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Documentary

These real-life stories bring you close to memorable people reckoning with the personal and the political, the past and the present.


Shown in black and white, a massive mountain sits in the middle of a sprawling city. Sun streams through the clouds.

Below the Clouds Sotto le nuvole

Gianfranco Rosi  |   Italy

From the Oscar-nominated director of Fire at Sea comes an immersive and impressionistic portrait of communities living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

Italian, Arabic, Japanese, English
Environmental, Political, Social Commentary
A man and a woman stand at a barbed wire fence in the middle of a field, using cellphones to film a looming storm.

A Brief History of Chasing Storms

Curtis Miller  |   U.S.

A road-trip through “tornado alley” yields an evocative cinematic essay mapping the natural disaster as destructive event and iconic American symbol.

English, Spanish
Environmental, Social Commentary
An elderly man sits at a desk littered with legal pads. He looks at the camera, holding a sheet of paper with unseen text.

Cover-Up

Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus  |   U.S.

From the Oscar-winning director of CitizenFour comes a film about Chicago journalist Seymour Hersh and the need to hold those in power to account.

English
Historical, Political, Social Commentary
An elderly person holds a strip of film up to a light, inspecting its contents.

The Eyes of Ghana

Ben Proudfoot  |   U.S.

This inspirational story of reclamation follows a 90-year-old film pioneer on a mission to restore his images of Ghana’s journey to independence.

English, Twi, Ga
Film on Film, Historical, Political
Two people tightly hug an elderly man, with another person placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

Holding Liat

Brandon Kramer  |   U.S.

A poignant chronicle of a family caught in a complex web of conflicting politics and emotions in their effort to rescue loved ones kidnapped on October 7.

English, Hebrew
Family Affairs, Political, Social Commentary
A group of people stand on a hill, looking at a white tent pitched in the valley below.

Nuestra Tierra Landmarks

Lucrecia Martel  |   Argentina, U.S., Mexico, France, Netherlands, Denmark

Acclaimed auteur Lucrecia Martel poetically chronicles the trial of three men who killed the leader of an Indigenous community in Northern Argentina.

Spanish
Crime, Political, Social Commentary
A young baseball team walks out onto the field, excited expressions on their faces. Their jerseys read "Great Lakes Region"

One Golden Summer

Kevin Shaw  |   U.S.

In 2014, Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League became the first all-Black team to win the Little League U.S. Baseball Championship. Along the way, 13 twelve-year-old athletes from the South Side turned into media superstars.

English
Family Affairs, Social Commentary, Sports
Seen in black and white, a man holds a baby while standing in a small playground.

Seeds

Brittany Shyne  |   U.S.

This lyrical portrait of legacy Black farmers in the American South celebrates their tenacity and resolve, presenting a timeless vision of a waning way of life.

English
Environmental, Family Affairs, Political, Social Commentary

Shorts 3: Black Perspectives

Various  |   Kenya, Nigeria, U.S.

Close ties abound in these short films spanning Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, and the U.S. These six shorts explore the complicated relationships between parents and children, aunts and nieces, artists and their craft, and even former lovers.

American Sign Language, English, Portuguese
Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs, Music, Romance, Women-Centered

Shorts 4: City & State

Various  |   Chile, U.S.

Chicago and Illinois-based filmmakers experiment with genre, topic, and form in this eclectic program by students, upcoming artists, and established directors.

English, French, Quechua, Spanish
Art, Comedy, Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs, LGBTQ, Music, Social Commentary, Women-Centered

Shorts 7: Documentary

Various  |   Colombia, Mexico, Netherlands, U.K., U.S.

These films showcase the richness of the documentary form. Through observation, testimony, and poetic reimagining, six different complex corners of the world come into view.

Croatian, English, Spanish
Comedy, Coming of Age, Environmental, Family Affairs, LGBTQ, Music, Political, Religion, Sports
A man in a sparkly costume sits at a piano, surrounded by red light and smoke.

Sun Ra: Do the Impossible

Christine Turner  |   U.S.

Earth’s favorite Saturnist Sun Ra is celebrated through a cosmic musical journey into the Afrofuturist’s life, artistry, inspirations, and impact.

English
Art, Biopic, Music
A young boy stands in the middle of a dry and empty field. He is wearing a cowboy hat and chaps.

The Cowboy

André Hörmann  |   Germany, U.S.

Shot over 10 years, this intimate family story charts the path of an aspiring cowboy’s coming-of-age struggle in the American heartland.

English
Coming of Age, Family Affairs, Social Commentary
Six people pose together in front of a sky backdrop with a rainbow. They all wear light blue button-up shirts, khaki pants, oversized glasses, and curly black wigs, striking playful and exaggerated poses. One person kneels in front while the others stand, giving the scene a humorous, staged feel.

We Are Pat

Rowan Haber  |   U.S.

A whimsical and complex interrogation of “Pat,” the famously awkward, androgynous SNL character created by comedian Julia Sweeney in the early 1990s.

English
Comedy, Film on Film, LGBTQ, Social Commentary

Program Partner

Logo: WTTW (2019)

Program Patron

Cynthia Stone Raskin

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