CineYouth Program
Intertwined: Drama
Screenings & Events
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 24 @ 12:00pm CT through April 30 @ 11:59pm CT for a 72-hour watch window.
Synopsis
These powerful dramas from around the world highlight the connections, whether fleeting or lifelong, that impact our lives forever.
Note: Films in this program contain themes or language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Films
Darkside
After a devastating tragedy, an astronaut struggles to complete his interstellar mission to rescue a lost crew.
Regret
A girl traverses to the afterlife to be reunited with her best friend in this ethereal meditation on remorse and grief.
This is Paul
In a typical call-center overtime shift marked by boredom and routine, “Paul” receives an unexpected call.
Aminata
An underpaid toll booth worker, Abdoul is facing mounting societal pressures to provide for his family, driving him to desperate measures.
Lighthead
In an effort to hide a hickey he received from his boyfriend, a closeted teen plays a cat-and-mouse game with his hyper-masculine friend as the two chase through their abandoned high school.
CineYouth Program
(Up)Rooted
Screenings & Events
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 24 @ 12:00pm CT through April 30 @ 11:59pm CT for a 72-hour watch window.
Synopsis
These emotionally resonant stories explore the complexities of the concept of home, feeling out of place, and the true meaning of belonging.
Films
Dreams of Home
A vibrant experimental expression of a boy searching for a home that seems to exist only in his mind.
Oasis: The Projection of Your Own Identity
Jessica Recinos, a choreographer based in San Francisco, explores her Salvadoran-American identity and culture through dance.
2166
An animated snapshot of life in the Cabramatta and Canley Vale suburbs of Australia, capturing close communal ties, gossiping aunties, and meaningful memories.
Sacrificios
Salvadoran immigrant Carla struggles to navigate her rocky relationship with a Texas gubernatorial candidate.
in the whiteness
Through poetry and movement, a Harari woman navigates displacement from home and reconnects with her ancestral roots.
A Trip to the Moon
Faced with financial challenges, a single mother takes her young son to the moon using the magic and awe of storytelling.
FACETIME
Through video calls between a transnational family, this creative experimental documentary explores the complexity of emotions experienced in the digitization of long-distant connections.
CineYouth Program
It’s Personal
Screenings & Events
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 24 @ 12:00pm CT through April 30 @ 11:59pm CT for a 72-hour watch window.
Synopsis
Tender and nuanced, these intimate films reflect on questions of self-discovery, mental health, growth, and healing–along the journey to connecting with one’s true self.
Films
Bodies in motion
Over the course of one evening, a close group of friends explores personal boundaries, the meaning of love, and their own identities as they wander around town in search of their place in the world.
Let Her Eat Cake
In an effort to please her overbearing mother, a 13-year-old gymnast feels pressured to lose five pounds in one night.
ROOM
A teenager’s bedroom becomes both sanctuary and prison as he struggles with depression, social anxiety, and the isolation that comes along with them.
Up on the Roof
As two men share an intimate moment at a deserted rooftop pool, one must learn to overcome his fear of opening up – but something is amiss.
Lullaby
Courageous and hopeful, this documentary essay explores coming of age and the power of the unconscious.
As You Are
An interabled couple’s first night together leads them to confront complex relationships with desire, bodily autonomy, and what it means to truly love another person.
CineYouth Program
Making A Change
Screenings & Events
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 24 @ 12:00pm CT through April 30 @ 11:59pm CT for a 72-hour watch window.
Synopsis
Utilizing a variety of styles and genres to deftly explore their sociocultural environments, these young storytellers inspire activism and advocacy with their impactful work.
Note: Films in this program contain themes or language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Films
No Such Right: The End of Roe in Appalachia
In the aftermath of the Dobbs v Jackson decision, doctors, lawyers, activists, and young people from across Appalachia are emboldened to fight for the future of reproductive rights.
Slay The Beast from A State Of Peace
A boy finds love amongst the chaos of the city. The city creature breathes. As an older man, he lets go of the chaos and anger, making peace with the beast.
My Sisters In The Stars: The Story of Lee Yong-soo
This largely animated documentary provides a vital historical perspective via the story of Lee Yong-soo, one of 11 living survivors of human trafficking in Japanese-colonized Korea.
Chicken
Faced with losing custody of his child, a 16-year old boy in juvenile prison learns what it takes to be a father by caring for a chicken.
Ambrosia
An activist drag queen in rural Alabama is forced to keep her identity secret as she fights for human rights in a race against the systemic erasure of her own history.
CineYouth Program
Late Night Thrills
Screenings & Events
Virtual Screening
Available to stream globally April 24 @ 12:00pm CT through April 30 @ 11:59pm CT for a 72-hour watch window.
Synopsis
Leave the natural world behind and enter a landscape of the supernatural, fantastical, thrilling, and chilling with these genre-bending spooky tales.
Note: Films in this program contain themes or language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Films
The Young Men’s Guide to Bloodsucking
Gabriel Young, a teenager raised in a Mormon household, attempts to come to terms with his burgeoning Queerness and Vampyrism.
TOWERFALL
This work of horror-tinged docufiction presents footage and audio from the 1968 Yanaguana Tower of Americas tragedy to tell an alternate history of San Antonio.
The Tell-Tale Heart
A stop motion re-telling of the classic Edgar Allen Poe short story, in which a man is driven to insanity by the presence of his older companion’s pale blue eye.
The Princess and The Pond
After her prince is wounded in battle, a young princess is driven to desperate measures to save his life in this gothic fantasy romance.
Reaper
This moody and gripping work of animation follows a lost soul on the run from the Reaper.
There’s Something About Ryan
The strength of a family’s bonds are put to the test when their diabetic son is frightfully transformed.
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Phone: 312.683.0121 | Fax: 312.683.0122
info@chicagofilmfestival.com
