Festival Film List

Living together in a group home in Belgium, five teenage girls wrestle with the newfound responsibilities of parenthood in this warmly humanist social drama.

A filmmaker, enlisting the help of his winsome family, blends fiction and reality to create an intimate, tender monument to his late mother.

As poachers encroach on the wilderness she supervises, Irish park ranger Jen must reconcile past trauma with new threats in this white-knuckle thriller.

Julia and Tobias’ seemingly perfect marriage is threatened when their daughter Marielle develops telepathic powers in this hilarious and offbeat dark comedy.

A quixotic poet drives his girlfriend to her parents’ home on the outskirts of Seoul. As a lazy afternoon becomes a drunken evening, his ideals are tested.

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

World-renowned detective Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.

With a terrified Palestinian girl on the line awaiting help, emergency volunteers scramble to send an ambulance across Gaza to save her in this harrowing true story.

Vengeful ghosts, possessed vacuum cleaners, and a supernatural sense of justice converge in this charmingly absurd fable of memory, loss, and grief.

An actress playing a gender-nonconforming historical figure fights to empower their legacy in this enchanting film on filmmaking.

1937. Investigating a case of wrongful imprisonment, a prosecutor embarks on a paranoia-infused journey to Moscow during Stalin’s Great Terror.

Focusing on the 1969 student protests at Montreal’s Concordia University, this powerful film confronts the buried legacy of racism in Canada.

Based on Denis Johnson’s novella, Train Dreams is a moving portrait of a railroad worker, who leads a life of depth and beauty in early 20th century America.

This elegant and emotional drama finds Marta reeling after a breakup until a world-shifting diagnosis brings clarity and purpose to her life.

A young couple fleeing violence in their coastal town finds refuge in the mountains with a pastoral community, offering them a chance at redemption.

Diagnosed with terminal insomnia, Cillian clings to his past, obsessively building a time machine in his final days only for it to fail.

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

From award winning writer-director Mona Fastvold (The World to Come, The Brutalist) comes a speculative retelling of the extraordinary story of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), founder of the radical religious sect known as the Shakers.

From the Oscar-nominated director of Honeyland comes a heartwarming story of family, storks, and sustainability in North Macedonia.

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

In 1930s French-colonized Martinique, an eleven-year-old boy becomes the hope for his community, and his grandmother will do anything to see his ambitions realized.

Algiers, 1938. A young man shows utter indifference to the events of his life, even as he lands in jail on murder charges in this searing adaptation of Camus’ classic.

On a family bicycle trip along the Danube, young Dídac’s encounters with a mysterious boy awaken new feelings in this lyrical coming-of-age story.

Inspired by his favorite TV detective Kojak, an eleven-year-old boy in 1980s Dublin is drawn into the city’s underbelly as he investigates his older brother’s disappearance.

This eerie, uncommonly powerful collage explores inherited trauma and patriarchal abuses across four generations of farmworking women.

When the Red Army who killed his family comes back hellbent on finishing the job, “the man who refuses to die” is caught in a relentless fight full of clever, unbelievable action.

After a young woman goes missing at a rave, her father and brother brave the arid Moroccan landscape searching for her in a world on the brink of collapse.

A majestic ginkgo tree connects three characters across a century in this thoughtful, winsome meditation on the mysterious power of nature.

A sculptor preparing to open a new show must balance her creative life with the daily dramas of family and friends in this vibrant portrait of art and craft.

The creators of these shorts unabashedly follow their own singular visions into wildly new and weird territories.

Clever animated shorts from across four continents appear in this delightful family program full of polar bears, empty cans of tuna, and beloved grandparents. Presented as a relaxed screening and recommended for cinema-enthusiasts ages 8 years and older.

In these five shorts, exceptional international filmmakers explore subjects ranging from sex and war to grief and hippos. Whether employing dark humor or grounded realism, these stories speak to the complexities of the human experience.

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.

Unique perspectives and fresh stories drive this program of shorts by filmmakers new to the Festival who are reinventing cinema in ways both subtle and overt.

Laugh away the woes of the world with this eclectic collection of comedies. From the absurd anxieties of wannabe filmmakers to the ridiculous delusions of the recently dumped, these stories are insightful, unexpected, and delightfully irreverent.

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

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.

Some worlds can only truly be conjured outside of physical reality. These eight thrilling shorts unfold in an inventive array of visual and narrative styles that come together to form a vibrant snapshot of contemporary animation.

Unfulfilled dreams, dark obsessions, and illicit desires take center stage in this program that transports viewers into the bold and blood-curdling world of genre film. From ventriloquist dummies to unrequited love, these shorts expose our darkest fears… and create new ones.

Eight-year-old Katya is spending summer with her grandparents in the Russian countryside. Just beyond the rolling hills and serene landscapes, a war is raging.

Two sisters reunited with their estranged filmmaker father must confront their family’s complex past when he returns to direct a very personal film.

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.

Brazil, 1977. Marcelo (Wagner Moura), a university researcher, is on the lam from the country’s military dictatorship in this timely, entertaining political thriller.

In a future society that has lost the desire to dream, a curious creature catalogues the fantasies of rebel “Fantasmers,” creating a wild cinematic tapestry.

In 1987 Tokyo, a quirky and sensitive eleven-year-old grapples with the fallout from her father’s illness in this impressionistic portrait of coming-of-age.

When a reclusive farmer finds the lifeless body of a girl on his land, his search for truth unearths the darkness lurking among the reeds.

Tormented by the ghosts of her past, a dying former IRA operative confronts her demons in a final shot at redemption.

Through a series of intimate video calls, an Iranian filmmaker grows closer to a young Palestinian photographer as the conditions in Gaza crumble around her.

Early 1700s. Venice. At the Ospedale della Pietà orphanage young violinist Cecilia is awakened to the power of her musical gift with the arrival of a zealous new composer, Antonio Vivaldi.

Unlucky nine-year-old Lamia is forced to get creative when she’s tasked with baking a cake in celebration of Saddam Hussein’s birthday.

Attempting to revive his career, struggling poet Oscar mentors a young writer from a lower-class neighborhood in this farcical portrait of ambition.

In this water polo camp-set thriller, newcomer Ben is told one of the boys has the “plague.” Will he join in the bullying or risk being cast out himself?

Told through dynamic visuals and quirky character designs, this animated tale follows the founding of an unlikely friendship.

A Nigerian shoe salesman in Australia juggles fatherhood, fading traditions, and a changing world when his adolescent son comes to live with him full time.

When a princess decides to escape from a possessive ruler, she wonders if her desire for freedom will triumph over the king’s despotic visions.

This powerful and suspenseful epic charts a group of characters caught up in the tumultuous historic moment when Palestinians united against Britain’s colonial rule.

Budapest, 1957. The young Andor’s life is turned upside down when a menacing, brutish man appears in town claiming to be his father.

This edgy Chicago-set drama follows a Kyrgyz family thrown into turmoil when the prodigal son gets in over his head with gambling debt.

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.

Two old friends reunite for a quietly revelatory camping trip in Kelly Reichardt’s breakout, microbudget portrait of companionship and vanishing ideals.

On a spiritual mission, a young nun haunted by prophetic dreams gets lost in a strange landscape, where extraordinary encounters change the course of her destiny.

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

This playful love letter to cinema reimagines the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless in an exuberant exploration of the forces that shaped the French New Wave.

In Park Chan-wook’s latest satirical thriller, an unemployed paper expert hatches a desperate plan to eliminate the competition for a coveted job.

If Invasion of the Body Snatchers traded pods for human pyramids and took place in a Japanese high school, it would be New Group.

In a remote mining town, a girl raised by a queer family searches for the truth about a mythical illness said to be spread by a loving gaze.

Nigeria 1993. A father takes his sons on a whirlwind day trip to Lagos as the chaos of a changing world threatens to envelop them.

In this captivating political mystery and personal journey, a filmmaker sets out to find the truth behind her father’s disappearance more than three decades ago.

A reclusive necromancer promises a black magic cure for a young woman’s cancer in the latest folk horror film from the visionary Adams Family.

After surviving a violent car crash in the countryside, dazed Laura is taken in by a mysterious local woman whose devoted care belies a dark past.

In suburban Massachusetts circa 1970, an unemployed carpenter turned art thief plans his first big heist. When things go haywire, his life unravels.

Mary’s pursuit of the truth about her Māori heritage sends her down a blood-soaked path of righteous retribution in this striking gothic horror.

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan embarks on a brutal campaign of colonial conquest in Southeast Asia, but madness soon takes hold.

Moving into a group facility for adults with disabilities, Luisa is curious about her new life ahead—until it is discovered that she is pregnant.

A dreamy, tragicomic chronicle of one year in the life of an Icelandic family of five as the parents navigate their separation.

Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington’s life and work are vividly brought to life in this textured and insightful reflection on a truly original spirit.

When a single mother and her daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, they encounter challenges and generations of secrets that threaten to upend their unity.

An Italian president nearing the end of his term ponders his final acts in this thoughtful and elegant meditation on forgiveness and grace.

Plagued with guilt over her role in the suicide of a recently evicted man, court bailiff Orsolya wanders the city of Cluj in search of absolution.

The chance meeting between an impish young girl and a superstitious millennial sends them on a riotous journey to author more meaningful lives.

Famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) embarks on a journey of self-discovery, accompanied by his devoted manager (Adam Sandler).

When Vahid thinks he recognizes his former torturer, he sets out to prove the man’s identity even as he’s plagued by doubt in this gripping revenge thriller.

This sensitive, deeply felt tale of friendship follows twelve-year-old best mates Ish and Maram, whose bond is tested after a police stop-and-search.

With her life crashing down, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, a missing person, and a hostile relationship with her therapist.

A dark and impactful short about the Korean war illustrated through the prosecution of a Joseon woman.

In this striking horror film, a teen boy’s embrace promises an end to pain—until the dark side of his power comes into disturbingly detailed focus.

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.

When a powerful music mogul (Denzel Washington) is targeted by a ransom plot, he is forced to fight for his family and legacy while jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.

Hugo, a well-loved family man, has spent nine years in prison for murder he insists he did not commit. As he waits for his case to be reopened and his conviction overturned, his family recounts fond memories with him.

Starring Henry Kissinger and Leonid Brezhnev (among others), this witty film about a 1973 global security conference asks what diplomacy is good for.

In this provocative reimagining of Ibsen’s classic play, Hedda finds herself torn between the lingering ache of past love and the quiet suffocation of her present.

From Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Hamlet.

1899. The arrival of an idealistic teacher in a remote Alpine village unsettles the superstitious locals in this evocative, atmospheric slow burn.

A Turkish dissident seeking asylum in the U.S. will do whatever it takes to reunite with his family in this tense, expressive drama.

In this mosaic cinematic portrait, young Franz Kafka pursues his passion for literature while grappling with family and work obligations in pre-World War I Prague.

Brilliant but egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein brings a creature to life in an experiment that leads to the undoing of both creator and his tragic creation.

Oregon Territory circa 1820. A taciturn loner and a Chinese immigrant seek their fortunes via a landowner’s prized cow in this brilliant interrogation of Americana.

A feature film in the form of a triptych. The three stories all concern the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parent (or parents), and each other.

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.

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan is faced with the impossible choice between her husband and her first love.

At 18, the warm and curious Emi is starting to spread his wings as he sets out in search of his biological parents and puzzle together the pieces of his own story.

A man traverses Georgia’s vast countryside in search of his missing daughter in this bold, meditative landscape film shot entirely on an outdated cellphone.

A vampire hunt, an AI-generated Vlad the Impaler, a vulgar folktale, and much more collide in this unforgettable retelling of the Dracula myth.

Gus Van Sant recreates the wild true story of outlaw “Tony” Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård), who in 1977 took a mortgage mogul’s son hostage to seek retribution for feeling cheated.

A woman’s near-death experience unravels her psyche and the perfect life she has built, sending her on a surreal journey through trauma and memory.

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.

In a matriarchal cotton-rich Sudanese village, teenage Nafisa is at the nexus of a power play that will determine the community’s future.

A young Quechua woman is torn between the sacred midwifing tradition she practices and the temptation of becoming a singer in the big city.

When 17-year-old Christy moves in with his older brother as a last resort, he finds unexpected paths forward within a complex and tight-knit community.

A grieving mother uses vibrant Spanish dancing to cope with the loss of her youngest daughter, but the intensity of her grief threatens her relationship with her eldest child.

This heartfelt, intimate film follows the emotionally complex journey of a Vietnamese man who ventures to meet his American father for the first time.

In this action comedy, a Korean and a Korean-American fight over their pride, honor, and who gets to pick up the tab.

For the first time, Chainsaw Man slashes his way onto the big screen in an epic, action-fueled adventure that continues the hugely popular anime series.

A wry portrait of a new wave of Irish folk musicians unafraid to confront their country’s colonial and conservative past.

In this warmly spirited drama, eighty-year-old María plots to remain in her beloved Tangier home even as her daughter threatens to displace her.

Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

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

Jean-Luc Godard’s breakthrough follows small-time crook Michel, who steals a car, murders a policeman, and then reconnects with old flame Patricia in Paris.

In Tokyo’s dynamic cityscape, two siblings reckon with the absence of their mother and the return of their estranged father, a renowned architect.

In this animated docu-fiction hybrid, queer coyote Bouchra sets out to make a film, hoping to make sense of her mother’s struggle to accept her sexuality.

Gross-out gore takes center stage when a mistreated young woman summons a jinn to curse her stepfamily in this award-winning revenge film.

Surreal visuals and wry humor animate a layered tale of a prop master who worries over a weapon on set and a conspiracy-minded car-crash victim.

The award-winning shorts of CineYouth 2025 showcase the talent and vision of eight young filmmakers from around the world.

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

When a woman is wrongly charged with infanticide, a court case brought to vindicate her ignites both outrage and solidarity in this riveting true story.

As a global crisis escalates, a young man in Seoul counts down the hours to his impending military service, reflecting on his choice to enlist.

Visiting Kosovo with her father, a filmmaker reenacts memories from his childhood to help him reconcile youthful traumas in this lyrical documentary.

Suffocated by the confines of suburban culture, April finds catharsis in wild, uninhibited physical movement.

When a curious time traveler falls from the sky, 10-year-old Iris resolves to help her new friend return to the future in this thrilling animated adventure.

In this raucous exploitation thriller, a Chicago bike-courier/sex worker delivers whatever his clients desire—until they start turning up dead.

A sheltered Chicago 17-year-old looks to her older half-siblings for guidance on impending adulthood—only to discover they’re more mixed up than she is.

A schoolyard tussle between two friends escalates when the kids’ self-righteous and macho fathers get involved.