Chicago Underground Film Festival

The 10th Annual Chicago Underground Film Festival runs August 27 through September 2 at the Landmark Century Center Cinema, 2828 N. Clark. This year's highlights include "Scrabylon" (about -- no shit -- the "cutthroat world of tournament Scrabble"); documentaries on Rockets Redglare, Tribe 8, and feminist porn; "Value-Added Cinema," a 45-minute montage of product placement shots from 70 films; NewCity film critic Ray Pride's piece on the antiwar protest that shut down Lake Shore Drive; plus all the odd, experimental, and non-commercial stuff you just won't see anywhere else.

Tickets are $9.25 for evening screenings, or buy a five-show pass through ticketweb for $30. Metromix has the full schedule.

Chicago Jazz Festival.

Tonight at 8PM, the 25th annual Chicago Jazz Festival kicks off at the Symphony Center (220 S. Michigan) with a tribute to Art Blakey. Tickets are available at the Symphony Center box office: (312) 294-3000, or at their Website at www.cso.org.

Iraq WMD News Conference/Rally

Families of soldiers serving in Iraq, a mother whose son will soon be shipped to the region, and others will join U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) to announce their support for the creation of an independent commission to determine whether the Bush Administration exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq before the war: Thursday, August 28, 2003 at 10:00 A.M. CDT Dirksen Federal Building (Lobby) 219 S. Dearborn