Apollo Film Presents ImageNation’s Cocktails And Sol Cinema “It’s Different In Chicago” In Harlem

On Thursday, May 26, 2022, at 7 pm ET, the Apollo Theater and ImageNation present a film screening of It’s Different In Chicago as part of ImageNation’s Cocktails and Sol Cinema on the Apollo’s Soundstage.

The film highlights the city, known by many as the birthplace of house music as well as an incubator for hip-hop hitmakers.

It’s Different In Chicago tells the story of how these music genres and the cultures around their communities have complemented and competed with each other, leading to deep revelations about the different segments within the Black community of Chicago.

This homegrown ode to the Chicago music scene will be preceded by a cocktail reception featuring DJ Stormin Norman, and followed by a discussion between curator Moikgantsi Kgama of ImageNation and filmmaker David Weathersby.

Apollo Theater

The legendary Apollo Theater—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends.

Since its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. With music at its core, the Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more.

This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival.

The non-profit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.

Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop.

Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R., D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.

For more information about Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

ImageNation

ImageNation Cinema Foundation is an innovative Harlem-based non-profit created to develop cinemas and audiences for independent films and music, that depict the global Black experience.

ImageNation’s goal is to empower Black communities by presenting a variety of public programs that foster media equity, media literacy, solidarity, and cross-cultural exchange and highlight the humanity of Pan-African people worldwide.

ImageNation has presented internationally in South Africa, Scotland and Canada; and domestically at Harvard University, MASS MOCA, Lincoln Center and in Dallas, TX, Los Angeles, CA, Baltimore, MD, Chicago, Ill, Indianapolis, IN, and Washington DC.

Programs have featured appearances by luminaries such as Spike Lee, Lee Daniels, Ava DuVernay, Stanley Nelson, Ruby Dee, Erykah Badu, Chuck D, Raoul Peck, India. Arie and many others.

ImageNation is a founding partner in AFFRM, a national film distribution collective, founded by Ava DuVerna

Tickets

$25 (includes one free cocktail and light bites).

For more information visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

Please contact the Apollo Box off at access@apollotheater.org or 212.531.5305 if any other special assistance is required for your visit.

Apollo’s Soundstage, 253 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027