GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER

60th Chicago International Film Festival

October 16–27 at the Gene Siskel Film Center

The Festival returns to the Gene Siskel Film Center this October. Now in its 60th year, the Chicago International Film Festival (ChicagoIFF) is North America’s longest-running competitive film festival, showcasing films from an impressive selection of new and established talent and celebrating the best that cinema has to offer. The festival will take place from October 16–27 at various venues around the city, with over 40 films and shorts programs shown right here at the Gene Siskel Film Center. 

Tickets are available for purchase through the ChicagoIFF website. For support with ChicagoIFF tickets, including technical support, please visit the ChicagoIFF FAQ page or contact ticketing-info@chicagofilmfestival.com. 

Best of the Fest screenings to be announced.

View festival films playing at the Film Center

FEATURE FILMS

SHORTS PROGRAMS

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS: NEAR AND FAR
Wednesday, October 23, 5:30 p.m.
Various directors / Australia, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Nepal, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States / 86 mins
Using diverse methods of observation, animation, and essay, the filmmakers in this program showcase the flexibility of documentary form. Each zeroes in on a unique point of view, eliciting intimate first-person portraits about the broad spectrum of human experience and emotion.

DRAMATIC SHORTS: TALK TO ME
Sunday, October 20, 5:45 p.m.
Various directors / Canada, Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Iceland, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, United States / 91 mins
From unforgettable chance encounters to complex lifelong relationships, these powerful films from visionary auteurs explore the depth of human connections, the transcendent nature of shared language, and the ways life’s twists and turns can strengthen — or challenge — those bonds.

EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS: THE ACT OF SEEING
Thursday, October 24, 8:00 p.m.
Various directors / Canada, Chile, Cuba, France, Japan, Portugal, United States / 89 mins
The seven short films in this program radically push towards new and singular forms of expression. Through the use of archival footage, historical recreation, and dreamlike narratives, these films grapple with the past and the future of cinema — and the world.

An Evening with Andre Holland
Saturday, October 26, 8:00 p.m.

Career Achievement Award presentation and conversation with Steppenwolf Theatre Company Co-Artistic Director Glenn Davis

A tremendously skilled actor who has brought depth and nuance to roles on stage and screen, André Holland is the recipient of the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award. The actor will be on hand for a special in-person Tribute to discuss his impressive career and his artistic process.

Holland can currently be seen in Apple’s limited series The Big Cigar, which chronicles the manhunt for Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton. Coming up for the actor is Titus Kaphar’s film Exhibiting Forgiveness, also starring Andra Day and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Previously, he starred in John Ridley’s biographical drama Shirley opposite Regina Hall; Rebecca Hall’s Passing, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and played at the Chicago International Film Festival; and he starred in and executive produced Steven Soderbergh’s film High Flying Bird.

Additional credits include Barry Jenkins’ Oscar-winning drama Moonlight and Ava Duvernay’s A Wrinkle in Time and Selma— the latter film earning him an NAACP Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Holland’s television credits include starring turns in The Knick and in the first season of anthology series Castle Rock.

He made his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning 2009 revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and returned in 2017 in the Tony Award-winning production of Jitney. Most recently, Holland played Othello at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.