Now showing at IFC Center: Jem Cohen (Photo: STV)

Now that you must no longer enter IFC Center in the shadow of that big-ass inflatable rat that loomed there for weeks on end, get down to Sixth Avenue to check out NYC filmmaker Jem Cohen's latest feature, Chain.

Cohen, a genuinely cool guy with whom The Reeler spent some quality time earlier in the summer, will be on-hand to talk about the film--a typically Cohen-esque, years-in-the-making opus officially encapsulized as such:

As regional character disappears and corporate culture homogenizes our surroundings, it's increasingly difficult to tell where you are. In CHAIN, actual malls, theme parks, hotels and corporate centers worldwide are joined into a monolithic "superlandscape" that shapes and circumscribes the lives of two women. One (Miho Nikaido) is a Japanese businesswoman researching the international theme park industry for her home company. The other (Mira Billotte) is a young drifter, illegally living and working on the fringes of a shopping mall.

Fugazi's Guy Picciotto, who worked on Chain in both pre- and post-production, will join Cohen at tomorrow's 6:20 and 8:20 screenings, and your last chance to talk with the director will be after Friday's 8:20 screening. Kudos to IFC Center for providing a high-visibility engagement for one of New York's great true independents.