CHICAGO – Michael Kutza has been as influential as someone can be in the film festival industry. At age 22, Michael transformed the city of Chicago into a festival hotspot that supported films from unknown artists, ready to get their name out there. In 2024, the festival is celebrating its 60th anniversary.
I sat down with Michael to talk about the festival, his book, “Starstruck – How I magically transformed Chicago into Hollywood for more than fifty years”, DePaul’s ever-growing film program, and much more.