![Three teenage girls, dressed brightly, sit together in front of a metal fence.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Sisterhood1_1200x600.jpg)
Sisterhood HLM Pussy
Synopsis
Fifteen-year-olds Amina, Djeneba, and Zineb have been an inseparable trio since childhood. When one of the girls is the victim of a predatory incident, an emboldened Amina posts a video of the assault on social media as a means of denouncing the assailant. The video unexpectedly goes viral, eliciting both widespread support and backlash from their community and the internet at large. Amina’s actions force a wedge into this formerly invincible friendship, shedding light on the divides in the girls’ race, class, and cultural privilege.
A poignant commentary on the act of speaking out in the age of the viral internet, Sisterhood takes a critical closer look at the complex factors at play that, all too often, force women and girls into silence in the face of gendered violence.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Sisterhood1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Sisterhood2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Sisterhood3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Philippe Gompel
- Nora El Hourch
- Quentin Jourde d'Arzac
- Maxence Lemonnier
- Léah Aubert, Médina Diarra, Salma Takaline, Oscar Al Hafiane, Bérénice Bejo, Mounir Magroum
- Clément Tery
- Philippe Gompel
- Manny Films, La Prod
Sponsors
New Directors Program Sponsors
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
![A red-headed child and an old man with a beard stare each other down over a chessboard set out on a kitchen table.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solitude1_1200x600.jpg)
Solitude Tilverur
Synopsis
Forced off of his cherished farm and lifelong home in the remote reaches of rural Iceland, Gunnar arrives in the bustling heart of the city. Adrift in this unfamiliar urban landscape and lacking the social skills to connect, his days are spent in quiet observation of the city’s people and its myriad spaces. Then he’s confronted by an endlessly inquisitive neighborhood paperboy, Ari, who insinuates himself into Gunnar’s life. Together, these two misfits forge a unique cross-generational bond that confounds everyone around them.
Palmadóttir’s gentle and moving debut is a potent tale about the transformative power of friendship and the profound impact of the connections we forge, regardless of age or stage in life. Protests advocating for a refugee denied asylum form a pivotal backdrop to Gunnar’s journey, offering a stark reminder of the world’s complex and often unjust realities and the need for genuine kindness.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solitude1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solitude2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solitude3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Lilja Osk Snorradottir, Hlin Johannesdottir, Elli Cassata, Rúnar Rúnarsson
- Rúnar Rúnarsson
- Ivor Sonje
- Dusan Husar
- Throstur Leo Gunnarsson, Hermann Samuelsson, Anna Gunndis Gudmundsdottir, Hjortur Johann Jonsson, Joel Saemundsson
- Pegasus Pictures, nutprodukcia, Jour2Fête, Halibut
- https://www.thepartysales.com/movie/solitude/
Sponsors
New Directors Program Sponsors
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
![A drag queen in a long wig and leotard performs in front of an adoring crowd.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo1_1200x600.jpg)
![A drag queen in a long wig and leotard performs in front of an adoring crowd.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo1_1200x600.jpg)
Synopsis
Simon, a talented and carefree drag artist, is the rising star of his club, aided by his costume designer sister. When he meets new performer Olivier, their chemistry is immediate and undeniable. The two dive headfirst into a whirlwind romance combined with artistic collaboration, and their love and performance are both passionate and destructive. Meanwhile, Simon also finds hope in the promise of a renewed relationship with his estranged mother, a famous opera singer from whom he is desperate to receive love and artistic validation.
An increasingly controlling Olivier, a cold and distant mother, and Simon’s neglect of his supportive sister illuminate the toxic cycles of codependency and disappointment in his life, empowering him to realize that perhaps he shines most brightly as a solo act. Sophie Dupuis (Family First) returns to the festival with a vibrant and scintillating tale of self-actualization, with stunning drag performances that hold up a mirror between art and life.
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo-poster_600x900.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo-poster_600x900.jpg)
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_Solo3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Étienne Hensez
- Sophie Dupuis
- Marie-Pier Dupuis, Dominique Fortin, Maxim Rheault
- Mathieu Laverdière
- Théodore Pellerin, Félix Maritaud, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Alice Moreault
- Charles Lavoie
- BRAVO CHARLIE
Sponsors
Film Supporters
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_StampedfromtheBeginning1_1200x600.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_StampedfromtheBeginning1_1200x600.jpg)
Stamped from the Beginning
Synopsis
Inspired by the book of the same name and narrated by its bestselling author Dr. Ibram X. Kendi (How to Be An Antiracist), Stamped from the Beginning explores the roots of anti-Black racist beliefs and practices and how they’ve become enshrined in American culture. The film brings history to life through vivid animated sequences recounting the often little-known achievements of Black women thinkers such as 18th C. poet Phillis Wheatley, memoirist Harriet Jacobs, and journalist Ida B. Wells, while also exposing the whitewashed legacies of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
Directed by Oscar winner Roger Ross Williams (The Apollo) and featuring such leading activists as Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, and Brittany Packnett Cunningham, the film is a bold and searing account of how past and present are entwined in an insidious mix of white supremacist and anti-Black ideologies.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Alisa Payne, Roger Ross Williams, David Teague
- David Teague
- John Fisher, Francesca Sharper
- Wolfgang Held
- Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Dr. Angela Davis, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Brittany Packnett Cunningham
- Nate Wonder, Roman GianArthur
- Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Geoff Martz, Mara Brock Akil, Susie Fitzgerald
- One Story Up Productions, Story27
Sponsors
Documentary Program Sponsors
Black Perspectives Program Sponsors
![A very disheveled pregnant woman sits on a rock by a waterfall, looking at the shirtless man lounging next to her.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams1_1200x600.jpg)
![A very disheveled pregnant woman sits on a rock by a waterfall, looking at the shirtless man lounging next to her.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams1_1200x600.jpg)
Sweet Dreams
Synopsis
Indonesia, 1900. In the waning days of the colonial era, Dutch sugar plantation owners Jan and Agathe lord over an estate simmering with imminent rebellion. When Jan suddenly drops dead, Agathe forces their son and his pregnant wife to travel from the Netherlands to take over the family business. But when she discovers that Jan has left the estate to his Indonesian concubine Siti and their young son, both sides of the estate will go to extremes in order to survive.
Featuring scathingly sharp performances and set against a lush visual landscape with indelible metaphoric images, Sweet Dreams is an incisive and surreal satire that marvels at the absurdity of the colonial nightmare.
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams-poster_600x900.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams-poster_600x900.jpg)
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_SweetDreams3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Erik Glijnis, Leontine Petit; co-produced by: Erik Hemmendorff, Kristina Börjeson, Martien Vlietman, Mandy Marahimin
- Ena Sendijarević
- Lot Rossmark
- Emo Weemhoff
- Renée Soutendijk, Hayati Azis, Lisa Zweerman, Florian Myjer, Muhammad Khan, Hans Dagelet, Rio den Haas
- Martial Foe
- Judy Tossel, Laurent Médéa, Ena Sendijarević
- Lemming Film, Plattform Produktion, VPRO, Film ï Vast, Tala Media
Sponsors
New Directors Program Sponsors
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation