Director Brandon Daley in attendance.
Sunday, September 21, 8:00 p.m. | CUFF 2025 closes with the Chicago homecoming of $POSITIONS, a ferociously funny, full-throttle debut from local filmmaker Brandon Daley. Premiering earlier this year at SXSW, this hyper-anxious comedy-thriller follows Mike Alvarado, a blue-collar Midwesterner who thinks he’s found salvation for his struggling family in the crypto market. Instead, he plunges them—and himself—into a volatile spiral of gambling addiction, screen addiction, and emotional ruin. Shot in rural Illinois and rooted in Daley’s own experiences trading crypto during lockdown, $POSITIONS is both a wild ride and a sincere portrait of economic precarity, misguided hope, and familial love. Satirical, stressful, and darkly hilarious, it’s the rare indie comedy that doesn’t hedge its bets—just hard laughs and harder truths. (CUFF) Dialogue: Director Brandon Daley in attendance.
Chicago Underground Film Festival Select Screenings | September 17–21, 2025
As the longest-running underground film festival in the world, CUFF continues to be one of the most innovative and accessible platforms for those interested in making, experiencing, and discussing underground art. Curated by CUFF. Film synopses provided by CPFF unless otherwise noted. Learn more and get tickets at cuff.org
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu