Synopsis

Directed by Pablo Larraín (ChicagoIFF selections Spencer, Jackie, Neruda, The Club) and starring Academy Award®-winner Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as La Callas negotiates the blurred boundaries between her public image and private self. The film also stars Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

Synopsis

Escaping postwar Europe, visionary architect László Toth (Adrien Brody) arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) after being forced apart by shifting borders and regimes during wartime. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost.

This film will be screened in 35mm.

Synopsis

Elwood Curtis’s college dream shatters alongside a two-lane Florida highway. Bearing the brunt of an innocent misstep, he’s sentenced to the netherworld of Nickel Academy, a brutal reformatory sunk deep in the Jim Crow South. There, he encounters another ward, the seen-it-all Turner. The two Black teens strike up an alliance: Turner dispenses fundamental tips for survival, and Elwood clings to his optimistic worldview. Backdropped by the burgeoning civil rights movement, Elwood and Turner’s existence appears worlds away from Rev. Martin Luther King’s burnished oratory. Despite Nickel’s brutality, Elwood strives to hold onto his humanity, awakening a new vision for Turner.

Synopsis

Based on a true story, this inspiring drama follows Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome) who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams. With the unwavering love and support of his devoted mother Judy (Jennifer Lopez) and the encouragement of his coaches, Anthony fights through adversity to earn a spot on the Arizona State Wrestling team. But it will demand everything he has, physically and mentally, to achieve his ultimate quest to become an NCAA champion.

Unstoppable features standout performances from a stellar cast: Moonlight actor Jerome’s fiercely committed performance as the determined athlete, Lopez’s wrenching portrayal of a conflicted mother, and Don Cheadle as a hardened wrestling coach who pulls no punches. Viscerally capturing both the thrilling physicality of the matches (overseen by the real-life Robles) and the emotional turmoil off the mat, Unstoppable is the apotheosis of the powerfully inspirational sports drama.

Synopsis

Michigan-based filmmaker Joel Potrykus has built his career on chronicling the comedic routines and surprisingly complex inner lives of slacker dudes. And Vulcanizadora is no exception. The difference here is that Potrykus’ characters, like the filmmaker himself, are getting older. That means that, for Marty Jackitansky (Josh Burge) and Derek Skiba (Joel Potrykus), the consequences of their actions are getting harder to avoid.

The moment when eternal adolescence slams against the brick wall of mortality is the theme of Potrykus’ latest, a spiritual sequel to his film Buzzard (ChicagoIFF 2014). This is a movie that benefits from knowing as little as possible going in, so just take Potrykus’ word for it when he says that this is his “most personal” as well as his “bleakest” film to date.