Festival Archives: Chicago Intl Film Festival

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The Blue Caftan

  Maryam Touzani

  France, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark     122 minutes

Synopsis

Sensual, arresting, and graceful, The Blue Caftan tells the story of Halim, a master tailor, who spends his days in the back of his shop making beautiful, hand-embroidered caftans. Dedicated to keeping a dying tradition alive, he labors over every stitch to meet his own high standards of perfection, while his wife Mina deals with the customers and the store’s day-to-day business. Their quiet life of routine is thrown off-kilter when Halim reluctantly takes on the earnest if inexperienced Youssef as an apprentice to keep up with orders. The two work together intimately and begin to form a tentative bond that extends beyond that of student and mentor, ever fearful that their mutual attraction will be found out. Director Maryam Touzani captures each tender touch and subtle glance in this visually breathtaking, intensely sympathetic reflection on adoration, love, and longing.

Winner

58th Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo: Best Director. Learn more…

 Arabic with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Nabil Ayouch
  •   Maryam Touzani, Nabil Ayouch
  •   Nicolas Rumpl
  •   Virginie Surdej
  •   Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui
  •   Nassim El Mounabbih
  •   Les films du nouveau monde, Ali n’ Productions, Velvet Films, Snowglobe

Sponsors

International Competition Patron

Jacolyn and John Bucksbaum Family Foundation

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Broker

  Hirokazu Kore-eda

  South Korea     129 minutes

Synopsis

Under the dark cover of a stormy night, young mother So-young hesitantly places an infant in a “baby box,” a safe and anonymous place to leave children whose parents are unable or unwilling to care for them. But adoption is big business, and so is baby trafficking.

Saddled with substantial debt, laundry shop owner Sang-hyun enlists the help of Dong-soo, who works in the baby box facility, to abduct the newborn. When a regretful So-young returns the next day to reclaim her child, she realizes what they are up to. Instead of going to the police, she joins the men, and the three set out, with baby in tow, to find the perfect (and well-paying) parents. Meanwhile, the police are onto their racket, as two female detectives tail close behind. Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, The Shoplifters) returns to the Festival with this ever-perceptive, unassuming inquiry into the nature of a “found family”—an unusual odyssey that brims with heartbreak, empathy, and ultimately hope.

 Korean with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Eugene Lee
  •   Hirokazu Kore-eda
  •   Hirokazu Kore-eda
  •   Mok Won Lee
  •   Kyung Pyo Hong
  •   Kang Ho Song, Dong Won Gang, Doona Bae, Ji Eun Lee, Joo Young Lee
  •   Tae Young Choi
  •   Jae II Jung
  •   Miky Lee, Ho Sung Kang
  •   ZIP CINEMA, CJ ENM