CHICAGO — The 28th Black Harvest Film Festival, which kicks off this weekend and continues through Nov. 20 in person at the Gene Siskel Film Center, will not be like the previous 27.
Co-founder and chief programmer Sergio Mims died in October, a significant loss for Chicago film. Opening night, and all across this year’s festival, tributes to Mims should serve to remind audiences of the unique combination of curator, critic, educator and cinephile.
Mims did a lot of work on the programming in the last months of his life. Film Center director of programming Rebecca Fons and programming intern Nick Leffel watched this year’s pool of submissions and finalized the calendar. But the results, the range and the spirit are pure Sergio.
