Genre: Social Commentary

A schoolyard tussle between two friends escalates when the kids’ self-righteous and macho fathers get involved.

As a global crisis escalates, a young man in Seoul counts down the hours to his impending military service, reflecting on his choice to enlist.

From the Oscar-nominated director of Fire at Sea comes an immersive and impressionistic portrait of communities living in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius.

The award-winning shorts of CineYouth 2025 showcase the talent and vision of eight young filmmakers from around the world.

Surreal visuals and wry humor animate a layered tale of a prop master who worries over a weapon on set and a conspiracy-minded car-crash victim.

A road-trip through “tornado alley” yields an evocative cinematic essay mapping the natural disaster as destructive event and iconic American symbol.

From the Oscar-winning director of CitizenFour comes a film about Chicago journalist Seymour Hersh and the need to hold those in power to account.

A vampire hunt, an AI-generated Vlad the Impaler, a vulgar folktale, and much more collide in this unforgettable retelling of the Dracula myth.

A Turkish dissident seeking asylum in the U.S. will do whatever it takes to reunite with his family in this tense, expressive drama.

Hugo, a well-loved family man, has spent nine years in prison for murder he insists he did not commit. As he waits for his case to be reopened and his conviction overturned, his family recounts fond memories with him.

A poignant chronicle of a family caught in a complex web of conflicting politics and emotions in their effort to rescue loved ones kidnapped on October 7.

This sensitive, deeply felt tale of friendship follows twelve-year-old best mates Ish and Maram, whose bond is tested after a police stop-and-search.

When Vahid thinks he recognizes his former torturer, he sets out to prove the man’s identity even as he’s plagued by doubt in this gripping revenge thriller.

Plagued with guilt over her role in the suicide of a recently evicted man, court bailiff Orsolya wanders the city of Cluj in search of absolution.

When a single mother and her daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, they encounter challenges and generations of secrets that threaten to upend their unity.

Moving into a group facility for adults with disabilities, Luisa is curious about her new life ahead—until it is discovered that she is pregnant.

Mary’s pursuit of the truth about her Māori heritage sends her down a blood-soaked path of righteous retribution in this striking gothic horror.

If Invasion of the Body Snatchers traded pods for human pyramids and took place in a Japanese high school, it would be New Group.

In Park Chan-wook’s latest satirical thriller, an unemployed paper expert hatches a desperate plan to eliminate the competition for a coveted job.

Acclaimed auteur Lucrecia Martel poetically chronicles the trial of three men who killed the leader of an Indigenous community in Northern Argentina.

Two old friends reunite for a quietly revelatory camping trip in Kelly Reichardt’s breakout, microbudget portrait of companionship and vanishing ideals.

In 2014, Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League became the first all-Black team to win the Little League U.S. Baseball Championship. Along the way, 13 twelve-year-old athletes from the South Side turned into media superstars.

This edgy Chicago-set drama follows a Kyrgyz family thrown into turmoil when the prodigal son gets in over his head with gambling debt.

Budapest, 1957. The young Andor’s life is turned upside down when a menacing, brutish man appears in town claiming to be his father.

This powerful and suspenseful epic charts a group of characters caught up in the tumultuous historic moment when Palestinians united against Britain’s colonial rule.

In this water polo camp-set thriller, newcomer Ben is told one of the boys has the “plague.” Will he join in the bullying or risk being cast out himself?

Attempting to revive his career, struggling poet Oscar mentors a young writer from a lower-class neighborhood in this farcical portrait of ambition.

Through a series of intimate video calls, an Iranian filmmaker grows closer to a young Palestinian photographer as the conditions in Gaza crumble around her.

This lyrical portrait of legacy Black farmers in the American South celebrates their tenacity and resolve, presenting a timeless vision of a waning way of life.

Eight-year-old Katya is spending summer with her grandparents in the Russian countryside. Just beyond the rolling hills and serene landscapes, a war is raging.

Unfulfilled dreams, dark obsessions, and illicit desires take center stage in this program that transports viewers into the bold and blood-curdling world of genre film. From ventriloquist dummies to unrequited love, these shorts expose our darkest fears… and create new ones.

Chicago and Illinois-based filmmakers experiment with genre, topic, and form in this eclectic program by students, upcoming artists, and established directors.

Laugh away the woes of the world with this eclectic collection of comedies. From the absurd anxieties of wannabe filmmakers to the ridiculous delusions of the recently dumped, these stories are insightful, unexpected, and delightfully irreverent.

Unique perspectives and fresh stories drive this program of shorts by filmmakers new to the Festival who are reinventing cinema in ways both subtle and overt.

In these five shorts, exceptional international filmmakers explore subjects ranging from sex and war to grief and hippos. Whether employing dark humor or grounded realism, these stories speak to the complexities of the human experience.

The creators of these shorts unabashedly follow their own singular visions into wildly new and weird territories.

When the Red Army who killed his family comes back hellbent on finishing the job, “the man who refuses to die” is caught in a relentless fight full of clever, unbelievable action.

From the Oscar-nominated director of Honeyland comes a heartwarming story of family, storks, and sustainability in North Macedonia.

Shot over 10 years, this intimate family story charts the path of an aspiring cowboy’s coming-of-age struggle in the American heartland.

A young couple fleeing violence in their coastal town finds refuge in the mountains with a pastoral community, offering them a chance at redemption.

Focusing on the 1969 student protests at Montreal’s Concordia University, this powerful film confronts the buried legacy of racism in Canada.

With a terrified Palestinian girl on the line awaiting help, emergency volunteers scramble to send an ambulance across Gaza to save her in this harrowing true story.

A whimsical and complex interrogation of “Pat,” the famously awkward, androgynous SNL character created by comedian Julia Sweeney in the early 1990s.

Julia and Tobias’ seemingly perfect marriage is threatened when their daughter Marielle develops telepathic powers in this hilarious and offbeat dark comedy.

Living together in a group home in Belgium, five teenage girls wrestle with the newfound responsibilities of parenthood in this warmly humanist social drama.