JUL 16 – Virtual Talk and Screening: Silent Film in Chicago

It doesn’t always make the history books, but there was a brief period in which Chicago was THE place to make movies – Hollywood before Hollywood! After millions saw moving pictures for the first time at the 1893 fair (and the kinetescope parlors that popped up the next year), Chicago became a place where intrepid inventors invented a new industry and art form – one they were totally making up as they went along.

In this livestream lecture/screening, Adam Selzer (co-author with Michael Glover Smith of FLICKERING EMPIRE: HOW CHICAGO INVENTED THE US FILM INDUSTRY) will discuss the fantastic history, and even screen some movies that aren’t available anywhere else! (Literally – right now the only museums with prints are closed to the public!)
To join in, just be on the Mysterious Chicago facebook page a bit before 8m. Free, with suggested donations via eventbrite, venmo (adamchicago), paypal (adam@mysteriouschicago.com) or join patreon.com/adamchicago!

HOW TO WATCH:
– The event will be broadcast live via Facebook Live on the Mysterious Chicago facebook page. ( http://www.facebook.com/mysteriouschicago )
– ALL YOU HAVE TO DO is be on that page after the broadcast starts (we usually start shortly before the scheduled start time and give people a few minutes to join in), then click “play” on the video. You won’t need a code or to log in.
– If you “like” the Mysterious Chicago page you can set it to notify you when the page starts broadcasting! And if you want practice, or to make sure it works on your system, we broadcast “mini tours”� nearly every day at 10am central.
-The event is free to watch. No tickets or codes will be required. Donations are suggested either via this page, venmo (adamchicago), paypal (adam@mysteriouschicago.com) or by joining patreon.com/adamchicago.
– If you miss it, never fear – it’ll be on the “videos” section of the facebook page for some time after the live broadcast.

If you aren’t familiar with Facebook live and can’t seem to get it to work, here are some trouble shooting tips:
– There is no special code or special link, and you won’t be asked for a ticket. Just be on the main Mysterious Chicago Facebook page. (not the event page or an old post, just regular old http://facebook.com/mysteriouschicago )
– If you are on the site and don’t see “Happening Now”� or “Mysterious Chicago is Live”� try refreshing and scrolling down a bit. Or restarting your app.
– Similarly, if you’re watching and it freezes or you lose the audio, refresh the page or restart your app.
– And make sure you’re not mistaking the date or time zone! We regularly get comments from people who are trying to watch on the wrong date or time. All times are central.
– Note that clicking “follow”� on the eventbrite page only means that you’re now following this company on eventbrite, and will get notices about new event postings. The button doesn’t do anything particular to the event. You don’t have to push it.
– If none of this works for you, you may have connection, device or settings issues. Consult facebook.com/help.