wisconsin. The film features acclaimed Chicago actors Rob Riley, Annabel Armour and Brian Hamman and award winning cinematographer David Blood.

5-25-77 is an autobiographical, coming-of-age story from writer/director Patrick Read Johnson (Angus). It tells the true story of Johnson's final, life-changing senior year in high school as the only science-fiction-obsessed teen filmmaker in his rural hometown of Wadsworth, Illinois on the day Star Wars opened May 25th, 1977. The Chicago Premiere of the 30-minute preview will be presented by Johnson, producer Leigh Jones and representative cast and crew.

On Tuesday, August 2nd, the pre-show reception begins at the Landmark Theater, 2828 North Clark, at 6 pm. Then join host Mike McNamara as our program begins promptly at 7:30 pm. High definition projection is made possible by Resolution Digital Studios, Fletcher Chicago and Chicago HD. The post-screening reception will be held at Monsoon, 2813 N Broadway. Admission is $10, or $7 for students and IFP members.

The Midwest Indie is a monthly film event dedicated to showcasing emerging directors, powerful artistic visions and strong cinematic stories from the eight-state Midwest region. Every first Tuesday of the month, these exceptional films combine with an exciting social atmosphere and state-of-the-art screening venue to create one of the premier festivals in the Midwest.

For more information, please visit www.midwestfilm.com