JoAnn Elam Movies

This film celebrates the frenzy of light and color found amid exploding fireworks and the speeding headlights of cars on a nighttime road. In the...

Shot from the inside of a house and through a window's curtains, one can sometimes distinguish the colorful flowers in the yard outside. But, as in...

A series of home move style shots of a mother and her young child crawling outdoors. Scenes include a mother and toddler playing in a Chicago...

Intimate portrayal of children at home and outsde in a park. At the start, a baby rolls around on the floor of a living room and bounces in a...

Footage documenting Chicago's famed "Blizzard of '79," including some early examples of parking "dibs," people digging out their cars, and postal...

Footage of trees swaying in the sunlight, as seen from a window. A windchime in silhouette periodically obscures the trees.

This footage by JoAnn Elam was probably shot in San Francisco, where Elam spent the “Summer of Love” in 1967 and which she perhaps...

Underexposed scenes from a backyard barbecue likely at the home of JoAnn Elam and Joe Hendrix, featuring members of the "Logan Square Rhinos" —...

A myriad of purple and blue markings flicker hypnotically across the screen in “Filmabuse.” Periodically a blue screen flashes,...

Chicago streets.

USPS workers go bowling.

Elam's husband prepares vegetables at the sink.

Contrasting environments, in and outside.

JoAnn Elam's unfinished project, EVERYDAY PEOPLE (filmed from 1979 to 1990), is based on her experiences as a letter carrier for the US Postal...

Abstract direct animation film made by JoAnn Elam.

An affectionate and humorous portrayal of the relationship between a woman and her dog. As the dog explores the world and meets other dogs on their...

Experimental film by Chicago filmmaker JoAnn Elam (1949-2009). Altered lyrics to the song "Chains" sit atop animated images of grains. Exact date of...

Gardening was an essential part of Elam’s life; she not only tended to her own, quite impressive, backyard garden, she also attained the status...

Farm work and nature.

Filmed during the 52nd National Convention of the American National Association of Letter Carriers in August 1980.