In less than a month, about 45,000 cinephiles will descend on local theaters for the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival, which released its full lineup of 113 feature films and 57 shorts on Thursday.
The festival will open on Oct. 14 with a screening of Jordan Firstman’s acclaimed debut feature film, “Club Kid” (A24). It will close on Oct. 25 with Tony Gilroy’s “Behemoth!” (Searchlight Pictures), starring Pedro Pascal and a “brilliantly unhinged” Olivia Wilde, according to Mimi Plauché, the event’s artistic director.
There will be appearances by director Tim Blake Nelson, actor and Illinois native Bob Odenkirk, and comedian and actor Marlon Wayans, who will receive a Career Achievement Award and discuss his work. Actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor will be given the Tour de Force Award at the world premiere of “Liz Here Now,” and actress Carrie Coon will pick up the Artistic Achievement Award at the screening of her new film “The Liberation.”
“I feel like there’s just been a great momentum building around the festival, and it grows every year,” Plauché said. “We have an additional influx of young people, which is really exciting.”
In fact, people under 35 have become the festival’s largest demographic, accounting for more than 40% of its attendees, Plauché said. The shift is due in part to the inclusion of younger festival programmers, and the Letterboxd craze among movie-lovers who want to be the first to post reviews online, she said. But, most of all, audiences are looking for community.
“It’s very different to watch a comedy at home alone than with an audience of everybody who’s laughing,” Plauché said. “We all feel differently when we’re together. And we want to emphasize that we have films that not only make you see the world differently, but also make you feel differently about the world.”
The slate of films are directed by veterans and up-and-comers from more than 60 countries. Audiences can watch everything from Oscar contenders (“Wild Horse Nine”) and timely documentaries (the unsanctioned “Musk,” about Elon Musk) to gripping foreign dramas (“Fatherland” and “Sad Girlz”).
The fest will also program Chicago stories. Among the local tales are “No Hands: The Wild Ride of the Schwinn Bicycle Company” and the “Ever After” profile of Chef Curtis Duffy. “Mouse,” a film by Chicago-based directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, is featured in the “centerpiece” presentation.
The fest also exhibits a strong commitment to diversity. There is a program of disability-inclusive films and a celebration of queer filmmakers, including a conversation between Andrew Haigh and Ira Sachs, who will accept the Q Hugo Achievement Award at the screening of his film “The Man I Love.”
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Black Perspectives program. Director Cheryl Dunye will receive the Career Achievement Award at a retrospective screening of her film, “The Watermelon Woman.” Other highlights include a screening of Ava Duvernay’s new documentary, “14th,” and David and William Greaves’ “Once Upon a Time in Harlem.”
Plauché stressed the ongoing importance of the program, as Black filmmakers still face barriers in the industry today.
“It’s a combination both of industry trends and how hard it is to make an independent film right now,” she said. And I do think there’s a racial [bias] component, too.”
Other standouts at the fest include Simon Stone’s “Elsinore,” starring Andrew Scott; Jesse Eisenberg’s “The Debut,” starring Julianne Moore; and what British director Mike Leigh is calling his final film, “Tender Loving Care.”
Attendees can take a break between screenings at the new Physical Media Fair, where they can swap movies, win prizes and hear from filmmakers and special guests.
Festival passes go on sale to the general public on Sept. 24. Tickets for individual screenings, which are $26, go on sale on Sept. 25. Members will have access to passes and individual tickets through a pre-sale on Friday.
Visit chicagofilmfestival.com for the full lineup of films.