CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL Announces Full Program Lineup, Special Guests and Recipients of 2025 Emerging Critics Grant
(Chicago, IL) — The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA), the Chicago-area print, online and broadcast critics group that celebrates the art of film and film criticism, today announces the complete lineup, schedule and special guests expected for the twelfth annual Chicago Critics Film Festival, May 2-8 at the city’s historic Music Box Theatre.
The festival opens with a screening of THE BALTIMORONS, with filmmaker Jay Duplass, co-writer/star Michael Strassner and star Liz Larsen scheduled to attend. The week-long event closes with Angus MacLachlan’s A LITTLE PRAYER, including MacLachlan, Jane Levy, David Strathairn scheduled to attend. Additional selected films for the 2025 festival include Chicago premieres of the most anticipated films of the year, including James Sweeney’s TWINLESS starring Dylan O’Brien and Lauren Graham; Sarah Friedland’s FAMILIAR TOUCH; and A24’s SORRY, BABY with filmmaker and star Eva Victor scheduled to attend for the festival’s centerpiece screening.
More information on the complete schedule and anticipated special guests is below and online; festival passes and individual tickets are also available online here.
In addition to the more than 20 acclaimed new feature films and two short film programs making their Chicago premieres, the festival will present several anniversary screenings, including an 85th anniversary screening of Charlie Chaplin’s classic THE GREAT DICTATOR, and a 30th anniversary screening of STRANGE DAYS, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and starring Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett. Both will be presented on 35mm film.
Filmmakers and special guests also expected to attend and participate in post-film Q&As include Kathleen Chalfant (FAMILIAR TOUCH), Matthew Shear (FANTASY LIFE); Alex Ullom (IT ENDS); and a selection of filmmakers from both Shorts Programs included in the festival schedule. Additional special guests are expected to be announced in the lead-up to the festival (full shorts program descriptions online here).
As official sponsor of the festival’s Audience Award, Rotten Tomatoes joins the CFCA in presenting the CFCA / Rotten Tomatoes Emerging Critics Grant, this year awarded to Daniella Mazzio and Danielle Momoh. Each will receive a $2,500 grant, an all-access pass to the Chicago Critics Film Festival, mentorship opportunities with Chicago Film Critics Association members and the opportunity to pitch story ideas to Rotten Tomatoes editorial staff. Learn more about this year’s selected honorees here. The committee also recognized Jordan Barrant, Christian Craig and Farouk Kannout with special recognition for their potential and promise as film journalists.
Annually, the Chicago Critics Film Festival features a selection of acclaimed films chosen by members of the organization. The selections are a combination of recent festival favorites and as-yet-undistributed works from a variety of filmmakers, from established Oscar winners to talented newcomers. In recent years, the festival has provided Chicagoans their first opportunity to see acclaimed films like Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing, Celine Song’s Best Picture Oscar® Nominee Past Lives, Matt Johnson’s Blackberry, Sean Baker’s Red Rocket, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut The Lost Daughter and The Power of the Dog, for which Jane Campion won the Oscar for Best Director.
With every indication that this year’s program will be just as promising, the best way to ensure access to every aspect of the week-long event is to secure a festival pass, just $200 and available online here. Follow the CFCA and the festival on Twitter/X at @chicagocritics, on Facebook and Instagram.
The complete lineup for the 12th annual Chicago Critics Film Festival is below, including screening dates/times and special guests expected to attend. Explore the entire schedule and secure tickets/passes in advance at www.chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com.
Select films are available for advanced review and interviews; interested media should apply for accreditation online here.
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40 ACRES | Director: R.T. Thorne | 109 mins
After a series of plagues and wars leaves society in ruins, the Freemans are surviving — even thriving — on a farm in the middle of nowhere... so long as they repel the occasional raiding party. Former soldier Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) and her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) fled the collapse along with their children, training them to fight (and, yes, kill). But now Hailey’s eldest Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) is a young man, and when he meets a young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) in the forest beyond the fence, his need for human contact could place the whole family in jeopardy.
Screens: Sunday May 4 at 9:30pm
APRIL | Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili | 134 mins
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, acclaimed director Dea Kulumbegashvili (Beginning) returns with her latest boundary pushing work, April. Skilled obstetrician Nina is accused of malpractice when a baby dies during delivery. The ensuing investigation threatens to expose Nina’s illegal sideline: offering abortions to local women. Nina remains fiercely committed to her patients, but she must walk a razor’s edge in order to survive as a pariah in a world which desperately needs her. Set against the backdrop of the starkly beautiful Georgian countryside, Kulumbegashvili’s prescient sophomore employs a mesmerizing visual and sonic language to create an immersive experience about the resilience of the human will.
Screens: Tuesday May 6 at 4:30pm
THE BALTIMORONS | Director: Jay Duplass | 99 mins
After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an unexpected May/December adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist.
Screens: Friday May 2 at 7:00pm | Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner and Liz Larsen scheduled to attend.
BEST WISHES TO ALL | Director: Yûta Shimotsu | 89 mins
A young woman’s visit to her grandparents’ home leads to the discovery of what’s brought them happiness, a revelation that will lead her to question her choices, sanity and reality itself.
Screens: Friday May 2 at 11:59pm
BROTHER VERSES BROTHER | Director: Ari Gold | 91 mins
Inspired by Francis Coppola's concept of Live Cinema, Brother Verses Brother is a radically personal musical odyssey. Combative twin musicians hunt for their dying poet father, in an improvisation performed by the director’s own family, in a single unbroken shot through the streets of San Francisco. One brother seeks love and excitement, while the other seeks to disappear into his music. But as night falls and their father remains missing, their frantic safari leads them from the secret haunts of the Beat poets into the heart of their family. Their tale becomes a testament to the power of music, brotherhood, & the lifeblood of a city - experienced by the viewer in real-time.
Screens: Saturday May 3 at 4:15 pm
DESERT ROAD | Director: Shannon Triplett | 90 mins
A young woman driving through the desert stops at a gas station to fill her tank. After getting back on the road, she blows a tire and her car gets stuck on a boulder. Suffering a head injury, she stumbles back to the gas station, but after getting creeped out by the attendant she looks elsewhere for help. She passes an eerie factory where there’s no sign of anyone, but as she continues walking she’s shocked to find herself standing right in front of her car again… without any recollection of having circled back. There's nothing out there...just her crashed car, the gas station, and the mysterious factory. No matter which way she goes, it's all she can find. As Night falls and creepy people from the desert emerge, she fears she's going to die on this endless desert road.
Screens: Thursday May 8 at 5:00pm
DON'T LET'S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT | Director: Embeth Davidtz | 98 mins
Based on Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name, DON'T LET'S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT captures the childhood of 8-year-old Bobo on her family farm in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) at the end of the Zimbabwean War for independence in 1980. Growing up in the midst of this long running war, Bobo internalizes both sides of the struggle. Conflicted by her love for people on opposing sides, she tries to make sense of her life in a magical way. Through her eight-year-old gaze we witness Rhodesia’s final days, the family’s unbreakable bond with Africa, and the deep scars that war leaves on survivors.
Screens: Saturday May 3 at 11:30am
FAMILIAR TOUCH | Director: Sarah Friedland | 90 mins
Ruth (Kathleen Chalfant), a retired cook, prepares breakfast in her sunny and cozy kitchen — a dish she seems to have made many times before, although small and puzzling errors now punctuate her comfortable routine. When her son (H. Jon Benjamin) arrives to dine with her, she mistakes him for a suitor. Their “date” takes them to an assisted living facility, which Ruth does not remember that she had previously selected for herself. Among her fellow memory care residents, Ruth feels lost and adrift, certain she has found herself somewhere she does not belong. As she slowly begins to accept the warmth and support of care workers Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle) and Brian (Andy McQueen), she finds new ways to ground herself in her body, even as her mind embarks on a journey all its own. Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s coming-of-old-age feature compassionately follows the winding path of octogenarian Ruth’s shifting memories and desires while remaining rooted in her sage perspective.
Screens: Wednesday May 7 at 7:00pm | Kathleen Chalfant scheduled to attend.
FANTASY LIFE | Directors: Matthew Shear | 91 mins
After losing his job as a paralegal, Sam Stein suffers a panic attack and stumbles into a job babysitting his psychiatrist's three granddaughters. The girls' mother, Dianne, is an actor whose once-promising career has stalled; she's in a difficult marriage to David, a rock bassist. When David goes abroad on tour, Dianne and Sam discover an easy rapport as well as a shared history of mental illness. Sam joins Dianne's family to babysit for the summer on Martha's Vineyard, and he ends up in a house with the woman he pines for, her husband, the three kids, and all four grandparents, including his psychiatrist.
Screens: Tuesday May 6 at 7:15pm | Matthew Shear scheduled to attend.
FRIENDSHIP | Directors: Andrew DeYoung | 100 mins
Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, but Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives.
Screens: Sunday May 4 at 4:30pm
THE GREAT DICTATOR (85th Anniversary on 35mm) | Director: Charlie Chaplin | 125 mins
In his controversial masterpiece Charlie Chaplin offers both a cutting caricature of Adolf Hitler and a sly tweaking of his own comic persona. Chaplin, in his first pure talkie, brings his sublime physicality to two roles: the cruel yet clownish “Tomainian” dictator and the kindly Jewish barber who is mistaken for him. Featuring Jack Oakie and Paulette Goddard in stellar supporting turns, The Great Dictator, boldly going after the fascist leader before the U.S.’s official entry into World War II, is an audacious amalgam of politics and slapstick that culminates in Chaplin’s famously impassioned speech.
Screens: Sunday May 4 at 11:30am
HAPPYEND | Director: Neo Sora | 113 mins
With graduation looming in near future Tokyo, two high school friends must reevaluate their friendship after pulling a consequential classroom prank. Coupled with the daily threat of a catastrophic earthquake, the friends are forced to reckon with their opposing visions of the future.
Screens: Wednesday May 7 at 4:30pm
IT ENDS | Director: Alex Ullom | 87 mins
A group of recent grads head out on a late night drive for grub, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending, two-lane hellscape surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. Cramped together inside a Jeep Cherokee and with the miles stretching infinitely ahead, they face a choice: embrace their new existence or fight to escape it.
Screens: Sunday May 4 at 7:00 pm | Alex Ullom scheduled to attend.
A LITTLE PRAYER | Director: Angus MacLachlan | 91 mins
In the South, a man tests the limits of patriarchal interference to protect his daughter-in-law when he discovers that his son is having an affair.
Screens: Thursday May 8 at 7:15pm | Angus MacLachlan, Jane Levy, David Strathairn scheduled to attend
LURKER | Director: Alex Russell | 100 mins
When a twenty-something retail clerk encounters a rising pop star, he takes the opportunity to edge his way into the in-crowd. But as the line between friend and fan blurs beyond recognition, access and proximity become a matter of life and death. The directorial debut from The Bear and Beef writer-producer Alex Russell, LURKER is an exhilarating cat-and-mouse thriller made for the moment. Online fixation meets reality in this parasocial, paranoid film driven by a brilliant score and star-making performances.
Screens: Friday May 2 at 10pm
MR. K | Director: Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab | 115 mins
Mr. K (Crispin Glover), a traveling magician, finds himself in a Kafkaesque nightmare when he can’t find the exit of his hotel. His attempts to get out only pull him deeper, entangling him further with the hotel and its curious inhabitants.
Screens: Saturday May 3 at 11:59 pm
OBEX | Director: Albert Birney | 90 mins
In pre-internet 1987, Conor and his dog Sandy live a life of seclusion, lost in the slow-rendering graphics of early Macs and televisions aglow with late night horror movie marathons. But when he begins playing OBEX, a new and mysterious, state-of-the-art computer game, he finds himself trapped in a low-tech, but high-stakes analog hellscape as the line between reality and game blurs.
Screens: Tuesday May 6 at 9:45pm
SHORTS PROGRAMS 1 & 2 | Directors: Various l #1: 88 mins / # 2: 91 mins
This year’s two Shorts Programs offer audiences another outstanding showcase of new talent and more. The Programs spotlight a wide range of genres, tones, narrative styles, experimentation and award-winners from around the world.
Shorts Program #1 screens: Saturday May 3 at 1:45pm
Shorts Program #2 screens: Sunday May 4 at 2:15pm
SISTER MIDNIGHT | Director: Karan Kandhari | 107 mins
In SISTER MIDNIGHT, the audacious debut feature from London based Indian artist and filmmaker Karan Kandhari, rebellious small-town misfit Uma (acclaimed Indian actress Radhika Apte) arrives in Mumbai to find herself totally unsuited to life as a housewife. At odds with her prying neighbors and under the constant oppressive noise and heat of the city, she decides to break free from the shackles of domesticity and follow her own path in this bold, unpredictable, and darkly funny debut. Featuring an eclectic soundtrack (Interpol frontman Paul Banks makes his debut as composer) and singular visual aesthetic, the film world-premiered in Cannes’ Directors Fortnight and won the award for Best Film in the Next Wave section at Fantastic Fest.
Screens: Monday May 5 at 9:45pm
SORRY, BABY | Director: Eva Victor | 103 mins
Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on - for everyone around her, at least.
Screens: Monday May 5 at 7:00pm | Eva Victor scheduled to attend
STRANGE DAYS (30th Anniversary on 35mm) | Director: Kathryn Bigelow | 145 mins
Set in Los Angeles on the last days of 1999 Lenny Nero, a former cop, deals in illegal "squid" recordings – virtual reality-like experiences of others' memories – and becomes entangled in a murder investigation when he receives a disc showing a crime.
Screens: Saturday May 3 at 9:00pm
SWAMP DOGG GETS HIS POOL PAINTED | Director: Isaac Gale | 95 mins
SWAMP DOGG GETS HIS POOL PAINTED is a wildly entertaining and fittingly unconventional documentary about convention-defying singer, songwriter and record producer Jerry Williams, aka Swamp Dogg, one of the great cult figures of 20th-century American music whose singular voice and ideas have shaped the history not merely of soul music, but of country, hip-hop and a dozen other genres.
Screens: Monday May 5 at 4:30 pm
TWINLESS | Director: James Sweeney | 100 mins
After meeting in a twin bereavement support group, Roman (Dylan O'Brien) and Dennis (James Sweeney) develop an unlikely bromance as they both search for solace and an identity without their better halves. They soon become inseparable, but old wounds reopen that will have permanent consequences for their friendship. Lauren Graham and Aisling Franciosi also star in this stirring, whip-smart, wholly original dark-comedy from breakout multi hyphenate director James Sweeney.
Screens: Saturday May 3 at 6:30 pm
ZODIAC KILLER PROJECT | Director: Charlie Shackleton | 91 mins
The true crime genre’s ubiquity is driven by people’s endless fascination, disgust, and — bizarrely — search for comfort in genre conventions that still have the ability to generate complex emotions despite their predictability and familiarity. Having tried and failed to make a documentary about the infamous Zodiac Killer, filmmaker Charlie Shackleton walks the viewer through what his film would have been like and why, using Bay Area landscapes, reenactments, film and TV clips, and voice-over. In this wholly original, self-aware cinematic work, a filmmaker chews over what might have been and playfully probes the inner workings of a genre at saturation point.
Screens: Wednesday May 7 at 9:45 pm