New Zealand
Director: Jason Stutter

The highly anticipated sequel to Careful with that Axe, Careful with that Power Tool shows the real reason why little boys shouldn't play with power tools.

Careful with that Power Tool will be presented as part of the short film program, Shorts 3: Rediscovery: Information & Show Times

2 minutes

Poland
Director: Feliks Falk

Work is everything to young psychiatrist Konstanty Grot—something his wife often teases him about. But when he brings his patient Pawel home for treatment, Konstanty discovers hidden secrets from Pawel's past… and endangers his own family in the process. This thoughtful thriller paints a portrait of a man who risks his professional and personal life in the search for justice.

Polish with subtitles, 102 minutes

Australia
Director: Rob Sitch

Early in The Castle, the happy Kerrigan family is served a chicken dinner. Dad (Michael Caton) observes something on the chicken and asks his wife (Anne Tenney) what it is. "Seasoning," she says proudly. Dad beams: "Seasoning! Looks like everybody's kicked a goal."

And so life spins along in Melbourne, where the Kerrigan home sits surrounded by its built-on rooms, screened-in porch, greyhound kennel, big-dish satellite and carport. For Darryl, it is not so much a house as a shrine to one of the best darn families in the universe, and he proudly points out the plastic Victorian gingerbread trim and the fake chimney.

The Castle, directed by Rob Sitch, is one of those comic treasures like The Full Monty and Waking Ned Devine, that shows its characters in the full bloom of glorious eccentricity. The Kerrigans may be the proudest and happiest family you've ever met, what with dad's prosperous tow-truck business, and the inventions of Steve (Anthony Simcoe), the "idea man" who specializes in fitting tools together so they can do two jobs equally badly. Tracy (Sophie Lee) is the only college graduate (from beauty school), and Dale (Stephen Curry) is the narrator, frequently quoting his dad, who observes, as he gazes up at pylons towering over the home, that "power lines are a reminder of man's ability to generate electricity."

This is the sort of movie the British used to make in black and white, starring Peter Sellers, Alec Guinness, Terry-Thomas, and Ian Carmichael. It's about characters who have a rock-solid view of the universe and their place in it, and gaze out upon the world in sublime contentment.

"Of all the films I've shown at Ebertfest, the audience probably loved" – Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert is Chicago’s own legendary, Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic. An integral part of the Chicago International Film Festival since its early years, Roger went on to form his Overlooked Film Festival in 1999. Now known simply as Ebertfest, the annual event highlights films both new and old that deserve wider attention or a fresh look by a new audience. Join us for this special presentation of The Castle, an Ebertfest film handpicked by Roger for Chicago.

The Castle will be presented as part of the special program, Roger Ebert Presents...: Information & Show Times

82 minutes

Australia
Director: Serhat Caradee

For Tarek, a young Lebanese man living with his parents in suburban Sydney, everything he wants seems just out of reach—cash to help out his family, acceptance into mainstream Australian society, and the arm of a fetching girl from the wealthy 'burbs. When his best friend hatches a plan to rob a drug house, Tarek sees a quick way to get all three, but his desire to rise above his lot in life leaves him blind to the consequences of their caper.

106 minutes

Canada
Director: Sharon Lewis

Chain, starved for beauty in her desolate underground community of scavengers, risks punishment of death by growing a flower using scarce water.

Chains will be presented as part of the short film program, Shorts 5: Best of the American Black Film Festival: Information & Show Times

10 minutes