While most filmmakers strive and struggle to make it to Hollywood, Carl Kurlander was dying to get out. And that’s not because he wasn’t successful. The Hyde Park-born writer and director hit it out of the ballpark early on. A short story he wrote in college became the Brat Pack cult classic St. Elmo’s Fire. But life in L.A. was wearing on Kurlander and his family. So he left for what was meant to be a brief sabbatical in his hometown of Pittsburgh. His sabbatical turned into a mission – to help save his hometown from its own economic and identity struggles. He documents the journey in the new film, My Tale of Two Cities.

Screening:
My Tale of Two Cities
Gene Siskel Film Center
Sat., Sep. 11 at 8 p.m.; Mon., Sep. 13 at 8 p.m.