https://www.ilchickpictures.com/filmsbyilyachaiken daily 1.0 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541183349470-GTQUBINZA0LPFY7KQQ50/image-asset.jpeg films by ilya chaiken - margarita happy hour https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541185450474-1691IX9YCHPV4ETASUXQ/jesus_11x17+poster%281%29.jpg films by ilya chaiken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541197246432-8HOGZTRQKWS0RORYHKJB/LIBERTY_KID_2B%281%29.jpg films by ilya chaiken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541198210835-0H6CXY85TZ30FT1VTVV1/PRETTY_UGLY_LUNACHICKS_photo_Bob+Mussell.jpeg films by ilya chaiken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541206216733-0274XYP2KU4A7JD1KME6/Screen+Shot+2018-10-30+at+3.49.16+PM.png films by ilya chaiken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541198737786-VX0WTLH10YCTJPBMEPZS/MARGARITA_HH_bigger.jpeg films by ilya chaiken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541645558798-X1OFXO1EGAF9IM55I3QQ/jesus_11x17+poster_laures.jpg films by ilya chaiken https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/e133b5da-823d-4059-bb3e-403565e32d4c/PrettyUgly_27x40_WithLaurel.jpg films by ilya chaiken https://www.ilchickpictures.com/new-gallery-2 daily 0.75 2018-11-02 https://www.ilchickpictures.com/news daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541187275372-1AIU7NAJU7382AJ8VF9E/LIBERTY_KID_2B%281%29.jpg News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541187275372-1AIU7NAJU7382AJ8VF9E/LIBERTY_KID_2B%281%29.jpg News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541187248290-JK2J1U6DQMT194XPITU7/LIBERTY_KID_2B%281%29.jpg News https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1773108006619-UAXL4IT1YIIGH77K9QAJ/PrettyUgly_small_Horz.jpg News https://www.ilchickpictures.com/new-gallery-1 daily 0.75 2018-11-02 https://www.ilchickpictures.com/photo-tour daily 0.75 2016-08-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57338c9c04426238cff162e3/1467820663705-9067UYTKF3XTPZINZP8F/Stocksy_txp824ffa5crXt000_Original_845127.jpg Photo Tour https://www.ilchickpictures.com/news-1 daily 0.75 2017-04-05 https://www.ilchickpictures.com/contact daily 0.75 2018-11-08 https://www.ilchickpictures.com/about daily 0.75 2026-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1773421165696-V8XSZQUNNCCPQAPODLOP/PrettyUgly_small_Horz.jpg feature films - PRETTY UGLY: THE STORY OF THE LUNACHICKS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541658029441-Y9RF3W6FLZRVH2F9420K/LIBERTY_KID_2B%281%29.jpg feature films - LIBERTY KID https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541654546151-B1LWVF3W3O12WXLOCS31/MARGARITA_HH_2018.jpg feature films - MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR https://www.ilchickpictures.com/in-production daily 0.75 2018-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541863093604-ELPPNS5LGMA4OPO5G2JC/LUNA+COVER+PAGE+postcard.jpg in production https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541863105921-ZFB6OP92C46DWX30TXEN/postcardback+copy.jpg in production https://www.ilchickpictures.com/margarita-happy-hour daily 0.75 2018-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541640946964-295RPWJNA5MJOZH9NU71/MARGARITA_HH_2018.jpg MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541652964644-IFH7QWF3V07GNS3U9E5X/MARGARITA_HH_2018.jpg MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR LA Times “(Writer-director Chaiken) has as sure an instinct for the succinct image and brisk pacing as she does for dialogue. Hutchins is as much a discovery as Chaiken, and both command attention in a natural, unpretentious manner... Effective in all its aspects... An auspicious feature debut for Chaiken.” (Kevin Thomas) New York Times “Ilya Chaiken’s MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR... is an independent feature with sure sociological instincts... Her talent lies in an evocative, accurate observation of a distinctive milieu and in the lively, convincing dialogue she creates for her characters.” (Dave Kehr) New York Post “Cheers to a truly authentic indie... writer-director Ilya Chaiken’s assured feature debut... A hit at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, Chaiken’s film is, at once, a joyful celebration of female friendship and an unusually honest look at newly responsible young women wistfully saying goodbye to the dreams of their youth.” (Megan Turner) Newsday “Smart, funny, and well-acted... entirely engaging and true. Her Altmanesque coordination of the various strands of dialogue generated during happy hour is brilliant; ... executed effortlessly... refreshingly honest and entertaining.” (John Anderson) Philadelphia Inquirer “The writers of Sex and the City would do well to catch Margarita Happy Hour, Chaiken's stunning, beautifully observed character study...” (Carrie Rickey) TV Guide “(3.5 stars)...Sharply observed... almost painfully on target. ...a small, poignant gem.” (Maitland McDonagh) Village Voice “Rich with gratifyingly non-toxic local color... Ilya Chaiken’s wry feature debut... Chaiken ably balances real-time rhythms with propulsive incident... She catches subtler interior strains, too.” (Jessica Winter) NY Press “MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR... deserves to be seen. It’s a smart, heartfelt, well-photographed and excitingly designed film.”(Matthew Zoller Seitz) Variety “...writer-director Ilya Chaiken’s debut feature is a surprisingly in-depth, wistful look at outgrowing a youth-only subculture... MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR could parlay fest gigs and favorable word-of-mouth into deserved sleeper status.” (Dennis Harvey) Hollywood Reporter “...an entertainingly realistic, promising debut from writer-director Ilya Chaiken...” Indiewire “...Chaiken’s MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR is probably the best film to come out of New York’s East Village filmmaking community...” (Anthony Kaufman) Mr. Showbiz “First-time feature director Ilya Chaiken has created a compelling, unique story... as yet our favorite dramatic film of the (Sundance) festival.” (Andrew Strickman) LA Weekly “Chaiken’s feature debut is an elegiac tribute... she has an excellent feel for the grace notes of real life...” (Hazel Dawn Humpert) New Times LA “fresh and observant... spiked with raw urban humor.” (B.G.) Philly Weekly “ ‘A’- Terrific... Well paced and surprisingly complex ... Margarita Happy Hour captures perfectly the protracted adolescence of hipster life.” (Katie Haegele) Washington City Paper "...one tough little movie... Chaiken uses a free-floating structure to nail her chosen milieu... The film's every detail is sharp and unclichéd..." (AB) https://www.ilchickpictures.com/shorts daily 0.75 2026-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541653673151-NTX5D0A1J154LM0TRL7M/jesus_11x17+poster_laures.jpg shorts - THE 100 LOVERS OF JESUS REYNOLDS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541639494806-XA5FU5VRZL74P83CF340/BLACKOUTstill.jpg shorts - BLACKOUT https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541862763576-VMB5QEI8EHCSN97LO6SC/MATCH_FLICK_poster+copy.jpg shorts - MATCH FLICK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1773500886549-O0MH0AZRTA3NDWA3LMN6/Screen+Shot+2026-03-14+at+11.01.32+AM.png shorts - SECRET SANTA https://www.ilchickpictures.com/about-1 daily 0.75 2018-11-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541729778834-AIYMIAC7MUM1IK098SF2/ilya+chaiken about - ILYA CHAIKEN’s first feature film MARGARITA HAPPY HOUR debuted at Sundance in 2001 and premiered internationally at Toronto Film Festival the day after 9/11. Her second feature LIBERTY KID was about 9/11, and won Best Picture at the NY Latino Film Festival. Both received wide acclaim and were shown extensively at festivals and broadcast on Sundance Channel and HBO. Along with numerous shorts she has made the tragicomic web series THE UNLOVABLES, starring Kevin Corrigan & Eleanor Hutchins, after winning an award for excellence in fimmaking from the Princess Grace Foundation. She is currently directing her first documentary, PRETTY UGLY, chronicling the awe-inspiring female 90’s rockers Lunachicks. She is also a writer, editor, sketch artist, and proud member of the Purchase Mafia. She is based in Brooklyn. https://www.ilchickpictures.com/liberty-kid-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541731789855-89XENPOIMQPR4DEQ1CD8/LIBERTY_KID_2B%281%29.jpg Liberty Kid WINNER - Best Picture HBO NY LATINO FILM FESTIVAL 2007 DISTRIBUTED by KINO LORBER WATCH TRAILER "There's not a single wrong note in "Liberty Kid," Ilya Chaiken's poignant drama. Tender, wise and deceptively low-key... everything about this film feels effortless. 'Critic's Pick'"- New York Times "Chaiken's subtle narrative touch, along with the exceptionally strong performances of leads Al Thompson and Kareem Saviñon, gives this one a rare emotional pull. 'Critic's Pick'"- New York Magazine "Chaiken makes us feel for her characters... "Liberty Kid" is a poignant look at what might be called 9/11's collateral damage".- New York Post "Liberty Kid elevates... by keeping a 'Wire'- worthy ear to the street talk of south Williamsburg and maintaining a shrewd balance of the personal and the political... an uncommonly acute, deftly played drama of the New York working class."- Village Voice “Chaiken doesn’t just make movies; she lives through them from the inside out... Recalls early Martin Scorsese... A smart little movie with intelligence and heart to spare. “- LA Daily News "The least explicit yet most affecting film yet to depict New York in the weeks and months after the towers fell."- New York Sun "There may have been two or three dozen American films that struggled to make sense of 9/11 and its aftermath, but none of them have done more with less than "Liberty Kid"... It's a simple story, engagingly told, wonderfully acted and shot with an eye for the beauty of the Big Apple's unglamorous outer-borough neighborhoods."- Salon.com "Epic and resonant... to her eternal credit, Chaiken keeps her movie grounded in her characters, allowing Thompson and Saviñon's true-to-life performances to carry us through..."- Nerve.com "A powerful drama... Chaiken works with a delicate touch... Potent, thoroughly believable performances... Deeply poignant".- Hollywood Reporter "Chaiken‘s focus drives home the fact that collateral damage comes in many forms... Packs a visceral punch"- TV Guide "Smoothly kinetic... Glaringly real."- Variety "Sensitively drawn... Strong performances".- LA Weekly https://www.ilchickpictures.com/web-series daily 0.75 2018-11-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541652541391-PGBEQG8SPM7X6NW719F7/unlovgood.png web series - THE UNLOVABLES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1541652303248-60N5KJF954JOZP30USII/12087284_680472662089520_411814703343811595_o.jpg web series - GOOD CRAZY https://www.ilchickpictures.com/tickets-1 daily 0.75 2026-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/e133b5da-823d-4059-bb3e-403565e32d4c/PrettyUgly_27x40_WithLaurel.jpg PRETTY UGLY: THE STORY OF THE LUNACHICKS https://www.ilchickpictures.com/pretty-ugly daily 0.75 2026-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bdc94ff4cde7a49f068902f/1773421165696-V8XSZQUNNCCPQAPODLOP/PrettyUgly_small_Horz.jpg PRETTY UGLY