A young boy wrestles with his sense of self on the day of his cousin’s funeral.

A bracing examination of the U.S.’s longstanding racially and politically biased justice system, this powerful documentary bears witness to the lifelong efforts of Michael Africa, Jr. to secure the freedom of his parents, members of 1970s Black Liberation group MOVE, who were incarcerated for four decades.

After idealistic law student Luisa is convinced by her best friend to move into an Antifa commune in Berlin, she falls under the sway of charismatic radical Alfa and is soon surprised by the changing nature of her own convictions. This urgent drama details the many faces of activism and dissects the nature of justice in the face of extremism.

In this sensitive, assured drama, rising star Taiga Nakano plays young parent Tasuku, who flees to Tokyo in shame after being caught drunk and naked on national TV during a local festival. After years of rock-bottom city living, he returns home, ready to embrace adulthood. But will the town and his family have him back?

As an amnesia-inducing pandemic rages across the globe, solitary Aris finds himself in a rehabilitation program for the afflicted. His treatment: performing tasks mimicking life’s milestones and capturing these new memories on Polaroid. Through images deadpan, strange, and surreal, the film posits a beguiling reflection on memory, identity, and loss.

A striking and emotional blend of fiction and documentary that chronicles a woman and world in flux at the end of the Cold War.

By age 30, John Belusihi conquered Hollywood as one of the founding cast members of Saturday Night Live and the star of The Blues Brothers. But as his fame grew, so did his struggles with substance abuse, leading to an untimely demise that shocked fans around the world. Through previously unheard audiotapes featuring the voices of collaborators, friends, and family, this fitting tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent captures the complicated essence of an American icon.

An existential comedy about the mother of two young children who begins to spontaneously vomit toy blocks.

Buzzkill follows an adolescent girl as she desperately tries to fit in with a group of South Florida teenagers.

In this richly drawn portrait of real-life Czech faith healer Jan Mikolášek, who cured hundreds with natural remedies only to later be prosecuted for charlatanism, master filmmaker Agnieszka Holland shines a light on a singular, extraordinary figure and reveals the complexity of—and human susceptibility to—the political machinations of one’s times.

A British chimney sweeper describes his exploitive everyday routine forcing children to become workers in this beautifully hand-drawn animation.

This epic docuseries from Hoop Dreams director Steve James captures Chicago at a crossroads, still reeling from the shooting of Laquan McDonald and in the midst of the contentious 2019 mayoral election. From protests to penthouses, James chronicles the divisions that separate and the issues that unite our city.

Shot on the streets of Hong Kong during the 2019 Extradition Bill protests, Comrades is a moving portrait of uprising and solidarity.

After adult siblings Louise and Michael return to their family farm to say goodbye to their dying father and comfort their distressed mother, they’re overwhelmed by an unstoppable evil that threatens to consume them all. The Dark and the Wicked taps into deep anxieties about our responsibilities to our loved ones—even as it plunges us ever further into a harrowing waking nightmare.

In dire straits and thinking of ending it all, David turns to his therapist, played by Will Ferrell, for help.

In 1962, when a strike at a local factory catches ardent Communist Party official Lyudmila and her colleagues off guard, Moscow steps in. Left searching for her missing daughter, who joined the strike, Lyudmilla’s eyes are opened to the human toll of state-sanctioned violence. Filmed in arresting black and white, this historic tale bristles with immediacy.

After an accident in the French countryside, a woman feverishly escapes to the woods in order to survive. She becomes The Doe.

Sofia’s anxiety attack becomes an intergalactic dialogue with the universe.

A group of tattered paper dolls daydream alternate realities and explore the hidden lives of their caregivers.

A blend of fiction and documentary creates a moving reflection about migration, home, and belonging.

Michael, a gay mouse in his twenties, sees an old jacket and begins to sorrowfully reminisce.

After 17 years apart, Walter’s wife Esther and daughter Sylvia arrive in New York from Angola; time apart has rendered them virtual strangers, and the three must find a way to reconnect. This beautifully conceived film captures the immigrant experience with complexity and nuance.

In 2017, Chinese student Yingying Zhang went missing just weeks after arriving at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Filmmaker Jiayan “Jenny” Shi investigates the mystery surrounding Yingying’s disappearance and its devastating impact on her family and her community.

The legendary German filmmaker and his volcanologist collaborator take viewers on a globe-trotting journey to discover the deep impact that meteorites—from the tiniest micrometeoroids to massive shooting stars—have had on our planet, both physical and psychic.

A reclusive college student is driven insane after picking a booger he can’t get rid of.

Through inspired re-enactments, archival clips, and interviews with famous fans, this poignant look at the life of improv impresario Del Close tracks the comedy trailblazer from “human torch” sideshow act to his influential rise at The Second City, where he mentored such greats as Bill Murray, John Candy, and Tina Fey.

A young New Jersey native returns to his hometown, where his ongoing battle with depression becomes a poetic exploration of brotherhood and personal struggle.

A hilariously overprotective mother does her best to defend her daughter.

Tau and Tumelo journey across the South African landscape. When Tau comes to a realization about their sexuality, it sets in motion a cascade of thoughts and emotions.

Expressive, detailed animation depicts characters adrift and alone in a dark fantasy world.

An essayistic contemplation of the act of desertion within the world of a videogame.

An obesrvation on the comings and goings of a Greyhound station near Huntsville State Penitentiary—the first stop for inmates released on parole.

An intimate and candid portrait of a savvy, indefatigable teen, this captivating documentary tracks climate activist Greta Thunberg for 13 momentous months from her initial school strike for climate justice outside the Swedish Parliament to her astonishing wind-powered voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to speak at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. A Hulu Original Documentary.

A trove of never-before-heard audio recordings forms the spine of this cinematic essay on the methods and madness of master director Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange, The Shining), teasing out some of the notoriously reclusive filmmaker’s inspirations—from Jungian philosophy to anti-authoritarian politics—while celebrating the mysteries inherent in his work.

All of the animals of the forest gathering together for a great bicycle race as winter slowly approaches.

An insomniac solicits the help of her therapist in a desperate attempt to escape her nightmares.

A solider surveilling a gay Palestinian couple begins to question everything.

In this beautifully crafted gem of a film about the joys and pain of living your truth, seven-year-old Sasha works to realize her lifelong dream of being accepted as a girl by her peers, by her parents and by her extended family.

Look Then Below conjures futuristic beings and smoke-filled landscapes as it documents fantastic new worlds beyond the realms of time and space.

Meet Mama Gloria. Chicago’s Black transgender icon Gloria Allen emerged from the South Side’s drag ball culture in the 1960s to trailblaze a path for transgender youth to follow. With positivity and polish, she overcame prejudice and traumatic violence to become a proud leader in her community.

Excited to share a sweet treat with a friend, Anna must first pass through a spooky forest supposedly haunted by a bearded giant.

A man and his dog show off their hilarious exercise routine.

An inspiring portrait of a woman named Vanetta and her determined battle against a rare neuromuscular disease.

Pondering a hospital’s eerie hallways, a nurse makes her rounds on the night shift.

A wild blend of animation styles and techniques depict a young woman afraid of losing everything in this cosmic ode.

In this taut thriller set in the idyllic Swiss countryside, a single mom is raising her young daughter and running the family fish farm with the help of a farmhand-turned-friend. When his brother unexpectedly appears in search of debts owed, the specter of impending disaster looms large.

Adapted from the award-winning play of the same name, One Night in Miami is a fictional account of the incredible night in 1964 when underdog Cassius Clay, soon to be called Muhammad Ali (Eli Goree), defeats heavyweight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall—Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge).

1976 Rome. After 10-year-old Valerio witnesses the attempted assassination of his father, he and his famility are overwhelmed by fear and anxiety. When Christian, a slightly older and bolder rebellious boy appears seemingly out of nowhere and befriends Valerio, his outlook starts to shift. Loosely based on his own childhood experience, director Claudio Noce deploys magical realist elements to both wondrous and nightmarish effect.

A tender character study of a young Jamaican girl desperate to fit in.

A brutal interaction with the Chicago police finds a young black father searching for freedom beyond the limits of the atmosphere.

A stunning hand-painted animation about a woman fascinated with the wilderness beyond the walls of her post-apocalyptic village.

The story of a gaming company’s hilariously fraught effort to educate children about the European Union.

After building a successful career in the U.S., gifted neurosurgeon Márta impulsively returns home to Hungary in pursuit of the man of her dreams, but when she tracks him down in Budapest, he claims they’ve never met. Is he spinning an elaborate deception or has her obsession trapped her in a world of illusions?

An aspiring artist discusses the challenges of finding affordable housing in a new city and the compromises she has to make with her spooky new roommates.

Founded in the 1970s by Frenchman Claude Vorilhon, the International Raëlian Movement is a quasi-religious cult built on the idea that aliens created the human race. In this funny and fascinating documentary, director Yoav Shamir (Checkpoint) chronicles the order’s colorful way of life, examining the complexities of belief and devotion in ways both unexpected and enlightening.

Radia is a shepherd and farmer whose childhood and circumstances prevented her from access to education. The film is an urgent observation about prescriptive fate, agency, and determination.

A man in the throes of regret must survive the night when the physical manifestation of his inner demons begins to stalk him.

The Reversal arranges and animates thousands of stunning glass-plate photographs to ponder the reversal and transformation of the Chicago River.

From the award-winning team behind the Chicago International Film Festival hit documentary Louder than a Bomb comes this inspiring and emotional film following Jesse Teverbaugh, a charismatic leader at the job-training program Cara, as he mentors four Chicagoans during their precarious journey from homelessness, addiction, and incarceration to stable employment.

An incisive contemplation over the history and legacy of brickwork in Chicago.

These innovative shorts showcase the very best in Chicago and Illinois filmmaking across a wide variety of genres and forms. Featuring works by Andre Muir and Danielle Alston, Jennifer Boles, Hannah Welever, Orlando Leroi, Lisa Barcy, Ian Bertorelli, Alex Heller, and Ben Strang.

Surreal visions, distant memories, and fantastic underworlds teem with life in this program of animated films from around the world. A wide variety of styles gives voice to the depth and wonder of memory, character and landscape. Featuring works by Yngwie Boley, J.J. Epping, Diana van Houten, Frédéric Schuld, Alberto Vázquez, Josephine Lohoar Self, Weija Ma, Alexandra Ramires, and Renee Zhan.

From bodily fluids to walking nightmares, grave peril abounds in this program of audacious late-night fare. Triumphs of mood and tone, these films give voice to persistent feelings of dread and unease. Featuring works by Santiago Menghini, Ariel Zengotita, Jennifer Lumbroso, Parker Finn, Jasper De Bruin, and Ariane Boukerche.

Personal, political, philosophical, and emotional, this collection of films showcases the very best in documentary form—from essayistic meditations to vérité assemblages and deeply-felt human portraits. Featuring works by Kanas Liu, Jamie Meltzer and Chris Filippone, Katarzyna Warzecha, Carmine Grimaldi, Erica Beebe, and Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner and Michael Stumpf.

Deeply-felt characters and stirring performances are featured in this program of films that reckon with humanity, history, and time. An eclectic mix of styles and subjects is united by their expertly-rendered observations about lives past and present. Featuring works by Baran Sarmad, Omer Sterenberg, Kathy Esquenazi Mitrani, Phạm Ngọc Lân, Nawaf Al Janahi, and Thelyia Petraki.

Pitch-black comedies, absurd deadpan oddities, and farcical send-ups are featured in this program of films that revel in the hilarity of life’s stresses and contradictions. Featuring works by Bridget Moloney, Gunhild Enger, Georgi M. Unkovski, Zach Woods, Kerli Kirch Schneider, Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson.

This program showcases the talents of Black filmmakers from across the diaspora, painting a sweeping image of Black life in the United States and abroad. A collection of varied genres and styles, these films are reflective, observant, and sometimes hilarious. Featuring works by Terrance Day, Nico Opper and Shannon St. Aubin, Kantarama Gahigiri, Amina Sutton, Maya Tanaka, Tebogo Malebogo, and Pat Heywood and Jamil McGinnis.

This collection of aesthetically bold works envisions new worlds both personal and cosmic. Masterfully crafted and elegantly composed, these experiments in science fiction embark on an odyssey toward the outer reaches of human experience and cinema. Featuring works by Jacqueline Lentzou, Dorian Jespers, and Ben Rivers.

Outrageous animals, sentimental memories, and mysterious creatures are featured in this program of animated films. From stop-motion wonders to handdrawn oddities, this collection is hilarious, sentimental, and sweet. Featuring works by Taylor Meacham, Benoit Chieux, Gil Alkabetz, Helena Hilario and Mario Pece, Atsushi Wada, Cristina Vilches Estella and Paloma Canonica, Marjolaine Perreten, and Aline Höchli.

Otherworldly. Transcendent. Heartwarming. Insightful. Powerful. These six Hugo Award-winning short films have been selected by our juries as the best of the 56th Chicago International Film Festival.

After a woman’s recurring nightmares send her on a search for answers, both she and her daughter find themselves drawn to a hotel where they become trapped in a web of unsettling visions as dreams and reality collide. A horror-tinged thriller that channels Grimms’ Fairy Tales by way of David Lynch.

An abandoned old man is adrift in his apartment as he battles death with a beautiful memory.

Souvenir uses beautiful stop-motion animation to tell the story of a father, daughter, and an extraordinary journey through their memories.

In this deftly told and uplifting debut, a profoundly charming young man must navigate the challenges of early adulthood with Down Syndrome as he seeks to build a life of independence from his troubled father. Long separated by an ocean of silence and shame, will the two men be able to assemble a common future?

A young girl with a yellow spot on her face begins to understand what it means to be a giraffe.

Writer-director Suzanne Lindon delivers an astonishingly assured turn as a restless Parisian teen bored by her peers and confronting her burgeoning sexuality. She embarks on a love affair with an actor 20 years her senior—only to wonder if the more innocent pleasures of youth are passing her by.

A sumptuously-drawn fable about the consequences of China’s one-child policy.

After an unsuccessful attempt to renew his car registration, Dejan falls into a bureaucratic trap that tests his determination.

Fed up with his final year at film school, skilled sound recordist Kun takes up with a student production and embarks on a journey of self-discovery across China’s lush, varied landscape. Featuring winning performances and directed with a wry emotional clarity, Striding into the Wind is a keenly-observed meditation on movies, modern China, and the meandering restlessness of youth.

A vaudevillian showman embarks on an absurd quest to disprove the theory of heredity.

After capsizing in a storm, teenage Alexis is rescued by the charismatic David, then seduced by his irresistible charm. But what begins as a carefree romance for Alex becomes something more sinister as demons from David’s past emerge. Inimitable French filmmaker François Ozon’s mesmerizing tale slowly builds and then races toward an inexorable conclusion.

Sun Dog follows the wanderings of a young locksmith living in a frozen city in the Russian Arctic. His surreal dreams corrode his relationship to reality and create a phantasmagoric universe.

Loneliness and insecurity in the digital age are on full display in this candy-colored chronicle of three days in the life of social media celebrity Sylwia Zajac, a fitness instructor who documents her every move for her 600,000 followers. Will the sudden appearance of a stalker prompt Sylwia to reconsider her life lived fully online?

A futuristic dating app becomes a lifeline for an agoraphobic woman.

A couple’s kiss becomes an unforgettable, hypnotic study of human relationships.

In the small town of El Roblito, 16-year-old Ñoño has a secret that runs counter to the local culture defined by machismo; he loves to dress in women’s clothes. This gorgeously photographed snapshot of rural Mexico tells the exquisite story of an individual who bravely defies the gender norms of their society.

Two characters search for missing pieces of themselves in a gloomy, surreal landscape.

This riveting exposé investigates the unlikely connection between Jews and evangelical Christians in the U.S. and Israel, uncovering a shocking alliance rooted in apocalyptic prophecy and driven in unprecedented ways by Donald Trump’s White House.

A heartfelt story about the art of illusion and the magic of inspiring someone to follow their dreams.

After a taxi driver and a retired single father meet, their budding, if hesitant, friendship unleashes a torrent of feelings that they’ve taken great pains to repress. As each casts back over his personal history, the promise of a loving future together takes hold.

Inspired by true events, Umbrella tells the story of Joseph, a boy whose only dream is to have a yellow umbrella.

Hirokazu Kore-eda protégée Miwa Nishikawa (Dear Doctor) returns to the Festival with her compassionate yet pointed chronicle of an ex-con’s rough re-entry into society. Koji Yakusho (13 Assassins, Shall We Dance?) delivers a nuanced lead performance as former Yakuza Mikami, who struggles to secure both employment and a new sense of self after years of incarceration.

When the man she loves leaves her, Berlin city historian Undine (Paula Beer, Transit, Frantz) is confronted by the myth of the water nymph whose name she bears—is she truly fated to take the life of the one who betrayed her or can she reclaim her own destiny?

An old woman visits an ex-lover while a sleepless young boy seeks the advice of a monk — a dreamy document of the rhythms of the Mekong.

The people of the village Virago brace themselves for an unusually perilous 40th birthday celebration.

Sifting through old letters between his parents, Adam uncovers an extraordinary family secret.

A warm-hearted portrait of teenage summer days, When I Write It follows two young Oakland artists as they come to grips with the change all around them.

Profiling a pastor, his wife, and a dwindling congregation, When Two or Three is a picture of faith and the search for God in small-town Arizona.

Slugs are having a hard time keeping up with the pace of the city insects. When the stock market hits rock bottom, the bees see only one solution.