[Ruby Hornet will be attending the 49th Chicago International Film Festival from 10/10 – 10/24. Be sure to follow along as we bring you coverage from the longest-running competitive international film festival in the country. You can find all of our coverage from this year’s CIFF here.]
This year’s Chicago International Film Festival will be screening 180 films made in over 60 different countries over the next two weeks. That’s pretty impressive… if not intimidating. Luckily, you all have me around to help guide you along your path to foreign film enlightenment. Unlike the majority of the major American film festivals (Sundance, SXSW, NYFF, etc.), CIFF specializes in finding foreign film gems from all across the world. Because of the low profile of most of the films, they wouldn’t normally garner much attention if it weren’t for CIFF and other international film festivals giving them the spotlight.
That’s not to say, of course, that American or English-language films won’t be screening at CIFF – far from it. Rather, while high profile films will be shown during CIFF, the real fun is finding that one under-the-radar film that will surprise you. In saying that, I’m leaving a few (not all) of the big-name films that will be shown, such as 12 Years a Slave and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete simply because they’ll be playing in theaters by the end of the year.
Read on as I share 15 films you should see at the 49th Chicago International Film Festival listed in chronological order for your convenience. Note: While I have yet to see the majority of the films on this list, I have seen a select few. Proper reviews for such films will be published ahead of their scheduled screenings.
