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Banner: the 60th Chicago International Film Festival

Genre: Music


Better Man

Michael Gracey  |   Australia
English  
Biopic, Drama, Music

Based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams.

A woman (Selena Gomez) lit in red stands in front of a room lit with green, blue, purple, and orange lights.

Emilia Pérez

Jacques Audiard  |   France
Spanish  
Crime, LGBTQ, Music

Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this Mexican odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women, each pursuing happiness.

A woman peers over a model set containing a ski hill, Mount Rushmore, a rocketship, and a roller coaster

The End

Joshua Oppenheimer  |   Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, United Kingdom
English  
Family Affairs, Music, Science Fiction

In this Golden Age musical about one of the last families on earth, the sudden arrival of a stranger threatens the equilibrium of their seemingly perfect existence.

Two black and white split screen images of different angles of the same man playing a guitar solo.

Hazel (dual) [short film]

Kevin Jerome Everson  |   United States
No Dialogue  
Biopic, Historical, Music

A dual-screen, fictionalized recreation of Eddie Hazel’s famous 10-minute guitar solo on the Funkadelic song “Maggot Brain.” According to a much-shared anecdote, George Clinton elicited an especially soulful performance by telling Hazel to imagine his mother’s passing as he recorded the track.

A boy, backlit by the sun, stares out a window.

Listen to the Voices (Kouté vwa)

Maxime Jean-Baptiste  |   Belgium, France, French Guiana
French, Guianese Creole  
Coming of Age, Family Affairs, Music

Melrick, 13, summers with his grandmother in French Guiana. After discovering his family’s tragic past, he searches for ways to connect to his history.

Maria

Pablo Larraín  |   Italy, Germany, United States
English, Greek  
Biopic, Music, Women Centered

Maria tells the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest female opera singer, reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.

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.

The Jackson 5 performing in their vibrant outifts.

Save the Children (1973)

Stan Lathan  |   United States
English  
Historical, Music, Social Commentary

Virtually unseen for 50 years, this jubilant documentary features a soul-stirring display of contemporary Black musicians at Chicago’s 1972 Black Expo.

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.

An arm of royalty displays bracelets with a bow and the ornate dress of the subject.

The Painting [short film] (Le tableau)

Michèle Lemieux  |   Canada
English, French  
Animation, Art, Music

Using the shadow and light of the pinscreen animation technique, this film considers a portrait of Queen Mariana of Austria by Baroque painter Diego Velázquez. Forced to marry her uncle as a child, Queen Mariana’s traumatic life becomes a reminder of the cruelty of incest, as well as art’s deep resonance, in this delicately made work.

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.