At the Independent Film Alliance Chicago, our mission is to provide the community and resources needed to build a diverse and sustainable industry of independent content creators & filmmakers. We support creatives and entrepreneurs in the film industry and are conveniently located at the bustling Cinespace Studios, where shows like Chicago PD, Chicago Med and Chicago Fire etc are filmed!

Our annual fundraiser gala, entitled MAGIC HOUR, will help us continue our mission and also celebrate the recent growth of the film industry in Chicago. It's a night to remember – bringing together Chicago’s creative and civic leaders to support Chicago's independent filmmakers and storytellers. This event is titled creatively after the filmmaking term magic hour - the time of day just after sunset and just before sunrise, when the warmest colors are produced!

Join us at the swanky Wildman BT for an evening of dancing and celebration. With food and drink from Cocina Fusion, event design from Fierce Productions, and dancing to the hottest DJ beats - it's an evening you don't want to miss.

This year, our popular Silent Auction will only be available at the event itself. Individuals must be present to bid and win. During a historic and trying time for our industry, 50% of all Magic Hour Silent Auction proceeds will go towards a fund for Chicago filmmakers impacted by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

**Tickets are not available at the door. Ticket sales end on Wednesday, November 29 at 11:59 p.m. Must have a ticket to enter.**

IFA members can reserve their ticket in our IFA Member Portal.

THE VIP EXPERIENCE! **SOLD OUT**
Limited number of VIP tickets available

Purchase a VIP ticket, where you will:

- Be entered into a drawing for a TOUR for you +3 guests of Cinespace Film Studios!
- Have access to the VIP Room throughout the event
- Attend a special VIP-only happy hour at the start of the event
- Receive a SPECIAL GIFT
- Engage with local and celebrity actors

PROGRAM

Tyla Ambercrumbie, EMCEE
Actress, 'The Chi'
IFA Member

Chaz Ebert, PRESENTER
CEO of Ebert Digital and the Ebert Companies
President of the Roger and Chaz Ebert Foundation
IFA Chicago Luminary Board

Carrie Holt de Lama
Producer, 'The Bear', PRESENTER

Elena valentine, PRESENTER
Founder & Executive Producer, Skillscout
IFA Chicago Creative Cabinet

Steven Weber
Actor, Chicago Med
SPECIAL GUEST

MAGIC HOUR HONOREES

Governor JB Pritzker, IFA Visionary Leadership Award

Governor JB Pritzker was sworn in as the 43rd Governor of Illinois on Jan. 14, 2019. Since taking office, he has accomplished one of the most ambitious and consequential policy agendas in state history.

The governor won bipartisan passage for Rebuild Illinois, the largest investment in state history to upgrade roads, bridges, rail, broadband, and schools. He overcame years of fiscal mismanagement in Illinois by proposing and passing a balanced budget every year, eliminating the state’s multi-billion dollar bill backlog, reducing the state’s pension liability, and achieving six credit upgrades from rating agencies. He took bold action to put state government back on the side of working families by creating jobs, raising the minimum wage to a living wage, protecting reproductive rights, making university and community college education more affordable, and advancing equal pay for women.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Pritzker saved lives and livelihoods by prioritizing the health and safety of Illinois residents while supporting families and businesses through the COVID-induced recession. To protect hardworking families from additional hardship, one of the defining features of the governor’s response to the COVID financial crisis was launching the nation’s largest pandemic relief grant program for small businesses and the nation’s largest housing assistance program.

In 2021, Governor Pritzker proposed and signed a comprehensive clean energy bill, making Illinois a national leader on climate action and the first state in the Midwest to pass a law phasing out fossil fuels.

Before becoming governor, Pritzker founded 1871, the non-profit small business incubator in Chicago. Since its creation, Chicago has been named one of the top ten technology startup hubs in the world, and 1871 was named the best incubator in the world. As governor, he continues to expand support for new business creation throughout the state and cut taxes for hundreds of thousands of small businesses while incentivizing job creation. Since 2019, annual new business startups in Illinois have grown by nearly 70%. Illinois now has the largest growth in small business creation among the largest states in the nation, beating states like California, Texas, Florida and New York.

Governor Pritzker and his wife, MK, have been married for more than 25 years, and they are the proud parents of daughter, Teddi, and son, Don.

The Illinois Film Office, IFA Visionary Leadership Award

The Film Office and the Governor have worked in tandem to ensure Chicago remains a top choice for filmmakers to work and build a career.

Since taking office in 2018, Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Film Office have brought in more than $2 billion in revenue for the state stemming from the economic activity of film and television production in Illinois. The expanded Illinois film tax credit, enacted in 2022, is among the most successful in the nation, attracting businesses from across the country while protecting and creating Illinois jobs. In addition, the film tax credit also includes a Workforce Development Fund training program to increase diversity across film industry jobs. The Illinois Film Office, headed by Peter Hawley, implements the film tax credit and assists filmmakers with location scouting and production, and is an integral part of Illinois’ workforce development program within the film production industry.

Minhal Baig, IFA Breakthrough Voice Award

Minhal Baig, Breakthrough Voice Awardee of Magic Hour 2023

We are thrilled to announce that Minhal Baig is the recipient of this year's Breakthrough Voice Award, which is given to an individual whose work has already received professional acclaim and who demonstrates an exceptional level of quality and storytelling integrity.

Baig grew up in Rogers Park and attended Chicago Public Schools, graduating from Northside College Prep. Her first feature film, Hala (2019), was set in Chicago and follows Pakistani American teenager Hala as she struggles to balance desire with her family, cultural and religious obligations. Her most recent film, the critically acclaimed We Grown Now, is set to be released by Sony Pictures Classics in the Spring of 2024. The film centers on two boys, best friends living in Cabrini Green circa 1992. The Hollywood Reporter said in its review that Baig's film is "A film that takes the idea of beauty seriously and works, with deceptve ease, to show us the tiny pleasures that make up life in Cabrini-Green."

For these reasons and more, IFA Chicago is proud to celebrate Minhal Baig with its Breakthrough Voice Award!

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
AICP
Alexander S. Pissios Family Foundation
Allstate
BAM Studios
Burke Burns & Pinelli, LTD. – a Certified Women’s Business Enterprise
Casa Noble Tequila
Cast and Crew
CH Distillery
Chicago Media Angels
CineCity Studios
Cinespace Studios
Cinelease
Credits and Incentives Corp
Director's Guild of America (DGA)
DePaul University
Emerging Business Solutions
Essanay
Havas
Illinois Production Alliance
IATSE 476
Jason Stephens and Ken O'Keefe
The Michael Group
Noisefloor
O'Connor Casting
OKRP ad agency
Optimus
Periscope
Picture North
Questar Entertainment
Resolution Digital Studios
Revolution Brewing
Rock River Studios
SAG AFTRA
SAG Indie
Shatterglass Films
Signature Bank
Wayfarer Theaters/Sarowitz
Winger Marketing
Wolf Entertainment

Interested in sponsoring? Reach out to us at info@ifachicago.org!

Magic Hour 2023

An evening of celebration and support of Chicago's independent filmmakers.