Archive | Behind the Scenes

Minhal Baig is a Chicago native whose first film, Hala, screened at the 55th Chicago International Film Festival in 2019. We’re thrilled to present the U.S. Premiere of her next feature, the Chicago-set coming-of-age story We Grown Now, for Opening Night of our 59th Festival. We chatted with Minhal about the origin of the story behind We Grown Now, recreating 1990s Cabrini-Green on screen, and her favorite Chicago movies.

How did you first come up with the idea behind We Grown Now?[…]

Clare Cooney is an actor and filmmaker who rose through the ranks of the Chicago arts community. She’s appeared in NBC’s Chicago Med, Steve McQueen’s Chicago thriller Widows, and the indie feature Runner, among other shows and films. We’re thrilled to host the North American premiere of her directorial feature debut, the sarcastic, whip-smart horror-comedy Departing Seniors – shot right here in Chicago.

We chatted with Clare about filming during COVID, refreshing the teen slasher genre, what it’s like to screen her film at the Music Box Theatre, and more.[…]

Actor David Dastmalchian may be known for his roles in big-budget films – from The Dark Knight and The Suicide Squad to this summer’s Oppenheimer. But he’s the star of the upcoming indie production Late Night with the Devil, a found footage horror film about a fictional ‘70s talk show host whose personal and professional life are in free fall. In anticipation of the #ChiFilmFest screening of Late Night with the Devil, with David appearing in-person for a Q&A on Oct.[…]

Haroula Rose is a Chicago native musician, writer, producer, and filmmaker. We were thrilled to screen her debut feature Once Upon a River at our 55th Festival in 2019, and we’re so excited to welcome Haroula back this year for the World Premiere of her next feature, the delightful family comedy All Happy Families, starring Josh Radnor, Becky Ann Baker, Rob Huebel.

We chatted with Haroula about her very Chicago film, how music fits into her filmmaking, and of course, her favorite Chicago movies.[…]