![A trippy, almost 3D colored image of a boy staring fearfully right into the camera.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DepartingSeniors4_1200x600.jpg)
Departing Seniors
Synopsis
Mexican-American and queer, high school student Javier doesn’t exactly fit in with the popular kids. But he might be the only one who can save them. After an act of bullying sends Javier to the hospital, he begins experiencing visions that foresee glimpses of shocking murders at his school right before they happen. Now, in between navigating the social hierarchies and prejudices of clique culture, Javier (Primo’s Ignacio Diaz-Silverio) and his best friend Bianca (Candyman’s Ireon Roach) must try to unmask a serial killer before he strikes again.
Departing Seniors puts a fresh spin on teen slasher movies like Scream and Freaky, updating them by putting its queer protagonist and characters of color front and center. It’s a horror-comedy with a sarcastic, whip-smart edge and appealingly complex characters, shot right here in Chicago and ready to scare you silly.
Director Spotlight
We chatted with Departing Seniors director Clare Cooney about filming during COVID, refreshing the teen slasher genre, what it’s like to screen her film at the Music Box Theatre, and more.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DepartingSeniors4_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
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Film Credits
- Dashawna Wright, Jose Nateras, Clare Cooney, Kelly Parker
- Jose Nateras
- Isabella McCarthy
- Jason Chiu
- Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Yani Gellman, Ireon Roach
- Denisse Ojeda
- Greg Newman, Nicola Goelzhaeuser, Giles Edwards
- Choppe Productions, Queensbury Pictures
- https://darkskyfilms.com/
Sponsors
Comedy Program Sponsor
Film Supporter
![Two men speak to each other. Framed behind them is a large mirrored structure, reflecting trees and buildings.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Depot-ReflectingBoijmans1_1200x600.jpg)
![Two men speak to each other. Framed behind them is a large mirrored structure, reflecting trees and buildings.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Depot-ReflectingBoijmans1_1200x600.jpg)
Depot – Reflecting Boijmans
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.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Depot-ReflectingBoijmans1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
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![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Depot-ReflectingBoijmans3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Sonia Herman Dolz
- Sonia Herman Dolz
- Rémi van der Heiden, Sonia Herman Dolz
- Paul van den Bos, Stef Tijdink, Ruben Hamelink, Marco Nauta, Arne Verbrugh, Manó Szollosi, Sonia Herman Dolz
- Sjarel Ex, Winy Maas, Pipilotti Rist
- Paul M. van Brugge
- Sonia Herman Dolz
- Sonia Herman Dolz - Audiovisual
Sponsors
Documentary Program Sponsors
Film Supporters
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation • Gary Metzner and Scott Johnson
![A balding man in glasses and a parka stands in front of a car with the word 'loser' spray painted on the side behind him](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DreamScenario1_1200x600.jpg)
![A balding man in glasses and a parka stands in front of a car with the word 'loser' spray painted on the side behind him](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DreamScenario1_1200x600.jpg)
Dream Scenario
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.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Lars Knudsen, Ari Aster, Tyler Campellone, Jacob Jaffke, Nicolas Cage
- Kristoffer Borgli
- Kristoffer Borgli
- Benjamin Loeb
- Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker
- Owen Pallett
- A24, Squarepeg
Sponsors
Comedy Program Sponsor
Film Sponsor
![A woman looks to the side, resting her chin on her hands.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600.jpg)
![A woman looks to the side, resting her chin on her hands.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600.jpg)
Eric LaRue
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.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
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Film Credits
- Sarah Green, Karl Hartman, Jina Panebianco
- Brett Neveu
- Mike Selemon
- Andrew 'Wheels' Wheeler
- Judy Greer, Alexander Skarsgard, Alison Pill, Paul Sparks, Tracy Letts
- Jonathan Mastro
- Byron Wetzel, Jeff Nichols, Declan Baldwin, JoJo Ryder, Meghan Schumacher, R Wesley Sierk, John D Straley
- Big Indie Pictures, Bracecove Productions, Caliwood Pictures
![A girl in a pink button-up, soaking wet, looks off camera. Behind her a pond surrounded by lush trees](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait1_1200x600.jpg)
![A girl in a pink button-up, soaking wet, looks off camera. Behind her a pond surrounded by lush trees](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait1_1200x600.jpg)
Family Portrait
Synopsis
Spring 2020. A Texas family gathers for a reunion on their sprawling estate. When it’s time to memorialize the proceedings with a family photo, it becomes Katy’s job to wrangle everyone down by the river. Then her mother disappears, and Katy’s unwelcome task morphs into a frantic search as a trickle of news about COVID-19 spreads through the get-together. Fear begins to grip Katy, and reality appears to be tearing at the seams.
Ruminating on life, death, the nature of photography, and existence itself, the film is a brilliantly observed, often slyly humorous picture of the unwieldy chaos of a family gathering and a potent distillation of early pandemic paranoia.
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait-poster_600x900.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait-poster_600x900.jpg)
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
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![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_FamilyPortrait3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Megan Pickrell, Frederic Winkler, Rob Rice
- Lucy Kerr
- Karlis Bergs
- Lidia Nikonova
- Deragh Campbell, Chris Galust, Rachel Alig, Katie Folger, Robert Salas, Veronica Cinibulk, Silvana Jakich, David McGuff, Christian Huey, Les Weiler
- Lucy Kerr, Brittany Reeber
- Insufficient Funds, Conjuring Productions
- https://www.lightsonfilm.com/familyportrait.html
Sponsors
New Directors Program Sponsors
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation