Evil Does Not Exist Aku Wa Sonzai Shinai
Synopsis
Following his international sensation Drive My Car, filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi returns with a captivating eco-thriller that explores the eternal conflict between the natural world and the human urge to destroy it.
Set in the peaceful northern village of Harasawa, the film follows Takumi, a local handyman who lives with his young daughter and makes his living chopping wood, hauling water, and doing odd jobs around town. The tranquility of this rural life is threatened, however, when a Tokyo company announces plans to construct a high-end glamping site near the village. The venture is met with skepticism from the townspeople, who worry that the development will irreparably damage the natural environment — and, by extension, their very existence. Expertly scripted and directed with an eye for human duality, Evil Does Not Exist ponders our complicated relationship with the world around us.
Screenings & Events
Sold Out/Rush Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
Film Credits
- Satoshi Takata
- Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
- Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, and Ayaka Shibutani
- Eiko Ishibashi
- Neopa Inc.
Sponsors
International Competition Program Sponsor
John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
You might also enjoy...
Fallen Leaves
Synopsis
One cold night in Helsinki, two strangers meet by chance in a karaoke bar. He is a wayward alcoholic construction worker searching for meaning. She’s a lonely dreamer who spends her days stocking supermarket shelves and fantasizing about a better life. There’s a spark of instant attraction, but a slew of unfortunate everyday obstacles — lost phone numbers, missed meetings, and the fact that they don’t know each other’s names — makes it seem as if they’ve missed their chance at true love.
A masterpiece of detail and decor, Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki imbues this tender, deeply felt romance with wry wit and a light touch. Set against a brooding background of dead-end jobs and looming war, his empathetic protagonists continue to hope for something more. In the words of the director: “It felt like this bloody world needed some love stories now.”
Screenings & Events
Sold Out/Rush Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
Media
Film Credits
- Aki Kaurismäki, Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff, Reinhard Brundig
- Aki Kaurismäki
- Samu Heikkilä
- Timo Salminen
- Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu
- Spitnik Oy, Bufo
Sponsors
International Competition Program Sponsor
John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
You might also enjoy...
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World
Radu JudeRomania, Luxembourg, France, Croatia
Learn more...
Fingernails
Synopsis
Anna (Jessie Buckley) and Ryan (The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White) have found true love. In fact, it’s been proven by a controversial technology that tests the authenticity of romantic love between couples. While the assessment is painful — a single fingernail from each person in the relationship must be removed — a positive result is worth it for many. Entranced by this new science, Anna decides to take a job at the love institute, running workshops and testing matches. But when she meets her new colleague Amir (Riz Ahmed), it puts everything she knows empirically into question.
In his winsome and wryly surrealist English-language debut, Greek director Christos Nikou (2020 ChicagoIFF winner Apples) creates a clever, idiosyncratic allegory about our desire for certainty in love and the infallibility—and frailty—of our closest relationships.
Screenings & Events
Sold Out/Rush Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
Media
Film Credits
- Coco Francini, Andrew Upton, Cate Blanchett, Christos Nikou, Lucas Wiesendanger
- Christos Nikou, Sam Steiner, Stavros Raptis
- Yorgos Zafeiris
- Marcel Rév
- Jessie Buckley, Riz Ahmed, Jeremy Allen White, Luke Wilson, Annie Murphy
- Christopher Stracey
- Glen Basner, Milan Popelka, Alison Cohen, Ashley Fox, Kevin Lafferty, Jerome Duboz
- FilmNation Entertainment, Dirty Films
You might also enjoy...
Food Roots
Synopsis
Emmy Award-winning Chicago Restaurateur Billy Dec adventures through his mother’s native 7,641 Islands of the Philippines to learn recipes from his last living elders, confronting culinary and cultural treasures and family secrets.
Food Roots gives viewers the opportunity to accompany Dec by plane, boat, motorcycle, jeepney, and foot, as he searches through bustling metropolitan cities, tiny remote islands, and hidden cloud-scraping mountain villages to find his family members. He climbs a mountain to meet with a 103-year-old tribal tattoo master, where she blesses him with a tattoo related to his ancestral connection. Through the ups and downs of the trip, Dec gains a deeper understanding of his family history, along with an elevated appreciation for how food has shaped their view of the world.
Film Spotlight
Film SpotlightWe chatted with director Michele Jouse and subject Billy Dec about Food Roots, discovering one’s heritage, their favorite Chicago films, and more.
Screenings & Events
Sold Out/Rush Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
Media
Film Credits
- Apl.De.Ap, Ronnie del Carmen, Becky Magura, Mike McNamara,
- Marcos Durian, Chino Neri, Julian Rodriguez
- Billy Dec, Leilani Castro, Celia Bumanglag-Dec, Stacey Efstathiou, Michael Morales, Rosario Sta.Ana, Kalel Demetrio, Roberto Bumanglag, Nora Bumanglag, Lisa Leofando, Pilar Sangalang, Oscar Bumanglag, Nora Bumanglag Carasi, Apo Whang-Od
- Nathan Matthew David
- Ronnie Del Carmen, Mike McNamara, Becky Magura, Apl.de.Ap, Michele Josue
- COACT Agency
- https://www.FoodRootsFilm.com
Sponsors
Documentary Program Sponsors
Cynthia Stone Raskin
Film Sponsor
Accessibility Partner
You might also enjoy...
Synopsis
Greg (Matthew Modine) is a beleaguered social worker at a Colorado juvenile correctional center with a passion for bicycle racing and a revelatory idea for rehabilitation: Rounding up an unlikely crew of incarcerated students to complete a transformative 1000-mile ride from Denver to the Grand Canyon. To achieve their goal, this determined coach and his disgruntled teenage squad will battle heat stroke, speed wobbles, mountainous inclines, and most of all each other to come together as a unified team.
Inspired by a true story and filmed amid the majestic landscapes of the Sierra Nevadas, this heartfelt, humor-filled adventure is a feel-good throwback to the coming-of-age sports dramas of the ‘80s and ‘90s, with an inspiring performance by Modine (Oppenheimer) as the devoted teacher who will never give up on his kids.
Screenings & Events
Sold Out/Rush Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
Media
Film Credits
- Christian Sander
- RJ Daniel Hanna, Christian Sander
- Evan Schrodek
- Mack Fisher
- Matthew Modine, Cynthia Kaye McWilliams, Leslie David Baker, Sean Astin. Jahking Guillory, Jackson Kelly, Damien Diaz, Zachary T. Robbins
- Andrew Johnson
- Scott Sander, Larry Roth
- Pensé Productions
Sponsors
Comedy Program Sponsor
Film Sponsor
212 W Van Buren St., Suite 400
