The Most Anticipated Films from ChiFilmFest 2023
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The Chicago International Film Festival announced the full lineup of films and programs a couple of weeks ago. Some of our most anticipated films are included in this year’s 59th edition of North America’s longest-running competitive film festival, running October 11 - 22, 2023. Tickets are still available for select films and you can purchase them here.
We were able to catch some films at previous festivals like Dream Scenario written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself), which follows Paul Matthews (Nicholas Cage) as his life is turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. The feature film debut from award-winning poet, photographer and filmmaker Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is shot on 35mm film and unveils itself like a dream, jumping around in time and letting you glimpse in at those tender moments. The Boy and the Heron which previously was announced was Hayao Miyazaki’s last film, that is no longer the case, in this semi-autobiographical fantasy, we follow a young boy named Mahito as he explores the world that is shared by the living and the dead.
Our most anticipated films listed below (in no particular order) were selected from the program that included 100+ feature films.
SALTBURN
Still from saltburn
Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family’s sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.
Screening October 19 with Fennell in attendance to receive the Festival’s Visionary Award.
THE BIKERIDERS
still from The bikeriders
Closing Night on October 22 sees writer-director Jeff Nichols receiving the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award. BIKERIDERS is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members.
THE KILLER
STILL FROM THE KILLER
After a fateful near-miss, an assassin (Michael Fassbender) battles his employers — and himself — on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal.
MAY DECEMBER
STILL FROM MAY DECEMBER
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.
ERIC LARUE
STILL FROM ERIC LARUE | Courtesy Big Indie Pictures
In his masterful directorial debut, Michael Shannon tells the riveting story of a mother grappling with the fallout of a school shooting.
ALL OF US STRANGERS
STILL FROM ALL OF US STRANGERS
As Adam falls into a new relationship, he’s drawn back to his childhood home. There, his parents are living just as they were on the day they died.
THE HYPNOSIS
STILL FROM THE HYPNOSIS
On the eve of a big presentation, Vera tries hypnotherapy to quit smoking in this ironic, uproarious satire of entrepreneurial culture.
THE ZONE OF INTEREST
STILL FROM THE ZONE OF INTEREST
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house next to the camp.
HERE
A construction worker is preparing to leave Brussels for good when he makes an unlikely connection with an enchanting microbiologist.
DEPARTING SENIORS
STILL FROM DEPARTING SENIORS
In this Chicago-set update on the teen slasher, a gay Latinx high school student becomes an unlikely vigilante when he develops psychic powers.
