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Banner: the 60th Chicago International Film Festival

Genre: Comedy


A robed altar boy turns away from a frightened young man, who stands in the doorway. An older priest stands by a cross.

Body of Christ [short film] (Mi primera comunión)

Ángel Villahermosa  |   Spain
Spanish  
Comedy, LBGTQ+, Religion

As Pablo falls in love with the altar boy Sebastián, he finds that God has become an obstacle to their relationship in more ways than one.

A brown-haired woman floats back in dark blue space holding a cervical exam instrument and looking into camera.

Chhaya [short film]

Sophiyaa Nayar  |   United States
English  
Action, Comedy, Women-Centered

Paralyzed by anxiety at her OB/GYN appointment, painful memories resurface for Jiya during her pelvic exam. She dissociates and relives her recent assault — this time with sequined boots and red lipstick as her battle gear.

A young woman looks at herself in the mirror in a blue-tiled bathroom. She has clips in her hair and a serious expression.

Dadá [short film] (Dependências)

Luisa Arraes  |   Brazil
Portuguese  
Comedy, Culinary, Social Commentary

A wealthy matriarch’s important work dinner is thrown into disarray when her housekeeper doesn’t show up. When her (and her adult children’s) incompetence in the kitchen becomes harder to hide from their hungry guests, a wacky comedy of errors ensues in this biting and boisterous class satire.

Close up on a person holding up their shirt as a gray and white sock sticks out of their teal underwear.

Day with a Dick [short film]

Kimberly Spohn  |   United States
English  
Comedy, Sex and Sexuality, Women-Centered

Facing a daunting task at work, a young woman explores a novel method to boost her confidence. Throughout the day, she discovers that her newfound audacity isn’t always beneficial.

A rag-tag looking baseball team in red uniforms observes from their dugout.

Eephus

Carson Lund  |   United States, France
English  
Comedy, Drama, Sports

Two adult baseball teams play one final game on their beloved field in this shaggy, delightful, and nostalgic portrait of a fading America.

A young man in purple swim trunks and a woman in sunglasses and a red bikini lay on inflatable mats in a bright blue pool.

Fishbowl [short film]

Isabel Perry, Adam Yates  |   United States
English  
Comedy, Coming of Age, LGBTQ

An unlikely pair in their late twenties spend a summer weekend chasing their early twenties. They do their best to act as young as they feel by dining and dashing, getting high, and trash-talking their exes— all while watching a goldfish they’ve been hired to keep alive.

4 older women and 1 young man look at an ipad screen together.

Four Mothers

Darren Thornton  |   Ireland
English  
Comedy, Family Affairs, LGBTQ

A writer is torn between his burgeoning career in another country and caring for his aging mother at home in this charming Irish comedy.

An elementary-aged boy looks confused in his school cafeteria.

Free Lunch [short film]

Samuel Laine  |   United States
English  
Comedy, Family Friendly, Political

A young boy reaches the end of the lunch line, where he’s told he doesn’t have enough money for a meal. He finds himself at the whim of adult rules and egos, as well as small mercies.

In winter, three cone-shaped brown birds sit high in a tree.

Hoofs on Skates [short film]

Ignas Meilūnas  |   Lithuania
English  
Animation, Comedy, Family Friendly

When two best friends spend a frosty winter day ice skating on a lake, they encounter a surprise lurking beneath the surface. Delightfully exploring the power of overcoming a fear of the unknown, this charming romp captures the joy in unexpected friendships.

Two black and white split screen images of the same bridge, with a digital map superimposed on the right.

If the Sun Drowned into an Ocean of Clouds [short film] (Et si le soleil plongeait dans l'océan des nues)

Wissam Charaf  |   France, Lebanon
Arabic  
Comedy, Political, Social Commentary

A dedicated security guard in Beirut finds his assignment of guarding a waterfront construction site much more difficult than he thought. Delightful and romantic, this surrealist comedy gives us a glimpse into the ups and downs of a man who dares to dream beyond his reality.

A woman in a denim jumpsuit stands on a street corner holding an acoustic guitar and staring into camera.

Kombucha! [short film]

Jake Myers  |   United States
English  
Comedy, Horror, Social Comentary

A musician stuck in a monotonous office job decides to try the free kombucha that keeps his coworkers cheerful and productive. But the drink comes with a host of unsettling side effects, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase “consumed by your work.”

An old man on a vintage bike with a sidecar carrying an old woman. She smiles up at him.

Long Good Thursday (Mielensäpahoittajan rakkaustarina)

Mika Kaurismäki  |   Finland
Finnish  
Comedy, Romance

A rural curmudgeon grappling with old age finds his routine turned upside down when a free-spirited artist enters his secluded life.

A silhouette of a woman in a dark room facing away towards a window with the blinds closed.

Lumen [short film]

Stéphanie Bélanger  |   Canada
French  
Comedy, Social Commentary, Thriller

Shopping under the pseudonym “Claude,” an older woman finds solace in isolation by buying secondhand lamps online. When a seller abruptly rescinds their offer, however, Claude is determined to possess the lamp by any means necessary.

A man leans up against a soup cart talking to a female Salvation Army officer

The Man Without a Past (2002) (Mies vailla menneisyyttä)

Aki Kaurismäki  |   Finland, Germany
Finnish  
Comedy, Drama, Romance

In this touching deadpan comedy, a welder, who finds himself in Helsinki and experiencing total amnesia, sets out to rebuild his life with a ragtag group of outsiders.

A woman in a red jacket stands clutching a book and a pen.

The Missile (Ohjus)

Miia Tervo  |   Finland, Estonia
Finnish  
Comedy, Mystery, Women Centered

A single mother working as an archivist at a local paper is drawn into an investigation when a Soviet nuclear missile crashes near her Lapland town.

A red-headed woman jogs down a street at night, dogs following her.

Nightbitch

Marielle Heller  |   United States
English  
Comedy, Horror, Literary Adaptation, Women Centered

A woman (Amy Adams) pauses her career to be a stay-at-home mom, but her new domesticity takes a surreal turn. In this penetrating, funny, and outrageous look at the realities of being an American mom, Marielle Heller has crafted a wildly entertaining tale of female struggle and strength.

A man and woman sit before a bookshelf, looking at each other.

The Other Way Around (Volveréis)

Jonás Trueba  |   Spain, France
Spanish  
Comedy, Family Affairs, Romance

A couple decides to throw a party to celebrate their amicable breakup. Their loved ones are skeptical, but they say it’s what they want. Is it really?

Close up on a young man’s face in profile as he stares intensely. A bright light illuminates the side of his face.

Passarinho [short film]

Natalia García Agraz  |   Mexico
Spanish  
Comedy, Coming of Age, Women-Centered

Two teenage best friends devise an expert plan to meet their dreamy idol, a superstar Brazilian soccer player. But things change when one of them gets their first period at the game in this deeply relatable and utterly charming coming-of-age story.

Black and white image of the band 'Pavement' posing.

Pavements

Alex Ross Perry  |   United States
English  
Biopic, Comedy, Music

Iconic, ironic ‘90s slacker-rock band Pavement gets an appropriately wry and subversive doc, both heartfelt tribute and absurdist deconstruction.

A couple in a well-decorated, modern dining room. A large Great Dane dog looks at the man, who has a ball at his feet.

Peacock

Bernhard Wenger  |   Austria, Germany
English, German  
Art, Comedy, Drama

In need of a “cultured boyfriend”? A “perfect son”? Matthias is available for rent in this incisive comedy that levels up the “rent-a” genre.

A man in a red hoodie and a man in a blue hoodie stare up at something behind camera together.

A Real Pain

Jesse Eisenberg  |   United States, Poland
English  
Comedy, Family Affairs, Religion

This emotional comedic journey follows mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) on a tour through Poland to honor their grandmother.

A woman stares at her vibrator with bright and eager eyes.

She and Her Good Vibrations [short film]

Olivia Griselda, Sarah Cheok  |   Singapore
Shorts  
Animation, Comedy, Sex and Sexuality

A package sent to the wrong address opens an addictive realm of pleasure for its recipient. A colorful and energetic examination of whether there can truly be too much of a good thing ensues.

An old person in old-timey driving hat and goggles, sits behind a wheel.

Silent Trilogy (Mykkätrilogia)

Juho Kuosmanen  |   Finland
No Dialogue  
Comedy, Film on Film

This playful ode to early cinema features a widower casting off his worldly possessions, moonshiners and their pig, and a space-bound lighthouse keeper.

With a worried expression, a Black woman lies in bed with only her nightstand lamp on beside her.

Super High: A Period Piece [short film]

Bianca Lambert  |   United States
English  
Animation, Comedy, Women-Cenetered

Desperate to combat the pain of fibroids, Amanda steps into the world of edibles. When inanimate objects start speaking to her, she realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

A young man and a female nurse look down with concerned expressions, fluorescent hospital lights in the ceiling behind them.

Terminally Ill [short film]

Chris Cole  |   United States
English  
Comedy, Family Affairs, Music

In a hospital room, a grandson sits beside his declining grandmother. With seemingly no other options, he makes a final effort to save her life by performing a freestyle rap, and is soon joined by some unlikely performers.

A woman stands with her arms out and her mouth open as if to sing.

Toni Erdmann (2016)

Maren Ade  |   Germany, Austria
German  
Comedy, Family Affairs, Women Centered

A prickly corporate consultant is at her wit’s end after her hippie father disguises himself as a life coach in an effort to reconnect in this offbeat comedy.

Two men in red tank tops, one looking down at his phone, sit in a dark room in front of a phone on a tripod.

Too Much Sand [short film]

Rosso Pérez Bueno  |   Sweden
Swedish  
Comedy, Social Commentary, Sports

As a toxic substance slowly ravages a celebrity’s body, the question left to ask is, how far would you go for the advertising money?

In a dark room, a young girl stands in front of a breezy open window wearing a high-collared red cape.

Transylvanie [short film]

Rodrigue Huart  |   France
French  
Comedy, Horror, Women-Centered

When a 10-year-old vampire realizes that she will be living alone for eternity, she plans to turn a neighborhood boy into her immortal companion. In an effort to prove her immortality, she reveals something much more sinister.

A hand-drawn robot boy stares, eye-twitching, body glitching, surrounded by pink-purple colour pencil strokes.

Trigonometry’s Ultimate Method to Putting the Fun Back in Your Own Funeral [short film]

April Aquino  |   United States
English  
Animation, Comedy, Science Fiction

Trigonometry’s untimely death inspires him to go out with one last hurrah, crashing his own funeral.

Surrounded by dancers in colorful ensembles, a besuited woman looks troubled on a São Paulo road.

Trying [short film] (Estamos tentando)

Guilherme Gomes, Julia Conatti  |   Brazil
Portuguese  
Comedy, Coming of Age, Music

Down on her luck after an exhaustive job search, Luna returns to the home of her childhood friend following another failed interview. They commiserate over wine, working to re-establish their relationship as young adults navigating São Paulo, Brazil.

A large group of people sit in front of a table full of money. Two policemen guard the door

Two to One (Zwei Zu Eins)

Natja Brunckhorst  |   Germany
German  
Comedy, Crime, Historical

Sandra Hüller leads a stellar cast in this heist comedy about a group of East Germans who steal a fortune in soon-to-be-obsolete currency.

A chrsitmas tree with legs in the foreground. A cross a snowy yard, two people look on.

Universal Language (Une Langue Universelle)

Matthew Rankin  |   Canada
Farsi, French  
Comedy, Drama

Three overlapping stories set in a surreal, not-too-distant future create a deadpan picture of life in Winnipeg that’s both hilarious and heartwarming.

A tiny woman with gray hair sits atop a VCR, staring at the tv in front of her.

Wander to Wonder [short film]

Nina Gantz  |   The Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom
English  
Animation, Comedy, Thriller

Without their leader, a group of pocket-sized people must cope with increasingly harsh conditions while trying to maintain their sanity on an ’80s TV show. An absurd and humorous tale executed with exquisite stop-motion animation, this film asks what it takes to move on.

Two women with matching hair, sunglasses, and bathing suits lie head to head by a pool.

Wishing on a Star

Péter Kerekes  |   Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria, Croatia
Friulian, Italian  
Comedy, Romance, Women Centered

In this surprising, poignant documentary, an Italian astrologer promises her clients happiness if they follow the stars on a special birthday trip.