Recap of Way Too Indie coverage of 2012 Chicago International Film Festival

Day #1: Holy Motors

I started off the festival with my most anticipated film which was undoubtably original and unique but was not enough to win me over completely.

Day #2: War Witch – Like Someone In Love – After Lucia

My second day was loaded with hard-hitting films, each in their own way. One common link between the three films is that they centered around a female lead character. Overall, a solid group of films.

Day #3: Flowerbuds – Alaskaland – Paradise: Love

What started out as seeing two films this day ended up being three as I had enough downtime to catch Alaskaland in between. Unfortunately, it ended up being my least favorite film of the festival. However, I was blown away by Paradise: Love.

Day #4: Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica – Beyond The Hills

Once again the films of the day centered around female characters only this time both films did not have enough to hold my interest.

Day #5: Empire Builder – Not Fade Away

I closed out the festival with Kris Swanberg’s Empire Builder and David Chase’s Not Fade Away. Both directors where there to present their film.

My last day at the Chicago International Film Festival started out with Kris Swanberg who was there to introduce Empire Builder and a short Q&A afterwards. She introduced the film by saying that it is a very personal film. It is easy to tell that by how much of her real family was in the film; the baby was her real life 10 month old child and the man who played the husband was her actual husband (famous mumblecore director Joe Swanberg).

Empire Builder is about a young mother who is looking to escape, if only for a bit, her routine marriage. She and her child leave behind their Chicago home as well as her husband for a week to a cabin they inherit in Montana. A handyman who is working on the cabin sparks her interest and she is initially drawn to him. The new exciting guy eventually ends up as dull as the husband she escaped from in the beginning.

There is not much dialog outside of 30 minutes in, which is when the title cards appears. Instead on relying on dialog it mostly observes characters from the outside without really hearing what they are thinking. It is a slow moving film that really works (something I have not had much success with at the festival up until this point).

RATING: 7.1/10

Empire Builder

My last film of the day and festival was Not Fade Away by director David Chase who also was there for a Q&A. This is a film that will probably be a hit for the target audience (anyone who grew up in the 1960’s). The reason being is that this is a pure nostalgia piece for the Rock n’ Roll era of the 60’s.

Not Fade Away follows an unknown (and fictitious) band made up of three friends who want to make it big like their idols the Rolling Stones. As you could guess the soundtrack was good but you would assume it would be considering the film is centered around music. James Gandolfini steals every scene he is in as the supporting actor. A lot of people will have a problem with the ending and rightfully so. It is a real head scratcher of an ending. For the most part, the film feels like it is on cruise control.

RATING: 6.2/10

Not Fade Away

COMING UP: Before I leave town tomorrow I plan catch Looper, which is not apart of CIFF but is one that have been meaning to see. It was nice to be apart of the Chicago International Film Festival, we had fun!

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for coverages of other film festivals as well as indie movie reviews daily!

Gearing up for my day here at #ChiFilmFest48. Today I will see Kris Swanbergs EMPIRE BUILDER and David Chases NOT FADE AWAY.

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

Kris Swanberg introduces EMPIRE BUILDER by saying it is very personal. #ChiFilmFeast48 twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

EMPIRE BUILDER was pleasant to watch and observe the characters. A slow paced film that worked. #ChiFilmFeast48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

NOT FADE AWAY was purely a nostalgia time period piece with a head scratching ending. #ChiFilmFest48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 17, 2012

Director and screenplay writer David Chase doing a Q&A after NOT FADE AWAY #ChiFilmFest48 twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 17, 2012

I started out my forth day at the festival with Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica which I purposely went in without knowing a whole lot about it. Part of what makes film festivals fun is to walk into something and like it completely surprise you when it blows you away. However, this did not happen here. Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica was an uninspired character study that never seemed to click. This is likely due to the fact that you never really care much about the main character. We follow Veronica around after she just received her first job out of medical school. Turns out the job is not as rewarding as she thought it would be which only adds to her already insecure state of being. It seemed content with playing it by the books aside from the fact here didn’t feel like there was a climax what so ever. There was really nothing about this that would make it stick out as a memorable film.

RATING: 6/10

Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica

My last film of the day was Beyond The Hills by Cristian Mungiu whose last film (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) took the top prize at Cannes five years ago. Mungiu also picked up a couple awards from Cannes for this film including Prix du Scenario (Best Screenplay) and Prix d’interpretation feminine (Best Actress) in which both of the leads tied for.

It begins as Alina comes back to meet long time friend Voichita who is now a sister at a local orthodox monastery. When the two meet there is a sense that they have a deeper connection than just two friends do. From there Mungiu slowly reveals more about their past which due to Voichita’s circumstances of being devout to God leads to some haunting scenes.

Beyond The Hills is not an easy watch as it demands your attention to subtle detail for 2 and half hours. The dialog heavy film starts to pick up a little bit in the last 40 minutes but tension was felt the entire time. The film was well made and incredibly well shot which included several long takes. I think it would have benefited from a score to pair with the film as there was almost none present. It is one of those films that if watched again you would likely pick up on small but important details you missed the first time through.

RATING: 6/10

Beyond The Hills

COMING UP: My last day at the festival will conclude with Kris Swanberg’s (wife of indie director Joe Swanberg) Empire Builder and the 60’s rock ‘n roll inspired Not Fade Away.

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for full coverage of the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival!

My first film of Day 4 will be ONCE UPON A TIME WAS I, VERONCIA. Don’t know a lot about it but excited nonetheless.

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

Nice day for some street saxophone playing. #Chicago twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

You know you are at #ChiFilmFest48 when you find it strange when a film is not subtitled. @chifilmfest

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

ONCE UPON A TIME WAS I, VERONICA was nothing to write home about. Felt uninspired.

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

The line for BEYOND THE HILLS crazy long. Needless to say it is going to packed in that theater. #ChiFilmFest48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

BEYOND THE HILLS is not an easy watch as it demands your attention to subtle detail for 2 and half hours. #ChiFilmFest48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 16, 2012

The third day of the Chicago International Film Festival began with the Czech film Flowerbuds. The first time director Zdenek Jirasky introduced the film by telling us that he brought us somewhat of a depressing film. Flowerbuds certainly adhered to the director’s statement.

Centered on a dysfunctional family living in a small Czech town, the film highlights the tragedy of that family and how they miss the opportunities to better their life. The father works as a train signal operator that requires him to simply push buttons to close off the road when a train comes through. After work hours he continues to push buttons, because of his serious video lottery gambling addiction. He digs himself deeper and deeper into debt with this addiction. With seemingly no options left the man is willing to give his life to save his family. Each of the other family members are equally as flawed and struggle to unite as a family.

The tone was perfectly set by the lack of saturation in the colors of the film. Had I not met with the director afterwards, I would have made one small criticism about the ending, but hearing his intention, which I will only allude to, a bridge over troubled tracks, makes completely sense. If you get a chance to see the film, it would have my recommendation.

RATING: 7.6/10

Flowerbuds

Because I had plenty of time between my next scheduled film, I decided to randomly walk into Alaskaland. The film relies heavily on fish-out-of-water circumstances of a Nigerian man living in Alaska. The man wants nothing to do with his heritage despite his family (especially his younger sister) eagerly waiting him to embrace it.

Alaskaland had good intentions, but it felt too personal to the filmmaker for an outsider to enjoy. The acting was downright atrocious, except for the sister, who had to often work with over-acted performances. The only other bright spot was the cinematography which was done very well. The dialog felt very awkward and some scenes flat out contradicted themselves. It will stick with you for all the wrong reasons.

RATING: 5/10

Alaskaland

The final film I saw today was Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Love. This is a film that leaves you speechless after you see it and will stick with you for a long time. It is bold, it is provocative, it is challenging.

From the very beginning Paradise: Love made it clear that the film is about fulfillment. The opening shot of autistic people running into each other in bumper cars with sheer satisfaction was a great way to show our human desire for enjoyment. The film expands off that when it follows an overweight German woman named Teresa who travels to the beautiful beaches of Kenya in search for fulfillment through love.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film was it’s use of exploitation. At first the locals there were engaging in sex with her in order to get to her money. But by the end she was using her money in attempt to purchase love, essentially using them.

The other observation that can be made is the progression of her character. When she first arrived she disinfected everything in her room but by the end she was practically rolling around in it naked. She was shy towards the men at first but became very dominating to them over time.

The only criticism I could come up with for Paradise: Love is that it drags on just a touch at the end. The point was made well before the scene towards the end finished. But that is only an extremely small issue that is easy to overlook considering the rest of the film. I think will be hard for another film to top this at the festival.

RATING: 8.5/10

Paradise: Love

COMING UP: The Portuguese character study Once Upon a Time Was I, Veronica and Cristian Mungiu’s follow up to his 2007 hit 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days with another existential drama Beyond The Hills.

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for full coverage of the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival!

First film today will be FLOWERBUDS with director Q&A afterwards. Haven’t heard much about this one yet. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 14, 2012

Director of FLOWERBUDS explaining his film to the audience. twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

The director of ALASKALAND introducing her film. #ChiFilmFest48 twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

is hanging with @waytooindie at the @chifilmfest Filmmaker’s Lounge. #CIFF

— Nelson Carvajal (@nelsoncarvajal) October 15, 2012

PARADISE: LOVE leaves you speechless and will stick with you for a long time. One of the better films of the year. #ChiFilmFest48

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 15, 2012

War Witch follows our heroin Komona over three years starting at the age of twelve. The small community she belonged to get raided by a rebel army. The unthinkable occurs when she is forced to kill her own parents. Shortly after that the army brainwashes the kids into killing machines.

Some parts worked better than others, in particular the middle part (thirteen years old) was busy setting up the plot that it got away from the things that worked the best. But it remained a very touching and powerful film. Komona went through more difficult situations by the age of fourteen than most people endure in their lifetime. I guess you could say that it is an inspiring film despite showing depressing scenes majority of the time. The film was hard to watch at times but compelling nonetheless. Rachel Mwanza was astounding in the lead role and the cinematography in War Witch was spot on.

RATING: 7.4/10

War Witch

Following War Witch was the famous Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love. Having been told what to expect from his previous work, I knew that I was in store for a slow burning film. The fact that the film was delayed after I had been standing in line for an hour was par for the course.

By far my two favorite parts of the film were it’s very beginning and the very end. It begins at a Tokyo bar where we hear the voice of a woman fighting on the phone with her boyfriend. During this time the camera is focused on a group of other people in the background. When the camera does pan to the woman talking it is clear that she is lying about where she is. Her boyfriend seems over-protective but it is probably because he has been tipped off that she is an escort. Although, she denies it to him, she is an escort who is about to be sent on a special trip to an elderly professor.

As I mentioned the very beginning and end where the parts that seemed to work best for me but it was everything in between that could have been better. Part of the problem was that the pace of Like Someone In Love could have been kicked up a notch or two. The film was handled with extreme care and meticulously shot so it was evident there was a veteran filmmaker beyond the camera. I suspect our writer CJ will give this a watch and chime in with his thoughts.

RATING: 6.6/10

Like Someone In Love

My last film of Day 2 was After Lucia, which I sensed could be a film with a ton of potential considering the subject matter and that it won the Un Certain Regard prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. And I can see why. It is an unsetting film about a teenager named Alejandra that just moved to a new town after her mother passed away. Her school life quickly becomes a nightmare when a video of her having sex leaks out to everyone at her school. She becomes chastised and bullied by everyone in her class.

After Lucia is a gut-wrenching film where no one wins unless you count the audience. It is emotionally disturbing because even the silver lining is depressing; a good person doing bad things to a bad person for a (relatively) good cause. It sounds much more confusing than it really is. You could tell that After Lucia had an affect on the audience as you practically heard everyone wince and shift in their chairs. There were a couple of questionable actions (and frankly lack of action) that occur but that does not prevent the impact of the film. After Lucia has been the best film I have seen so far at the Chicago International Film Festival.

RATING: 7.8/10

After Lucia

COMING UP: Tomorrow I will be seeing Flowerbuds which earned 4 top Czech Lions (the Czech Oscars) and Ulrich Seidl’s controversial Paradise: Love.

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for full coverage of the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival!

For me today is probably the strongest day of films which includes; WAR WITCH, LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE, and AFTER LUCIA. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 13, 2012

WAR WITCH: Some parts worked better than others but it was still touching and powerful film. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 13, 2012

Rain clouds are hiding the #chicago skyscrapers. twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 13, 2012

Welp LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE is delayed. Even the wait time to see it is slow. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 13, 2012

You could tell that AFTER LUCIA had an affect on the audience. Affective cinema. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 14, 2012

My first day at the Chicago International Film Festival one is a relatively light one considering that I will only be seeing one film. That film happens to be the one I am most excited to see here, Holy Motors. Before the film I got a chance to meet up with one of the coordinators of the festival. When I mentioned that I would be seeing Holy Motors first, his eyes light up and said, “Wow. You are jumping right in.”

Leos Carax’s Holy Motors was incredibly well received at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it was nominated for the top prize of Palme d’Or and won Award of the Youth. Going into Holy Motors blind (not seen any of the directors previous work nor read too much about the film) seemed like a good idea but you must prepare yourself for this film. Even though I figured it would not be your average film, it was impossible to expect this.

I could not argue that this film is not intriguing, because it is very much is. In fact, I applaud its efforts to push the envelope in cinema. However, as much as I wanted to love the film, I could not. It was a shame that the film I was looking forward to the most at the festival was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe that means some of the others will surprise me.

(Full review to come)

Holy Motors

RATING: 6.3/10

COMING UP: I start my first full day with a bang; the inspiring story of War Witch, Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love and Un Certain Regard prize winner After Lucia.

Recap of some of my Tweets from today:

Follow @WayTooIndie for full coverage of the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival!

Welcome the Chicago International Film Festival. I could smell the popcorn from the street. #CIFF12 twitter.com/WayTooIndie/st…

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 12, 2012

My first film of the festival, HOLY MOTORS, is the one I’m most excited for. But before I make my way to that, filmmakers lounge! #CIFF12

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 12, 2012

HOLY MOTORS was completely baffling. It didn’t take itself seriously which was both a blessing and a curse. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 13, 2012

HOLY MOTORS: You will never look at limos the same way again. #CIFF

— Way Too Indie (@WayTooIndie) October 13, 2012

Fall is a great time to watch films. The combination of the days beginning to get colder and the nights getting longer makes the perfect excuse for staying inside to watch films. Festival season is now in full swing which means award season will be following just around the corner. So what better place to enjoy a film festival in the fall than the Windy City of Chicago?

The Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) is a two week film festival that prides itself on the abundant offerings of world cinema. During the five and a half days I will be there 80% percent of the films I am scheduled to see are foreign. More than half of those foreign films premiered overseas at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year. Generally what works best for me is going into films without a whole lot about it, so that is what I will be doing for most of what I see. For the majority of the films I have not even seen the full trailer.

Below are the films that I am planning to cover for Way Too Indie while I am there. However, this is slightly tentative depending on press screenings that may pop up but for the most part this will be it. In addition to festival coverage I will be posting on here, I will also be tweeting like crazy so make sure to follow @WayTooIndie on twitter.

Day #1: Holy Motors

Day #2: War Witch – Like Someone In Love – After Lucia

Day #3: Flowerbuds – Paradise: Love

Day #4: Once Upon A Time Was I, Veronica – Beyond The Hills

Day #5: Empire Builder – Not Fade Away

Chicago International Film Festival Trailers:

Holy Motors trailer:

War Witch trailer:

Like Someone In Love trailer:

Flowerbuds trailer:

Paradise: Love trailer:

Beyond The Hills trailer:

Not Fade Away trailer:

Nearly a month ago the first wave of 22 tiles were announced that would play at the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival and today the rest of the lineup has been revealed. Some of the notable additions to the lineup were; Paradise: Love which played at Cannes, Carlos Reygades’ baffling Post Tenebras Lux, the obsessive The Shining documentary Room 237, Brandon Cronenberg’s debut Antiviral and SXSW winner Gimme The Loot.

CIFF is shaping up to be a festival that is worth attending as the lineup is certainly stacked with some reputable films including the controversial Holy Motors and other Cannes film festival titles such as Beyond the Hills and Like Someone in Love. Other anticipated films that will play at the festival are; The Sessions, Leviathan (which was CJ’s favorite film at TIFF) and The Impossible.

Also a special presentation of Cloud Atlas will play at the festival and serve as the Centerpiece Film. Scheduled to attend that screening are the directors of the film; Tom Tykwer and the Chicago natives Lana and Andy Wachowski.

The 48th Chicago International Film Festival will be held on October 11th through October 25th 2012 at AMC River East 21 in downtown Chicago. This year I will be attending the festival and reporting back with capsule reviews and tweets for Way Too Indie so stay tuned.

2012 Chicago International Film Festival Lineup
Here is a link to .PDF with schedule and descriptions of the films.

The ABCs of Death (various directors)
After Christmas (Benjamin Kegan)
After Lucia (Michel Franco)
Ken Nordine Presents Agenbite of Inwit
Agon (Robert Budina)
Alaskaland (Chinonye Chukwu)
Another Bullet Dodged (Landon Zakheim)
Antiviral (Brandon Cronenberg)
Any Day Now (Travis Fine)
Art of Conflict (Valeri Vaughn)
As Goes Janesville (Brad Lichtenstein)
Astrid (Fijona Jonuzi)
Bad Seeds (Safy Nebbou)
The Believers (Clayton Brown Monica Long Ross)
The Bella Vista (Alicia Cano)
Benji (Coodie and Chike)
Beyond the Hills (Cristian Mungiu)
Bite of the Tail
Black Pond (Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe)
Black’s Game (Axelsson)
Body Memory (Ülo Pikkov)
Boys Are Us (Peter Luisi)
Cadaver (Joseph Ansell)
Caesar Must Die (Paolo and Vittorio Taviani)
Café Regular, Cairo (Ritech Batra)
A Caretaker’s Tale (Katrine Wiedemann)
CatCam (Seth Keal)
The Central Park Five (David McMahon, Ken Burns and Sarah Burns)
The Chair (Grainger David)
Chill (Hana Jušić)
Citadel (Ciaran Foy)
The Cleaner (Adrian Saba)
Clip (Maja Milos)
Cloud Atlas (Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer)
Color of Sky (Dr. Biju)
Come to Harm (Bokur Sigthorsson)
Coming of Age (Gerhart Ertl and Sabine Hiebler)
The Conquerors (Sarolta Szabó and Tibor Bánóczki)
Consuming Spirits (Chris Sullivan)
Dad, Lenin and Freddy (Rinio Dragasaki)
Day of the Crows (Jean-Christophe Dessaint)
Dear Hunters (Zack Bornstein)
The Delay (Rodrigo Plá)
Diaz: Don’t Clean up this Blood (Daniele Vicari)
Dinosaur Eggs in the Living Room (Rafael Urban)
Don’t Click (Tae-kyeong Kim)
Dragon (Peter Chan)
Dreams for Sale (Miwa Nishikawa)
Drought (Everardo González)
The Drudgery Train (Nobuhiro Yamashita)
Edmond Was A Donkey (Franck Dion)
Ellen is Leaving (Michelle Savill)
Empire Builder (Kris Swanberg)
Everybody’s Got Somebody…Not Me (Raúl Fuentes)
The Exam (Peter Bergendy)
F*ckload of Scotchtape (Julian Grant)
Fable (Lester Hamlet)
Faces (Said Najmi)
The Final Member (Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math)
Flight (Robert Zemeckis)
Flowerbuds (Zdenek Jirasky)
Footnote (Joseph Cedar)
Friend Request Pending (Chris Foggin)
Full Circle (Zhang Yang)
Germania (Maximiliano Schonfeld)
Gimme the Loot (Adam Leon)
Hemel (Sacha Polak)
Holy Motors (Leos Carax)
Hometown Boy (Hung-I Yao)
The Impossible (Juan Antonio Bayona)
In Hanford (Chris Mars)
In Their Skin (Jeremy Power Regimbal)
Jai Bhim Comrade (Anand Patwardhan)
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (Chris James Thompson)
John Dies at the End (Don Coscarelli)
Keep the Lights On (Ira Sachs)
Kern (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala)
King Curling (Ole Endresen)
Kuma (Umut Dag)
La Demora (Rodrigo Plá)
The Land of Eb (Andrew Williamson)
The Land of Hope (Sion Sono)
Land of the Heroes (Sahim Omar Kalifa)
The Last Friday (Yahya Al Abdallah)
The Last Ice Merchant (Sandy Patch)
The Last Sentence (Jan Troell)
Leviathan (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel)
Like Someone in Love (Abbas Kiarostami)
Maniac (Franck Khalfoun)
Marie Kroyer (Bille August)
Marla (Nick King)
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (Alex Gibney)
Meeting Leila (Adel Yaraghi)
Mekong Hotel (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
Modest Reception (Mani Haghighi)
A Monkey on My Shoulder (Marion Laine)
Mr. Christmas (Nick Palmer)
Mr. Sophistication (Danny Green)
Murderer Alias X (Lynn Devillaz & Antonio Veiras)
My Bow Breathing (Enrico Maria Artale)
Next Door Letters (Sascha Fülscher)
Night Across the Street (Raoul Ruiz)
Not Fade Away (David Chase)
Numbered (Dana Doron and Uriel Sinai)
Of Snails and Men (Tudor Giurgiu)
Off White Lies (Maya Kenig)
Oh Willy… (Emma de Swaef)
Old Man (Leah Shore)
Once Upon a Time Was I, Veronica (Marcelo Gomes)
Otelo Burning (Sara Blecher)
Our Children (Joachim Lafosse)
Out in the Dark (Michael Mayer)
An Oversimplification of her Beauty (Terence Nance)
Paradise (Nadav Kurtz)
Paradise: Love (Ulrich Seidl)
The Patsy (King Vidor)
Paul (Adam Bizanski)
The Perfect Fit (Tali Yankelevich)
Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean)
La Playa DC (Juan Andres Arango Garcia)
Post Tenebras Lux (Carlos Reygadas)
Postcards from the Zoo (Edwin)
The Pub (Joseph Pierce)
Quartet (Dustin Hoffman)
The Queen of My Dreams (Fawzia Mirza)
Rat Fever (Cláudio Assis)
Reality (Matteo Garrone)
The Repentant (Merzak Allouache)
Return (Shay Levi)
Rhino Season (Bahman Ghobadi)
Room 237 (Rodney Ascher)
Room 69 (Claude Barras)
A Royal Affair (Nikolaj Arcel)
The Runner (Ana Lazarevic)
The Sapphires (Wayne Blair)
The Scapegoat (Charles Sturridge)
Sea Shadow (Nawaf Al-Janahi)
A Secret World (Gabriel Mariño)
The Sessions (Ben Lewin)
Shadow Dancer (James Marsh)
Shameless (Filip Marczewski)
Sharqiya (Ami Livne)
Shun Li and the Poet (Andrea Segre)
Simon Killer (Antonio Campos)
Sister (Ursula Meier)
Sleep Tight (Jaume Balagueró)
Something in the Air (Olivier Assayas)
Stand Up Guys (Fisher Stevens)
Starlet (Sean Baker)
StringCaesar (Paul Schoolman)
Tastes Like Chicken? (Quico Meirelles)
Tchoupitoulas (Bill Ross and Turner Ross)
Tey (Alain Gomis)
This is London (Mohammed Rashed Buali)
The Three Disappearances of Soad Hosni (Rania Stephan)
TSTL/ King Lost His Tooth (Gheith Al-Amine)
Under the Colors (Esmaeel Monsef)
Valley of Saints (Musa Syeed)
Voice Over (Martin Rosete)
Waiting for P.O. Box (Bassam Chekhes)
War Witch (Kim Nguyen)
The Weekend (Nina Grosse)
Westerland (Tim Staffel)
Where the Buffalo Roam (Brad Bischoff)
Winter of Discontent (Ibrahim El-Batout)
The World Is Funny (Shemi Zarhin)
Written in Ink (Martin Rath)
Xingu (Cao Hamburger)
Yardbird (Michael Spiccia)
Yuma (Piotr Mularuk)
38-39°C (Kangmin Kim)
43,000 Feet (Campbell Hooper)

The world premiere of Fisher Stevens’ Stand Up Guys will open the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival on Thursday, October 11th. Stand Up Guys is an action comedy about aging con men reuniting for one last night of mayhem. However, one of the friends is being pressured by a mob boss to carry out a request he does not wish to do. The film is loaded with Academy Award winners including; Al Pacino, Christopher Walken and Alan Arkin.

Guests who are scheduled to attend this world premiere;
Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Vanessa Ferlito, Addison Timlin, Fisher Stevens and Tom Rosenberg.

Thursday, October 11th at The Harris Theater, Chicago, IL

Part of the 2012 Chicago International Film Festival Lineup has been revealed today when they announced the first 22 titles that will be shown at the festival. This gives us just a small taste of what is in store for the festival this year.

Some of the most noteworthy films include Cristian Mungiu’s Beyond The Hills, Abbas Kiarostami’s Like Someone In Love, and Leos Carax’s Holy Motors, which all premiered at Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. Other standouts are Keep the Lights On, Caesar Must Die and The Sessions.

The biggest surprise from the announcement is the absence of Michael Haneke’s Amour, which is making strong festival runs after winning the Palme D’Or at Cannes. But that does not mean the film will not be in the lineup, we will just have to wait until the full lineup is announced in September to see if that is the case.

These 22 films will be among more than 150 that will be playing throughout the 48th Chicago International Film Festival that will be held October 11th-25th, 2012. Way Too Indie plans to be in attendance this year and reporting back so stay tuned for further updates. Below is the full list of films that were announced today.

2012 Chicago International Film Festival Lineup (so far):

As Goes Janesville (Brad Lichtenstein)
The recession hits home in Janesville, WI, where the shutdown of a GM plant has devastated the town. Following laid-off employees struggling to make ends meet and local business owners trying to lure back investors, this intimate verité-style documentary supplies refreshingly human insight into America’s economic crisis.

Benji (Coodie & Chike)
In 1984, all eyes were on Ben Wilson, one of Chicago’s top high school basketball prospects. But in his senior year, Benji’s story was suddenly cut short. Interviews with family and friends give fresh insight into Benji’s life and untimely end, illuminating one of sport’s most tragic “what if”s.

Beyond The Hills (Cristian Mungiu)
Mungiu (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days) returns to feature filmmaking with this gripping existential drama. Inspired by the real-life horror of a modern-day exorcism-gone-wrong, the film follows two women, close friends whose lives have taken them down drastically different paths: one into a convent, the other much further astray.

The Cleaner (Adrian Saba)
In the midst of a mysterious, devastating epidemic, Eusebio – a forensic cleaner who sterilizes the apartments of the dead discovers an eight-year-old boy hiding in an uninhabited house. A grizzled loner all his life, Eusebio suddenly finds that he must care for this young boy as civilization crumbles around them in this quietly compelling dystopian drama.

Caesar Must Die (Paolo & Vittorio Taviani)
The top prize winner in Berlin, this docudrama from the legendary Taviani brothers depicts the preparations for a staging of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by inmates in Rome’s Rebibbia Prison. The performers, many of whom are in jail for violent crimes, bring powerful new layers of meaning and emotion to the canonical play.

Coming of Age (Sabine Hiebler & Gerhart Ertl)
In their 80s, Rosa and Bruno meet and are suddenly reminded what it means to love and live fully. The two – knowing that their time is limited – run off together, leaving much and many in their wake. This unconventional romantic drama paints a powerful portrait of love by turns stark, passion-filled and heart-breaking.

Consuming Spirits (Chris Sullivan)
A melancholic, mesmerizing vision of backwoods gothic Americana that was 15 years in the making, Consuming Spirits weaves together a spell-binding blend of animation techniques. Folksy storytelling tinged with the dark surrealism of David Lynch, this atmospheric, multi-layered tale of outcasts and misfits is haunting, funny and occasionally heart-breaking.

Don’t Click (Kim Tae-Kyeong)
When cyber junkie Jung-mi learns of a sinister new “forbidden” internet video, she’ll stop at nothing to find it. However, the morbid video has strange effects on its viewers, and soon Jung-mi and her sister seem to be under a bizarre and terrifying curse in this disturbing take on 21st-century technology, surveillance, and internet fame.

Holy Motors (Leos Carax)
Several lifetimes pass in the span of a few hours for Monsieur Oscar, a shadowy character who effortlessly transitions from one realm to the next. He is, in turn, captain of industry, assassin, beggar, monster, family man. This mysterious, hallucinatory epic has ignited passions around the world for its bold, euphoric virtuosity.

In Their Skin (Jeremy Power Regimbal)
A relaxing trip to the country takes a dark and disturbing turn when a seemingly friendly visit from the neighbors turns into a terrifying and potentially deadly situation. Skillfully building the claustrophobic atmosphere with masterful control over mood and pacing, In Their Skin is a chilling, sophisticated slice of terror.

The Jeffrey Dahmer Files (Chris James Thompson)
By the time he was arrested, Jeffrey Dahmer had killed and dismembered 17 victims, mostly in his nondescript Milwaukee apartment. Using a mixture of archival footage, new interviews and recreations, this documentary paints a complex, intimate portrait of one of America’s most notorious serial killers.

Keep the Lights On (Ira Sachs)
A one-night stand between Erik and Paul quickly grows into something more, but their differences – along with Paul’s struggles with addiction – soon chip away at their relationship. This sensitive, subtle account of an intense, nine-year on-off relationship tenderly reminds us that love is not always enough.

Like Someone In Love (Abbas Kiarostami)
Iran’s greatest living filmmaker travels to Tokyo for this understated, enigmatic romantic drama. Unbeknownst to her boyfriend, the enchanting university student Akiko secretly moonlights as an escort. An encounter with a client – a shy, elderly academic – leads to an unconventional, unexpectedly intimate relationship in which nothing is quite as it seems.

Marie Krøyer (Bille August)
Married to one of Denmark’s most celebrated 19th century painters, Marie Krøyer’s life is both privileged and fraught. Struggling to discover her own identity while managing her husband’s increasingly erratic behavior, Marie begins to look outside of her marriage for affirmation and autonomy. But at what cost?

A Modest Reception (Mani Haghighi)
Tasked with giving away huge sums of money by whatever means possible, Kaveh and Layla drive through the remote, war-torn mountains of Iran with a trunkful of cash. What begins as a seemingly harmless game soon reveals itself to be a twisted bout of charity as the power, humiliation, and shame inherent in their act plays out between the privileged couple and the impoverished villagers.

Out in the Dark (Michael Mayer)
Nimer, a Palestinian student, dreams of a better life abroad. One fateful night he meets Roy, an Israeli lawyer. As their relationship deepens, Nimer is confronted with the harsh realities of a Palestinian society that refuses to accept his sexual identity, and an Israeli society that rejects his nationality.

The Scapegoat (Charles Sturridge)
The Scapegoat tells the story of two very different men who have one thing in common: a face. Near exact replicas, these doppelgangers meet by chance, each at a major crossroads in his life in this adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier’s novel, which recalls the productions of Merchant- Ivory at their finest.

The Sessions (Ben Lewin)
Based on the poignantly optimistic autobiographical writings of California-based journalist and poet Mark O’Brien, The Sessions tells the story of a man confined to an iron lung who is determined – at age 38 – to lose his virginity. With the help of his therapists and the guidance of his priest, he sets out to make his dream a reality.

Shameless (Filip Marczewski)
In an incendiary story of love, desire, and betrayal between siblings, the rebellious young Tadek returns to sister Anka’s home in search of solace and affection. Bound together by a painful shared family history, brother and sister must find a way to break free in order to survive.

Tey (Alain Gomis)
What would you do if you knew today was your last? A joyous, impressionistic celebration of life and death, Tey follows Satché from the moment he wakes, with full knowledge of his imminent passing. Wandering through the streets of his hometown, Satché reflects on the choices he has made and their consequences.

Valley of Saints (Musa Syeed)
Gulzar, a boatman on Kashmir’s gorgeous, peaceful Dal Lake, plans to leave for the city when a military curfew forces him to remain in his hometown. When Gulzar meets Asifa, a pretty young scientist studying the lake, a romance develops against a backdrop of jealousy, competition, and ongoing political turmoil.

Short Films: Highlights of this year’s programs include: Paraíso, in which three Chicago window cleaners wax philosophical as they work on a high-rise; the animated Oh Willy…, in which the hero returns to the naturist community where he spent his youth; and Yardbird, in which a young girl uses special powers against bullies.