Chicago International Film Festival Announces Films In Competition
September 24, 2012 by Screenmag
The 48th Chicago International Film Festival announced today the full line up of films selected to screen in the International Feature, New Directors, DOCUFEST, After Dark and Short Film Competitions.
In addition to the five competition categories, the Festival presents films in seven out-of-competition sections, including Special Presentations, World Cinema, Black Perspectives, Cinema of the Americas, City & State, Documentaries, OUTrageous, REELWOMEN, and Spotlight Middle East. The 48th Chicago International Film Festival runs October 11- 25. The complete list of films is available at www.chicagofilmfestival.com.
“The films in our various competitions demonstrate an acute concern with how we inhabit our world today—how technology inflects the ways in which we live and love, the meaning and bearing of revolutions of all kinds, the consequences of natural and manmade disaster, and how the long echo of the past reverberates in the present,” said Mimi Plauché, Programming Director of the Chicago International Film Festival. “Whether by daring debuting filmmakers or celebrated auteurs, as a collection the program presents a brilliant, kaleidoscopic snapshot of the state of world cinema today.”
For the 48th Chicago International Film Festival, 120 feature-length films were selected, representing 53 countries. These films were selected from a total of 1,300 film submissions. 50 short films were accepted out of 2,100 submissions.
INTERNATIONAL FEATURE COMPETITION Representing a wide variety of styles and genres, these films compete for the Festival’s top honor, the Gold Hugo—as well as trophies for best actors, director, and writer—in North America’s longest-running competitive film festival.
After Lucia Mexico/France (Director: Michel Franco) – Teenager Alé (short for “Alejandra”) is mourning her mother and lonely in a new school. When a video emerges of her drunkenly having sex in a bathroom, she immediately becomes a target for the popular kids. Their torments grow in intensity and cruelty, wearing down the weary Alé’s resistance. After Lucia’s intense, shocking exploration of the violent effects of bullying earned it the prestigious Un Certain Regard prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. North American Premiere
Bad Seeds Luxembourg/Belgium (Director: Safy Nebbou) – A tight, atmospheric thriller starring real-life father and son Charles (Summer Hours) and Émile Berling (A Christmas Tale) as a high school principal and his troubled son, Bad Seeds follows teenager Louis as he and his friend Greg kidnap their English teacher. Much to Louis’ horror, this act of naïve rebellion deteriorates into horrible violence as Greg’s cruel sadism manifests itself. As the crime progresses, Louis’ troubled family history comes to light. U.S. Premiere