Tom Palazzolo Movies

I've always been interested in recording Chicago's history, particularly its offbeat and unofficial aspects. In a way, I consider myself a renegade...

Hot Nasty is a humorous documentary short set entirely inside a Chicago massage parlor called Big Bertha’s. The film features interviews with...

On August 13, 1969 thousands of Chicagolandians flocked to downtown Chicago to get a glimpse of the first humans on the Moon (Neil A. Armstrong,...

Venus and Adonis offers a playful retelling of the Classical myth. Filmed at Chicago's North Avenue Beach, filmmaker Tom Palazzolo plays the handsome...

Footage documenting a toy drive – “Toys for Tots” – held at a leather bar / motorcycle club in Chicago, called the Baton...

An experimental silent film by Tom Palazzolo documenting the comings and goings of Chicago's "El" rapid transit system in the 1970s. Exact year...

A documentary about a man who wins a million dollars in the Illinois lottery. Takes place at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg, IL.

VHS compilation of two Tom Palazzolo documentaries - Marquette Park (1976) and Marquette Park II (1978) - about the American Nazi party and its...

A profile of Chicago's greatest Presley impersonator, Jay Elvis

ADDED LESSONS is an absurdist fever dream that follows young Francis (Liam Hayes) as he's bounced between maternal demands, burgeoning sexual...

An awkward wedding rehearsal at which the in-laws meet

We traveled to Indiana back roads to see and shoot the annual Miss Nude Universe Contest held at a “notorious” nudist camp. They wanted...

Chicago was the host for the 1968 Democratic Convention, and the surrounding hype and horror that resulted. Mayor Daley called out the cops on the...

Tom Palazzolo takes us on a tour of the Chicago neighborhood where he lived in the 1960s, stretching down Clark Street from Chicago Avenue to the...

A portrait of the Chicago street market.