An Avenue to Discovery: The 55th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates New Cinema
WDCB’s Gary Zidek sits down with Chicago International Film Festival artistic director Mimi Plauché and senior programmer Anthony Kaufman to talk about the 55th edition of the Festival.
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“That’s probably my favorite part of the festival, just because there’s always something really unexpected there. With the new directors, it’s always something unexpected, because there isn’t a body of work to know.” - Chicago International Film Festival artistic director Mimi Plauché talking about the New Directors Competition.
Mimi Plauché, Artistic Director of the Chicago International Film Festival
The 55th edition of the Chicago International Film Festival starts Wednesday October 16. The AMC River East Theater is the home of the festival’s 12-day run that starts with a screening of Ed Norton’s new movie MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN. And the festival will come to a close on Sunday October 27 with the premiere of a documentary with a significant Chicago connection. In between the opening and closing nights, there’s the international competition, the new director’s competition, the documentary competition and a number of unique spotlight series. This festival’s Centerpiece presentation is a screening of director Rian Johnson’s highly anticipated new film KNIVES OUT.
Plauché and her programming staff watched around 6,000 submissions from 137 countries before making their official selections of what will be shown at the festival. The premiere of the blues-focused documentary THE TORCH will be presented on the last night of the fest. It’s believed to be the first time a documentary has closed the festival.
Blues legend Buddy Guy is celebrated in THE TORCH
“I think there’s a lot of excitement around documentaries. Just a lot of excitement around real stories. We just happen to come upon one, with a local celebrity who everyone loves. A documentary about Buddy Guy and about his music (is) long over due.” - Anthony Kaufman, Chicago International Film Festival senior programmer talking about this year’s closing night presentation of THE TORCH.
Anthony Kaufman Chicago International Film Festival senior programmer
