Seventh Python Saturday night at Chicago Fest

The Seventh Python is screening Saturday night in a prime showcase at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival. We pass along this release from its producers, our pals at Frozen Pictures:

The Seventh Python is Saturday night special
at Chicago International Movies and Music Festival

CHICAGO (FROZEN PICTURES) Tickets are still available for the exclusive screening of The Seventh Python Saturday night at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival.

The acclaimed and award-winning film about legendary pop satirist and Monty Python collaborator Neil Innes will be screened in competition March 7 at 8 pm at the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 East Washington Street. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as "charming and illuminating," and "hilarious" by the LAist, The Seventh Python was recently named winner of the Golden Ace Award from the Las Vegas International Film Festival for 'superior and standout filmmaking.'

The Seventh Python has been applauded for its handling of a unique artist with a marked distaste for "the fame game," while including appearances by Innes friends and fans including John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michal Palin, Simpsons creator Matt Groening and songwriter Aimee Mann.

The film also stands out because of its playful tweaking of the documentary form and a unique interactive element that eschews the hackneyed use of archival still photos and film clips. Instead, state-of-the art (and often Pythonesque) animation combines the aforementioned elements into an innovative new method of biographical time travel. The Seventh Python also contains prompts that encourage viewers to expand and extend the film's scope in any direction they wish.


"This isn't a crawl through someone's photo or video archives. This is a 21st century nonfiction film that takes advantage of the almost unlimited resources of cyberspace," says director Burt Kearns. "Neil's entire musical and comedy history is there online. We're giving the power to the audience and encourage viewers and fans to find it and do their own directors cut."

"To be honest, we're sick of the old ‘stills and archival footage' docos," adds producer Brett Hudson. "They're 20th century. They're old. We've been there and done that too many times. The Seventh Python takes us on a journey through the past, but Neil's story is set in the present and leads the audience into the future, just like Neil Innes does."

Tickets for The Seventh Python at the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival are still available at www.cimmfest.org.