Chicago International Film Fest: Music and Arts Screenings for 2024

By Keegan Morris |

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The Chicago International Film Festival returns for its 60th season. The longest continually running competitive film festival in North America, this year’s lineup offers over 120 feature films and more than 70 shorts, plus scores of other events, workshops, performances, and discussions.

The proceedings run from October 16 to October 27. We’ve compiled a list of festival offerings that we think will appeal to classical music and arts fans. Delve into the rich legacy of one of Chicago’s most important activist/journalists (through the work of one of its premier sculptors), witness the life of one of opera’s most beloved divas, and take part in a celebration of Black film composers!


The Piano Lesson

10/16 at the Music Box Theatre & 10/17 at AMC NEWCITY 14
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Opening the festival is the feature directorial debut of Malcolm Washington — who worked with co-writer Virgil Williams to adapt August Wilson’s influential play of the same name. An heirloom piano is at the center of a family conflict — should the Charleses sell the instrument for money, or cherish it as an embodiment of family history? The music-oriented film features a score by Alexandre Desplat.

The Piano Lesson (Photo courtesy Chicago International Film Festival)


The End

10/18 & 10/19 at AMC NEWCITY 14
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A post-apocalyptic musical from the director of The Act of Killing stars the iconoclastic Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon… truthfully, no idea what to expect, but we’re intrigued.

Tilda Swinton in The End (Photo courtesy Chicago International Film Festival)


Maria

10/18 at the Music Box Theatre
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Angelina Jolie is nearly unrecognizable as she renders the last few days of Maria Callas’s life. The film takes a snapshot of the life of one of opera’s most brilliant — and tragic — heroines. Directed by Chilean Pablo Larraín, the film rounds out a triptych exploring iconoclastic, prominent women at their breaking points. The director’s 2016 Jackie and 2021 Spencer (about Princess Diana) both garnered their leading actresses Oscar nods. Will Jolie’s performance capture the same acclaim?

Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria (Photo courtesy Chicago International Film Festival)


Listen to the Voices

10/19 at AMC NEWCITY 14 & 10/20 at Gene Siskel Film Center
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A documentary about a young French boy — spending the summer with family in French Guiana — who seeks escape and connection through his love for drumming.

A still from Listen to the Voices (Photo courtesy Chicago International Film Festival)


D-Composed on Screen

10/20 at Logan Center for the Arts
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Chicago-based chamber ensemble D-Composed celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Chicago International Film Festival at the Logan Center for the Arts with a free performance recognizing the contributions of Black film composers. WFMT’s sister station WTTW is among the presenting sponsors. 

D-Composed


Save the Children

10/20 at Logan Center for the Arts & 10/27 at Gene Siskel Film Center
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A 1972 Chicago exposition was organized by Rev. Jesse Jackson to showcase Black excellence in arts and business. This documentary — made up of little-seen footage from the five-day event — is built around the festival’s top-tier musical lineup, including Marvin Gaye, the Staples Singers, the Jackson Five, Isaac Hayes, and more. WFMT sister station WTTW is a program partner for the festival’s documentary series.

Isaac Hayes (Photo courtesy Chicago International Film Festival)


The Light of Truth

10/27 at Chicago History Museum
Link

This 65-minute documentary has two Chicago trailblazers as its focus, as sculptor Richard Hunt (who died in 2023), works to capture the legacy of the extraordinary civil rights activist and journalist Ida B. Wells in a Bronzeville monument. WFMT sister station WTTW is a program partner for the festival’s documentary series.

Richard Hunt at work (Photo courtesy Chicago International Film Festival)


For more information and a full list of screenings, visit chicagofilmfestival.com.