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FARINA SHINES AT OPENING NIGHT

47th Chicago International Film Festival opens in style with The Last Rites of Joe May

Chicago, IL-- Chicago’s own Dennis Farina won the hearts of more than 1,200 guests at the 47^Th Chicago International Film Festival’s Opening Night presentation of the locally produced and shot The Last Rites of Joy May, in which Farina stars. 

Walking the red carpet last night at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance at Millennium Park was Mr. Farina, along with fellow cast members Jamie Anne Allman, Ian Barford, Gary Cole and Chelcie Ross, dir. Joe Maggio and the film’s producers. Chicago-born actor Billy Zane (Titanic) was also in attendance to congratulate the director and cast and to celebrate the film’s Chicago premiere. 

Following the screening, more than 850 guests attended the Opening Night party at the Sidney Yates Gallery of the Chicago Cultural Center, where Farina (with proud kids and grandchildren in tow) plus cast and crew received warm and enthusiastic congratulations and mingled with international filmmakers attending the Festival. 

The funds raised at the Opening Night event will help support Cinema/Chicago’s year-round Educational Outreach program. The program brings over 5,000 children from Chicago’s public schools into theaters for special screenings that cover a wide variety of genres, including foreign cinema, documentaries, local productions and international releases. Educators and youth media professionals on the Cinema/Chicago Education Advisory Committee carefully select films that relate to the Chicago Public School curriculum and expose students to new cultures, foreign languages, and thought-provoking subject matter.  

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TICKET INFO

All events, except Opening Night, are at the AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois Street. Tickets for the 47th Chicago International Film Festival are on sale now. Opening Night tickets and festival passes may be purchased on the Festival website. All individual tickets must be purchased by phone 312-332-FILM (3456), in person by visiting the Festival box office at AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.), or through Ticketmaster. 

FESTIVAL SPONSORS
Led by Presenting Partner, Columbia College Chicago, the 47th Chicago International Film Festival’s sponsors include: Premiere Partners-- American Airlines, Lincoln; Producing Partners-- AMC Theaters, DePaul University's School of Cinema and Interactive Media, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Major Partners-- Allstate, Intersites; Supporting Partners-- Applitite, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Brugal Rum, Kodak, Second City Computers, WBBM, and the Festival's Headquarters Hotel, JW Marriott Chicago. 

ABOUT CINEMA/CHICAGO

Cinema/Chicago is a not-for-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to encouraging better understanding between cultures and to making a positive contribution to the art form of the moving image. The Chicago International Film Festival is part of the year-round programs presented by Cinema/Chicago, which also include the International Screenings Program (May-September), the Hugo Television Awards (April), CineYouth Festival (May), Intercom Competition (October) and year-round Education Outreach and Member Screenings Program. 

For images and press materials go to http://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/press/ ;

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