Chicago International Film Festival FESTIVAL BOX AMC River East 21 OFFICE LOCATION 322 E
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October 12-26, 2017 53rd CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL © BECAUSE LIFE IS A MOVIE Poster design by Edwin Smeenge Edwin by design Poster 150 MOVIES 50 COUNTRIES MEET DIRECTORS SEE STARS AMC RIVER EAST 21 322 E. ILLINOIS ST. CHICAGOFILMFESTIVAL.COM #chifilmfest PASSES Buy now & save more! October 12-26, 2017 chicagofilmfestival.com SNEAK PEEK IS Inside, find the first round of films and events for the Festival. Watch for our full schedule on HERE September 19. PLAN AND MOVIEGOER PASS PASSPORT PASS 10 general admissions* 20 general admissions* SAVE $105 for members $200 for members $135 for non-members $260 for non-members Use code 53PREVIEW5 Use code 53PREVIEW10 when ordering to save $5 when ordering to save $10 Offer valid through September 15. Offer valid through September 15. ONLINE chicagofilmfestival.com/passes PHONE 312.683.0121 TICKETING FAQ: chicagofilmfestival.com/ticketing *Passes are not valid for Special and Gala Presentations, Tributes, Opening Night, Special Events, Centerpiece, or Closing Night. All programs are subject to change. Passes on sale until October 20, 2017. Passes must be picked up and redeemed in person at the Festival Box Office. EXPERIENCE Join Cinema/Chicago to enjoy films throughout the year, plus unbeatable Festival perks. From discounts MORE to VIP experiences, Members can access it all. EARLY ACCESS to tickets before the general public FREE advance screenings year-round CONCIERGE ticket service at premium levels JOIN chicagofilmfestival.com/membership SAVE THE SEPT. 19 Full Schedule announced online DATES SEPT. 20 Festival Box Office opens SEPT. 20-21 Ticket Pre-Sale (Members only) SEPT. 22 Tickets on Sale (General Public) OCT. 12-26 53rd Chicago International Film Festival FESTIVAL BOX AMC River East 21 OFFICE LOCATION 322 E. Illinois St. CHICAGOFILMFESTIVAL.COM | AMC RIVER EAST 21 | #chifilmfest Festival schedule subject to change BECAUSE LIFE IS A MOVIE Welcome to the first look at the 53rd Chicago International Film Festival. It is an honor to serve as the new Artistic Director of Cinema/Chicago and the Chicago International Film Festival. Following the tradition pioneered by Michael Kutza, this year’s program is shaping up to be electrifying, challenging, and entertaining, as we continue our passion for presenting the best of the highly anticipated awards- season contenders side by side with indie treasures and new discoveries. It’s another great year for film, from dark comedies that make us laugh in spite of ourselves to intense psychological thrillers that expose our deep-seated anxieties to politically minded documentaries that dare us to engage with the world in deeper ways. From Brazil to Iran, Senegal to Chicago, we are welcoming back Festival favorites, distinguished masters, and rising talents. We are thrilled to partner again with the Chicago Architecture Biennial both during the Festival and throughout the four months of the Biennial to present an exciting lineup of films that examine not only the great buildings and architects behind them but also the way we move through and interact with the built environment. One of the highlights for me is our spotlight on international Film Noir. Think dark alleys, crooked cops, uncommon obsessions, and a pervasive sense of paranoia. These films navigate the uncertainty of our times with a trace of guile and a shade of spine-tingling thrills. Please join us for all the amazing events and films at this year’s Festival. We will be announcing the full lineup on September 19. In the meantime, become a member now for early access and the best prices on passes and tickets. Make your plans to join us in October and see what we’ve discovered for you. Mimi Plauché, Artistic Director Michael Kutza, Founder & CEO CHICAGOFILMFESTIVAL.COM Text CHIFILMFEST to 22828 for exclusive Festival news directly to your phone #chifilmfest /chicagofilmfestival @chifilmfest SPECIAL PRESENTATION U.S., UNITED KINGDOM THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI DIRECTOR: MARTIN McDONAGH Frances McDormand stars in this darkly comic drama as Mildred Hayes, a woman who paints three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at the chief of police (Woody Harrelson). The bold move— designed to prompt him to find the culprit in her daughter’s murder—only exacerbates the battle between Mildred and Ebbing’s law enforcement. 110 min. BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL AFTER DARK MUGEN NO JÛNIN JAPAN THE EXPERIMENTAL CITY ARCHITECTURE DIRECTOR: TAKASHI MIIKE DIRECTOR: CHAD FREIDRICHS U.S. A disgraced samurai partners with an orphan girl to From the acclaimed director of take revenge on the swordsmen who slaughtered her The Pruitt-Igoe Myth comes the fascinating family. Based on the manga series by Hiroaki Samura, true story of the MXC (Minnesota Experimental City). the 100th feature from Japanese maverick Takashi Miike A futuristic metropolis designed to eradicate the waste has heart, humor and a helluva body count courtesy of of urban living, the planned community encountered show-stopping action sequences that see the director at resistance when local citizens and environmentalists his bloody best. Japanese with subtitles. 140 min. rose up in protest. Freidrichs chronicles the clash between scientific progress and American values. 95 min. SPECIAL PRESENTATION UNITED KINGDOM WORLD CINEMA LEBANON, FRANCE THE INSULT L’INSULTE DIRECTOR: ZIAD DOUEIRI In this ripped-from-the-headlines drama, a trivial contretemps between a Lebanese GOODBYE CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Christian and a Palestinian construction DIRECTOR: SIMON CURTIS worker comes to a head in a highly publicized Domhnall Gleeson stars as beloved children’s author A.A. Milne national trial. Politically engaged Lebanese in this moving tale centering on his relationship with his young filmmaker Doueiri (West Beirut) delves into son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), whose toys inspired the his country’s contentious history and offers magical world of Winnie-the-Pooh. Along with his mother sly comment on male pride. Arabic with Daphne (Margot Robbie) and his nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald), subtitles. 110 min. Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books, which bring hope and comfort to England after the First World War. 119 min. CITY & STATE PRINCESS CYD U.S. SAMMY DAVIS, JR.: BLACK PERSPECTIVES DIRECTOR: STEPHEN CONE I’VE GOTTA BE ME U.S. A sporty 16-year-old girl visits her middle-aged DIRECTOR: SAM POLLARD novelist aunt, and the two opposites must strive to find Singer, dancer, and actor; “Rat Pack” legend; common ground. From the Chicago-based director civil rights activist; Jewish convert; Nixon supporter— of Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party comes a charming the life of Sammy Davis, Jr. defies easy categorization. coming-of-age tale about generational difference, Charting the performer’s surprising journey across sexual identity, spirituality—and the delicate process the major flashpoints of contemporary American history, of opening up to human intimacy. 96 min. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sam Pollard culls together a captivating exploration of the man and his talents. 100 min. INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION FRANCE, BELGIUM, DOCUMENTARY SENEGAL FRANCE FÉLICITÉ FACES PLACES DIRECTOR: ALAIN GOMIS VISAGES VILLAGES Single mother and chanteuse Félicité ekes out DIRECTORS: AGNÈS VARDA, JR a living performing in a rough Kinshasa bar. Her The New Wave living legend teams up with street fiercely guarded independence is threatened after photographer JR for a road trip through the French her son is involved in a life-threatening accident. countryside, chronicling the ordinary folk they A love letter to persistence and the power of song, encounter (farmers, waitresses, factory workers). Félicité is buoyed by one woman’s irrepressible spirit A beautiful meditation on the journey through life in the face of overwhelming odds. Lingala, French and the kindred spirits you meet along the way. with subtitles. 123 min. French with subtitles. 89 min. IN THE FADE WORLD CINEMA AUS DEM NICHTS GERMANY, DIRECTOR: FATIH AKIN FRANCE INTERNATIONAL Diane Kruger won the Best Actress prize THE LINE CIARA FILM NOIR at the Cannes Film Festival for her searing DIRECTOR: PETER BEBJAK SLOVAKIA, performance as a Hamburg woman whose world His daughter is pregnant and his UKRAINE is torn apart by grief and anger after neo-Nazi gang is in revolt, leaving cigarette sympathizers murder her Kurdish husband smuggler Adam squeezed from all sides and six-year-old son. From the award-winning in this fast-paced thriller. The Line is an filmmaker (Head-On) comes a powerful take exemplary crime picture featuring muscular on the revenge drama and a study of a woman direction, a savvy screenplay, spectacularly driven to the edge. German with subtitles. 106 min. photographed locations, and a propulsive score. Slovak, Ukranian with subtitles. 112 min. SPECIAL PRESENTATION SWEDEN, GERMANY, WORLD CINEMA FRANCE POLAND SPOOR POKOT THE SQUARE DIRECTOR: AGNIESZKA HOLLAND DIRECTOR: RUBEN ÖSTLUND in collaboration with Kasia Adamik In his Palme d’Or-winning follow-up to 2014’s Force The acclaimed filmmaker returns to the big screen Majeure, Ruben Östlund hilariously satirizes the with a genre-bending, ecologically-minded thriller art world with the outrageous story of a museum following a retiree and avowed defender of animal curator who finds himself in hot water after falling rights living in Southern Poland. The outspoken victim to a con artist and approving a questionable woman believes she knows who is behind a recent media campaign that unexpectedly goes viral. With spate of murders in the wilderness near her home, uproarious performances from Claes Bang, Elisabeth yet she’s dismissed by her neighbors, who view her Moss, Dominic West, and Terry Notary. English, with deep suspicion. Polish with subtitles. 128 min. Swedish, Danish with subtitles. 142 min. WORLD CINEMA FORTUNATA ITALY GOD’S OWN COUNTRY DIRECTOR: SERGIO CASTELLITTO DIRECTOR: FRANCIS LEE OUT-LOOK UNITED KINGDOM On the outskirts of Rome, a hairdresser with An unlikely yet passionate romance dreams of opening her own salon strikes up an between a frustrated young farmer affair with her daughter’s therapist.