ChiFilmFest Midway Must-Watch Movies

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The Chicago International Film Festival celebrates their 60th birthday this year! Held from October 16-27th, you can catch these Must-Watch films by purchasing tickets here. We are half way through the festival and below are some of the best that have been showcased thus far at ChiFilmFest!

CONCLAVE

SYNOPSIS: Conclave revolves around the secretive process of choosing a new Pope. After the sudden death of the beloved leader, Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes), discovers troubling secrets that the late Pope left behind, secrets that could challenge the Church’s stability. More Info

Conclave releases in U.S. theaters starting October 25th

 

NICKEL BOYS

SYNOPSIS: Elwood Curtis’ college dreams collapse on a Florida highway when he is sent to Nickel Academy, a harsh reformatory in the Jim Crow South. He meets Turner, a tough teen who shares survival tips while Elwood has his optimistic view of the world amid the civil rights movement. More Info

Nickel Boys is scheduled for a Limited NY/LA Release in Mid December

 

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL

SYNOPSIS: Grace, a troubled girl (voiced by Sarah Snook), finds solace in her loving twin brother Gilbert and her pet snails. After their father's death, they are separated in foster homes on opposite ends of Australia leading Grace to withdraw into herself. Over time, her sorrow deepens until she befriends Pinky (Jacki Weaver), which is the catalyst Grace needs to leave her shell behind. More Info

Memoir of a Snail is scheduled to start roll out October 25th.

 

SEPTEMBER 5

SYNOPSIS: Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the film follows an American Sports broadcasting team that quickly adapted from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage reportedly estimated to have been viewed by a billion people at the time. More Info

September 5 will have a limited November release

 

THE ART OF JOY

SYNOPSIS: Sicily, 1900. Modesta is born into a life of poverty but she believes that she is destined for a better life. Using her wit, assertiveness, and guile, she emerges as a fearless and emancipated bisexual character, willing to stand up to all systems of domination. More Info

 

BLITZ

SYNOPSIS: George (Elliott Heffernan), a 9-year-old boy goes on an epic journey in World War II-era England whose mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. George is determined to return home to East London and embarks on an adventure, only to find himself in immense peril. More Info

Blitz will release in theaters Nov. 1st and Start streaming on AppleTV+ on Nov. 22nd

 

VULCANIZADORA

SYNOPSIS: This is a movie that benefits from knowing as little as possible going in, so just take Director Joel Potrykus’ word for it when he says that this is his “most personal” as well as his “bleakest” film to date. More Info

 

HARD TRUTHS

SYNOPSIS: Hard Truths takes us into the intensities of kinship, duty, and the most enduring of human mysteries: that even through lifetimes of hurt and hardship, we still find ways to love those we call family. The astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. More Info

Hard Truths is scheduled to have a limited NY release early December.

 

EEPHUS

SYNOPSIS: It’s late October at Soldiers Field, and two scruffy adult baseball teams in New England are ready to play one last game on their beloved turf before it’s demolished. The two teams remain neck and neck, daylight turns to dusk, team members have to leave to go home to their families, and yet the game goes on. Eephus is less about baseball and more of a leisurely look at suburban life, the foibles of middle-age masculinity, and the passing of time. More Info

Eephus has a 2025 spring release currently scheduled.

 

I’M STILL HERE

SYNOPSIS: Rio de Janeiro, early 1970s. A country in the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family's life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence. More Info

I’m Still Here has limited November release scheduled.