Chicago International Film Festival 2013 is here!

Chicago Latino Film Festival

The Chicago Latino Film Festival began last week and I've already caught four films in the lineup.  So far my lineup has been strong, and despite films coming from different countries, there are some common themes among them.  Here's my list, and barring any work commitments, I hope to catch the entire lineup:

7 Boxes

This film focuses on the street kid Victor, as he shuffles around seven boxes filled with mysterious but coveted merchandise.  He tries to escape a rival, the police, and other people after the merchandise, while trying to make a living in Mercado 4 helping the market shoppers tote their purchases around.

Anima Buenos Aires

Four short animated stories from Buenos Aires are compiled into one screening, with different animation styles.

From Tuesday to Tuesday

As the title suggests, this story takes place over a week.  The main character appears to be a silent factory worker and body builder who takes advantage of a tragedy to benefit himself.

Garifuna in Peril

Based on real social events, a man works to preserve the Garifuna language and culture.  Garifuna is a South American culture near to Honduras, whose language is slowly dying out as new generations are learning English and Spanish instead.  This real life fight to save the language is depicted fictionally.

In the Middle of Heaven

A female ad exec locks herself and a maintenance man out of their office building, and bond as they wait for someone to let them back in.

Maydays

A local Chicago-made story of students observing and participating in the issue of employment rights of immigrants, focusing on two teen characters.

Peru Sabe: Cuisine as an Agent of Social Change

This film uses food to relate to aspects of Peru and its future.

Route of the Moon

A man and his father, two different personalities, have to travel together, picking up a hitchhiker on the way.

Sanandrenista

A small time corrupt cop finds he has to do some real work when he is accused of murder.

Speechless

A Chinese immigrant is helped by a hardware store employee/aspiring artist.

Three Marys

The stories of three women named Maria are examined as events of one night are told through their individual perspectives.

White Elephant

Two priests with opposing views are stuck in a drug war.

Other films I was interested in and could not fit into my schedule:

Man From the Future

A sort of "Back to the Future" story, a man returns 20 years into the past to change a moment in his life, hoping to improve it, only to return to current day to find it is worse.

Sofia and the Stubborn Man
Carmen Maura stars as Sofia, who is tired of her husband's treatment of her.  She takes an impromptu vacation away from him, leaving him to fend for himself.

Free: Peace on Earth Film Festival

The Peace on Earth Film Festival starts today.  I believe all screenings are free.  This fest attempts to bring social issues to a broader audience.  Check out their blog.  I hope to catch one or two as my schedule permits.

CIFF 2010--A Screaming Man

The lead actor in A Screaming Man won the "best actor" award at the Fest last year, and the film won "best screenplay" as well.  It comes from France, Belgium and Chad.

Aging pool attendant Adam, known as the Champ for his previous swimming awards, has to deal with the backdrop of war and his age.

CIFF 2010--R U There

This next film from 2010 CIFF comes from The Netherlands and is directed by Shanghai-based Dutchman David Verbeek. As noted by the title of the film, this has internet relationships as its theme. 

CIFF 2010--The Matchmaker

Another film from 2010 CIFF, this is an Israeli coming of age story. A man remembers his youth after a matchmaker he worked for dies and leaves him all his possessions.

Arik was a teenager in the late 1960s, when several things happened one summer. A matchmaker, Yankale, an old friend of his father's from "those" days (WW2 concentration camps) offers to find matches for those who need help--peculiar people, meek people, the deformed. At first Arik and his friends trick him but Yankale is actually more savvy than that and hires Arik to be a sort of spy for him. When he has a client whose story sounds shady, he sends Arik to tail them to find out if their intentions are sexual or really for a love match.

Yankale is helped by a lady friend, Miss Clara, who has also suffered during the war, and now has to fend for herself as well. Arik is concerned they have a black market business because he likes them.

Another event is his best friend's Americanized (and sexy) female cousin visits. 

CIFF 2010--How I Ended This Summer

Another stellar film I saw at CIFF 2010 was How I Ended this Summer. It won the "best film" award in this Fest.

CIFF 2010--The Hairdresser

Since the Chicago International Film Festival kicks off later this week, I thought I'd revisit some of the great films I saw last year.

The Hairdresser is a German dramedy about the plus-size hairdresser Kathi. Divorced Kathi has to deal with unemployment and then discrimination when she shows up for work at a salon in a mall. The salon owner tells her in bold terms that she just doesn't fit the look of a sleek and pretty salon. Kathi sees a closed business in the mall and decides to open up her own salon.

Chicago International Film Festival 2011

The Chicago International Film Festival is beginning in a few days! My plan usually is to get the Passport and supplement it with $5 matinees and some free panels. 

Strategy for choosing films?
--Go through the catalogue and pick any that sound interesting.
--Look them up on IMDB or elsewhere for ratings and reviews.
--Circle them all on the calendar and see which ones work out to a manageable schedule.

I usually skip any English language ones from the U.S. or U.K., as those more often will return to the regular movie schedules later in the season or next year.  Foreign films starring legends like Catherine Deneuve will no doubt come around later here too so I usually will save those for another time.

There are always going to be a few I am interested in but just can't fit into the schedule; this time around its a few documentaries: Day Is Done reminds me of another doc I saw at the film fest several years ago, Ending Note: Death of a Japanese Salesman, L.A. Raeven: Beyond the Image. All four of these sound like they have some intruiging character studies, which interests me from an anthropological aspect, and not those pushing an agenda, which is not the type of doc that appeals to me.

I've left a few slots open for some last minute movies, it will be interesting to hear what gets the buzz.
See my list, after the jump!

Countdown to festival season

For me the excitement of festival season begins with the Toronto International Film Festival. I have never attended, just lurked on the internet to find news and look at its lineup, which will be available on August 23. I've also heard the celebrities there are pretty friendly.  Is anyone planning to attend this year, or any film recommendations from past years?

New York Asian Film Festival

I wished I lived in New York so I could attend the New York Asian Film Festival.  Although some of these films have made their way to Chicago via the silver screen in the past or are available on DVD, there are quite a few films and filmmakers I have not heard of before.  It sounds like it skews to a younger male audience with outrageous characters and themes of action/violence and sex.  I love the synopses, which sound as if they were written by people who have watched and loved these films.

SilverDocs 2011

A movie-loving friend sent me the link to AFI's SilverDocs, a documentary film festival that just ended a week or so ago.  This year's program seems to focus on a lot of wacky character types.  Here's what I am hoping to hunt down on DVD: