Synopsis

In 2019, Rotterdam’s famed Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen shuttered for renovations, making way for a radical new shimmering art mecca just down the street. Called the Depot, this ambitious construction — composed of walls of curved mirrored glass — was a shared dream of architect Winy Maas and irreverent museum director Sjarel Ex. It reimagines art exhibition as a gigantic, glorified storage unit, with all of its treasures on view for everyone to see.

With a playful approach that even includes musical numbers, ChicagoIFF alumnus Sonia Herman Dolz (The Master and His Pupil, Yo soy así) tracks these two ambitious and passionate visionaries as they work together to break down the old museum, construct the new one, and delicately transport precious masterpieces into their new home. A captivating portrait of both institutions from the inside out, Depot is a glorious ode to both art and architecture.

A pandel discussion will follow the October 12th screening.

Synopsis

Angela, a production assistant working for an anonymous multinational corporation, is tasked with driving around Bucharest filming casting interviews for a promotional video about workplace safety. As she goes door to door collecting employees’ personal experiences of getting injured on the job, a pattern of malfeasance begins to emerge. When a half-paralyzed worker suggests that the company is responsible for his accident, Angela bears witness to a dizzying, hilarious series of corporate backflips.

True to form, in Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World director Radu Jude (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn) presents a whirlwind examination of modern existence with a wry, absurdist touch. Observed with a keen understanding of our cacophonous digital world, the film breathlessly satirizes the capitalistic machinery of everyday life while celebrating the boisterous humanity contained therein.

Synopsis

Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage), a hapless family man and evolutionary biologist, finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nocturnal appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul’s newfound stardom suddenly turns from celebratory to dangerous, with unforeseen consequences for Paul, his wife, and their daughter.

Written and directed by daring newcomer Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and produced by horror maestro Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), Dream Scenario is a hilariously absurdist satire about fame, masculine anxiety, and social media, punctuated by bursts of the chilling and the uncanny. Cage leads the film with yet another terrific and self-lacerating performance, as a man coming apart at the seams and desperately grasping for control.

Synopsis

In his masterful feature debut, acclaimed actor Michael Shannon paints a riveting portrait of Janice LaRue, a middle-aged mother coming to terms with a shooting spree perpetrated by her son. Adapted from Brett Neveu’s 2002 play — which debuted at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago — the film follows the shell-shocked Janice (Judy Greer) as she attempts to navigate the tragedy in her small town. Some try to help; others condemn her outright. While a local pastor tries to reconcile Janice with the victims’ mothers, Janice’s feeble husband (Alexander Skarsgård) finds refuge in an upstart church led by a motivational preacher Steppenwolf’s Tracy Letts. But Janice must find her own way.

With stunning performances led by Greer’s riveting portrayal of a deeply pained yet resilient mother, Eric LaRue is a penetrating psychological drama about grief, guilt, and atonement that builds to a profound and cathartic conclusion.

Synopsis

Following his international sensation Drive My Car, filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi returns with a captivating eco-thriller that explores the eternal conflict between the natural world and the human urge to destroy it.

Set in the peaceful northern village of Harasawa, the film follows Takumi, a local handyman who lives with his young daughter and makes his living chopping wood, hauling water, and doing odd jobs around town. The tranquility of this rural life is threatened, however, when a Tokyo company announces plans to construct a high-end glamping site near the village. The venture is met with skepticism from the townspeople, who worry that the development will irreparably damage the natural environment — and, by extension, their very existence. Expertly scripted and directed with an eye for human duality, Evil Does Not Exist ponders our complicated relationship with the world around us.