Mimi Plauche, artistic director at CIFF, and the programming team laid it all out on Thursday, Sept.18, at the AMC Newcity Theater, highlighting different kinds of films that will be featured at the fest. Vivian Teng, managing director of the festival, introduced the event.
“The process of programming films takes about 11 months,” Teng said. “The programming team curated a total of 120 features and 62 shorts from over 7000 submissions.”
The opening film of the festival will be “One Golden Summer,” a documentary by local Chicago filmmaker Kevin Shaw focusing on the first all-Black team to win the Little League Championship in 2014.
The centerpiece screening will be the mononymous HIKARI’s “Rental Family,” starring Oscar winner Brendan Fraser as a struggling American actor in Tokyo who is hired to stand in for various roles in strangers’ lives. The Japanese filmmaker will be honored with the festival’s Spotlight Award at the event.
Last year, CIFF welcomed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda to introduce his then-latest film “Monster,” attend Q&As for some of his previous and most famous films and honor him with the festival’s Career Achievement Award.
This year, the festival continues the trend with acclaimed feminist filmmaker Kelly Reichardt with her latest film “The Mastermind,” starring Josh O’Connor and Alana Haim. She will also show her previous work “Showing Up,” “First Cow” and “Old Joy.”
Other artists who will be honored include director Nia DaCosta with her historical film “Hedda” and actor Joel Edgerton with director Clint Bentley with their adaptation “Train Dreams,” who will receive the Black Perspectives Artistic Achievement Award, Artistic Achievement Award in Acting and Artistic Achievement Award in Directing, respectively.
CIFF’s Snapshots and Spotlight programs will provide a wide array of the greatest and latest that world cinema has to offer. Films from established auteurs, like Filipino Lav Diaz’s “Magellan” and South Korean Hong Sangsoo’s “What Does That Nature Say to You,” will be highlighted alongside diverse genre works, like Romanian Radu Jude’s “Dracula” and American Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”
This year’s festival will also feature the film “Before the Call,” directed by James Choi, an assistant professor in DePaul’s School of Cinematic Arts, in the festival’s City & State program of films which are set in Chicago and/or made by Chicago-based artists.
“I’ve been in the fest mostly as a producer before, but this is my first feature as a writer and director,” Choi said. “I took a sabbatical to go live in Korea for six months last year and make this movie.”
The film revolves around a young man who is about to be registered for mandatory military service in South Korea and the relationships he forms before he leaves.
“My process is super, micro indie. We had a crew of like four people for this,” Choi said. “I think it’s very different, the process is very accessible for students.”
On the more mainstream side of things, CIFF’s roster of Special Presentations features many eagerly awaited titles. Some of these include Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of “Frankenstein,” Bradley Cooper’s third directorial effort “Is This Thing On?” and Rian Johnson’s latest entry in the “Knives Out” series, “Wake Up Dead Man.”
The Criterion Collection, the legendary home video distribution company, will also make an appearance at the festival with the Criterion Mobile Closet. Die-hard fans and collectors will have the chance to purchase Blu-rays of their favorite movies at a discounted price and get a Polaroid taken in the retrofitted van — much like famous artists do in the company’s New York headquarters in the long-running, now viral video series.
Sequoia Alonzo, a senior film student at DePaul, worked as a programming intern at the festival over the summer. They aided in selecting the international block of films, scheduling screenings and writing synopses for the festival. As for what they’re most excited for?
“The new Park Chan-Wook film, ‘No Other Choice,’ is high on my list,” Alonzo said. “People should take a look at the After Dark programming, there’s a lot of good indie horror there.”
The closing film of the festival will be David Freyne’s “Eternity,” starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller and Callum Turner in a fantastical comedy where you can only choose one person to spend the afterlife with.
Tickets will be released to the general public on Sept. 26 at 11 A.M.. The full schedule can be found on CIFF’s website.
Related Stories:
- ‘By the Stream’ review: A serene conversation on the processes of art and life
- ‘Weapons’ review: It’s 2:17 a.m., do you know where your kids are?
- ‘Eddington’ review: Ari Aster’s political satire lacks commitment
Support Student Journalism!
The DePaulia is DePaul University’s award-winning, editorially independent student newspaper. Since 1923, student journalists have produced high-quality, on-the-ground reporting that informs our campus and city.
We rely on reader support to keep doing what we do. Donations are tax deductible through DePaul's giving page.
