Jim Sikora is a Chicago based American film director, writer, and producer and is considered a pioneer in DV filmmaking. Sikora is best known for his independent micro-budgeted feature films ''Walls in the City,'' starring Paula Killen, Bill Cusack, Tony Fitzpatrick, and David Yow of the rock band

The Jesus Lizard The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas and based in Chicago, Illinois. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground… hoturned out a series of independent records filled with s ...

, with a

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

The Denison/Kimball Trio ''The Denison/Kimball Trio'' (sometimes known as DK3) were a musical duo consisting of American guitarist Duane Denison and American drummer Jim Kimball. Their music was completely instrumental and heavily influenced by jazz, the avant-garde and ...

; ''Bullet on a Wire'' starring Jeff Strong, Paula Killen, Lara Phillips, David Yow, and Cinema of Transgression legend

Richard Kern Richard Kern (born 1954) is an American underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to prominence as part of the cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films like ...

; ''Rock & Roll Punk'' which features members of Hüsker Dü,

The Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Manhattan Beach, California, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson. In 1979, they enlisted Stevenson's school friend Milo Aukerman as a si ...

Big Black Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band's initial lineup also included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Nake ...

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a turtle shell, shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, ...

, and

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

; ''My Charbroiled Burger with Brewer'' starring

Mike Watt Michael David Watt (born December 20, 1957) is an American bassist, vocalist and songwriter. Watt co-founded and played bass guitar for the rock bands Minutemen (1980–1985), Dos (1985–present), and Firehose (1986–1994). He began a solo ...

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

and Jack Brewer of

Saccharine Trust Saccharine Trust is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1980 by singer Jack Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza. The band would frequently perform with SST labelmates Minutemen and Black Flag. However, Baiza descri ...

. Sikora's films and videos have aired everywhere from MTV's ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...

'' to PBS's ''Image Union''. His film ''Bullet on a Wire'' was shown in 18 film festivals in the United States, and worldwide, including the Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Munich International Film Festival, and in London at the ICA as part of the American Underground Cinema retrospective. The film also made Kevin Thomas's list as one of the best movies of 1998 in the LA Times. Sikora has had successful theatrical runs of his pictures in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Sikora (born James Vincent Lato III) was raised in Chicago, Illinois, and in the Chicago area. He attended Columbia College Chicago on the G.I. Bill after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. While at Columbia, he was classmates and contemporaries with cinematographers

Janusz Kamiński Janusz Zygmunt Kamiński (; born June 27, 1959) is a Polish cinematographer and director of film and television. He has established a partnership with Steven Spielberg, working as a cinematographer on his films since 1993. He won the Academy Awa ...

and Mauro Fiore. He has made music videos and promos for labels such as SST Records, Touch & Go, Amphetamine Reptile, Arista, and Rykodisk. The bands he's created videos and promos for are as varied and diverse as Urge Overkill,

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in ...

The Leaving Trains The Leaving Trains were an American indie rock band from Los Angeles, California. The Leaving Trains were founded in 1980 by Falling James Moreland, a frontperson who became known for her chaotic performances and penchant for (male-to-female) cros ...

, Mike Watt, The Jesus Lizard, Pegboy, Mutts, Enuff Z' Nuff,

The Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin ...

Greg Ginn Gregory Regis Ginn (born June 8, 1954) is an American guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter, best known for being the leader, primary songwriter, and the only continuous member of the hardcore punk band Black Flag, which he founded and led ...

of Black Flag, and

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

. Jim has produced and directed the feature film ''The Earl'', written by internationally acclaimed playwright Brett Neveu, and ''The Critics'', written by novelist and playwright

Adam Langer Adam Langer (born 1967) is an American author best known for his novel '' Crossing California'', which was published in 2004. Biography Langer grew up in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, where he attended Daniel Boone Elementary Sc ...

. His short films include ''Bring Me The Head of Geraldo Rivera'', named by Film Threat Magazine as one of the best underground films of the decade; ''Stagefright Chameleon'', and ''X-Mass '73''. Amongst the projects that Jim has in various stages of development are his screenplay ''I'll Die Tomorrow'', starring Michael Shannon, and ''Beyond The Shadows'', written by Terry Southern.

References

External links

Mutts Music Video

Jim Sikora's Pioneering Digital Feature ''Rock & Roll Punk'' plays at the Gene Siskel Film Center

* ttps://ihrtn.net/skin-graft-a-z-denison-kimball-trio Dennison Kimball Trio - Soundtrack for ''Walls In The City'' by Jim Sikora
Austin Chronicle 1997 South By Southwest article on screening ''Bullet On A Wire''

Dope Gun's And Fucking Up Your Video Deck - Vol. 1-3 1990-94 on Amphetamine Reptile Records with the video for Les Paul Worries by Tar, directed by Jim Sikora, Peeling Eyeball Productions

Chicago Reader article on ''I'll Die Tomorrow'' with Michael Shannon

Reel 360 article: Jim Sikora feature ''The Critics,'' 12 years in the making

CUFF Chicago Underground Film Fest Jim Sikora video showcase

Chicago Underground Film Festival Features Filmmakers Far From Mainstream Review by Roger Ebert

Lumpen Television Interview with Filmmaker Jim Sikora

* ttps://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-07-01-9407010200-story.html Chicago Tribune article: Acting Bug Bites Jesus Lizard'S David Yow
Emphasis Entertainment page for ''Bullet On A Wire''

Indie Wire article about Laramie Film Company debuts Bullet On A Wire

Jonathan Rosenbaum on ''Bullet On A Wire''

Chicago Journal article on the film Critics, Directed by Jim Sikora

Vice Interview with David Yow About Baseball and Movies

Variety Magazine reviews ''Bullet On A Wire''

Filmmaker Magazine, Jim Sikora

Chicago Theater Beat Reviews film ''The Earl'', Directed by Jim Sikora

David Yow Is Done With Music, but His World Remains a Stage, Willamette Week

Digital Journal: Chicago Underground Film Festival Will Unspool 18 New Features; CUFF 2000 Rocks: Music and film collide in Jim Sikora's punk reminiscence ''My Char Broiled Burger With Brewer''

Jim Sikora at IFFR

* ttps://mubi.com/films/bullet-on-a-wire Mubi page: Bullet On A Wire {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikora, Jim American filmmakers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people