Filmmakers Lily Qi and Sarabi Woods covering events in downtown Chicago for
Activism Now.
David A. Holcombe
When the Black Lives Matter and other social justice uprisings hit Chicago last year, the creators at Soft Cage Films were ready. The nonprofit film production company has been documenting social change, combating oppressive systems, and amplifying underrepresented voices of color in film through experimental techniques, artistic collaboration, and engaging storylines since its founding in 2012.
Before 2020, the team worked in person all over the city and produced a wide array of films—including a musical inspired by real events of police torture at Homan Square and the community work to stop it, a drama about a revolutionary street artist's fight against capitalism, and a supernatural horror film that was the group's first feature—inspired by Chicago's storefront theater model of a young, scrappy team eager to create a community focused on growth in independent arts.