Festival Archives: Chicago Intl Film Festival

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A black man, lit by yellow light, stares off camera with concern.

Black Perspectives Snapshots

The Knife

Directed by Nnamdi Asomugha

Country United States Run Time 82 minutes

Synopsis

Late one night, while Chris (Nnamdi Asomugha), his wife (Aja Naomi King), and their two daughters are sleeping upstairs in their home, Chris hears an intruder. Unsettled and scared, he warily investigates, and finds himself face-to-face with a stranger in his kitchen. Chris reacts impulsively to protect his family, and his response sets in motion a night that will have far-reaching consequences.

This stunning, compact thriller — which also marks star Asomugha’s directorial debut — takes place over the course of a few hours. A frantic family takes quick action. Throngs of police arrive to investigate the scene. And a bullish white detective (The Fighter’s Melissa Leo) sets the family in her sights, willing to do whatever it takes to quickly resolve the case. As tensions escalate between the family and police, The Knife sharply explores the ways in which a Black family experiences a tenuous relationship with security, justice, and the American dream.

Genres Drama Social Commentary Thriller

Language English

Screenings & Events

Film Credits

Producers Nnamdi Asomugha, Jonathan T. Baker, Ami Werges
Screenwriter Nnamdi Asomugha, Mark Duplass
Cinematographer Alejandro Mejia
Principal Cast Nnamdi Asomugha, Melissa Leo, Aja Naomi King, Manny Jacinto, Amari Price, Aiden Price
Executive Producers Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Jay Duplass, Shuli Harel, Chijioke Asomugha, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Rao Meka
Production Company iAm21 Entertainment, Duplass Brothers Productions

Sponsors

Black Perspectives Program Sponsor

Film Patrons

Lynn and Doug Steffen

In Partnership With

With Support From

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A man and woman stand with their foreheads touching, staring into eachothers eyes.

Spotlight

La Cocina

Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios

Countries United States, Mexico Run Time 139 minutes

Synopsis

Tensions are already running high as the day begins in a bustling Times Square kitchen — money is missing from the till, and suspicions have fallen on line cook Pedro (Raúl Briones). A zealous dreamer with a knack for making trouble, Pedro is on thin ice. His tumultuous affair with Julia (Rooney Mara), a waitress battling her own demons, is no secret. But today, their interpersonal chaos begins to seep into the relentless pace of the kitchen as its workers grind to feed the hungry maws of the dining room’s tourists. As Pedro spirals out of control, he threatens to take the whole kitchen down with him.

Alonso Ruizpalacios (A Cop Movie, 2021) returns to the Festival with a stylistically dazzling, darkly poignant tribute to the often invisible immigrants whose unrelenting work in kitchens feeds this country’s voracious appetite. La Cocina is a daring, tragic ode to the folly of the American Dream.

Genres Culinary Drama Literary Adaptation

Language English, Spanish with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

Producers Ramiro Ruiz, Gerardo Gatica, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Lauren Mann, Ivan Orlic
Editor Yibrán Asuad
Cinematographer Juan Pablo Ramírez
Principal Cast Raúl Briones, Rooney Mara, Anna Díaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, Eduardo Olmos
Executive Producers Marco Polo Constandse, Alexis García, Cristina Garza, José Nacif, William Olsson, Patrick Pfujena, Elizabeth Woodward
Production Company Filmadora MX, Panorama, Astrakan Film AB, Seine Pictures, Fifth Season
Website https://lacocinamovie.com

Sponsors

In Partnership With

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Adam Kinzinger sits with his hands folded in front of his face.

The Last Republican

Directed by Steve Pink

Country United States Run Time 88 minutes

Synopsis

In our deeply partisan times, there’s nothing like Hot Tub Time Machine to bring people together. Equal parts humorous and harrowing, The Last Republican tracks conservative Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger’s unwavering fight to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6 insurrection, as chronicled by fellow Illinoisian and self-avowed liberal filmmaker Steve Pink — famous for the Hot Tub movies. It’s an unlikely pairing, but that’s part of the point: The Last Republican is a rare political documentary about finding common ground.

Pink follows the Congressman through one of the most difficult years of his life: 2021, when Kinzinger voted to impeach the President and was selected — somewhat unwillingly, it turns out — to serve on the January 6 Committee. Ostracized by his party, mocked by the media, and facing death threats, Kinzinger wrestles with the consequences of his actions. But he ultimately remains committed to his conscience, offering a hopeful glimpse of the future of America.

Genres Political Social Commentary

Language English

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

Producers Jason Kohn, Chapin Wilson, Robb Bindler, Sarafina DiFelice, Steve Pink
Editor Ted Feldman
Cinematographer Joshua Salzman
Principal Cast Adam Kinzinger, Sofia Kinzinger, Austin Weatherford, Maura Gillespie
Executive Producers Kevin Morris
Production Company MCDC

Sponsors

Documentary Program Partner

Documentary Program Patron

Cynthia Stone Raskin

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A Giraffe stares straight at camera thoughtfully.

Documentary Documentary Competition

Life and Other Problems Livet og andre problemer

Directed by Max Kestner

Countries Denmark, United Kingdom, Sweden Run Time 98 minutes

Synopsis

When a juvenile giraffe named Marius was euthanized by the Copenhagen Zoo a decade ago, the decision sparked an international outcry. But filmmaker Max Kestner was more intrigued than flabbergasted, and uses the provocative incident as a launching pad for this wry and provocative essay film about life, death, biology, genetics, human and animal consciousness, and, well, just about everything else.

Jumping around the planet for a plethora of fascinating interviews — including Italian microbiologist Donato Giovannelli and Oxford veterinarian Charles Foster, who lives as a wolf to better understand them — the film explores the nature of life at a brisk pace, mixing the massive and the microscopic with the existential and the scientific using the lightest of touches. (The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize?” makes for a memorable framing device.) Fascinating and funny, Life and Other Problems delves into the quandaries of existence while offering no single solution.

Genres Environmental Family Affairs Social Commentary

Language English, Danish with subtitles

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

Producers Vibeke Vogel
Screenwriter Max Kestner
Editor Michael Aaglund
Cinematographer Maria Von Hauswolff, Sturla Brandt Grøvlen, Max Kestner
Principal Cast Karen Lloyd, Bengt Holst, Charles Foster, Sheldrake Brothers, Sam Watts, Michael Levin
Music Maxwell Sterling
Production Company Bullitt Film
Website https://www.bullittfilm.dk

Sponsors

Documentary Program Partner

Documentary Program Patron

Cynthia Stone Raskin

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A man holds a welding torch to a piece of metal art.

Black Perspectives City & State Documentary

The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt’s Monument to Ida B. Wells

Directed by Rana Segal

Country United States Run Time 66 minutes

Synopsis

Chicago icons past and present come together in this inspiring documentary about artistic practice and political activism. As celebrated sculptor Richard Hunt crafts his monument to civil rights icon Ida B. Wells, “The Light of Truth,” the film weaves together Hunt’s story with the captivating history of his subject, Ida B. Wells. In connecting artist and activist through Hunt’s towering 35-foot-high Bronzeville-based sculpture, the film reveals their analogous missions to battle racism and forge new paths for Black Americans.

A moving testament to Hunt, an influential artist, and Wells, notable for her anti-lynching organizing and role in the suffragist movement, The Light of Truth is a monument to public art, the spirit of protest, and two essential Black Chicago pioneers dedicated to freedom and perseverance.

Genres Art Historical Political

Language English

Media

Film Credits

Producers Laurie Little, Rana Segal, Vincent Singleton
Screenwriter Rana Segal
Editor Tom Desch, Rana Segal
Cinematographer Kimmer Olsak, Vincent Singleton
Principal Cast Michelle Duster, Richard Hunt, Catrina Evans
Music Tyler Traband
Executive Producers Rana Segal, Laurie Little, Michael Smith, Mary Ann Johnson, Chaz Ebert
Production Company Luminist Films, RavensVoyage Productions
Website http://amonumentforidabfilm.com

Sponsors

Black Perspectives Program Sponsor

Documentary Program Partner

Documentary Program Patron

Cynthia Stone Raskin

Film Patrons

Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson

In Partnership With

With Support From

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