Chuck Olin

A country boy arrives in Chicago, gets killed by some gangsters, and returns to life with superhuman powers in this satirical look at movie genres.

“AMERICAN REVOLUTION 2” includes footage of the 1968 Democratic Convention protest and riot, a critique of events by working class African-Americans in Chicago, and attempts by the Black Panther Party to organize poor, southern white youths.

In 1921 the Kwakiut'l people of Alert Bay, British Columbia, held their last secret potlatch. In 1980 at Alert Bay, the U'mista Cultural Centre (U'mista means "something of great value that has come back") opened its doors to receive and house the cultural treasures which were seized decades earlier and only then returned to the people. The center also took up activities such as recording stories told by elders so that some part of the past would always be alive and teaching children about their heritage in order to make them feel connected to their ancestors. This film documents the cultural significance of these events for today's Kwakiut'l people. It is an eloquent testimony to the persistence and complexity of Kwakiut'l society and to the struggle for redefining cultural identity for them.

A short documentary that explores a blue-collar community’s growing unease with the Vietnam War. It was produced in response to President Nixon’s famous November, 1969 speech when he contrasted the unlawful and vocal anti-war protesters to the respectful “silent majority” who were in favor of remaining in Vietnam to fight communism. This film explores the thoughts and opinions of the “silent majority” represented by the folks living in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago.

The story of the only all-Jewish fighting force in World War II.

A MATTER OF OPPORTUNITY is an outreach film that was sponsored by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Medical Association (NMA) in response to the burgeoning civil rights movement in the U.S. and the limited opportunities afforded to African-Americans in the field of medicine. MATTER OF OPPORTUNITY signals a seismic shift in thinking and action within the institutions of education and medicine in the 1960s.

A rare opportunity to view famed artist Marc Chagall at work in his studio creating two extraordinary pieces of monumental art in mosaic and stained glass - the Four Seasons, Chagall's large and magnificent free-standing mosaic, and The America Windows, the artist's glorious stained glass tribute to America installed at The Art Institute of Chicago. The films not only provide an unusually intimate view of the artist at work, but chronicles the collaborative relationship between artist and artisan in bringing Chagall's vision to life.