image courtesy cuff

The Chicago Underground Film Festival is not just another independent film event. The 20-year-old movie medley showcases “great, obscure moving image work,” or so says Andrew Rosinski, a Chicago-based filmmaker and festival alum. This Thursday, Rosinski is premiering his newest film, Island Light, a three-minute piece about paddling a boat across a lake one summer night. We asked the up-and-coming visual artist for some tips on what to see on the packed schedule. Here is his must-see list:

The Invisible World by Jesse McLean
March 7 at 9 p.m.
A deceased hoarder explores what materialism remains after death.

Releasing Human Energies by Mark Toscano
March 7 at 9 p.m.
A 16-mm film considers control and Capitalist principles as a way to maximize human efficiency.

Persian Pickles by Jodie Mack 
March 8 at 9 p.m.
Mack studies psychedelic paisley patterns amid fractal phonics.

Mosaic Do Porto by Robert Todd 
March 9 at 7 p.m.)
Moving pieces across Porto, Portugal display a fragmented and whole picture of love.

The Creation As We Saw It by Ben Rivers
March 9 at 9 p.m.
Rivers shares three allegories from the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

Retrospective Shorts Program: Flying Lessons (selected by Amy Beste)
March 10 at 3 p.m.
Nine shorts reflect on late-90s feminism, excuses and excesses, being lost and found and more.

The Name Is Not The Thing Named by Deborah Stratman
March 10 at 6 p.m.
A title borrowed from Aleister Crowley’s 1918 translation of Tao Te Ching, this film follows places and experiences that language cannot describe.

The Chicago Underground Film Festival runs March 6 to 10 at the Logan Theatre, 2646 N. Milwaukee. For info, cuff.org.