Synopsis

In this love letter to motherhood, Two One Two intricately blends clay-on-glass animation with intimate glimpses into cherished personal archives. What emerges is a deeply moving experimental animated documentary, and a captivating exploration of the human experience.

This film screens as part of the Shorts 9: Family Friendly Animation – Better Together program.

Synopsis

Bernard’s routine is anchored behind the ticket booth windows at the Town Hall Square subway station, where his life unfolds in a relentless monotony. Yet, the predictable cadence of his existence is abruptly disrupted when an escaped tiger roams into the station, fixated on one peculiar item – his radio.

This film screens as part of the Shorts 9: Family Friendly Animation – Better Together program and Adventures/Aventuras: Animated Shorts Community Cinema program.

Synopsis

A year after a young girl’s mysterious disappearance at Camp Kona, a reluctant boy is sent to the same camp by his parents, and he is far from thrilled about it. Unbeknownst to him, within the camp’s secluded woods lies a dark secret that will serve as the backdrop for a tale full of suspense and nostalgia.

This film screens as part of the Shorts 9: Family Friendly Animation – Better Together program.

Synopsis

The six shorts in this program represent distinct modes of storytelling through film, while reflecting the diversity and creativity of our region. Featuring works by Dustin Nakao-Haider, McKenzie Chinn, Linh Tran, Tetsuya Mariko, Ian Kelly, and Brian Zahm.

In Ethan Lim: Cambodian Futures (U.S.), we follow a chef with a mission to share and elevate Cambodian food using his family’s recipes. Two friends living on the south side of Chicago find their friendship tested when one reveals a tightly-held secret in A Real One (U.S.). In Video Funeral (U.S.), two Vietnamese sisters bond over their father’s death and funeral. Two small-time thieves encounter an abandoned car with a small child in the backseat in Before Anyone Else (Japan, U.S.). A grandson uses animation to reconstruct a loved one’s lost memories in the documentary Soft Lights and Silver Shadows (U.S.). Photosynthesis (U.S.) takes the viewer on a 3D journey in the form of a 1960s perceptual art-inspired experience.

Synopsis

In the quiet and impactful Memorial (U.S.) the community of Highland Park, Illinois, commemorates those who lost their lives in the Independence Day shooting of 2022. The documentary recollects the attack and chronicles a public memorial created in response by residents in the days that followed. A meditation on processing collective trauma, Memorial uses simple elements–the voices of survivors and site-specific images of the area–to mark the tragedy.

Followed by a post-screening discussion with director Jon Siskel, co-founder of Siskel/Jacobs Productions, whose Louder Than a Bomb and The Road Up screened previously at the Chicago International Film Festival. He will be joined by one of the subjects of Memorial, Jacqueline Von Edelberg, and activist, Delphine Cherry.

Delphine Cherry is the founder of the TY Foundation (Tender Youth); formed after the murder of her son Tyler Randolph. The foundation provides support, resources for family members and loved ones impacted by gun violence in our communities. Delphine is an activist for peace and is on the forefront of the movement to find solutions to America’s gun violence crisis. She also works as an Illinois state lead with Brady United Against Gun Violence.  Delphine has been a resident of Hazel Crest for sixteen years; she grew up on the south side of Chicago.

Jacqueline Von Edelberg is the artist activist who created and nourished the memorial in Highland Park after the deadly attack. Jacqueline is the founder of Arts4Impact.org, working to empower people through the transformative power of the arts.

This film also screens as part of the Shorts 4: Documentary – In Motion program.