The Knife
Synopsis
Late one night, while Chris (Nnamdi Asomugha), his wife (Aja Naomi King), and their two daughters are sleeping upstairs in their home, Chris hears an intruder. Unsettled and scared, he warily investigates, and finds himself face-to-face with a stranger in his kitchen. Chris reacts impulsively to protect his family, and his response sets in motion a night that will have far-reaching consequences.
This stunning, compact thriller — which also marks star Asomugha’s directorial debut — takes place over the course of a few hours. A frantic family takes quick action. Throngs of police arrive to investigate the scene. And a bullish white detective (The Fighter’s Melissa Leo) sets the family in her sights, willing to do whatever it takes to quickly resolve the case. As tensions escalate between the family and police, The Knife sharply explores the ways in which a Black family experiences a tenuous relationship with security, justice, and the American dream.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Nnamdi Asomugha, Jonathan T. Baker, Ami Werges
- Nnamdi Asomugha, Mark Duplass
- Alejandro Mejia
- Nnamdi Asomugha, Melissa Leo, Aja Naomi King, Manny Jacinto, Amari Price, Aiden Price
- Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, Shuli Harel, Chijioke Asomugha, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Rao Meka
- iAm21 Entertainment, Duplass Brothers Productions
Sponsors
Black Perspectives Program Sponsor
Film Patrons
Lynn and Doug Steffen
In Partnership With
With Support From
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La Cocina
Synopsis
Tensions are already running high as the day begins in a bustling Times Square kitchen — money is missing from the till, and suspicions have fallen on line cook Pedro (Raúl Briones). A zealous dreamer with a knack for making trouble, Pedro is on thin ice. His tumultuous affair with Julia (Rooney Mara), a waitress battling her own demons, is no secret. But today, their interpersonal chaos begins to seep into the relentless pace of the kitchen as its workers grind to feed the hungry maws of the dining room’s tourists. As Pedro spirals out of control, he threatens to take the whole kitchen down with him.
Alonso Ruizpalacios (A Cop Movie, 2021) returns to the Festival with a stylistically dazzling, darkly poignant tribute to the often invisible immigrants whose unrelenting work in kitchens feeds this country’s voracious appetite. La Cocina is a daring, tragic ode to the folly of the American Dream.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Ramiro Ruiz, Gerardo Gatica, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Lauren Mann, Ivan Orlic
- Yibrán Asuad
- Juan Pablo Ramírez
- Raúl Briones, Rooney Mara, Anna Díaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, Eduardo Olmos
- Marco Polo Constandse, Alexis García, Cristina Garza, José Nacif, William Olsson, Patrick Pfujena, Elizabeth Woodward
- Filmadora MX, Panorama, Astrakan Film AB, Seine Pictures, Fifth Season
- https://lacocinamovie.com
Sponsors
In Partnership With
With Support From
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The Last Republican
Synopsis
In our deeply partisan times, there’s nothing like Hot Tub Time Machine to bring people together. Equal parts humorous and harrowing, The Last Republican tracks conservative Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s unwavering fight to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6 insurrection, as chronicled by fellow Illinoisian and self-avowed liberal filmmaker Steve Pink — famous for the Hot Tub movies. It’s an unlikely pairing, but that’s part of the point: The Last Republican is a rare political documentary about finding common ground.
Pink follows the Congressman through one of the most difficult years of his life: 2021, when Kinzinger voted to impeach the President and was selected — somewhat unwillingly, it turns out — to serve on the January 6 Committee. Ostracized by his party, mocked by the media, and facing death threats, Kinzinger wrestles with the consequences of his actions. But he ultimately remains committed to his conscience, offering a hopeful glimpse of the future of America.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Jason Kohn, Chapin Wilson, Robb Bindler, Sarafina DiFelice, Steve Pink
- Ted Feldman
- Joshua Salzman
- Adam Kinzinger, Sofia Kinzinger, Austin Weatherford, Maura Gillespie
- Kevin Morris
- MCDC
Sponsors
Documentary Program Partner
Documentary Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
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You can’t get what you want but you can get me [short film]
Samira Elagoz, Z WalshNetherlands, Finland, Germany, United States
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The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells
Synopsis
Chicago icons past and present come together in this inspiring documentary about artistic practice and political activism. As celebrated sculptor Richard Hunt crafts his monument to civil rights icon Ida B. Wells, “The Light of Truth,” the film weaves together Hunt’s story with the captivating history of his subject, Ida B. Wells. In connecting artist and activist through Hunt’s towering 35-foot-high Bronzeville-based sculpture, the film reveals their analogous missions to battle racism and forge new paths for Black Americans.
A moving testament to Hunt, an influential artist, and Wells, notable for her anti-lynching organizing and role in the suffragist movement, The Light of Truth is a monument to public art, the spirit of protest, and two essential Black Chicago pioneers dedicated to freedom and perseverance.
Media
Film Credits
- Laurie Little, Rana Segal, Vincent Singleton
- Rana Segal
- Tom Desch, Rana Segal
- Kimmer Olsak, Vincent Singleton
- Michelle Duster, Richard Hunt, Catrina Evans
- Tyler Traband
- Rana Segal, Laurie Little, Michael Smith, Mary Ann Johnson, Chaz Ebert
- Luminist Films, RavensVoyage Productions
- http://amonumentforidabfilm.com
Sponsors
Black Perspectives Program Sponsor
Documentary Program Partner
Documentary Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
Film Patrons
Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson
In Partnership With
With Support From
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Color Book
Synopsis
On a whim, single father Lucky decides to take his 11-year-old son Mason to experience an American rite of passage: his first baseball game. It seems simple enough. But Lucky, bereft after a recent personal tragedy and navigating his son’s Down syndrome on his own, encounters a series of obstacles that will test his patience and his confidence as the two set out across Atlanta.
Photographed in vivid black-and-white with echoes of neorealist landmarks like Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep and Vittorio de Sica’s The Bicycle Thief, David Fortune’s subtle and elegantly conceived feature debut is brimming with authenticity and heart. With A Thousand and One co-star Will Catlett delivering another magnetic and sympathetic portrayal of a strong, nurturing Black man, Color Book is an intimate and resonant portrait of the unique, tender relationship between father and son.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Kiah Clingman, Kristen Uno, Autumn Bailey-Ford
- David Fortune
- Oriana Soddu
- Nikolaus Summerer
- Will Catlett, Brandee Evans
- Dabney Morris
- Two Lewis, Naturi Naughton, Korstiaan Vandiver, Tyler Edgarten
- Color Book, LLC
Sponsors
Black Perspectives Program Sponsor
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