All Films List

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Banner: the 58th Chicago International Film Festival

Festival Film List

Explore all of the films that this year’s festival has to offer, from thrilling dramas to outrageous comedies. Use the filter controls to find just the films you’re looking for, screening exactly the way you want to experience them.

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In-Person
Virtual

Art and Pep

Mercedes Kane  |   United States
LGBTQ, Political, Social Commentary

A heartfelt tribute to activists Art Johnston and Pepe Peña, whose celebrated gay bar Sidetrack has fueled movements and created community on Chicago’s Halsted Street for decades.

In-Person
Virtual

Band

Álfrún Örnólfsdóttir  |   Iceland
English, Icelandic  
Comedy, Music, Women Centered

In this off-beat send-up of blind ambition that celebrates female friendship, Iceland’s Post Performance Blues Band give themselves one year to become avant-garde pop stars—or relinquish their dream forever.

In-Person
Virtual

Before, Now & Then (Nana)

Kamila Andini  |   Indonesia
Indonesian  
Historical, LGBTQ, Women Centered

Set in 1960s Indonesia, this layered, contemplative drama sees a lonely woman forge a life-saving friendship with her husband’s mistress.

In-Person
Virtual

A Human Position

Anders Emblem  |   Norway
Norwegian  
Drama, Social Commentary, Women Centered

Searching for meaning in her life and work, a young journalist investigates the deportation of a local asylum seeker in this understated yet profound character-driven drama.

In-Person
Virtual

Innocence

Guy Davidi  |   Denmark, Israel, Finland, Iceland
Hebrew  
Family Affairs, Political, Social Commentary

With an uneasy beauty and a blistering moral force, filmmaker Guy Davidi chronicles the militarization of Israeli society and its impact on the lives of young people.

In-Person
Virtual

The Killing of a Journalist

Matt Sarnecki  |   Denmark, United States, Czech Republic
English, Slovak  
Crime, Political, Thriller

This exposé of crime and corruption delves into the brutal murder of a reporter, implicating a brazen oligarch connected to the highest echelons of Slovakia’s government.

In-Person
Virtual

The Melt Goes On Forever: The Art and Times of David Hammons

Judd Tully & Harold Crooks  |   United States, Canada
English  
Historical, Political, Social Commentary

A striking portrait of artist David Hammons, who emerged out of L.A.’s Watts Rebellion and whose provocative work was rooted in a deep critique of U.S. society.

In-Person
Virtual

My Sailor, My Love

Klaus Härö  |   Finland, Ireland
Drama, Family Affairs, Romance

A retired sea captain’s strained relationship with his adult daughter is further tested when he embarks on a new romance with a widowed housekeeper.

In-Person
Virtual

No Ordinary Campaign

Christopher Burke  |   United States
English  
Family Affairs, Political

In this inspiring story of love, hope, and activism, former Obama political director Brian Wallach, who was diagnosed with ALS at age 37, fights alongside his wife to find solutions for the debilitating disease.

In-Person
Virtual

Paloma

Marcelo Gomes  |   Brazil, Portugal
Portuguese  
LGBTQ, Religion, Social Commentary

A lyrical and intimate portrait of a transgender woman in rural Brazil confronting prejudices as she pursues her dream of a traditional church wedding.

In-Person
Virtual

Return to Dust

Li Ruijun  |   China
Mandarin  
Drama, Romance, Social Commentary

A surprisingly tender bond develops between two social outcasts in this sweeping meditation on the joys and sorrows of life on the margins in rural China.

In-Person
Virtual

Rounding

Alex Thompson  |   United States
Drama, Mystery, Thriller

In this deftly directed psychological thriller, a promising young doctor loses his grasp on reality after developing an unhealthy obsession with a patient whose symptoms seem suspect.

In-Person
Virtual

Runner

Marian Mathias  |   United States, France, Germany
Coming of Age, Drama, Family Affairs

In this visually stunning story of first love, a young woman sets out to bury her father in his rural Illinois hometown and finds connection with a fellow lonely soul.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four film stills representing Shorts Program 1

Shorts 1: Dimensional (City and State)

Various  |   United States

These shorts reflect the makeup of Chicago in unique visual styles that together form a creative local landscape.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four animated film stills representing Shorts Program 2

Shorts 2: Expansions (Animation)

Various  |   Portugal, Switzerland, United States

This group of animated shorts stirs the imagination and offers heroic stories of rituals.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four scary film stills representing Shorts Program 3

Shorts 3: Things Aren’t What They Seem (After Dark)

Various  |   Mexico, United Kingdom, United States

This spine-tingling collection of shorts feels like a fever dream, taking viewers on a harrowing journey of crisis and mischief. Questioning everything becomes a means of survival.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four film stills representing Shorts Program 4

Shorts 4: Traditions (Documentary)

Various  |   Canada, India, United Kingdom, United States

These powerful non-fiction shorts highlight ambitious missions, modern artistry, and regional heritage.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four tense film stills representing Shorts Program 5

Shorts 5: Moments (Drama)

Various  |   Croatia, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, United States

These five shorts spanning five countries are bursting with precarious circumstances and unexpected happenings.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four comedic film stills representing Shorts Program 6

Shorts 6: Risible (Comedy)

Various  |   Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

These impressive comedic shorts pack a punch and make it hard to hold in your laughter.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four film stills representing Shorts Program 7

Shorts 7: Sudden Waves (Black Perspectives)

Various  |   Ghana, United States

This suite of films revels in themes of memory, grief, and joy.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four experimental film stills representing Shorts Program 8

Shorts 8: Whirlwinds (Experimental)

Various  |   Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Iran, United States

Radical tools are at play in this daring collection of shorts that take viewers on an experience like no other.

In-Person
Virtual
Collection of four animated film stills representing Shorts Program 9

Shorts 9: Outside the Lines (Family Friendly Animation)

Various  |   Belgium, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States

This group of fun, energetic, emotional, and beautifully made animated works will capture the imaginations of audiences of all ages.

In-Person
Virtual

Somewhere Over the Chemtrails (Kdyby radši hořelo)

Adam Koloman Rybanský  |   Czech Republic
Czech  
Comedy, Political

In this incisive social satire, a small Czech town is riled into xenophobic fervor after the locals are persuaded that a car crashing into an Easter celebration is an act of terrorism.

In-Person
Virtual

Sweet As

Jub Clerc  |   Australia
Coming of Age, Drama, Women Centered

An indigenous teen joins a youth therapy trip into the Western Australian wilderness, discovering photography as a new lens through which to view her world and her dreams.

In-Person
Virtual

Vicenta B

Carlos Lechuga  |   Cuba, France, United States, Colombia, Norway
Spanish  
Drama, Religion, Women Centered

When Vicenta loses her gifts of seeing into the future and communicating with spirits, she must search for her faith among a community that has lost its own.

In-Person
Virtual

The Visitors (Návštěvníci)

Veronika Lišková  |   Czech Republic, Norway, Slovakia
Czech, English, Norwegian  
Environmental, Political, Women Centered

A Czech anthropologist discovers her new home on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is threatened both by melting glaciers and a newly hardened stance against open border immigration policies.