Zurawksi v Texas
Synopsis
Riveting, heartrending, and enraging, Zurawski v Texas is an inside account of the groundbreaking 2023 lawsuit in which several women came forward to sue the state of Texas over its draconian abortion laws. The film follows unwavering attorney Molly Duane as she mounts the case, along with three of her key plaintiffs: Amanda Zurawksi, who nearly died from septic shock; Samantha Casiano, who had no choice but to carry a fetus with a fatal condition to term; and Dr. Austin Dennard, an obstetrician who joined the lawsuit as a patient.
As these women find solidarity in their fight and strength in tentative legal victories, they also witness how a system of laws that are supposedly meant to protect their rights instead utterly fails them. Equal parts suspenseful courtroom thriller and powerful tale of injustice, the film profiles the brave individuals on the frontlines of the battle for women’s reproductive rights and their ongoing struggle. “We will not be silenced,” Zurawski says. “This isn’t over.”
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Film Credits
- Amy Flanagan, Siobhan Sinnerton, Blye Pagon Faust, Cori Shepherd, Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault
- Austin Reedy
- Maisie Crow
- Osei Essed
- Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Ciarrocchi, Bari Lurie, Johnny Webb, Linda Himelstein, Laurie Michaels, Amy Metzler Ritter
- HIddenlight, Story Force, Out of Nowhere
Sponsors
Documentary Program Partner
Documentary Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
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The Return
Synopsis
After 20 years away, Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king has returned from the Trojan War, but much has changed in his kingdom. His beloved wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) is a prisoner in her own home, hounded by suitors vying to be king. Their son Telemachus faces death at the hands of these suitors, who see him as an obstacle to their pursuit of the kingdom. Odysseus is also no longer the mighty warrior from years past, but he must rediscover his strength in order to win back all that he has lost.
Starring a forceful Ralph Fiennes as Odysseus and a sublime Juliette Binoche as Penelope — 25 years after their Oscar-winning collaboration The English Patient — The Return transforms Homer’s famous Greek epic into a classic tale of Shakespearean intrigue, fueled by great passions, cunning political machinations, and extraordinary violence.
In Focus: Italy on Screen
This film is part of the 60th Chicago International Film Festival’s In Focus: Italy on Screen collection, celebrating Italian cinema by harkening back to the best of the country’s filmmaking traditions while showcasing vibrant new work.
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Film Credits
- Uberto Pasolini, James Clayton, Roberto Sessa, Kostantinos Kontovrakis
- John Collee, Edward Bond, Uberto Pasolini
- David Charap
- Marius Panduru R.S.C.
- Juliette Binoche, Ralph Fiennes, Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, Ángela Molina
- Rachel Portman
- Ralph Fiennes, Giorgos Karnavas, Torsten Poeck, Andrew Karpen, Kent Sanderson, Nicholas Sandler, Keith Kehoe
- Picomedia, Rai Cinema, Heretic, Ithaca Films, Kabo Productions, Marvelous Productions, Redwave Films
- https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/the-return
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The Return of the Projectionist Le Retour du projectionniste
Synopsis
In this real-life tale set in a remote village in Azerbaijan’s Talysh mountains, elderly TV repairman Samid dusts off his old Soviet film projector with dreams of bringing movies on the big screen back to his rural community. When he meets Ayaz, a tech-savvy young man who creates short animated movies on his cell phone, the two join forces to realize Samid’s vision. But first, he must get a new projector bulb all the way from Lithuania and overcome skepticism among some of the town’s more conservative citizens.
Impeccably photographed and suffused with its protagonists’ love of cinema, The Return of the Projectionist unfolds with the sublime simplicity of the Iranian New Wave and the charm of Cinema Paradiso. Against the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s conflict with Armenia and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Samid and Ayaz’s goals may seem trivial, but their everyday struggles — between tradition and modernity, past and future — resonate deeply.
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Film Credits
- François-Pierre Clavel, Alexandre Perrier, Lino Rettinger
- Orkhan Aghazadeh
- Nicole Schmeier
- Daniel Guliyev
- Kidam, Lichtblick films
Sponsors
Documentary Program Partner
Documentary Program Patron
Cynthia Stone Raskin
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Synopsis
Seville, summer 1984. Seven-year-old Rita lives in a humble working-class neighborhood with her parents and little brother. Through the sensorial experience of the textures of everyday life, Rita experiences the world around her: the oppressive heat, the tense air in the apartment, her father’s anger, a crash from the next room, her mother’s hushed phone calls in the kitchen, the strange purple marks around her mother’s eye. As Rita begins to sense the rising danger at home, she retreats farther into her imagination — until she is forced to awaken from her innocence.
Legendary Spanish actress Paz Vega (Sex and Lucía) lends a powerful performance as Rita’s mother, and also emerges as a director to watch through her delicate and poignant portrayal of the young girl’s interiority. Rita is a deeply personal and moving exploration of domestic violence as experienced through the eyes of a child.
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Film Credits
- Marta Velasco, Gonzalo Bendala
- Paz Vega
- Ana Álvarez Ossorio
- Eva Díaz
- Paz Vega, Roberto Álamo, Sofía Allepuz, Alejandro Escamilla
- Pablo Cervantes
- Marta Velasco
- Áralan Films
- https://filmaxinternationalsales.com/film/rita
Sponsors
New Directors Program Patron
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
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The Room Next Door
Synopsis
In celebrated Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, Julianne Moore stars as Ingrid, a best-selling writer who reconnects after many years with her close childhood friend Martha — a war journalist played by Tilda Swinton. As the two reunite and rekindle their relationship, Martha makes a request of Ingrid that will test their newly reforged bond.
Like his acclaimed films Parallel Mothers, Talk to Her, and Volver — to name a few —The Room Next Door is a beautifully crafted drama that continues Almodóvar’s perceptive, emotional exploration of women’s inner lives. Featuring luminous performances by Moore and Swinton and his signature saturated color palette, Almodóvar’s latest masterwork is an exquisite and heartbreaking story of life, death, and friendship.
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Film Credits
- Agustín Almodóvar
- Pedro Almodóvar
- Teresa Font
- Eduard Grau
- Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola
- Alberto Iglesias
- Esther García
- El Deseo
- https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/theroomnextdoor
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