CHICAGO — The Chicago Critics Film Festival kicks off next month with more than 20 feature films and special guests, including actors and local filmmakers.
The 11th annual film festival runs May 3-9 at Lakeview’s historic Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave. It opens with a screening of A24’s “Sing Sing,” an American drama starring Colman Domingo, who was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his role in 2023’s “Rustin.”
The movie follows a group of incarcerated men at the infamous maximum-security Sing Sing Correctional Facility who join a theater group to channel their feelings and creativity.
It’s “just this really emotional experience,” said Erik Childress, a co-producer of the festival and board member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, a print, online and broadcast group that celebrates film and film criticism.
Filmmaker Greg Kwedar and actors Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, Paul Raci and Sean “Dino” Johnson will be in attendance for a post-film Q&A.
Over its weeklong run, the Chicago Critics Film Festival will showcase 25 more movies, including three documentary features, two midnight screenings and 13 exclusive Chicago premieres.
It’s a “package of some of the best films that [Chicago critics] have seen,” Childress said.
“It’s the only film festival in the country … curated by working film critics,” Childress said. “As film critics and journalists, we are able to go to film festivals … looking for films that we want to support and have discussions about and bring to Chicago for moviegoers who don’t have the opportunity to travel to Sundance in Utah or France for Cannes.”
The fest will present anniversary screenings of Gillian Armstrong’s “Little Women” (1994) and Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing Out the Dead” (1999), which will both be shown during weekend matinees in 35mm. Japanese animated sci-fi drama “Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence” (2004) will also be screened in honor of its 20th anniversary.
Two days will be dedicated to short film programs — Saturday, May 4 and Monday, May 6.
Despite the fest’s diverse lineup, it serves as a more accessible version of the bigger film festivals around the world, like Sundance and Cannes, Childress said. The goal is for “each film to play on its own” and have a proper spotlight, rather than compete against several other screenings at the same time, he said.
“Every film and filmmakers gets their due,” he said.
The Chicago Critics Film Festival makes new and acclaimed movies more available to the average moviegoer, especially those who can’t afford to travel to bigger film fests, Childress said.
“Film festivals across the world, they’re playing 100 to 150 different programs throughout seven to 10 days,” Childress said. “We play one movie at a time … Basically, every film gets an opportunity to shine and have its own experience, and people don’t have to worry about missing some other movie.”
While picking favorite films is “like choosing between your kids,” Childress said he’s also excited for “Babes” (2024), a new comedy that follows two friends who are pregnant at the same time. Directed by Pamela Adlon and written by Ilana Glazer and Josh Rabinowitz, it’s “one of the funniest movies people are going to see this year,” Childress said.
Other feature titles include Tilman Singer’s psychological horror “Cuckoo” (2024), Viggo Mortensen’s Western film “The Dead Don’t Hurt” (2023), Jason Yu’s South Korean black comedy horror “Sleep” (2023) and Josh Margolin’s directorial debut “Thelma” (2024).
Filmmakers and actors who will be in attendance for their movie screenings and Q&A sessions include Adlon for “Babes,” directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson for “Ghostlight” (2024), director India Donaldson for “Good One” (2024) and director Jane Schoenbrun for “I Saw the TV Glow” (2024).
Find more information about the films, schedule and tickets on the Chicago Critics Film Festival website.
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