In addition to their monthly screenings, the Coalition founded what was initially called either the Festival of Experimental Film or the Experimental Film Festival. The first one was most likely in 1984.

Nov. 6: The Miseducation of Simon Kraus by director Michael J. Diaz tells the story of a young, college-educated artist trying to get his career started in a depressed economy.

July 11: Born in Chicago, directed by John Anderson, is an upbeat, inspirational documentary about a gang of white kids who sought to learn the blues from the masters themselves.

April 17 & 20: Celebrating its 10th anniversary, engaging and melodic films about rural people and places have inspired this New York-based film festival since 2002. Ideal for city slickers and country folk alike!

Feb. 18: Michael Madsen’s Into Eternity is a poetic meditation on time as it chronicles the building of a radioactive waste dumping ground.

Aug. 27: Open up and step inside this ’80s time capsule of short films by Larry Hankin, Greg Mottola, Gus Van Sant, Tom Schiller and more.

Oct. 10: The Citywide Film School Showcase is a night of short films by Chicago film school students from DePaul, Columbia, SAIC and other schools.

Chicago Filmmakers will screen the latest film by pioneering experimental filmmaker Owen Land. Dialogues is a third-person autobiographical film.

Chicago Filmmakers hosts this night of 10 short films that are either thought-provoking, hilarious or strange. One film is by favorite Neil Ira Needleman.

Chicago Filmmakers will be screening seven short films from prolific experimental filmmaker Robert Todd. Films include Evergreen, Spirit House and more.