Author name: Kasey Martin

Festival News

Director Spotlight: Zaida Bergroth on MARIA’S PARADISE

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The Chicago International Film Festival is proud to present Zaida Bergroth’s Maria’s Paradise as part of our Global Currents program this year. Based on true events, this “intriguing, well-heeled period drama” tells the story of Salome (Satu Tuuli Karhu), an orphaned teen who finds herself in thrall to Maria Åkerblom (Pihla Viitala) a charismatic cult leader who claims that God speaks to her. We’re thrilled to feature the latest masterwork by Bergroth, whose Golden Hugo-winning The Good Son and Miami captivated our festival’s audiences in years past.[…]

Festival News

Director Spotlight: François Girard’s Return To The World of Music “Packs A Wallop”

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, François Girard’s newest feature, The Song of Names is “clearly made by folks who are passionate about classical music.” Fittingly for the director of 1998’s celebrated The Red Violin, the film is a “Holocaust-themed requiem” that uses masterful original compositions by Howard Shore and classical cuts in adapting music critic Norman Lebrecht’s lauded novel for the big screen. 

Martin Simmonds (Tim Roth) has been haunted throughout his life by the mysterious disappearance of his “brother” and extraordinary best friend, a Polish Jewish virtuoso violinist, Dovidl Rapaport, who vanished shortly before the 1951 London debut concert that would have launched his brilliant career.[…]

Chicuarotes film still
Festival News

Festival Members’ Ticket Pre-Sale Now Live!

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Chicuarotes film still

Our Member’s Pre-Sale for first access to Festival tickets is now live!

Member’s get their first choice of tickets to the incredible slate of films from this year’s Festival. From our prestigious International Competition to our vast selection of documentaries to the high-profile awards contenders in our Gala and Special Presentations sections.

Membership also includes discounts on Festival tickets as well as year-round benefits including access to free advanced screenings throughout the year. Check out our Membership page to see all the details, and become a member now to get access to these benefits for this year’s Festival![…]

Film Still: The Irishman
Festival News

Chicago International Film Festival Adds Highly Anticipated FORD v FERRARI and THE IRISHMAN To Line-Up!

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We’re thrilled to announce the addition of James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari to the Festival’s Special Presentations program and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman as a Gala Presentation! Find full details below on these exciting screenings. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, September 27 at 10:00am but become a member now to get first access during our Members’ Pre-Sale starting Monday, September 23 at 10:00am!

New Additions

Ford v Ferrari
Dir. James Mangold
Country: United States
Program: Special Presentations

Academy Award®-winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in Ford v Ferrari, based on the remarkable true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale), who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.[…]

Festival News

Opening Night: Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn On Sale Now

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We’re thrilled to announce Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn will open the 55th Chicago International Film Festival!

Edward Norton‘s star-studded adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s ground-breaking novel features a stellar ensemble cast that also includes Bruce Willis, Leslie Mann, Fisher Stevens, Alec Baldwin, and Willem Dafoe, among many more. Entertainment Weekly‘s review of the film called it “a meticulously, lovingly made mood piece, full of empathy for the ones who can’t speak – at least not always the way they want to – for themselves.”[…]

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