Synopsis

English archaeological scholar Arthur has the uncanny ability of intuiting where to find hidden artifacts. Recently released from an Italian prison, he returns to a small Tuscan village; there, he reunites with a ragtag band of misfits who search for and unearth Etruscan relics buried with the dead. When the group encounter a treasure of immeasurable value, their attempts to traffic the objects bring their actions into sharp focus, and they must question their role in the plundering of history.

Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lázzaro) returns to the Festival with her signature rich and atmospheric storytelling, creating a dreamlike world teeming with ghosts and memory, a timeless space in which ancient history and the present become inextricably intertwined.

Synopsis

Jack Delroy, a fictional ’70s talk show host played by rising horror star (and Chicago native) David Dastmalchian (The Suicide Squad, Oppenheimer), is in trouble. Jack and his show Night Owls were once the biggest names in late night. But now, with his personal life marred by tragedy and his ratings in free fall, he’s struggling to keep up. So Jack and his producers cook up a controversial plan for their 1977 Halloween special: A live possession, as performed by parapsychologist Dr. June Ross-Mitchell (Laura Gordon) and 13-year-old Lilly (Ingrid Torelli), the sole survivor of a Satanic mass suicide. What could possibly go wrong?

Told in a found-footage style that purports to cobble together rediscovered master tapes with dailies from a French documentary crew, Late Night with the Devil harnesses the anything-goes excitement of live television and combines it with the sinister aura of ’70s exorcism movies to unleash a demon into the airwaves.

Synopsis

Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple (Julianne Moore and Charles Melton) buckles under the pressure when an actress (Natalie Portman) arrives to do research for a film about their past.

Synopsis

In the opening scenes of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest masterwork, a three-alarm fire engulfing a building evokes the many small sparks that have ignited a culture of gossip, stigma, fear, and silence in a coastal community. When her young son Minato starts to behave strangely, his mother Saori feels that there is something wrong. Discovering that Minato’s teacher, Mr. Hori is responsible for the boy’s odd behavior, she storms into the school demanding to know what’s going on. But answers — much less accountability — remain elusive as Mr. Hori denies all accusations. Minato and his fellow classmate Yori remain tight-lipped and evasive. As the story unfolds through the eyes of mother, teacher, and then child, the truth gradually emerges.

Directing for the first time from a script not entirely his own (co-written by industry veteran Sakamoto Yuji), Chicago International Film Festival favorite Kore-eda expertly pieces together an exquisite narrative mosaic, journeying down three separate paths and perspectives that converge in an inexorable climax. Celebrated composer Ryuichi Sakamoto provides the ethereal soundtrack.

Synopsis

A remarkable true story of tenacity, friendship, and the triumph of the human spirit, NYAD recounts a riveting chapter in the life of world-class athlete Diana Nyad. Three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of 60, Diana (four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her: the 110-mile trek from Cuba to Florida, often referred to as the “Mount Everest” of swims. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster) and a dedicated sailing team.

This inspirational film marks the narrative directorial debut of Academy Award-winning documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo, The Rescue).