June 2 – Aug 20, 2025
Summer Screenings
Free films all summer long!
Summer Screenings is Cinema/Chicago’s annual free film series that casts a spotlight on a different country’s national cinema each week all summer.
Summer of Love
Love has long been a thematic obsession of the cinema from the art form’s earliest days. (Think of Thomas Edison’s 1896 The Kiss!) It’s a force that connects us and divides us, that binds us and breaks our hearts, that lifts us up and devastates us.
This year’s program features films that explore the many ways in which love manifests in our lives… and on screen—from winning rom-coms to tender examinations of family to smoldering stories of yearning to dramas that celebrate friendship. This series explores what it means to love and be loved around the world.
Films are unrated. Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages including nudity and violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
Free Tickets
All Summer Screenings are free and open to the public.
Tickets are released every Monday at 10:00am for the following week’s film(s). Doors open at 5:45pm. Seating is general and on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to theater capacity. Theater is overbooked to ensure a full house. Admission is not guaranteed
If an event is sold out online (standby only) this means that advance tickets are no longer available. You can pick up a numbered Standby Card at the screening starting at 5:45pm. Open seats will be made available to Standby Card holders starting at 6:15pm. Subject to availability.
Accessibility
The McCormick Theater at the Chicago History Museum and the Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center are physically accessible venues, with no-step entrances, accessible bathrooms, and limited wheelchair and companion seating. Learn more about accessibility at Summer Screenings…
To make a reservation or for any general questions or comments about accessibility at Summer Screenings, please fill out our request form, email us at access@chicagofilmfestival.com, or call us at 312.683.0121 x108.
Screening Venues
Chicago Cultural Center
All Monday screenings will take place at:
Chicago Cultural Center
Claudia Cassidy Theater
78 E Washington St, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60602
Learn more about this location…
Chicago History Museum
All Wednesday screenings will take place at:
Chicago History Museum
McCormick Theater
1601 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60614
Learn more about this location…
2025 Summer Screenings Schedule
Mon, Jun 2 @ 6:30pm
Rye Lane
Dir. Raine Allen-Miller | 
In this visually vibrant, exhilarating modern romance, a chance meeting between Yas and Dom, two twenty-somethings both reeling from bad breakups, sparks an electrifying day of soul searching in South London. The two form an unlikely connection as they help one another nurse their heartbreak, hoping to restore their faith in love.
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Wed, Jun 4 @ 6:30pm
From Hilde, With Love In Liebe, Eure Hilde
Berlin, 1942: Hilde and Hans are madly in love, but amid the passion there is grave danger. Hans becomes involved in the anti-Nazi resistance and, despite huge risks, the pregnant Hilde also decides to join the movement. When she is arrested by the Gestapo and sent to prison, she summons a quiet, inspirational strength and keeps fighting.
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Mon, Jun 9 @ 6:30pm
Silent Sparks Ai Zuo Dai
Recently released from prison, Pua returns to the criminal underworld in order to make ends meet. He also sets out in search of his former cellmate, Mi-ji. But life on the outside is more complicated. When their reunion doesn’t go as expected, the two men are forced to navigate a web of conflicting loyalties, obligations, and smoldering desires.
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Wed, Jun 11 @ 6:30pm
Born For You Nata per te
Luca has long dreamed of becoming a parent. When the newborn Alba, who has Down syndrome, is abandoned at the hospital, Luca is determined to fight against an archaic set of laws and societal expectations for his right, as a gay man, to adopt and care for her. Inspired by true events, this tender tale is a testament to love and family enduring against all odds.
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Mon, Jun 16 @ 6:30pm
Cream Hab
When the love of Dora’s life marries a different woman, she turns bitter heartache into sweet confections, opening a bakery that features pastries named for famous Hollywood break-ups. When the shop is threatened with closure, she’s offered a lifeline: a competition with a cash prize for family-run businesses. She has the business, now all she needs is the family.
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Wed, Jun 18 @ 6:30pm
The Girls Are Alright Las chicas están bien
This playful meditation on love, art, and friendship follows a group of women who retreat to an idyllic, sunkissed village to rehearse a play. As they learn their lines and don their costumes, their personal lives—filled with summer flings and long distance loves—and those of their characters begin to merge to form a beguiling and poignant pastiche.
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Mon, Jun 23 @ 6:30pm
Sublime
Sixteen-year-old Manuel and best friend Felipe have grown up together and are nearly inseparable. The friends spend long days at the beach, practicing with their fledgling rock band, and flirting with girls. Manuel has been spending time with Azul, but when things threaten to get serious, he begins to see his relationship with Felipe with new eyes.
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Wed, Jun 25 @ 6:30pm
The Queen of My Dreams
Dir. Fawzia Mirza |
Azra has built a life for herself in Toronto, worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father unexpectedly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined, from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming-of-age in rural Canada.
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Wed, Jul 2 @ 6:30pm
Kangaroo Island
Struggling Hollywood actress Lou (Rebecca Breeds) accepts a ticket from her estranged father and returns home to the ruggedly beautiful Kangaroo Island. Their reconciliation is complicated by the revelation of family secrets and the resurgent fallout of a love triangle. Emotional depth and humor meld to form a stirring portrait of the power and fragility of family.
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Mon, Jul 7 @ 6:30pm
Love in the Big City Daedosiui Salangbeob
Roommates Jae-hee, whose devil-may-care attitude and sharp tongue make her the target of vicious gossip, and Heung-soo, who lives in fear of being outed, are both looking for love. The two find strength in their unlikely friendship, but—together or apart—can they survive the emotional whirlwind of modern romance in Seoul?
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Wed, Jul 9 @ 6:30pm
Love Affair(s) Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait
Daphne and boyfriend François escape to the idyllic French countryside where they are joined by his lovelorn cousin Maxime. François has to rush back to Paris on business, leaving Daphne and Maxime on their own. The two form an instant, intimate connection, and the first of many overlapping love triangles takes form in this quintessential French comedy-romance.
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Mon, Jul 14 @ 6:30pm
I Dream in Another Language Sueño en otro idioma
Martín, a young linguist, travels into the jungles of Mexico in hopes of documenting Zikril, a language in peril. The language’s last two surviving speakers, Evaristo and Isauro, haven’t spoken to one another in over 50 years. As he attempts to reconcile the two in order to record their speech, Martín uncovers the heartbreaking history of their bitter feud.
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Wed, Jul 16 @ 6:30pm
Salvador
1985. Bogotá. A pall of paranoid insecurity hangs over the capital city, where tailor Salvador leads a solitary life. His quiet routine is shattered by the arrival of Isabel, the new elevator operator in his building. The two embark on an awkward love affair until jealousy and suspicion (as family members start disappearing) begin to cloud his judgment.
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Wed, Jul 23 @ 6:30pm
Jippie No More!
Jaap Peter, a lively 16-year-old boy, eagerly prepares for his older sister’s wedding at their grandfather’s country home. As the family rallies together to create the perfect celebration, Jaap Peter falls in love for the first time. When he realizes the girl of his dreams is smitten with his younger sister, he must rediscover his footing in the family and in the world.
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Wed, Jul 30 @ 6:30pm
U Are the Universe TY - KOSMOS!
When the Earth is destroyed by war, an astronaut believes he is the last living human in the universe. His solitary existence is interrupted, though, when he receives a signal from another ship—another astronaut is alive and adrift in space. The two form an instant connection over the radio, and embark on a harrowing journey across the cosmos and toward one another.
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Mon, Aug 4 @ 6:30pm
A Man Aru otoko
Recently divorced, Rie finds a new lease on life when she remarries the loving—if enigmatic—Daisuke. When Daisuke dies tragically, Rie begins to realize that she hardly knew the man she married. With the help of attorney Kido, she embarks on a sprawling investigation to uncover the true identity of the man she loved in this mesmerizing, noir-inflected mystery.
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Wed, Aug 6 @ 6:30pm
A Date for Mad Mary
Dir. Darren Thornton |
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.
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Mon, Aug 11 @ 6:30pm
The Umesh Chronicles
Rahda, a 12-year-old girl growing up in a privileged, middle class home in the 1980s, is surrounded by family, books, and music. She has limited contact with Sundar, a boy who works for her family but whose presence opens her eyes. At once intimate and epic, this coming-of-age drama is a tender portrait of familial love and personal growth in a changing society.
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Wed, Aug 13 @ 6:30pm
Last Dance
Recently widowed at 75, Germain is struggling with solitude and overwhelmed by his anxious, overbearing children’s constant worry. Craving escape and determined to honor a long-kept promise to his late wife, he secretly takes her place in a contemporary dance troupe. Last Dance is a deeply-felt, tenderhearted portrait of enduring love.
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Mon, Aug 18 @ 6:30pm
Olympia
Chicago’s own McKenzie Chinn stars as a struggling artist, navigating work and romance in the Windy City. When her boyfriend asks her to drop everything and move cross-country, she soon discovers that she might be the biggest obstacle to her own happiness. Featuring a revelatory central performance, Olympia is a sensitive look at the challenges of embracing adulthood.
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Wed, Aug 20 @ 6:30pm
Swoon Eld & lågor
A timeless tale of bitter family rivalries and forbidden love takes new form in this wondrous musical fantasy. 1940 Stockholm. John and Ninni—both heirs to their families’ competing amusement parks—fall hard for each other amidst the whirling world they inhabit. Can their love survive generations of animosity, nasty pranks, and an encroaching war?
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Special Thanks 2025
Cinema/Chicago’s Summer Screenings Program would not be possible without the support of the following individuals and organizations:
Consulate General of The Argentine Republic in Chicago Lucas Andres Gioja, Consul General; Jorge Manghi, Cultural Attaché
Australian Consulate-General, Chicago Chris Elstoft, Consul-General; Sigourney McDonald, Policy Officer
British Consulate-General, Chicago Richard Hyde, Consul-General; John Murphy, Deputy Consul-General
Consulate General of Canada in Chicago Colleen Duke, Senior Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Services Officer
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events Commissioner Clinée Hedspeth
Chicago Film Office Alex Vazquez and Natalia Salazar
Chicago History Museum
Consulate General of Colombia in Chicago Diego Alexander Angulo Marínez, Consul General; Jonnathan Gamboa, Vice Consul
Dutch Culture USA / Kingdom of the Netherlands in the United States
Goethe-Institut Chicago Dr. Leonhard Emmerling, Director; Leah Gallant, Program Curator
Consulate General of Hungary in Chicago Dr. Balázs Mártonffy, Consul General; Erzsebet Máté, Cultural Affairs
Illinois Arts Council Agency
Consulate General of India in Chicago Ambassador Somnath Ghosh, Consul General
Instituto Cervantes of Chicago María Luisa Santos, Executive Director, Executive Director; Teresa Hernando, Cultural Program Curator
Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago Brian Cahalane, Consul General; Padraig Manning, Vice Consul; Sandra Hamilton, Public Diplomacy Officer
Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago Mario Alberto Bartoli, Interim Director; Fabiola Tosi, Associate Director of Programs
Japan Information Center at the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago Masashi Mizobuchi, Consul-General; Hiroshi Ohoka and Byron Ovalle
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago Junghan Kim, Consul General; Kwanhyun Kim, Consul and Jihyun Choi, Cultural Coordinator
Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, Consul General
Swedish American Museum Karin Moen Abercrombie
Honorary Consulate of Sweden – Chicago Karin Moen Abercrombie and Anna Engstrom Patel
Consulate General of Switzerland in Chicago Pascal Bornoz, Consul General; Célie Landry, Operations & Project Coordinator
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago Dennis Yen-Feng Lei, Director General
Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, ROC (Taiwan) Hui-Chun Chang, Director
Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago Serhiy Koledov, Consul General
Villa Albertine & the Consulate General of France in Chicago Axelle Moleur, Cultural Attaché; Laurence Geannopulos, Coordinatorurence Geannopulos
Summer Screenings Sponsors 2024
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