The 60th Chicago International Film Festival announced its International Competitions for this year’s edition, running October 16 – 27, 2024. This year’s competitive titles include three world premieres, 13 feature films making their North American premieres and another 14 holding their U.S. premieres, with titles from countries around the world including Azerbaijan, China, Brazil, Germany, Tunisia, Australia, Japan, Italy, Sweden, France, and more, all vying for the Festival’s Gold Hugo award in the categories of International Feature, International Documentary, and New Directors, in addition to OutLook and Shorts competitions.
Several competition filmmakers are making their return to the Chicago International Film Festival, including Virpi Suutari, Max Kestner, Joshua Oppenheimer, Miguel Gomes, Mohammad Rasoulof, Maura Delpero, and Péter Kerekes, whose 107 Mothers won the Silver Hugo for Best Director at the 2020 edition of the Festival.
The International Feature Competition notably includes Cannes’ Grand Prix winner (All We Imagine As Light), Best Director winner (Miguel Gomes of Grand Tour), the Special Award winner (The Seed of the Sacred Fig), and the Un Certain Regard Best Director winner (Rungano Nyoni of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl).
The full slate of films for the 60th edition of the Chicago International Film Festival, running October 16 – 27, 2024, will be announced September 23, 2024. Tickets for Opening Night’s presentation of The Piano Lesson are on sale now, with tickets to the rest of the Festival’s presentations going on sale September 27, 2024. Cinema/Chicago members’ pre-sale tickets go on sale September 24, 2024; memberships are available now.
International Feature Competition

All We Imagine As Light
Dir. Payal Kapadia
France, India, The Netherlands, Luxembourg

The End
Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer
Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, U.K.

Grand Tour
Dir. Miguel Gomes
Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, China

Harvest
Dir. Athina Rachel Tsangari
U.K., Germany, Greece, France, U.S.

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
Dir. Rungano Nyoni
Zambia, U.K., Ireland

The Quiet Son Jouer avec le feu
Dirs. Delphine Coulin, Muriel Coulin
France
North American Premiere

The Seed of the Sacred Fig
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Iran, France, Germany

The Sparrow in the Chimney
Dir. Ramon Zürcher
Switzerland
U.S. Premiere

Suçuarana
Dirs. Clarissa Campolina, Sérgio Borges
Brazil
World Premiere

Super Happy Forever
Dir. Kohei Igarashi
France, Japan
U.S. Premiere

Transamazonia
Dir. Pia Marais
France, Germany, Switzerland, Taiwan, Brazil

Vermiglio
Dir. Maura Delpero
Italy, France, Belgium

When the Light Breaks Ljósbrot
Dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson
Iceland, Netherlands, Croatia, France
U.S. Premiere
New Directors Competition

Cabo Negro
Dir. Abdellah Taïa
France, Morocco
North American Premiere

Ghost Trail Les Fantômes
Dir. Jonathan Millet
France, Germany, Belgium
U.S. Premiere

Hanami
Dir. Denise Fernandes
Switzerland, Portugal, Cape Verde
North American Premiere

Happy Holidays
Dir. Scandar Copti
Palestine, Germany, France, Italy, Qatar
U.S. Premiere

Listen To the Voices Kouté vwa
Dir. Maxime Jean-Baptiste
Belgium, France, French Guiana
North American Premiere

My Favorite Cake Keyke Mahboobe Man
Dirs. Maryam Moghaddam, Behtash Sanaeeha
Iran, France, Sweden, Germany
U.S. Premiere

Peacock
Dir. Bernhard Wenger
Austria, Germany
North American Premiere

Rita
Dir. Paz Vega
Spain
North American Premiere

Toxic Akiplėša
Dir. Saulė Bliuvaitė
Lithuania
U.S. Premiere

Transplant
Dir. Jason Park
U.S.
World Premiere

The Village Next to Paradise
Dir. Mo Harawe
Austria, France, Germany, Somalia
U.S. Premiere

Who Do I Belong To Mé el Aïn
Dir. Meryam Joobeur
Tunisia, France, Canada
U.S. Premiere
Documentary Competition

Between Goodbyes
Dir. Jota Mun
(U.S.)
North American Premiere

The Brink of Dreams
Rafaat einy ll sama
Dir. Nada Riyadh & Ayman El Amir
Egypt, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
North American Premiere

Life and Other Prboblems
Livet og andre problemer
Dir. Max Kestner
Denmark, U.K., Sweden
North American Premiere

Mistress Dispeller
Dir. Elizabeth Lo
China, U.S.

My Stolen Planet
Dir. Farahnaz Sharifi
Germany, Iran
U.S. Premiere

Once Upon a Time in a Forest
Dir. Virpi Suutari
Finland
U.S. Premiere

The Return of the Projectionist
Le Retour du Projectionniste
Dir. Orkhan Aghazadeh
France, Germany
North American Premiere

Wishing on a Star
Dir. Péter Kerekes
Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia
U.S. Premiere
Outlook Competition

Baby
Dir. Marcelo Caetano
Brazil, France, The Netherlands

Between Goodbyes
Dir. Jota Mun
(U.S.)
North American Premiere

Cabo Negro
Dir. Abdellah Taïa
France, Morocco
North American Premiere

Desire Lines
Dir. Jules Rosskam
U.S.

Four Mothers
Dir. Darren Thornton
Ireland
North American Premiere

My Sunshine
Dir. Hiroshi Okuyama
Japan, France

Thesis on a Domestication Tesis sobre una domesticación
Dir. Javier Van de Couter
Argentina, Mexico
World Premiere

Three Kilometres to the End of the World Trei kilometri până la capătul lumii
Dir. Emanuel Pârvu
Romania
U.S. Premiere

Time Passages
Dir. Kyle Henry
U.S.

Viet and Nam
Dir. Trương Minh Quý
Vietnam