
City & State
Competing for the Festival’s Chicago Award—a showcase of the year’s best stories and brightest talents from our own backyard.
Acts of Love
Filmmaker Isidore Bethel mixes fiction and documentary in this tender exploration of hookup culture, gay sexuality, and universal questions about what it means to love and be loved.
Any Given Day
Broadcast Signal Intrusion
When AV tech whiz James stumbles across grainy archival television footage, it sends him on a search for answers, and he soon uncovers unexpected connections to the inexplicable disappearance of his wife years earlier.
By the Time I Reach Him [short film]
A filmmaker grapples with her father’s early stages of Alzheimer’s.
Close Ties to Home Country [short film]
An immigrant dog walker finds connection in the hearts of the wealthy pets she cares for.
For the Left Hand
Get Well Soon [short film]
A woman is concerned about her family members’ illness.
Love, Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter
Monochromatic Dreams [short film]
Media installation artist Yvette Mayorga produces mesmerizing work.
Punch 9 for Harold Washington
Shorts 1: Expanding Sensibilities (City and State)
This eclectic showcase highlights the vibrancy of the Chicago and Illinois filmmaking communities across an array of forms and genres.
Sink [short film]
An experimental horror film told entirely from above the bathroom sink.
Speck of Dust [short film]
Older generations are forced to question their worth while facing unmet emotional needs.
Winning in America [short film]
A young student questions the meaning of success while vying for a spot at the prestigious National Spelling Bee.
The Year I Went Looking for Birds [short film]
This film explores a precious archive of collected materials.