Jane Lynch to accept a Comedy Film Fest award

Jane Lynch, Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD will be presented to actress/comedian Jane Lynch, a Chicago area native, by the Chicago Comedy Film Festival (CCFF) and the Second City’s Harold Ramis Film School, Thursday, Nov, 10 before a sold-out audience at The Second City Training Center.

Lynch will receive the award from Jessica Hardy, CIFF founder / artistic director and Second City president Andrew Alexander. The 7 p.m. presentation will be followed at 8:30 p.m. by the Chicago Filmmakers Shorts Program of a dozen locally-made comedy films.

Jane Lynch’s award kicks off the 6th comedy Festival that continues Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at the New 400 Theatre, 6746 N. Sheridan Road. The program of 65-plus films from 27 countries includes “Writer’s Block,” starring Lynch, on Saturday.

Director Jack Newell’s 75-minute “Open Tables,” is one of the seven features being showcased.

A free screenwriters workshop, “Don’t be Funny Be You,” with Max Timm of the International Screenwriters Association, also takes place Saturday at 11 a.m. in Theatre 4. Tickets and the schedule may be found here.

The newly renovated four-screen theatre, one of the first vaudeville and movie houses in Chicago, built in 1912, offers a full cash bar and free refills on popcorn.

CHICAGO-HOLLYWOOD CONNECTION. Chicago improv actor / comedian David Pasquesi appears in three episodes out of five HBO’s new series of multi-Emmy winning “Veep.” He plays Andrew Meyers, the hapless ex-husband of President Selina Meyers’ (Julia Louis—Dreyfus).

Pasquesi, however, is not the sole Chicagoan in the cast. He joins former Chicago actors Matt Walsh (Mike McLintock), Anna Chlumsky (Amy) Gary Cole (Kent) and Kevin Dunn (Ben) who have ongoing roles in the series.

Multi-awarded Louis-Dreyfus attended Northwestern and began her comedy career at Chicago’s Practical Theatre Company. Which led to her being cast in “Saturday Night Live,” and onto Elaine in “Seinfeld and many notable TV roles thereafter.

Pasquesi is repped by former Chicagoan Paula Muzik of Innovation, New York, Stacy Abrams in LA and NV in Chicago for commercial/voiceover work.

QURIOSITY PRODUCTIONS is shooting a 30-second Illinois Lottery spot, “The Holiday Hero,” for multi-cultural agency PACO Communications; a day at Essanay Studio and Lighting and also on location in Evanston. And Essanay, just wrapping a weeklong shoot for Showtime’s “Shameless,” is providing lighting gear for Nomad of LA’s one day shoot for Wal-Mart.

GAY FILM WEEKEND, Nov. 13-15, hosted by Pride Film & Plays, includes enhanced staged readings of five finalist screenplays named in PFP’s 2016 Great Gay Screenplay Contest, an international contest for screenplays with LGBT characters, at Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted.

The weekend concludes with the Queer Bits Film Festival, with dozens of entries from around world, Sunday at Public House Theater, 3914 N. Clark at 7 p.m.

In other PFP news, Chicago actor/writer Nelson Rodriquez was named artistic director. He’s been a PFP ensemble member since August, 2012.

Screenplay reading tickets are pay what you can. Film Fest tickets, $10.

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