44TH CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ROSTER of FILMS from MORE THAN 45 COUNTRIES

Press Contact:
Laura Silverman / Heather Connor
The Silverman Group, Inc.
312.932.9965 / 312.932.9911
laura@silvermangroupchicago.com

Lori Hile
Chicago International Film Festival
312.683.0121 ext. 103
publicity@chicagofilmfestival.com

The 44^th Chicago International Film Festival, October 16 - 29, 2008, presented by Cinema/Chicago, will offer moviegoers the best new films from around the world, with several exciting additions, including a "Festival Village" and the launch of Green Screen, a program celebrating our natural environment, the power and artistry of filmmaking, and the intersection between the two. In its fifth decade, the Festival continues to present special appearances by legendary international actors and directors, along with the impressive film line-up for which the Festival is known. Audiences this year will be captivated by 116 feature films, 38 short and student films, and 18 documentaries from more than 45 countries, showcasing both established and promising new filmmakers.

"For 44 years, we've been committed to taking you all across the globe to discover some of the most exciting cinema the world has to offer, right here in Chicago for two weeks only," said Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director of the Chicago International Film Festival. "This isn't your typical Saturday night out at the movies - these are once-in-a-lifetime events. And this year we've set up camp in a new Festival Village to create an even stronger sense of community where you can come out, see the films, meet the people who make them, mingle with your fellow film fans, and most importantly see the world in a whole new way."

Highlights (in chronological order) include:

Kicking off the 44^th Chicago International Film Festival will be the adventurous comedy TheBrothers Bloom featuring a star-studded red carpet arrival by the film's director Rian Johnson and Academy-Award® winning actress Rachel Weisz at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive, Thursday, October 16, 2008 at 7pm. The sophomore film from director Rian Johnson (Brick), Academy Award^® winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Academy Award^® winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac), and Academy Award^® nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) star in The Brothers Bloom, a globe-trotting comedy about the last great adventure of the world's best con men. In the world of The Brothers Bloom, deception is an art and nothing is as it seems. The brothers have perfected the art of swindling fortunes through years of fraternal teamwork. Now they've decided to take on one last spectacular job-luring a beautiful and eccentric heiress into an elaborate plot that takes them around the world.

Director Darren Aronofsky will attend the Gala Presentation of his film, The Wrestler, at AMC River East 21 on Friday, October 17 at 8pm. The powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, The Wrestler stars Mickey Rourke, Evan Rachel Wood, and Marisa Tomei.

Director Mike Leigh will be honored with a Career Achievement Award prior to the screening of his film Happy-Go-Lucky at AMC River East 21 on Friday, October 17 at 7pm. Leigh is an Oscar®-nominated director whose credits include Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy, and Secrets & Lies.

The annual Black Perspectives Tribute and Reception will honor Academy Award®-winner Sidney Poitier with a Lifetime Achievement Award at Chase Auditorium, 10 S. Dearborn on Saturday, October 18 beginning at 6pm. Sidney Poitier is known for his sensitive and powerful portrayals in such socially charged films as Cry, the Beloved Country; Blackboard Jungle; The Defiant Ones; To Sir With Love; Guess Who's Coming to Dinner; and Lillies of the Field for which he won the Oscar® in 1964. A leading figure among Black achievers, Poitier's innumerable honors and awards include being knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II in 1968, a BAFTA®, three Golden Globes®, the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, five NAACP Image Awards, and two Golden Bear Awards from the Berlin Film Festival.

Director Danny Boyle will be in Chicago for the screening of his film, Slumdog Millionaire at AMC River East 21 on Sunday, October 19 at 5:30pm. Presented as a Gala Presentation, Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Who Wants to be A Millionaire? But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating. Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up.

Synecdoche, New York, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, and Samantha Morton,will screen at AMC River East 21 on Sunday, October 19 at 7:30pm. Director Charlie Kaufman will be in attendance for the Gala Presentation screening.

Both Director Sean McGinley and actor Colin Hanks will be in town for the screening of The Great Buck Howard at AMC River East 21 on Friday, October 24 at 6:15pm. John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, and Tom Hanks also star.

As part of the Restored and Rediscovered program, the 1983 film El Nortewill screen at the Music Box Theatre on Sunday, October 26 at 5pm. Thirty-two years after Director Gregory Nava's debut, The Confessions of Amans, was named best first feature at the 1976 Festival, a restored print of his Oscar®-nominated 1983 follow-up will be presented. Chronicling the journey of Guatemalan siblings hoping to cross the Mexican border into California, the film earned great recognition for exposing the human side of America's ongoing relationship with its illegal immigrants.

Director Bent Hamer's wonderfully skewed view of the human condition, O'Horten, will screen at AMC River East 21 on Monday, October 27 at 6pm. Proof positive that there is humor to be found in aging, and we don't have to be elderly Norwegians to identify, laugh and embrace life in all its idiosyncratic splendor.

The World Premiere and directorial debut ofJada Pinkett Smith's The Human Contract, will screen as a Gala Presentation and as part of Black Perspectives at AMC River East 21 on Tuesday, October 28 at 7:30pm. The Human Contract is a provocative psychological journey of a successful but repressed advertising executive in full control of his life and career until he encounters a beautiful and sensual woman who introduces him to her world of uninhibited passion and reckless freedom.

Culminating this year's Festival will be Good, directed by Vicente Amorim and based on the acclaimed play of the same name by C.P.Taylor, at the Harris Theater, on Wednesday, October 29 at 7pm.Good stars Oscar® nominee Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) in an extraordinary change-of-pace role as John Halder, a good, decent individual with family problems. As a German literature professor in the 1930s, Halder explores his personal circumstances in a novel advocating compassionate euthanasia. When the book is unexpectedly enlisted by powerful political figures in support of government propaganda, Halder finds his career rising in an optimistic current of nationalism and prosperity. Yet with Halder's change in fortune, his seemingly inconsequential decisions potentially jeopardize the people in his life with devastating effects.

In an extraordinary year for film, the 44^th Chicago International Film Festival will present an exceptionally high number of feature films and documentaries written or directed by women. Among these noteworthy films are Jada Pinkett Smith's directorial debut The Human Contract,Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy, Valdís Óskarsdóttir's Country Wedding, Deepa Mehta's Heaven on Earth, Gulshat Omarova's Native Dancer, Aida Begic's Snow, Tanaz Eshaghian's Be Like Others, and Kathryn Millard's The Boot Cake, among many others.

This year, filmgoers are invited to immerse themselves in a complete Festival experience with the new Festival Village, a roughly five-block area within the Streeterville and River North neighborhoods. The three primary film venues - AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.), AMC 600 N. Michigan 9 (600 N. Michigan Ave.), and the Harris Theater (205 E. Randolph Dr.) - are all concentrated in the Festival Village, offering audiences complete and easy access to this season's most intriguing films, while creating a sense of community. Additionally, social events will be held at neighboring restaurants, hotels, and clubs before and after screenings to promote interaction among film-goers and provide a fully encompassing festival experience, similar to that of major European Film Festivals.

Main Competition: Judged by a distinguished jury of international film artists and critics, these works compete for the Festival's top honor, the Gold Hugo, in North America's longest-running competitive film festival.

• Absurdistan (Germany/Azerbaijan) - Dir. Veit Helmer
• Berlin - 1^st of May / 1. Mai (Germany) - Dirs. Jan-Christoph Glaser, Carsten Ludwig, Sven Taddicken, and Jakob Ziemnicki
• Delta (Hungary/Germany) - Dir. Kornel Mundruczo
• Everlasting Moments / Maria Larssons Eviga Ogonblick (Sweden) - Dir. Jan Troell
• Gomorrah/ Gomorra (Italy) - Dir. Matteo Garrone
• Heaven on Earth (Canada) - Dir. Deepa Mehta
• Hunger (UK) - Dir. Steve McQueen
• I'm Gonna Explode / Voy a Explotar (Mexico) - Dir. Gerardo Naranjo
• Julia (France/USA/Mexico) - Dir. Erick Zonca
• La Rabia (Argentina) - Dir. Albertina Carri
• Lemon Tree / Etz Limon (Israel/France/Germany) - Dir. Eran Riklis
• Native Dancer / Baksy (Russia/Kazakhstan/France/Germany) - Dir. Gulshat Omarova
• Quiet Chaos / Caos Calmo (Italy/UK) - Dir. Antonello Grimaldi
• Terribly Happy / Frygtelig Lykkelig (Denmark) - Dir. Henrik Ruben Genz
• Tokyo Sonata (Japan/Netherlands/Hong Kong) - Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
• Two Lovers (USA) - Dir. James Gray
• Wendy and Lucy (USA) - Dir. Kelly Reichardt

New Directors Competition: This competition aims to encourage and honor bold new voices in the filmmaking industry. First or second feature-length films are judged by a jury of local and international film professionals.

• Ballast(USA) - Dir. Lance Hammer
• Beautiful / Arumdabda (South Korea) - Dir. Juhn Jaihong
• Before the Burial / Tanha Do Bar Zendegui Mikonim (Iran) - Dir. Behnam Behzadi
• The Dead Girl's Feast / A Festa da Menina Morta (Brazil) - Dir. Matheus Nachtergaele
• Family Values / Affaire de Famille (France) - Dir. Claus Drexel
• The Friend / Der Freund (Switzerland) - Dir. Micha Lewinsky
• King of Ping Pong / Ping-Pongkingen (Sweden) - Dir. Jens Jonsson
• Medicine for Melancholy (USA) - Dir. Barry Jenkins
• The Noise In My Head / Du Bruit Dans La Tete (Switzerland/Germany) - Dir. Vincent Pluss
• The Red Awn / Hongse Kangbaiyin (China) - Dir. Cai Shangjun
• Sleep Dealer (Mexico/USA) - Dir. Alex Rivera
• Snow / Snijeg (Bosnia-Herzegovina/Germany/France/Iran) - Dir. Aida Begic
• Summer Book / Tatil Kitabi (Turkey) - Dir. Seyfi Teoman
• Waltz in Starlight / Hoshikageno Waltz (Japan) - Dir. Shingo Wakagi
• The Zone / La Zona (Mexico) - Dir. Rodrigo Pla

Docufest Competition: The Docufest section of the Festival annually screens fascinating non-fiction films from around the globe. The 2008 Docufest is exclusively sponsored by Flashpoint Academy.

• Anvil! The Story of Anvil (USA) - Dir. Sacha Gervasi
• Be Like Others (Iran/France/UK) - Dir. Tanaz Eshaghian
• Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (USA) - Dir. Stefan Forbes
• The Boot Cake (Australia/India) - Dir. Kathryn Millard
• Kassim the Dream (USA) - Dir. Kief Davidson
• Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight (USA) - Dir. Wendy Key
• Must Read After My Death (USA) - Dir. Morgan Dews
• Of Time and the City (UK) - Dir. Terence Davies
• Pressure Cooker (USA) - Dirs. Mark Becker and Jennifer Grausman
• Rain of the Children (New Zealand) - Dir. Vincent Ward
• They Killed Sister Dorothy (USA/Brazil) - Dir. Daniel Junge
• Valentino: The Last Emperor (USA) - Dir. Matt Tyrnauer

Docufest:

• The Garden(USA) - Dir. Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (USA) - Dirs. Lisa Merton and Alan Dater

· Truth in 24 (France/Germany/USA) - Dirs. Keith Cossrow and Bennet Viseltear

· Wesley Willis's Joyrides (USA) - Dirs. Chris Bagley and Kim Shively

World Cinema: The best in film from countries all over the world brings the sights, sounds and perspectives of diverse cultures to Chicago audiences.

• 24 City / Er Shi Si Cheng Ji (China) - Dir. Jia Zhang-ke
• The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (Iceland) - Dir. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson
• Another World / Altromondo (Italy) - Dir. Fabiomassimo Lozzi
• Awaking from a Dream / Amanecer de un Sueno (Spain/Poland) - Dir. Freddy Mas Franqueza
• Born in '68 / Nes En 68 (France) - Dirs. Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau
• Brutus, The Journey / Brutus, Ang Paglalakbay (Philippines) - Dir. Tara Illenberger
• Cherry Blossoms / Kirschbluten - Hanami (Germany/France) - Dir. Doris Dorrie
• Country Wedding / Sveitabrudkaup (Iceland) - Dir. Valdis Oskarsdottir
• Crossing Dates / Intalniri Incrucisate (Romania/Finland) - Dir. Anca Damian
• Days in Between / Die Besucherin (Germany) - Dir. Lola Randi
• Deadly Delicious / Shuang Shi Ji (China) - Dir. Zhao Tianyu
• Déficit (Mexico) - Dir. Gael Garcia Bernal
• Distant Tremors / Les Tremblements Lointains (Belgium/France) - Dir. Manuel Poutte
• Don't Look Down / No Mires Para Abajo (Argentina) - Dir. Eliseo Subiela
• Dream Boy (USA) - Dir. James Bolton
• The Dukes (USA) - Dir. Robert Davi
• Finally, Lillian and Dan (USA) - Dir. Mike Gibisser
• Four Nights with Anna / Cztery Noce Z Anna (Poland) - Dir. Jerzy Skolimowski
• The Girl by the Lake / La Ragazza del Lago (Italy) - Dir. Andrea Molaioli
• Go With Peace Jamil / Ma Salama Jamil (Denmark) - Dir. Omar Shargawi
• God Man Dog / Liu Lang Shen Gao Ren (Taiwan/China) - Dir. Singing Chen
• The Good, The Bad and The Weird / Joheunnom Nabbeunnom Isanghannom (South Korea) - Dir. Jee-woon Kim
• The Great Buck Howard (USA) - Dir. Sean McGinley
• The Homecoming / I Epistrofi (Greece) - Dir. Vassilis Douvlis
• Honey, I'm in Love / Le Grand Depart (Canada) - Dir. Claude Meunier
• Ice (Japan) - Dir. Makoto Kobayashi
• Jerusalema (South Africa) - Dir. Ralph Ziman
• Katyn (Poland) - Dir. Andrzej Wajda
• Laila's Birthday / Eid Milad Laila (Palestine/Tunisia/Netherlands) - Dir. Rashid Masharawi
• Lokas (Chile/Mexico) - Dir. Gonzalo Justiniano
• The Mermaid / Rusalka (Russia) - Dir. Anna Melikyan
• Nights and Weekends (USA) - Dirs. Greta Gerwig and Joe Swanberg
• North Starr (USA) - Dir. Mattthew Stanton
• Of Boys and Men (USA) - Dir. Carl Seaton
• Of Parents and Children / O Rodicich a Detech (Czech Republic) - Dir. Vladimir Michalek
• O'Horten (Norway) - Dir. Bent Hamer
• The Other Side / A Outra Margem (Portugal) - Dir. Luis Filipe Rocha
• Out of Tune / Os Desafinados (Brazil) - Dir. Walter Lima Jr.
• Paraiso Travel (USA/Colombia) - Dir. Simon Brand
• Personal Belongings (Cuba) - Dir. Alejandro Brugues
• The Pleasure of Being Robbed (USA) - Dir. Joshua Safdie
• The Secret of the Grain / La Graine et le Mullet (France) - Dir. Abdel Kechiche
• Serbis (Philippines) - Dir. Brillante Mendoza
• Sita Sings the Blues (USA) - Dir. Nina Paley
• The Sky, The Earth and The Rain / El Cielo, La Tierra y La Illuvia (Chile) - Dir. Jose Luis Torres Leiva
• Sonetaula (Italy/France/Belgium) - Dir. Salvatore Mereu
• The Song of Sparrows / Avaze Gonjeshk-Ha (Iran) - Dir. Majid Majidi
• Sparrow / Man Jeuk (China) - Dir. Johnnie To
• Tokyo! (France/Japan/Germany/South Korea) - Dirs. Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax, and Michel Gondry
• Tranquility / Nyugalom (Hungary) - Dir. Robert Alfoldi
• The Vanished Empire (Russia) - Dir. Karen Shakhnazarov
• The Wave / Die Welle (Germany) - Dir. Dennis Gansel
• Were the World Mine (USA) - Dir. Tom Gustafson
• Wolf - The Laws of Wilderness / Varg (Sweden/Finland/Norway) - Dir. Daniel Alfredson
• Yonkers Joe (USA) - Dir. Robert Celestino

Cinema of the Americas: The Festival's innovative works from Latin America and the Caribbean are highlighted.

• The Dead Girl's Feast / A Festa da Menina Morta (Brazil) - Dir. Matheus Nachtergaele
• Déficit (Mexico) - Dir. Gael Garcia Bernal
• Don't Look Down / No Mires Para Abajo (Argentina) - Dir. Eliseo Subiela
• La Rabia (Argentina) - Dir. Albertina Carri
• Lokas (Chile/Mexico) - Dir. Gonzalo Justiniano
• Mirageman (Chile) - Dir. Ernesto Diaz Espinoza
• Out of Tune / Os Desafinados (Brazil) - Dir. Walter Lima Jr.
• Paraiso Travel (USA/Colombia) - Dir. Simon Brand
• Personal Belongings (Cuba) - Dir. Alejandro Brugues
• The Sky, The Earth and The Rain / El Cielo, La Tierra y La Illuvia (Chile) - Dir. Jose Luis Torres Leiva
• Sleep Dealer (Mexico/USA) - Dir. Alex Rivera

Gala Presentations and Tributes: One-night-only showings of some of the most anticipated films in the world are boosted by appearances from the artists behind them.

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas(UK/USA) - Dir. Mark Herman (Herman, and John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: A Fable, will be in attendance at the AMC River East 21 screening. Wednesday, October 22)
• A Christmas Tale / Un Conte de Noel (France) - Dir. Arnaud Desplechin
• Happy-Go-Lucky (UK) - Dir. Mike Leigh (Leigh will be in attendance at the AMC River East 21 screening, Friday, October 17)
• The Human Contract (USA) - Dir. Jada Pinkett Smith
• I've Loved You So Long / Ii Y A Longtemps Que Je T'aime (France) - Dir. Philippe Claudel (Claudel will be in attendance at the AMC 600 N. Michigan 9 screening, Tuesday, October 21)
• Pride and Glory (USA) - Dir. Gavin O'Connor (O'Connor will be in attendance at the AMC River East 21 screening, Wednesday, October 22)
• Slumdog Millionaire (UK/USA) - Dir. Danny Boyle (Boyle will be in attendance at the AMC River East 21 screening, Sunday, October 19)
• Synecdoche, New York (USA) - Dir. Charlie Kaufman (Kaufman will be in attendance at the AMC River East 21 screening, Sunday, October 19)
• The Wrestler (USA) - Dir. Darren Aronofsky (Aronofsky will be in attendance at the AMC River East 21 screening, Friday, October 17)
• Zack and Miri Make a Porno (USA) - Dir. Kevin Smith

Black Perspectives: Founded in 1997 through a collaboration with legendary director Spike Lee, the Black Perspectives program showcases films by and about people of African descent-films that break down barriers, shatter stereotypes, and introduce the world to some of the richest cultures on the planet.

• Ballast(USA) - Dir. Lance Hammer
• Distant Tremors / Les Tremblements Lointains (Belgium/France) - Dir. Manuel Poutte
• The Human Contract (USA) - Dir. Jada Pinkett Smith
• Hunger (UK) - Dir. Steve McQueen
• In the Shadow of Hollywood: Race Movies and the Birth of Black Cinema (USA) - Dir. Brad Osborne
• Jerusalema (South Africa) - Dir. Ralph Ziman
• Kassim the Dream (USA) - Dir. Kief Davidson
• Medicine for Melancholy (USA) - Dir. Barry Jenkins
• North Starr (USA) - Dir. Mattthew Stanton
• Of Boys and Men (USA) - Dir. Carl Seaton
• Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (USA) - Dirs. Lisa Merton and Alan Dater
• Wesley Willis's Joyrides (USA) - Dirs. Chris Bagley and Kim Shively

Green Screen: For the first time, the Chicago International Film Festival presents the Green Screen series: a celebration of our natural environment, the power and artistry of filmmaking, and the intersection between the two. The Green Screen program is underwritten by the Boeing Corporation, committed to leadership and innovation.

• The Artic: Change At The Top Of The World (USA) - Dir. Charles Annenberg Weingarten
• Brutus, The Journey / Brutus, Ang Paglalakbay (Philippines) - Dir. Tara Illenberger
• The Garden(USA) - Dir. Scott Hamilton Kennedy
• Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai (USA) - Dirs. Lisa Merton and Alan Dater
• They Killed Sister Dorothy (USA/Brazil) - Dir. Daniel Junge
• Wolf - The Laws of Wilderness / Varg (Sweden/Finland/Norway) - Dir. Daniel Alfredson

Spotlight Illinois: The best that Illinois filmmakers have to offer is showcased.

• Nights and Weekends (USA) - Dirs. Greta Gerwig and Joe Swanberg
• Of Boys and Men (USA) - Dir. Carl Seaton
• Were the World Mine (USA) - Dir. Tom Gustafson
• Wesley Willis's Joyrides (USA) - Dirs. Chris Bagley and Kim Shively

Life (In Short): This program highlights exceptional short films (live action, experimental, documentary and student) from the around the world.

• Shorts 1: Illinoisemakers
  • Jim With a "J" (USA)
  • The Falling of the Bright (USA)
  • Eyelids (USA)
  • A Nephilim Grieves (USA)
  • Butterfly (USA)
  • Botnik! (USA)
  • They Can Sleep (USA)
  • Microphysics (Spain)
  • Audience Award Winner (USA)
  • Sugar (USA)

· Shorts 2: Animation Nations
o Hot Dog (USA)
o The Black Cabinet (USA)
o Kizi Mizi (Poland)
o Procrastination (UK)
o Trepan Hole (USA)
o Stand Up (UK)
o John and Karen (UK)
o Keith Reynolds Can't Make it Tonight (UK)
o Lavatory - Lovestory (Russia)
o Out of Control (Mexico)
o Lies (Sweden)

· Shorts 3: Conflict and Boundaries
o Get Off My Land (UK)
o Man (USA)
o Megatron (Romania)
o Slapper (UK)
o Haze (Singapore)
o The Business Trip (France)
o I Know (Slovenia/Hungary)
o Jerrycan (Australia)

· Shorts 4: Intimate Relations
o From Head to Toe (Canada)
o Self Portrait With Cows Going Home and Other Works (USA)
o A Good Day for a Swim (Romania)
o Hokkaido Hotballs (Singapore)
o Son (UK)
o Peter and Ben (UK)
o Surface (Portugal)
o Odd Shoe (UK)
o Sick Sex (USA)

After Dark: Experience the latest thrillers and chillers from around the world after the kids have gone to bed:

• The Chaser / Chugyeogja (South Korea) - Dir. Hong-jin Na
• Fear(s) of the Dark / Peur(s) du Noir (France) - Dirs. Blutch, Marie Caillou, Pierre Di Sciullo, Jerry Kramski, Lorenzo Mattotti, Richard McGuire, Michel Pirus, Romain Slocombe
• Idiots and Angels (USA) - Dir. Bill Plympton
• Let the Right One In / Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Sweden) - Dir. Tomas Alfredson
• Mirageman (Chile)- Dir. Morgan Dews
• Revanche (Austria) - Dir. Gotz Spielman
• Surveillance (USA) - Dir. Jennifer Lynch
• Timecrimes / Los Cronocrimenes (Spain) - Dir. Nacho Vigalondo

Restored and Rediscovered: Explore classic cinema in a whole new way through these newly restored prints:

• El Norte (USA/UK, 1983) - Dir. Gregory Nava
• Faces (USA, 1968) - Dir. John Cassavetes
• Once Upon a Time in the West (USA, 1968) - Dir. Sergio Leone

SCREENING LOCATIONS

The 44^th Chicago International Film Festival will screen films at four locations. The majority of films will be shown at AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois Street, and AMC600 N. Michigan 9, 600 N. Michigan Avenue.Both the Opening Night (October 16) and Closing Night (October 29) screenings take place at the Harris Theater, 205 E. Randolph Drive. Screenings of films in the Rediscovered and Restored Series will be held at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Avenue, on October 26, 27, and 28.TICKETS

Film Festival passes are on sale now. Individual tickets for the 44^th Chicago International Film Festival screenings and events will go on sale the beginning of October. Passes and tickets can be purchased by visiting www.chicagofilmfestival.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 312-902-1500.

ABOUT CINEMA/CHICAGO

Cinema/Chicago, a not for profit, tax exempt cultural and educational organization, presents the annual Chicago International Film Festival, North America's oldest competitive international film festival, organized to encourage better understanding between cultures and its people and to make a positive contribution to the art form of the moving image. Subscribers to Cinema/Chicago's membership program form a loyal core audience for the organization and are granted access to more than 15 free film screenings and sneak previews throughout the year. Cinema/Chicago also offers year-round educational programs designed for students and the deaf and hard of hearing to provide new film experiences and offer insight into other cultures, languages, and ideas. These programs include the Educational Outreach Program, the Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the Black Perspectives Program.

For up-to-date and detailed Festival information, call 312-332-FILM or visit www.chicagofilmfestival.com.

Posted by: ERICK LASECA
Junior Board Member
Chicago International Film Festival