Chicago International Film Festival 2009
The Chicago International Film Festival is a little event run by a few people on a shoestring budget but it packs a big punch. Somehow, the Chicago International Film Festival manages to get access to the latest independent films and often times show the award winners that year before they have gone mainstream. This year the Chicago International Film Festival has done it again, they have found some really interesting unique films that may not be shown in Chicago otherwise and are presenting them October 8th through the 21st, 2009.
This year the festival has changed formats slightly, locating all the showings in one theater rather than at 4 or 5 across Chicago (which I always found confusing). The one theater you need to know about in order to see these amazing new films is the AMC River East on Illinois Street.
45th Chicago International Film Festival
October 8 – 21, 2009
150 films from more than 40 countries.
All in two weeks. All under one roof.
AMC River East 21 (322 E. Illinois St.)
The films available this year look better than usual. I normally have interest in 2-3 films, but this year almost all of them look like something I would be curious about.
Tickets aren’t cheap but they aren’t any more than the regular price of a movie either. The Gala Events bring in celebrities that you wouldn’t normally see in Chicago and can be worth the extra money for the experience of the event.
SAVE UP TO 40% OFF Your ADMISSION!
If you buy now, get an extra $10 off your order with the promo code 45FEST09, valid until 9/23.
You can purchase tickets now online at: CHICAGOFILMFESTIVAL.COM
the Chicago International Film Festival Packages are:
MOVIEGOER (10 admissions)
$80 for Cinema/Chicago members; $110 for non-members
PASSPORT (20 admissions)
$155 for Cinema/Chicago members; $210 for non-members
GALA PASS (4 admissions to Gala Presentations)
$80 for Cinema/Chicago members; $100 for non-members
There are a limited number of Chicago International Film Festival Gala Passes are available. The Moviegoer and Passport Passes are not valid/available for/including Gala Presentations. All passes are not valid for Opening Night or Closing Night.
Individual tickets on sale September 23
$9 for Cinema/Chicago members, students, and seniors; $12 for regular admission
Gala Presentation event tickets
$20 for Cinema/Chicago members; $25 for non-members
Some of the movies I plan on seeing are:
The Chicago Theater hosts the Gala Event for the Chicago International Film Festival
Motherhood
(Gala Presentation) – USA
Director: Katherine Dieckmann. Uma Thurman is in a charming, high-energy comedy as a beleaguered Manhattanite just trying to survive another day of the madness that comes with raising two young kids (and a husband and best friend).
Made in China – USA – Director: Judi Krant
Wes Anderson’s whimsy meets David Mamet’s love of duplicity in the peppy, comic tale of a wide-eyed Texas hayseed who travels to China to find a manufacturer for the novelty product he hopes will put him right up there with the guy who invented the whoopee cushion
Hipsters / Stilyagi – Russia – Dir: Valery Todorovsky
Moscow, 1955. Soviet uniformity is the order of the day, but incurring the wrath of all the grim-faced comrades in Russia isn’t enough to stop a group of young “hipsters” from donning outrageous threads, puffing up their pompadours, pushing up their cleavage, throwing back martinis, and shakin’ their hips. Could this romantic, infectiously fun musical be this year’s Slumdog Millionaire?