![A man kneels next to a little girl while a soldier holds out his hands.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_TheGreenBorder1_1200x600.jpg)
Green Border Zielona Granica
Synopsis
Urgent, clear-eyed, and helmed with incredible conviction, Green Border finds master filmmaker Agnieszka Holland training her camera on a real-life geopolitical crisis. Set on the border of Poland and Belarus, the film offers a glimpse into the lives of refugees fleeing to the European Union and the humanitarian activists working to help them reach safety.
When a family of Syrian asylum seekers is left stranded in the forest, a group of Belarusian border guards shepherds them into Poland. When they encounter the Polish military, they’re forced back over into Belarus. Julia, a psychologist who lives alone near the border, witnesses this cyclical, inhumane back-and-forth and joins up with a group of activists working to rectify the situation.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_TheGreenBorder1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_TheGreenBorder2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Marcin Wierzchoslawski, Fred Bernstein, Agnieszka Holland
- Jalal Altawil, Maja Ostaszewska, Behi Djanati Atai. Mohamad Al Rashi, Dalia Naous, Tomasz Włosok
- Metro Films, Blick Productions, Marlene Film Production, Beluga Tree, Astute Films
![A group of men wearing winter coats, gather together while facing a crowd of people.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_ConcreteUtopia1_1200x600.jpg)
Concrete Utopia
Synopsis
A massive earthquake has reduced Seoul to a battered post-apocalyptic snarl of twisted metal and collapsed rubble — except for one building, the Hwang Gung Apartments, the last vestige of civilization as far as the eye can see. Together with the rest of the building’s tenants, young couple Min-seong (Parasite’s Park Seo-jun) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) must work together to restore order and plan for their survival, which turn out to be just the beginning of their troubles.
South Korea’s official submission for next year’s Oscars and a box-office smash in its home country, Concrete Utopia is a rollicking disaster epic that deftly mixes intimate psychological tensions with action-packed set pieces. Not unlike other recent South Korean hits, it’s a skillful combination of violence, thrills, and acerbic social commentary about authority, community, and the fine line that exists between heroes and villains, civility and savagery.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Byun Seung-min
- Lee Shin-jin, Um Tae-hwa
- Han Mee-yeon
- Cho Hyoung-rae
- Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, Park Bo-young
- Kim Hae-won
- Choi Byung-Hwan
- Cimax Studio
![A woman in a sequin dress takes a selfie in a public bathroom. Another woman pokes her head in to look.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DoNotExpectTooMuchFromtheEndoftheWorld1_1200x600.jpg)
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World Nu Aștepta Prea Mult De La Sfârșitul Lumii
Synopsis
Angela, a production assistant working for an anonymous multinational corporation, is tasked with driving around Bucharest filming casting interviews for a promotional video about workplace safety. As she goes door to door collecting employees’ personal experiences of getting injured on the job, a pattern of malfeasance begins to emerge. When a half-paralyzed worker suggests that the company is responsible for his accident, Angela bears witness to a dizzying, hilarious series of corporate backflips.
True to form, in Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World director Radu Jude (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn) presents a whirlwind examination of modern existence with a wry, absurdist touch. Observed with a keen understanding of our cacophonous digital world, the film breathlessly satirizes the capitalistic machinery of everyday life while celebrating the boisterous humanity contained therein.
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DoNotExpectTooMuchFromtheEndoftheWorld-poster_600x900.jpg)
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DoNotExpectTooMuchFromtheEndoftheWorld1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DoNotExpectTooMuchFromtheEndoftheWorld2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DoNotExpectTooMuchFromtheEndoftheWorld3_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Ada Solomon, Adrian Sitaru; co-producers: Adrien Chef, Paul Thiltges, Serge Lalou, Claire Dornoy, Ankica Jurić Tilić
- Radu Jude
- Cătălin Cristuțiu
- Marius Panduru Rsc
- Ilinca Manolache, Ovidiu Pîrșan, Nina Hoss, Dorina Lazăr, László Miske, Katia Pascariu
- Dan Wechsler, Jamal Zeinal-Zade, Andreas Roald
- 4 Proof Film, Paul Thiltges Distributions, Les Films D'Ici, Kinorama, microFILM
Sponsors
International Competition Program Sponsor
John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation
Comedy Program Sponsor
![A balding man in glasses and a parka stands in front of a car with the word 'loser' spray painted on the side behind him](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DreamScenario1_1200x600.jpg)
![A balding man in glasses and a parka stands in front of a car with the word 'loser' spray painted on the side behind him](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_DreamScenario1_1200x600.jpg)
Dream Scenario
Synopsis
Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage), a hapless family man and evolutionary biologist, finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nocturnal appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul’s newfound stardom suddenly turns from celebratory to dangerous, with unforeseen consequences for Paul, his wife, and their daughter.
Written and directed by daring newcomer Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and produced by horror maestro Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar), Dream Scenario is a hilariously absurdist satire about fame, masculine anxiety, and social media, punctuated by bursts of the chilling and the uncanny. Cage leads the film with yet another terrific and self-lacerating performance, as a man coming apart at the seams and desperately grasping for control.
Screenings & Events
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Film Credits
- Lars Knudsen, Ari Aster, Tyler Campellone, Jacob Jaffke, Nicolas Cage
- Kristoffer Borgli
- Kristoffer Borgli
- Benjamin Loeb
- Nicolas Cage, Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker
- Owen Pallett
- A24, Squarepeg
Sponsors
Comedy Program Sponsor
Film Sponsor
![A woman looks to the side, resting her chin on her hands.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600.jpg)
![A woman looks to the side, resting her chin on her hands.](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600.jpg)
Eric LaRue
Synopsis
In his masterful feature debut, acclaimed actor Michael Shannon paints a riveting portrait of Janice LaRue, a middle-aged mother coming to terms with a shooting spree perpetrated by her son. Adapted from Brett Neveu’s 2002 play — which debuted at A Red Orchid Theatre in Chicago — the film follows the shell-shocked Janice (Judy Greer) as she attempts to navigate the tragedy in her small town. Some try to help; others condemn her outright. While a local pastor tries to reconcile Janice with the victims’ mothers, Janice’s feeble husband (Alexander Skarsgård) finds refuge in an upstart church led by a motivational preacher Steppenwolf’s Tracy Letts. But Janice must find her own way.
With stunning performances led by Greer’s riveting portrayal of a deeply pained yet resilient mother, Eric LaRue is a penetrating psychological drama about grief, guilt, and atonement that builds to a profound and cathartic conclusion.
Screenings & Events
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Media
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue1_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
![](https://cinemachicago.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/FF59_EricLaRue2_1200x600-1024x512.jpg)
Film Credits
- Sarah Green, Karl Hartman, Jina Panebianco
- Brett Neveu
- Mike Selemon
- Andrew 'Wheels' Wheeler
- Judy Greer, Alexander Skarsgard, Alison Pill, Paul Sparks, Tracy Letts
- Jonathan Mastro
- Byron Wetzel, Jeff Nichols, Declan Baldwin, JoJo Ryder, Meghan Schumacher, R Wesley Sierk, John D Straley
- Big Indie Pictures, Bracecove Productions, Caliwood Pictures