Film Screening of Mary Livoni’s Adaptation of Stuart Dybek’s The Apprentice

Artist Mary Livoni's short film, The Apprentice, is based on Stuart Dybek's short story by the same name. The atmospheric, vibrantly shot film tells the story of a boy and his uncle. It is the final story in Dybek's 1979 collection, Childhood and Other Neighborhoods. According to a Kirkus Review critique published around the time of the collection's publication date, "all of Dybek's range and flair works together in the final story, 'The Apprentice,' in which a truant boy courses through the city in the constant company of his crazy, ex-taxidermist uncle; together they collect dead-on-the-road animals destined for an imaginary restaurant the uncle claims to supply and which caters to displaced-person gourmets--a metaphor the boy doesn't appreciate for a while (and neither do we, right off). The uncle is full, in fact, of metaphors, lovely and outsized ones; and the story's climax reaches a literal (bridge-climbing) height and arc, as well as a symbolic one, that's absolutely superb." Livoni captures the intensity and drama of that childhood time and through masterful cinematography takes us to the top of that bridge. Dybek, a Fuller Award honoree, and Livoni, a former CLHOF board member, will participate in a discussion after the screening. Open to the public. Registration to open soon. 

"My stories often begin in memory and end in dreams."  - Stuart Dybek

Having escaped the horrors of civil war in another country, a nameless boy and his aging, unusual uncle share a deep bond, living in peaceful isolation at the city's edges. A childhood spent finding roadkill and learning taxidermy suddenly ends when a mysterious omen appears, compelling them to abandon their home and begin a nomadic journey. Fleeing in a car filled with Uncle's talismans and taxidermy creations, they travel into the heart of the city, following the river and exploring the bridges in search of a mysterious offering. As the uncle descends into delusion, driving the streets searching for coded signs, the boy understands the final lesson of his apprenticeship from a dangerous, transformative perspective.

Stuart Dybek is an internationally recognized author and is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. His fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared widely in journals such as Harper's, Poetry, Tin House, The Atlantic, and The New Yorker.

Mary Livoni is a Chicago artist and filmmaker. Based in Chicago, she has exhibited drawings, paintings, and, more recently, photography and video that directly draw inspiration from literature and poetry. Her artwork has been widely exhibited and included in private and corporate collections.The Apprentice is her first short feature.

Livoni's project was made possible and was partially funded with a grant from Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs.