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Rendezvous in Chicago

RENDEZVOUS IN CHICAGO is a short comedic feature film comprised of three vignettes corresponding to the beginning, middle and end stages of a relationship: Paul (Kevin Wehby), a charming young man, attempts to pick up Delaney (Clare Cooney), a bookish grad student, in an otherwise empty wine bar. She turns the tables on him in a most unexpected manner. Rob (Matthew Sherbach) and Andy (Rashaad Hall) are enjoying the bliss of newly formed couplehood. Rob has planned to propose marriage as they walk from their apartment to the lakeshore nearby, but has he made the right decision? Julie (Nina Ganet) comes home from work early to find her boyfriend, Wyatt (Shane Simmons), in bed with another woman. After violently ejecting them from her apartment, Julie begins to fall in love with . . . you the viewer!

  • Michael Smith
    Director
    Mercury in Retrograde, Cool Apocalypse
  • Michael Smith
    Writer
    Mercury in Retrograde, Cool Apocalypse
  • Layne Marie Williams
    Producer
    An Atramentous Mind, Scutly
  • Haydee Politoff
    Key Cast
    "Dr. Scherer"
    La Collectionneuse, Love in the Afternoon
  • Rashaad Hall
    Key Cast
    "Andy"
    Brown Girls
  • Clare Cooney
    Key Cast
    "Delaney"
    Widows, Runner
  • Nina Ganet
    Key Cast
    "Julie"
    Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
  • Matthew Sherbach
    Key Cast
    "Rob"
    Chicago PD
  • Maggie Scrantom
    Key Cast
    "Sydney"
    Chicago Med, Chicago PD
  • Shane Simmons
    Key Cast
    "Wyatt"
    Mercury in Retrograde
  • Chelsea David
    Key Cast
    "Tess"
    Cool Apocalypse
  • Alex Halstead
    DIrector of Photography
    Calliope
  • Eric Marsh
    Editor
    Orders
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Romance, Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 8 minutes 44 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 14, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    20,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.33:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Adirondack Film Festival
    Glens Falls, NY
    United States
    October 19, 2018
    World Premiere
    Winner: Audience Choice Award - Best Feature 2nd Place
  • Strasburg Film Festival
    Strasburg, VA
    United States
    November 11, 2018
    Virginia Premiere
    Winner: Best Comedy Feature
  • Oakton Pop-Up Film Festival
    Des Plaines, IL
    United States
    November 29, 2018
    Illinois Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Gene Siskel Film Center
    Chicago, IL
    United States
    February 8, 2019
    Chicago Premiere Run (2/8-2/13)
  • Santa Fe Film Festival
    Santa Fe, NM
    United States
    February 14, 2019
    New Mexico Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Beloit International Film Festival
    Beloit, WI
    United States
    February 23, 2019
    Wisconsin Premiere
    Official Selection
  • George Lindsey Film Festival
    Florence, AL
    United States
    February 28, 2019
    Alabama Premiere
    Winner: Best Comedy
  • The Women’s Film Festival
    Philadelphia, PA
    United States
    March 17, 2019
    Pennsylvania Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Tallahassee Film Festival
    Tallahassee, Florida
    United States
    April 7, 2019
    Florida Premiere
    Winner: Audience Choice Best Narrative Feature
Director Biography - Michael Smith

"One of the Windy City's finest filmmakers."
- Matt Fagerholm, RogerEbert.com

Michael Glover Smith's debut feature, COOL APOCALYPSE (2015), won multiple awards at festivals across the U.S. and screened at Chicago's prestigious Gene Siskel Film Center and Movies in the Parks' Onscreen Local Film Showcase before being released on home video by Emphasis Entertainment. His second feature, MERCURY IN RETROGRADE, starring Roxane Mesquida and Najarra Townsend, won the top prizes at the 2018 Tallahassee Film Festival and the 2017 Full Bloom Film Festival and was the subject of a rave review by the Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper who wrote: "Smith has a deft touch for dialogue, creating six distinct characters who look and sound like people we know...a smart, funny, quietly effective and authentic slice of older millennial life." Smith was a recipient of the Gene Siskel Film Center's Star Filmmaker award in 2017 and made Newcity Chicago's "Film 50" list in 2018. He teaches film history and aesthetics at several Chicago-area colleges and is the founder and sole author of the film blog whitecitycinema.com.

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Director Statement

As a filmmaker I have long been fascinated by the cinematic representation of relationships and communication. RENDEZVOUS IN CHICAGO constitutes the third part in a trilogy of films tackling these subjects (following my previous features COOL APOCALYPSE and MERCURY IN RETROGRADE) although, rather than telling a single narrative, this film is itself a trilogy; it is comprised of three vignettes that correspond to the beginning (THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV), middle (CATS AND DOGS) and end (THE END IS THE BEGINNING) stages of a relationship. This tripartite structure allowed me to explore different comedy subgenres and come up with a distinct visual style for each vignette in terms of color palette and camera movement. The cast is the finest I've ever had the pleasure to work with, featuring many well-known Chicago actors (Rashaad Hall, Clare Cooney, Nina Ganet, Shane Simmons, etc.) as well as French import Haydee Politoff (whose cameo is an homage to her mentor Eric Rohmer); but what really sets RENDEZVOUS apart from my previous work is its more overtly comedic tone and the way that it subtly abandons naturalism in favor of a dreamlike but gentle surrealism. I hope you walk away from it with a smile on your face and a song in your heart. - Michael Glover Smith