Medium Cool

Few films capture the spirit of the 60s counterculture as potently as Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool, a news cameraman’s free-wheeling journey through 1968 Chicago which just happened to coincide with the turbulent Democratic Convention.

2Look out Haskell, it’s real,” we hear a crew-member shout as a tear-gas canister flies in and the boundaries between fact and fiction explode. Featuring the local wing of the Black Panthers and musical contributions from Frank Zappa and Mike Bloomfield, it’s still hard to credit that something so radical was made by a Hollywood studio.

This screening is the first in a series of decade-spanning film events that Flatpack are planning throughout the year as part of Ikon Gallery’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Check www.ikon-gallery.org for further details.

*Recommended