
Genre: Comedy
27 [short film]
On the day that Alice turns 27, a drunken accident makes her question the choices she has made in her life thus far.
Africans With Mainframes [short film]
A Brooklyn woman harbors the secret of electronic music’s true origins.
All Happy Families
In this delightful Chicago-set comedy, an aspiring actor grapples with the arrival of his more successful brother at his dysfunctional family’s crumbling two-flat.
American Fiction
Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Starring Jeffrey Wright as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment.
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry
48-year old Etero’s world is turned upside down when she falls for a local deliveryman in this endearing and off-kilter dry comedy.
The Breakthrough [short film]
A surprise interruption during a fruitless therapy session brings a married couple closer than they thought possible.
Closing Dynasty [short film]
A day in the life of a streetwise kid named Queenie as she navigates her own path through New York City.
The Crime is Mine (Mon crime)
A penniless actress and lawyer put on the performances of a lifetime in the courtroom in this farcical caper set in 1930s Paris.
The Delinquents (Los delincuentes)
Morán works a dead-end job at a bank. Fed up, he dreams up a scheme to break free: walk into the vault and steal enough cash for a comfortable retirement.
Departing Seniors
In this Chicago-set update on the teen slasher, a gay Latinx high school student becomes an unlikely vigilante when he develops psychic powers.
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (Nu Aștepta Prea Mult De La Sfârșitul Lumii)
A production assistant attempts to cast actors for a workplace safety video in this wry, absurdist satire of capitalism in the digital age.
Dream Scenario
Family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams.
Generations: Black Perspectives Shorts
Discover stories that resonate, inspire, and spark meaningful conversations in this year’s Community Cinema Shorts Program.
Geranios [short film]
An intimate and endearing work of docu-fiction which follows best friends whose effortless charisma and fierce dedication carries them through tough times.
A Happy Day
Endearingly deadpan, this wholly original tale finds three teenage friends plotting their escape from a frozen, hopeless place — until one falls in love.
The Heart [short film]
A lonely man is perplexed when his mother passes away and leaves him with her heart in a jar.
The Holdovers
Paul Giamatti stars as a curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school who is forced to babysit a handful of students over Christmas break.
The Hypnosis (Hypnosen)
On the eve of a big presentation, Vera tries hypnotherapy to quit smoking in this ironic, uproarious satire of entrepreneurial culture.
Look Back at It [short film]
A Baltimore-based single mother finds her groove with the help of her teenage daughter.
The Love Stories of Liv S. (Les histoires d'amour de Liv S.)
Filmmaker and post-punk singer Liv drifts through a cycle of love and separation in this charismatic, funny look at the pain and joy of partnership.
Making Babies [short film] (Faire un enfant)
The ups and downs of a couple’s journey trying to get pregnant are humorously and compassionately explored.
The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain)
A philosophy professor is forced to choose between sexual and intellectual gratification in this seductive, playful French-Canadian rom-com.
The People’s Joker
A trans coming-of-age story encased in a comic-book parody, The People’s Joker kicks down the doors of IP with witty humor and surprising heart.
The Persian Version
In this snappy comedic drama featuring vibrant dance numbers, an Iranian-American woman must navigate her relationship with her opposing cultural identities and her mother.
Rizoo [short film]
This endlessly charming film follows a rebellious 8-year-old who recently moved back to Tehran from the United States as she navigates familial and societal expectations.
Saltburn
Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
Shorts 2: Animation – Desires
These animated shorts create an idiosyncratic mosaic of the difficulties, joys, enigmas, and triumphs of the human experience.
Shorts 6: Comedy – Awkward Laughs
The works in this program muck around the dark corners of human experience, bringing forth the darkly comedic, can’t-help-but-laugh moments that arise in difficult times.
Shorts 7: Black Perspectives – Resonance
Vibrant cultural legacies come to life, hidden histories are unearthed, everyday life is illuminated, and resonant stories unfold in captivating splendor in this collection of shorts.
Shorts 8: Architecture – Versions of Home
In celebration of this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial, this program tracks how we establish strong connections to a place, and the complications of staying in it.
The Miracle [short film]
Irma, a 40-year-old woman surrounded by families, tries to find comfort in her solitary life in a hotel called The Miracle.
The Vacation [short film]
A barber’s quest for a holiday becomes an exploration of identity and experience.
Variations on a Theme [short film]
A couple starts literally splitting into multiple versions of themselves.