The 51st Chicago International Film Festival announced the sixteen films selected for its International Feature Competition. Films include the world premiere of Majid Barzegar’s A Very Ordinary Citizen (co-written by Jafar Panahi) (pictured above); the critically acclaimed relationship drama 45 Years, starring Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling; Chronic, the latest film by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco who previously won the Festival’s 2012 Silver Hugo Special Jury Prize for After Lucia; and Naomi Kawase’s delightfully poetic film about life and sweet pastries, Sweet Bean.
“It has been a great year for movies, so far. The sixteen films competing for the Gold Hugo are strong and diverse,” said
Chicago International Film Festival Founder & Artistic Director Michael Kutza. “This year’s competition includes some of the most anticipated films of the season as well as new discoveries from around the world and we can’t wait to share them with Chicago.”
The 51st Chicago International Film Festival runs October 15-29, 2015 at the AMC River East.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES COMPETITION
45 Years
Country: UK
Director: Andrew Haigh
Synopsis: On the eve of their 45th anniversary, a couple’s marital equilibrium is threatened when the husband’s past resurfaces in an unexpected way. Long-frozen secrets begin to thaw in this slow-burning domestic drama. Stars Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling both won top honors at the Berlin Film Festival for their gripping performances.
Body (Cialo)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Poland
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
Synopsis: Balancing bleakness and mirth in equal measure, Body chronicles three haunted souls in Warsaw: an icy coroner who suspects his dead wife may be trying to contact him; his anorexic, suicidal daughter; and her hospital therapist, who moonlights as a medium. Playing unexplained phenomena for dry laughs, like a hanged man who miraculously regains consciousness, the film is a morbidly funny guide to the Great Beyond.
A Childhood (Une Enfance)
USA PREMIERE
Country: France
Director: Philippe Claudel
Synopsis: In this tender, keenly observed look at growing up in poverty in small town France, 13-year-old Jimmy dreams of a bourgeois life with family vacations and games of tennis. Trapped in an unstable household with a drug-addicted mother and her criminal boyfriend, Jimmy is forced to grow up too quickly. Over the course of a sweltering summer, Jimmy must find moments of hope in a world full of strife.
Chronic
USA PREMIERE
Country: Mexico, France
Director: Michel Franco
A hospice nurse (Tim Roth) has a deeper connection to his patients than their own family members, but his above-and-beyond approach to emotional baggage shields his true problems from the outside world. Carrying traces of Amour, with stripped-down camerawork and naturalist performances, Michel Franco’s restrained medical drama peers into the darkness and wonders about the last person to hold our hands as we step through.
The Club (El Club)
USA PREMERE
Country: Chile
Director: Pablo Larrain
Synopsis: Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, this unsettling drama from director Pablo Larraín (No) centers on a group of disgraced Catholic priests sequestered in a beach house. The tranquility of their anonymous daily routine is disturbed when a young man materializes with charges of abuse. The priests’ reaction to this unwanted interloper carries echoes of their institution’s shocking past.
Full Contact
USA PREMIERE
Country: Netherlands, Croatia
Director: David Verbeek
Synopsis: Working from an Air Force base in the Nevada desert, halfway across the world from his targets, an emotionally reserved drone operator (Grégoire Colin) grapples with the psychological ramifications of a missile attack gone awry. But then events take an unexpected and surreal turn. This bold, arresting thriller from visionary Dutch filmmaker David Verbeek is a piercing portrait of dehumanization in the age of modern warfare.
Looking For Grace
USA PREMIERE
Country: Australia
Director: Sue Brooks
Synopsis: Grace, a rebellious teenager from a rich family, leaves home to attend a concert several days away. Everyone – from Grace’s mother (Radha Mitchell) to the detective they hire to help track her – has secrets, fissures in seemingly perfect lifestyles. With a perspective-shifting script and gorgeous shots of rural Australia, the film is a surprising mystery about the wealthy and the damned.
Mountains May Depart
Country: China
Director: Jia Zhangke
Synopsis: In this penetrating dissection of modern China from award-winning filmmaker Jia Zhangke (A Touch of Sin), a young woman chooses to marry a wealthy capitalist over a coal miner and names her firstborn son “Dollar.” Across two continents, three chapters, and 25 years reaching into the near future, we watch one scattered family chase a vision of success that remains heartbreakingly out of reach.
My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse)
Country: France
Director: Amaud Desplechin
Synopsis: Returning from Tajikistan, Paul faces an interrogation that leads him to retrace three seminal moments from his past: his childhood, an eventful trip to the Soviet Union, and – most significantly – his love affair with the nymph-like Esther. This poetic Cannes award winner from French auteur Arnaud Desplechin unfolds as an intoxicating ode to romance.
Neon Bull (Boi Neon)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Brazil, Uruguay, Netherlands
Director: Gabriel Mascaro
Synopsis: In the rodeos of northeast Brazil, two cowboys try to corral a bull by the tail in a whirlwind of gallops and dust. But behind the scenes, ranch hand Iremar lives a quiet, lonely life, accompanying the bulls from town to town and dreaming of becoming a clothing designer. With a unique blend of lived-in social realism, impressionist imagery, and sweltering eroticism, Neon Bull – filmed almost entirely in static long takes – is a wildly unconventional look at Latin American machismo.
Paulina (La Patota)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Argentina, Brazil, France
Director: Santiago Mitre
Synopsis: Paulina, a young, idealistic lawyer, leaves her cushy job in the city to teach at a rural high school. Her deep-seated beliefs are shaken when some students commit a horrific crime and she is forced to take a stance. Anchored by a complex, nuanced performance from Dolores Fonzi, this blistering drama reconsiders the line between wealth and poverty, chaos and order, victim and survivor. Winner of the best film award in Critics’ Week at Cannes.
Schneider vs. Bax
USA PREMIERE
Country: The Netherlands
Director: Alex Van Warmerdam
Synopsis: In this hilariously deadpan cat-and-mouse game, hitman Schneider tries to finish an assignment in time to celebrate his birthday with his family. But the target, drug-addicted writer Bax (writer-director Alex Van Warmerdam), is packing too. An endless parade of unexpected visitors at Bax’s swamp cabin turns this showdown into an entertaining, intricate puzzle – and, for Schneider, one heck of a headache.
Sweet Bean (An)
USA PREMIERE
Country: Japan
Director: Naomi Kawase
Synopsis: Red bean paste is the filling in this poignant tale of life, compassion, and sweet endings. An uninspired red bean pancake chef is re-energized when a plucky septuagenarian’s irresistible homemade recipe makes his snacks a local hit. Both characters use their creations, photographed in mouth-watering close-up, to rebuild from traumatic pasts. The latest from poetic Japanese auteur Naomi Kawase is a delectable philosophical dish.
Tikkun
Country: Israel
Director: Avishai Sivan
Synopsis: A young Israeli ultra-Orthodox man experiences a crisis of faith in this formally daring black-and-white drama that employs bravura, often shocking imagery. Following a near-death experience, the formerly devout Yeshiva student begins wandering Jerusalem’s empty streets at night without purpose, while his father-a Kosher butcher-experiences terrifying nightmares as retribution for saving his son.
The Treasure (Comoara)
Country: Romania
Director: Comeliu Porumboiu
Synopsis: Armed with a metal detector and boundless determination, two neighbors go on the hunt for rumored buried bounty. Relentless in their search, they refuse to let general ineptitude, petty arguments or bureaucratic red tape stand in their way. Acclaimed Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu’s sharp, deadpan comedy sends up the value of wealth and stature in the new Europe.
A Very Ordinary Citizen (Yek Shahrvand-e Kamelan Maamouli)
WORLD PREMIERE
Country: Iran
Director: Majid Barzegar
Synopsis: Mr. Safari, an 80-year-old pensioner, lives alone and without direction. When his son, living abroad, tries to arrange for his elderly father to visit him, Mr. Safari becomes dangerously obsessed with a local female travel agent who is hired to help. Co-written by acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi (Crimson Gold, Taxi), this provocative story delivers a quietly powerful statement about loneliness and those who get left behind in contemporary Tehran.
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TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, a new feature documentary exploring the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most iconic classic movie stars, will open in New York City on October 16, before expanding to Los Angeles and additional markets across the country.
Directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (Vito, I Am Divine), TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL features unfiltered interviews with Tab Hunter himself, as well as friends and co-stars including George Takei, Clint Eastwood, John Waters, Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner.
Oscar winner Christoph Waltz presented the first-ever ‘Filmmaker Award’ on Saturday Evening to the two Swiss directors Michael Steiner and Jan Gassmann. Michael Steiner’s project “Und morgen seid ihr tot” (“Tomorrow You’ll Be Dead”) received CHF 75’000 and Jan Gassmann’s project “Europe, She Loves” received CHF 25’000. The two winners were chosen from a total of four nominated projects.
The presentation took place at the IWC gala dinner‚ For the Love of Cinema held as part of the 
STINK! is a new feature documentary that presents consumers with crucial information on how seemingly safe, everyday products can contain undisclosed chemicals linked to cancer and fertility issues.
After purchasing brand new pajamas for his young daughters as a Christmas gift, single father Jon Whelan is troubled when opening the packaging releases a foul odor.
Determined to uncover the source of this mysterious stench and whether it poses a health risk to his daughters, Whelan quickly discovers that manufacturers and retailers in the U.S. have no obligation to reveal chemicals used in their products, even if those chemicals can cause cancer, birth defects and reproductive damage.
Journeying from retailers and manufacturers to corporate boardrooms and the halls of Congress, Whelan clashes with political and corporate operatives all trying to protect the darkest secrets of the chemical industry.
Directed by 
Activist Malala Yousafzai (C) speaks on stage at the 
Award-winning actor Hugh Jackman is visiting Hong Kong during Mid-Autumn Festival to promote his latest film, “Pan”. During his stay, Jackman visited one of the oldest neighborhoods, Tai Hang, and experience the most authentic cultural heritage with around 100 years of history – Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. Being the first international star participating in this festivity, Jackman was honored with a leading role of the parade by 
Building Your Dream Ferrari is a Beautiful Thing by Petrolicious is the audience award winner of the 
THE BOY FROM GEITA, a feature documentary by award-winning filmmaker Vic Sarin (Solitary Journey, Hue: A Matter of Colour) will open in New York on 
The Walk – 3D, the new film by Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis, will be presented at the 10th Rome Film Fest running October 16 to 24, 2015.
The brilliant co-creator and director of the “Back to the Future” trilogy, Forrest Gump, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Contact, and Cast Away, brings to the screen the true story of Philippe Petit, a French tight wire walker who amazed the city of New York by walking across a steel cable strung between the two towers of the World Trade Center. As in his previous films, Zemeckis reconciles the classic forms of storytelling with a powerful use of avant-garde technology – in this case IMAX®3D – to create a movie that captures audiences with its spectacular storyline and imagery.
The star of the film, in the leading role of Petit, is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, one of the finest actors of his generation, equally at ease in major productions (Inception and The Dark Knight Rises by Christopher Nolan, Lincoln by Steven Spielberg) and independent productions (Brick and The Lookout). Co-starring, Academy award-winner Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi, Schindler’s List, Shutter Island, and Hugo Cabret), Charlotte Le Bon (Asterix & Obelix , Yves Saint Laurent), and James Badge Dale (“24”, “The Pacific”). The Walk – 3D is based on the book “To Reach the Clouds” by Philippe Petit, published by Faber and Faber.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR1EmTKAWIw
“When I first heard this story, I thought, ‘My God, this is a movie that A: should be made under any circumstance, and B: should be absolutely presented in 3D,” explains Zemeckis. “When you watch a wire walker, you always have to watch by looking up at him. You never get the perspective of what’s it like to be on the wire. Our film will follow Petit’s story but will ultimately put you on the wire, walking with Philippe, and by presenting it in 3D, it is going to be spectacular and very emotional. I love the idea of a guy – a performance artist – who pulls off this great caper. The caper is illegal, it’s dangerous, but it doesn’t hurt anybody. It seemed like something out of another time – you don’t really see stuff like that anymore. It was almost like a fable.”
Rome Film Fest Artistic Director, Antonio Monda, declared: “Yet another magnificent film by a great director who can truly be an auteur while making incredibly spectacular films. Zemeckis’ cinema is, happily, both art and industry.”
The 10th Rome Film Fest will also dedicate a complete retrospective to Chilean director, screenwriter, and producer Pablo Larraín. The retrospective, curated by Mario Sesti, artistic coordinator of the Selection Committee, will take place at the MAXXI – National Museum of the XXI Century Arts, which is producing the event in collaboration with the Embassy of Chile. “The Rome Film Fest is especially proud to be the first international festival to pay tribute to a filmmaker whose cinema seems to cut deep and with astonishing self-possession, like the scalpel of a prodigious surgeon, into the viscera of life. We have worked on this retrospective with the collaboration of the Embassy of Chile and of the MAXXI, the partnership with which is once again renewed and strengthened”.
The thirty-nine year-old Chilean auteur, a remarkable talent with the capacity to imagine and create truly unique cinema, which has led him to become, with five films to his name, one of the most interesting filmmakers of his generation, will be in Rome to meet the audience of the Auditorium and to present his work. In a trilogy with rare visual and emotional impact, Larraín adopted original perspectives to tell the story of the rise and fall of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. A parabola that went from Tony Manero (2008), presented at Cannes and winner of the Best Film Award at the Torino Film Festival, to Post Mortem (2010), in competition at the Venice Film Festival, to No (2012), starring Gael García Bernal, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film. His outstanding ability to provoke aversion and empathy, dismay and entrancement, in the characters and spaces of his films, emerged early in his debut film, Fuga (2006) and remained unchanged through El Club (2015), which won the Silver Bear in Berlin this year and will represent Chile at the next Oscars®.
THE BIG SHORT featuring an all-star cast, will be the Closing Night film of AFI FEST on Thursday, November 12 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Directed by Adam McKay with a screenplay by Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, the film stars Academy Award® winners Christian Bale, Brad Pitt, Melissa Leo and Marisa Tomei; Academy Award® nominees Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling; and Hamish Linklater, John Magaro, Rafe Spall, Jeremy Strong and Finn Wittrock. The film is based on the Michael Lewis book, “The Big Short: Inside The Doomsday Machine.”
2015 Chicago International Film Festival announces the lineup for its International Documentary Competition. Highlights of the International Documentary Competition include the World Premieres of Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows (pictured above), a Chicago-based portrait of the most sampled artist in hip-hop, and Motley’s Law, which follows tough-as-nails lawyer – and former Mrs. Wisconsin – Kimberley Motley, the only American allowed to practice law in Afghanistan.
This diverse lineup of official selections includes the multi-award-winning Polish documentary Call Me Marianna, which follows Marianna’s male-to-female transition as family and friends abandon her along the way; A Living Fire, an award-winning tour-de-force documentary of cinematography and sound design; Time Suspended, a tender, heartrending portrait of a woman committed to preserving the truths of Argentina’s horrible history in the 1970s; and In the Underground, a stunning look at coal miners and their families in China.
The