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A Date For Mad Mary
Synopsis
Released after a short stint in prison, Mary finds everything and everyone around her changed. Her best friend Charlene is engaged, but, convinced she’ll never find a date, refuses Mary a “plus one” at the wedding. Incensed, Mary sets out to prove Charlene wrong… but is she? A tough and tender comedy about friendship, first love, and finding your true self.
Screenings & Events
Wed, Aug 6 @ 6:30pm CDT
at Chicago History Museum
Tickets will be available starting July 28 @ 10:00am.
Open CaptionsMedia
Sponsors
Film Partner
CineYouth Program
Key Frames: Animation
Synopsis
A wide range of animation forms and topics swirl together in this jam-packed program of 12 inventive works. Whether expressed by hand-drawn images, clay figures in stop-motion, or digital tools, these films are filled with creativity, emotion, and authenticity.
Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Films
Perfect Casting
Told through dynamic visuals and quirky character designs, this animated tale follows the founding of an unlikely friendship. A skilled costume designer struggles to collaborate with an asocial creature actor who is scarily good at playing his monster character.
Eggs Benedict
This offbeat claymation cleverly recounts a man’s relationship through a stage performance, an apt setting for the sometimes overwhelming feelings of new romance.
Paper Love
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. Paper Love is brought to life through animated paper cut-outs and an entrancing score that together showcase the filmmaker’s inventive imagination at just nine years old.
Stay
On his birthday, a young man reflects on the lonely, mundane life that he shares with his beloved pet bird. This touching story depicted through artful 2D animation, coalesces into an unexpected revelation about their bond and explores themes of grief and healing.
Atlas
Experience an alternate world where gravity is reversed in this meditative mood piece that will leave you on cloud nine. Utilizing multiple animation styles and serene sound design, Atlas’s observational opening methodically swells toward a euphoric conclusion.
A Spell to Break
As countless summoning requests begin to pile up, an overexerted young witch makes a crucial mistake in this 2D animated tale about the power of community and friendship.
Voices of the Mountains
Past and present collide in this intimate look into a town destroyed by mudslides. Blending animation with live action, Voices of the Mountains dissects our complex relationship with nature.
With Tits
Young women on a high school basketball team fight their principal to change their sexist team name in this raunchy comedy.
A Chance Meeting with My Divine
Duine, an Irish teenager, grapples with their gender identity and reflects on their past while walking alone at night. Their reverie is interrupted by Féiniúlacht, a divine spirit.
Illumination
When a man returns home exhausted from work, his daughter picks up his laser pointer and uses her imagination to help him rediscover his passions.
The Vickerilla Family Reunion
A mellow and charming reflection on 10 years of family reunions is told through watercolor illustration and evocative sound clips.
The GOAT
When two beloved animators and former friends announce new films on the same day, one of them makes it his mission to finish his film first. As the deadline approaches, the animator spirals out of control.
CineYouth Program
Worlds of Whimsy: Family Friendly
Synopsis
From super-powered junk food battles to big city adventures, get ready to jump into worlds that are larger than life! Ten young filmmakers from around the world use their vast imaginations to create dynamic stories filled with action, adventure, animals, big laughs, and much more.
Films
Just an Ordinary Day
Shot in the style of a silent-era film, this very short short follows a young girl and her little brother as they recreate Chaplin-esque antics across a city landscape.
The Orange
An older woman attempting to enjoy an orange is rudely interrupted by a noisy and persistent bird.
Junk Food Kids 2
When the evil villain Max Sweets uses junk food to turn kids into his minions, a fearless group of young heroes known as the Vegingers must band together to stop him.
Berry the Mouse: In the City
A mouse and a squirrel find themselves caught up in the chaos of the big city in this witty animation.
Pips
Playing cards move whimsically across brightly colored backgrounds in a brief joyful dance.
A Duck, A Window, & A Sandwich
A duck out for a lunchtime stroll is rudely interrupted when his sandwich gets sucked through a mysterious window and into a multiverse beyond space and time.
Uno Out
To ease the tension and stress from transferring to a new high school, Willow befriends the exclusive Uno clique. According to Willow, Uno is life, whether you like it or not.
Threads
A boy and a lion form a deep connection until the lion suddenly disappears.
You’ve Got This, Allie!
While trying to get to her school, Allie finds herself lost in a new city. Along the journey, she’ll discover how her community will guide her way.
> 1
Featuring a gentle song by Steve Burns this tender music video showcases the wonder of siblings and a nostalgia for childhood.
Sponsors
Program Sponsor
CineYouth Program
Scream Screen
Synopsis
Tense up with horror hits from filmmakers all over the world. These unconventional yet chilling shorts will leave you on the edge of your seat.
Please note: Films in this program contain flashing lights and themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages.
Films
The Mechanization of Man
Diagnosed with terminal insomnia, Cillian clings to his past, obsessively building a time machine in his final days only for it to fail. With shifting visual styles and a driving pace, The Mechanization of Man is a compelling thriller.
Runway Kill
The latest fashion trend is not what you think. When a loner gets in with the cool kids by fixing their outfits, she finds her own gruesome way of being stylish.
Pongo Labyrinth [VTuber KawaiiMermaid120’s Final Livestream]
Enter the nightmare-fueled and abstract final live stream of a virtual YouTuber. Nathan William Frost, winner of CineYouth’s 2024 Rising Star Award, delivers an otherworldly, unsettling experience, this time utilizing stop-motion animation, found footage, and horror video game conventions.
The Last Chapel
Embrace the silliness of this zany and pink-tinted comedy, in which a wedding chapel dedicated to the late Poolvis Poodle is shut down by the poodle’s money-grubbing estate advisors. Highlighted by its eccentric production design and over-the-top performances, The Last Chapel marries (!!!) live-action and animation to create a wholly unique vision.
Barracuda
Jack’s pet fish have been disappearing at night, and it dominates his every thought. He suspects his younger brother, who has been acting strangely lately. Filmmaker Izzy Dalton deploys distinct, varied styles to contrast the mundane daytime against the bizarre, eerie night.
Timer
Two hotel workers compete in an off-kilter game to kill time. When the clock stops, so does the game – but that doesn’t mean their increasingly disturbing behavior will. Tensions escalate, and their anger starts to get out of hand.
Seventh Heaven
A young man experiences sensory overload at a party sending him on an ever-changing trip. Fast-paced and packed with unexpected surprises, Seventh Heaven is an experiential, exhilarating ride.
Small Things Like These
Synopsis
Following his Oscar-winning turn as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy delivers another powerhouse performance in this searing Irish drama based on the acclaimed novel by Claire Keegan. It’s Christmastime 1985, and Bill Furlong (Murphy) is a hard-working husband and father who is trying his best — like everyone in his small town — to keep his head down and provide for his family. But there are cruel secrets lurking in the local convent that this sensitive soul can’t bear to ignore.
This captivating and subdued thriller follows Bill as he wrestles with staying silent to protect his family even as he feels compelled to speak out in the face of wrongdoing. The film is bolstered by its exquisite performances, both from Emily Watson in her Berlin Film Festival-winning portrayal of the convent’s icy mother superior and from the exquisitely restrained Murphy, whose every glance and grimace expresses multitudes of emotion. Small Things Like These is an elegant account of courage and compassion.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Alan Moloney, Cillian Murphy, Catherine Magee, Matt Damon, Drew Vinton
- Edna Walsh
- Alain Dessauvage
- Frank van den Eeden
- Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Eileen Walsh, Zara Devlin
- Senjan Jansen
- Ben Affleck, Michael Joe, Kevin Halloran, Niamh Fagan
- Big Things Films, Wilder Content
Sponsors
Film Patrons
Charles Droege and Julie Wroblewski
212 W Van Buren St., Suite 400
