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 SmithDirectorMercury in Retrograde, Cool Apocalypse
-
Michael SmithWriterMercury in Retrograde, Cool Apocalypse
-
Layne Marie WilliamsProducerAn Atramentous Mind, Scutly
-
Haydee PolitoffKey Cast"Dr. Scherer"La Collectionneuse, Love in the Afternoon
-
Rashaad HallKey Cast"Andy"Brown Girls
-
Clare CooneyKey Cast"Delaney"Widows, Runner
-
Nina GanetKey Cast"Julie"Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
-
Matthew SherbachKey Cast"Rob"Chicago PD
-
Maggie ScrantomKey Cast"Sydney"Chicago Med, Chicago PD
-
Shane SimmonsKey Cast"Wyatt"Mercury in Retrograde
-
Chelsea DavidKey Cast"Tess"Cool Apocalypse
-
Alex HalsteadDIrector of PhotographyCalliope
-
Eric MarshEditorOrders
-
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 FestivalGlens Falls, NY
United States
October 19, 2018
World Premiere
Winner: Audience Choice Award - Best Feature 2nd Place -
Strasburg Film FestivalStrasburg, VA
United States
November 11, 2018
Virginia Premiere
Winner: Best Comedy Feature -
Oakton Pop-Up Film FestivalDes Plaines, IL
United States
November 29, 2018
Illinois Premiere
Official Selection -
Gene Siskel Film CenterChicago, IL
United States
February 8, 2019
Chicago Premiere Run (2/8-2/13) -
Santa Fe Film FestivalSanta Fe, NM
United States
February 14, 2019
New Mexico Premiere
Official Selection -
Beloit International Film FestivalBeloit, WI
United States
February 23, 2019
Wisconsin Premiere
Official Selection -
George Lindsey Film FestivalFlorence, AL
United States
February 28, 2019
Alabama Premiere
Winner: Best Comedy -
The Women’s Film FestivalPhiladelphia, PA
United States
March 17, 2019
Pennsylvania Premiere
Official Selection -
Tallahassee Film FestivalTallahassee, Florida
United States
April 7, 2019
Florida Premiere
Winner: Audience Choice Best Narrative Feature
"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.
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