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October in Chicago is a special time. The leaves turn, the wind gets meaner, the Bears still look lost, and, thankfully, the Chicago International Film Festival  rolls into town to remind us that this city is more than just Italian beefs, potholes, and politicians who should probably be in jail. This year marks the 61st edition of North America’s longest-running competitive film festival , and the lineup is pretty amazing. We’re talking 111 feature films, 70 shorts, 39 premie

The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival , with its screenings, special events, tributes, and other events, has ended. It was quite a successful festival that was a pleasure to cover. Here are my final four exclusive reviews of CIFF movies; these will be commercially released or available for streaming in the coming weeks. 1) THE RULE OF JENNY PEN John Lithgow terrorizes Geoffrey Rush in the new horror film "The Rule of Jenny Pen." I didn't do enough reading on thi

The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival  is now underway, with screenings, special events, tributes, and other festivities happening all over the city until Closing Night on October 27th. Here are five more exclusive reviews of CIFF movies; these films will be commercially released in the coming weeks and available for streaming. 1) GRAND TOUR The very talented Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes has made another strikingly original film that is as lyrical as it is con

The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival  is now underway, with screenings, special events, tributes, and other festivities happening all over the city until Closing Night on October 27th. Here are my first five exclusive reviews of CIFF movies; these films will be commercially released in the coming weeks and available for streaming. 1) THE PIANO LESSON Director Malcolm Washington, actor John David Washington and other luminaries arrive at The Music Box Theatre fo

It's one of the best times of the year for fans of cinema in Chicago because the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF)   is now underway! Celebrating its 60th year, CIFF is North America's longest-running competitive film festival. This year's Fest features more than 120 feature films and 70 short films from around the world, along with s pecial events, career retrospectives, children's classes, and more. Visit the website  for the full schedule. I'm planning to attend