Film News: DAY EIGHT of 54th Chicago International Film Festival Features a Top Prize Winner

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CHICAGO – DAY EIGHT of the 54th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) on Wednesday, October 17th, 2018, is filled with two categories of competition films – six in New Directors and three in the International Competition, plus three more “Masters” films, the latest work from today’s most accomplished filmmakers.

’Shoplifters’ on Day Eight of the 54th Chicago International Film Festival
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival/Magnolia Pictures

EVENTS The emphasis is on the New Directors Competition, as six films will be screened on Wednesday. “The Belly of the Whale” is a caper action film from Ireland involving a heist; “Little Tickles” is from France, about a woman who reclaims her power through her art; “Miriam Lies” is a co-produced film from Spain and the Dominican Republic about the title character facing her own biases; “The Third Wife” is from Vietnam, set there in the 19th Century, as a landowner’s third wife becomes embroiled in fighting the ramifications of young womanhood; “Facing the Wind” is a collaboration from Spain/Argentina/France, as a choreographer can’t get to her father’s deathbed in time, and has to confront her past; and “Dear Son,” a co-production from Tunisia, Belgium, France and Qatar, a father’s hope for his son is shattered by a life-altering choice the boy makes. Click here for more information about the New Directors Competition.

FILM OF THE DAY “SHOPLIFTERS” (Japan) Here is the winner of the top prize Palme D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (and a CIFF “Masters” film), as a band of petty thieves take in a five-year-old girl, and despite being social outcasts, they come together around the care of the child. When an unforeseen circumstance occurs, it shatters the life they have built. From director Hirokazu Kore-eda comes another daunting and humanistic film about people living on the edges of society. (click here for more).

WATCH OUT FOR… Three major films in the International Competition – “Duelles” (Belgium/France), “Joy” (Austria) and “Before the Frost” from Denmark (click here) – and two more “Masters” films, “Cold War” from Poland/France/UK and “Everybody Knows,” the latest film from Iranian director Asgahr Farhadi (“A Separation,” “The Salesman), featuring Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem (click here).

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com