A couple of our supporters have asked us whether we knew anything about the movie Computer Chess and whether it would be playing in Chicago. The answer is: Yes, and yes!
Computer Chess, an official selection of the 2013 South by Southwest and Sundance film festivals, is "an artificially intelligent comedy" about computer chess programmers set in an Austin, Texas, hotel over one weekend in the 1980s during a tournament for chess software programmers. The film transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs. Computer Chess has been rated 86 percent fresh by Rotten Tomatoes and received an A− from AV Club (which is notoriously stingy with its grades).
The movie opens at the Music Box Theater, 3733 N. Southport Ave., Chicago, next Friday, Sept. 27. And on Friday and Saturday of opening weekend, writer-director Andrew Bujalski, local stars Gordon Kindlmann and Anne Dodge, Chicago-born producer Alex Lipschultz and special guests will introduce and conduct post-show discussions. Ray Pride, film editor of Newcity, will facilitate the post-screening Q&As. Showtime is 7:15 PM.
Tickets are $9.25 . . . unless you visit our Facebook page and win one of two pairs of free passes, good for any showing of Computer Chess, courtesy of the Music Box and the Chicago Chess Center! Follow the link to find out how.