If you haven’t had a chance to see the Oscar and Independent Spirit Award nominated film The Sessions, which stars John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, now is your chance. Way Too Indie is giving away a copy of The Sessions on Blu-ray to one of our readers.

How do you enter the giveaway?

Just correctly email me (dustin AT waytooindie.com) the answer to the question below.

In The Sessions, William H. Macy portrays a:

a) Poet
b) Priest
c) Journalist

Email me the answer to enter. Winners will be picked on March 8th.

RELEASED ON BLU-RAY AND DVD ON FEBRUARY 12th

Paralyzed and confined to an iron lung since childhood, poet-journalist Mark O’Brien (Hawkes) has overcome adversity time and time again. But now, at age 38, he faces his toughest challenge yet: losing his virginity. With the help of a beautiful therapist (Hunt), a sympathetic priest (Macy), and his own unbridled sense of optimism and humor, Mark embarks on an extraordinary personal journey to discover the wondrous pleasures that make life worth living.

Special Features:
• Theatrical Feature Blu-ray
• John Hawkes becomes Mark O Brien
• Helen Hunt as the Sex Surrogate
• The Women Who Loved Mark O Brien

Blu-ray Exclusive Features
• Deleted Scenes
• Writer/Director Ben Lewin Finds Inspiration
• A Session with the Cast
• Ultraviolet Copy

Follow Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on Twitter @FoxHomeEnt

Ben Lewin’s The Sessions collected attention at various film festivals throughout the year, under the film’s original name of The Surrogate. Because the film is based on a true story about a man who struggles in life because of his condition; the film had a good chance of either being a contriving work of Oscar-bait or an emotionally inspiring film. Oddly enough, the film ended up being neither of those things. The Sessions was ultimately a light-hearted comical take on a very serious subject.

The opening scene gives a quick background on the real-life Mark O’Brien. At 6 years-old Mark O’Brien was diagnosed with Polio, which left his body immobilized but his mind completely unharmed. Despite his condition he followed his dreams of becoming a poet by graduating from University of California Berkeley.

The Sessions jumps ahead to the 1988 after Mark (John Hawkes) graduates from college. He sleeps in an iron lung and is taken care of by an attendants. Being that he was raised Catholic, when he is in need of answers he turns to church. This is when he meets with Father Brendan (William H. Macy), who would later become a close friend of his after repeated advise conversations.

In due time, the core of what The Sessions is about comes to light, which is sexuality. Mark realizes being 38 years-old means he does not have a lot of time left to engage in sexual intercourse. Considering he is not able to move from the neck down and that he has never had sex before, this is a monumental procedure for him. Mark turns to Father Brendan if he thinks God can overlook having sex outside of marriage because of his situation. In an unlikely response, Mark receives the Fathers blessing.

The courage he possess to go explore his sexuality is overshadowed by his understandable nervousness in the uncharted territory. Setting up the appointment to meet with a sex therapist is one thing, but having the courage to show up to the first meeting is another. Once he finally does and meets with a sexual surrogate named Cheryl (Helen Hunt), he begins a journey that he has never been able to experience before.

John Hawkes continues to prove why he is one of the best actors in the field today. Dealing with the difficult physical challenge with ease; Hawkes remained full of spirit and had a wonderful sense of humor about everything. Over Helen Hunt’s long career, she has had more ups than downs and fortunately she can chalk up another victory here. She played a lovely saint accompanying Hawkes who desperately needed it. Because of how much nudity her role entailed, it was a brave role for her. The Sessions picked up two well-deserved acting nominations for this year’s Independent Spirit Awards. While Hawkes did not receive an Oscar nomination for the Academy Awards this year, Hunt did receive a nod.

What the film does well is show a subject that is rarely shown, disabled people being just as sexual as the able-bodied. Without glamorizing sexuality, the film handles the subject with grace and maturity. Unfortunately, the film felt stuck between being insouciant and hard-hitting. The charming route helps widen the audience net, but makes you question if a slightly different approach would have had a more meaningful impact.

The Sessions successfully tackles a subject that is often either mishandled or grossly embellished, so in a way the film deserves recognition for that alone. Add in the two delightful lead performances and one might think the film would be a home-run. Unfortunately, the film ends up slightly missing a big payoff because of undeveloped sub-plots and rushed pacing, making for a marginally underwhelming finish.

The nominations for the 2013 Oscars were announced this morning with Lincoln brining in the most nominations with a whopping 12, including most of the main categories. Almost every year at the Academy Awards the showdown for Best Picture is normally between just two films, this year may be a little different. I have always thought Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty are the two films considered to have the best chance at taking the top prize, but with Kathryn Bigelow not getting a nod for Best Director, that severely hurts Zero Dark Thirty’s chances of winning Best Picture.

There were a few surprise nominations this morning, most which were welcoming. First off, Beasts of the Southern Wild got a lot more support from the Academy than what some were predicting. The film walked away with a total of 4 nominations, includes ones for Best Picture and perhaps the most surprising, Best Director. You could say because Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) got that nod, that it shut out Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) for that final spot. Quvenzhane Wallis got a well-deserved nomination for Best Actress and although it is unlikely, she would be the youngest award winner if she ended up winning.

Some were worried that The Master would not end up getting any love from the Academy, but we can know breathe a sigh of relief as Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams were all thankfully nominated for acting awards. Amour got some love (pun intended) in more than just the Best Foreign Language category (where it is thought to be the front-runner in). The film also picked up nominations for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Picture.

The 85th Academy Awards will air February 24, 2013 at 5:30 p.m., PT/ 8:30 p.m., ET on ABC.

Full List of 2013 Oscar Nominations:

Amour
Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Michael Haneke – Amour
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Ang Lee – Life Of Pi
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Denzel Washington – Flight
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings PLaybook
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

Alan Arkin – Argo
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook

Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Sally Field – Lincoln
Amy Adams – The Master
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Jacki Weaver – Silver Linings Playbook

Michael Haneke – Amour
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
John Gatins – Flight
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty

Chris Terrio – Argo
Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
David Magee – Life Of Pi
Tony Kushner – Lincoln
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

Amour
Kon-Tiki
No
A Royal Affair
War Witch

Seamus McGarvey – Anna Karenina
Robert Richardson – Django Unchained
Claudio Miranda – Life Of Pi
Janusz Kaminski – Lincoln
Roger Deakins – Skyfall

Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band Of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How To Survive A Plague
The Invisible War
Searching For Sugar Man

William Goldenberg – Argo
Tim Squyres – Life Of Pi
Michael Kahn – Lincoln
Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers – Silver Linings Playbook
William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor – Zero Dark Thirty

Dario Marianelli – Anna Karenina
Alexandre Desplat – Argo
Mychael Danna – Life Of Pi
John Williams – Lincoln
Thomas Newman – Skyfall

“Before My Time” – Chasing Ice
“Pi’s Lullaby” – Life Of Pi
“Suddenly” – Les Miserables
“Skyfall” – Skyfall
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” – Ted

Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln

Anna Karenina
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman

Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Misérables

Argo
Django Unchained
Life Of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

Argo
Les Misérables
Life Of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life Of Pi
Marvel’s The Avengers
Prometheus
Snow White And The Huntsman

Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays At Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Adam And Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head Over Heels
Maggie Simpson In The Longest Daycare
Paperman

Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death Of A Shadow
Henry

The members of the Screen Actors Guild have submitted their nominations to honor their fellow cohorts and the results were mostly predictable and safe. Leading the pack with four nominations each were, Lincoln and Silver Linings Playbook. Even though the guild does not have a “best picture” category, the “outstanding performance by a cast” can be a good indicator for contenders looking to win Best Picture at the Oscars in February.

There were two major surprises in the film category. The first one being the nod given to Nicole Kidman for her supporting role in the disdained The Paperboy. The other shocker was the lack of love for Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, which recently picked up several acting nominations from the Critics Choice Awards. The only SAG nomination for The Master was given to Philip Seymour Hoffman. The two surprises may even be linked to one another; with Kidman somehow besting Amy Adams for the nomination in that category.

The full list of 2013 Golden Globes nominations:

Film

Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Hugh Jackman – Les Misérables
Denzel Washington – Flight

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a leading role
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren – Hitchcock
Naomi Watts – The Impossible

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin – Argo
Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Robert De Niro – Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a supporting role
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Misérables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Nicole Kidman – The Paperboy
Maggie Smith – The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Television

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Homeland
Mad Men

Outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
Modern Family
Nurse Jackie
The Office

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Jeff Daniels – The Newsroom
Jon Hamm – Mad Men
Damian Lewis – Homeland

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series
Claire Danes – Homeland
Michelle Dockery – Downton Abbey
Jessica Lange – American Horror Story: Asylum
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a comedy series
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Ty Burrell – Modern Family
Louis C.K. – Louie
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series
Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation
Sofia Vergara – Modern Family
Betty White – Hot in Cleveland

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries
Kevin Costner – Hatfields & McCoys (History)
Woody Harrelson – Game Change (HBO)
Ed Harris – Game Change
Clive Owen –Hemingway & Gellhorn (HBO)
Bill Paxton – Hatfields & McCoys (History)

Outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movie or miniseries
Nicole Kidman – Hemingway & Gellhorn (HBO)
Julianne Moore – Game Change (HBO)
Charlotte Rampling – Restless (Sundance)
Sigourney Weaver – Political Animals (USA)
Alfre Woodard – Steel Magnolias (Lifetime)

Film Independent announced the nominations for the 28th annual Independent Spirit Awards this morning by Zoe Saldana and Anna Kendrick. Last year many of the award winners went on to win Oscars but I suspect that will be a little different this year. The winners will be announced at the 28th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 23th and the broadcast will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on IFC.

There were two films that tied for the most amount of nominations and those were Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and David O. Russells’s Silver Linings Playbook with five total nominations. Both of the films will be competing for the top award of Best Feature.

It was a little shocking to see that the Sundance standout Beasts of the Southern Wild did not have quite as many nods but four is a healthy amount of nominations to receive. The film bypassed Best First Feature even though it is technically Benh Zeitlin’s first and step up to the bigger category Best Feature (rules prohibit a film from being in both). Beasts of the Southern Wild was ousted from the Best Screenplay category.

John Hawkes makes his third straight appearance in the nomination list with his role in The Sessions. This time he will move up to the Best Lead Male category against some pretty strong contenders. Hawkes was nominated for Best Supporting Male last year for Martha Marcy May Marlene and won the award in the previous year for Winter’s Bone. Matthew McConaughey will get two chances to win for two different films. He got a nod for Best Male Lead (for Killer Joe) and Best Supporting Male (for Magic Mike).

Perhaps the most interesting category this year belongs to the Best International Film section as there was quite a bit of potentials for it this year. Michael Haneke’s Amour made the cut, unsurprisingly, and will likely be the favorite to win (as well as for the Oscar). It was a bit of a surprise to not see Holy Motors in that list but seeing War Witch get a nod was lovely as it is definitely a film worth seeing. I didn’t expect to see Paradise: Love or Goodbye First Love on this list but it would have been if it were up to me.

Watch for our predictions for the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards post to come in the coming weeks.

Full List of 2013 Independent Spirit Award Nominations:

Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep The Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev – The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs – Keep The Lights On
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Fill The Void – Rama Burshtein
Gimme The Loot – Adam Leon
Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow
Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – Stephen Chobsky

Jack Black – Bernie
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Thure Lindhart – Keep The Lights On
Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce – Four

Linda Cardellini – Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary E. Winstead – Smashed

Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
David Oyelowo – Middle of Nowhere
Michael Pena – End of Watch
Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom

Rosemarie DeWitt – Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd – Compliance
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Brit Marling – Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint – Middle of Nowhere

Breakfast With Curtis – Laura Colella
Middle of Nowhere – Ava DuVernay
Mosquita y Mari – Aurora Guerrero
Starlet – Sean Baker
The Color Wheel – Alex Ross Perry

How To Survive A Plague – David France
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present – Matthew Akers
The Central Park Five – Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War – Kirby Dick
The Waiting Room – Peter Nicks

Amour – Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust and Bone – Jacques Audiard
Sister – Ursula Meier
War Witch – Kim Nguyen

Yoni Brook – Valley Of Saints
Lol Crawley – Here
Ben Richardson – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov – End of Watch
Robert Yeoman – Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh – Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias – Keep The Lights On

Rama Burshtein – Fill The Void
Derek Connolly – Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford – Robot & Frank
Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack – Celeste and Jesse Forever

Starlet
Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ranson

Alicia Van Couvering – Nobody Walks
Mynette Louie – Stones in the Sun
Derrick Tseng – Prince Avalanche

Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel – Leviathan
Peter Nicks – The Waiting Room
Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims – Only the Young

David Fenster – Pincus
Adam Leon – Gimme The Loot
Rebecca Thomas – Electrick Children

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)

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.

The first wave of films for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival were announced this morning and most people were very pleased with 62 films that will be making their premieres.

We have put together a list of the hottest trailers for films playing at TIFF 2012. Many of the films do not have a synopsis yet let alone a trailer but we will be updating this post as more information comes along. Keep in mind that the festival tends to have over 300 films so they will continue to make more announcements of additions to their lineup before it kicks off on September 6th.

Best trailers of TIFF 2012:

Argo (Director Ben Affleck)
Synopsis: As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA ‘exfiltration’ specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.

The Sessions (Director Ben Lewin)
Synopsis: A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.

Dangerous Liaisons (Director Jin-ho Hur)
Synopsis: Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) stars in director Hur Jin-ho’s lushly sensual adaptation of the classic French novel, which updates Choderlos de Laclos’ devilish tale of sex, seduction and scheming to 1930s Shanghai.

Hyde Park on Hudson (Director Roger Michell)
Synopsis: The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.