The first Chicago International Film Festival debuts on November 9 at the original Carnegie Theatre at Rush and Oak St. Eight films are shown in the feature category, selected from more than 300 entries from 15 nations. Other categories included Religious Films, Experimental Films, Industrial Films, Short Subjects, Educational Films, Television Commercials, Documentaries, and Cartoons. In its inaugural year, the Festival honors King Vidor in a ceremony attended by Bette Davis, Stanley Kramer gives a talk offering advice to student filmmakers, and short films by the soon-to-be-legendary director William Friedkin are presented.

The Festival debuts the New Directors category, as well as a Films for Children competition judged by children. For the first time, the Festival receives public acknowledgement from Mayor Richard J. Daley, who had previously told Kutza, “the films you show could lose me votes!” in declining public support of its audacious, often experimental programming. Career animator George Pal is celebrated, and Belgian director Harry Kümel is awarded the Best Feature Gold Hugo for Monsieur Hawarden.

The 7th Chicago International Film Festival honors Sonja Henie, director Franklin Schaffner, and producer Donald Siegel. Polish director Krysztof Zanussi’s Family Life and Claude Jutra’s Mon Oncle Antoine are among the year’s premieres, with Zanussi’s film winning the Special Jury Prize and Jutra taking home the Gold Hugo for Best Film. José Luis López Vázquez wins Best Actor for The Ancines Woods.

The Festival presents a complete retrospective of the work of Indian auteur Satyajit Ray, and honors David L. Wolper and the classic Warner Bros. musicals. Rainier Werner Fassbinder’s The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant wins a Special Jury Prize, and Greek master Theo Angelopolous’s first feature, Reconstruction, is shown along with his DAYS OF ‘36.

Thanks to support from Mayor Jane Byrne, the Festival holds its Opening Night at the Chicago Theatre for the first time. Special effects master Peter Ellenshaw Sr., Karen Black, and Maximillian Schell receive honors, and films from 24 nations are screened. Hungarian drama Angi Vera from director Pál Gábor receives the Gold Hugo for Best Feature.

The 17th Chicago International Film Festival is dedicated to French New Wave master François Truffaut, who attends to present a 12-hour marathon of his work. Also honored are Argentine director Leopoldo Torre Nilsson and “Looney Tunes” animator Isador “Friz” Freleng. The Festival presents Peter Greenaway’s directorial debut The Falls, and Margarethe von Trotta’s The German Sisters (alternatively titled Marianne & Juliane) wins the Gold Hugo.

The Festival showcases a retrospective of early British musicals and a series of French and Spanish films. Tributes include Jane Russell, and “Rocky & Bullwinkle” cartoonist Jay Ward. French New Wave auteur Jacques Demy participates on the International Features Jury. Paul Cox’s Man of Flowers is screened, and Spanish director Victor Erice’s The South takes home the Gold Hugo for Best Feature.

Dancing and international intrigue open the Festival with the premiere of Taylor Hackford’s White Knights, starring Mkihail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, and Isabella Rossellini, who are all in attendance. Bonnie and Clyde director Arthur Penn and camp film icon Russ Meyer are honored, and Argentine director Luis Puezo’s The Official Story debuts before going on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

The Festival returns to its roots, honoring Kutza’s mentor Colleen Moore a few months before her death. Peter Gardos’ Whooping Cough from Hungary wins the Gold Hugo for Best Feature, and Brian Dennehy wins Best Actor for his performance in Peter Greenaway’s The Belly of an Architect. The Festival features an amazing lineup of films by renowned directors including Alain Resnais (France), Ettore Scola (Italy), Juzo Itami (Japan), Fernando Trueba (Spain), Arturo Ripstein (Mexico), Pedro Almodóvar (Spain), Krzysztof Kieslowski (Poland), John Woo (Hong Kong), Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (Italy), and Tsui Hark (Hong Kong).

In celebration of 25 years, the Festival hosts two gala events at the Chicago Theatre: the World Premiere of Menahem Golan’s The Threepenny Opera (Mack the Knife), and a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights. Rocky producer Irwin Winkler receives a tribute hosted by Martin Scorsese, and the National Film Board of Canada is honored. Soviet director Karen Chakhnazarov receives the Gold Hugo for Zenograd, and Michael Moore attends to screen Roger and Me.

Highlights include the premiere of Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, Bertrand Tavernier’s Fresh Bait, Hsiao-Hsien Hou’s Good Men, Good Women, and Marleen Gorris’s Antonia’s Line, which goes on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda’s feature debut, Maborosi, takes home the Gold Hugo for Best Film. The Festival celebrates the achievements of Blake Edwards, Italian director Lina Wertmüller, Al Pacino, and Sally Field.

A Career Achievement Award is bestowed on Michael Douglas, with other honorees including Roger Corman and Liv Ullmann. The Festival launches its signature Black Perspectives program with a tribute to director Spike Lee. Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm screens, as does Andrew Niccol’s first feature, Gattaca. The Gold Hugo for Best Feature goes to Alan Rickman’s The Winter Guest.

Faye Dunaway’s directorial debut The Yellow Bird opens the Festival, and the actress is honored at a lavish celebration at Marshall Field’s Walnut Room. Halle Berry wins the Black Perspectives Award, going on to win the Best Actress Academy Award for Monster’s Ball. Premieres include Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Amelie, Sani Simcha DuBowsi’s Trembling Before G-d, and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Hou Hsaio-Hsien’s Millennium Mambo wins the Gold Hugo for Best Feature.

Shirley MacLaine receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Summer Gala, and the Chicago Youth Media Festival becomes the Future Filmmakers Festival, screening more than 50 shorts. In October, the Festival opens with Susan Sarandon greeting fans for the debut of Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown. The program includes Anand Tucker’s Shopgirl, Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale, and Stephen Frears’ Mrs. Henderosn Presents, and Terrence Howard and Nicolas Cage make appearances.

The 43rd Chicago International Film Festival is dedicated to Roger Ebert, and opens with Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner. Tony Gilroy’s debut feature Michael Clayton screens, as does Anthony Hopkins’ directorial debut, Slipstream. The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips hosts an evening honoring 100 years of filmmaking of Chicago’s Essanay Film Manufacturing Company at the Music Box Theatre.

The Summer Gala pays tribute to Quentin Tarantino, with a special screening of Inglourious Basterds. In the Fall, the Festival includes Lee Daniels’ Precious and tributes to Uma Thurman, Gabourey Sidibe, Willem Dafoe, Patrice Chéreau, and Martin Landau, who accepts his Lifetime Achievement Award at the same Chicago hotel he stayed at while filming Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest in 1959. Tina Mabry’s Mississippi Damned wins top honors, while other festival favorites that year include Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere and Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, starring Michael Fassbender, winner of a Special Jury Award for acting, his second prize in as many years.

The Festival salutes the careers of Claude Lelouch, Martin Sheen, and Anthony Mackie. Notable screenings include Simon Curtis’ My Week With Marilyn. Finland sweeps the awards with Zaida Bergroth winning the New Directors Competition for The Good Son, and Best International Feature going to Aki Kaurismäki’s Le Havre.

Opening Night features James Gray’s The Immigrant, and Bruce Dern attends with Nebraska. Director George Tillman, Jr. and star Jennifer Hudson discuss The Inevitable Defeat Of Mister And Pete, and Joel and Ethan Coen’s Inside Llewyn Davis screens with star Oscar Isaac in attendance. Other notable guests include Geoffrey Rush, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, legendary Italian horror director Dario Argento, Elaine Stritch, and Michael Shannon.

The Festival’s second half-century begins with the launch of Industry Days, a four-day conference for filmmakers and industry professionals. Special guests include actors Sarah Silverman and Christopher Abbot, Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, writer-director Charlie Kaufman, Oscar-winning music composer Howard Shore, and Black Perspectives Honoree Charles Burnett. French New Wave auteur Agnès Varda attends Opening Night, and the Gold Hugo for Best Film goes to French director Philippe Claudel’s A Childhood.

Marshall​ kicks off the Festival with the cast –  ​​including Chadwick Boseman, Sterling K. Brown, Josh Gad, and Marina Squerciati – alongside director Reginald Hudlin and producer Paula Wagner in attendance. Honors are presented to Vanessa Redgrave, Sir Patrick Stewart, and Alfre Woodard. Greta Gerwig’s directorial debut Lady Bird screens as the Centerpiece presentation with actor Tracy Letts in attendance. Actor, motion-capture artist, and choreographer Terry Notary attends with Swedish director Ruben Östlund’s The Square. Actor Michael Shannon is presented with an Artistic Achievement Award and is on hand to introduce the Closing Night film, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape Of Water​,​ ​​with co-star Michael Stuhlbarg, who also starred in one of the year’s most lauded films, Call Me By Your Name. Luminaries Helen Mirren, Taylor Hackford, and Jane Fonda are all celebrated in stand-alone Gala events that honor their immense contributions to the art and industry of cinema.