10th Chicago Critics Film Fest Features Past Lives, Blackberry, Sanctuary, Theater Camp, and Many More | Festivals & Awards

Screens Sunday, May 10th, 7pm with director/co-writer Clement Virgo scheduled to attend

“DARK CITY” 25th Anniversary Screening presented in 35mm

Director: Alex Proyas | 100 mins

Alex Proyas’ 1998 film about a man struggling with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from. 

Screens Friday, May 5th, 11:59pm

“A DISTURBANCE IN THE FORCE”

Directors: Jeremy Coon, Steve Kozak | 85 mins

In 1977, “Star Wars” became a cultural phenomenon that single-handedly revitalized a stagnant film industry, and forever changed how films were sold, made, and marketed. Movies would never be the same again.  A year later, neither would television. In 1978, CBS aired the two-hour “Star Wars Holiday Special” during the week of Thanksgiving; it was watched by 13 million people. Considered one of the worst shows ever broadcast, it was never re-aired. While some fans of the franchise are aware of the production, this bizarre two hours of television still remains relatively unknown among the general public. A Disturbance in the Force answers how and why the infamous “Holiday Special” got made. 

Screens Saturday, May 6th, 11:59pm

“ERNEST & CELESTINE: A TRIP TO GIBBERITIA”

Directors: Julien Chheng, Jean-Christophe Roger | 80 mins

Ernest and Celestine are traveling back to Ernest’s country, Gibberitia, to fix his broken violin. This exotic land is home to the best musicians on earth and music constantly fills the air with joy. However, upon arriving, our two heroes discover that all forms of music have been banned there for many years – and for them, a life without music is unthinkable. Along with their friends and a mysterious masked outlaw, Ernest and Celestine must try their best to bring music and happiness back to the land of bears. 

Screens Sunday, May 7th, 12pm

“FANTASTIC MACHINE”

Directors: Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck | 88 mins | Documentary 

What happens when humanity’s infatuation with itself and an untethered free market meet 45 billion cameras…Filmmakers Axel Danielson & Maximilien Van Aertryck (Ten Meter Tower, Jobs For All!) once again turn their cameras directly on society, this time to explore, explain and expose how our unchecked obsession with image has grown to change our human behavior. From Camera Obscura and the Lumieres Brothers all the way to Youtube and the world of social media, the film chronicles how we went from capturing the image of a backyard to a multi-billion- euro content industry in just 200 years. With an exclusive use of archival and found footage, the film uses the very medium it examines, in a self-reflective yet hilarious montage. 

You can view the original article HERE.