DAY 11 & 12: Closing Night Film of 56th Chicago International Film Festival is ‘Nomadland’

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CHICAGO – In this challenging year the 56th Chicago International Film Festival provided a sense of normalcy, within the context of the “new normal.” Offering virtual, online and in-person drive-in screenings, it succeeded in doing what its 2020 slogan said, “Film Will Take You There.”

One more time: The 56th Chicago International Film Festival Celebrates DAY 11 and 12 of the movie extravaganza, with films available for 2020 virtually and online. Click here for a complete how-to guide on navigating the 2020 CIFF.

Nomadland
Photo credit: Chicago International Film Festival

The Closing Night film will be at 6pm on Saturday, October 24th, at the Chi-Town Movies Drive-in at 2343 South Throop Street, Chicago. “Nomadland” (USA) follows the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada. Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, Nomadland features real nomads Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West. Winner of the 2020 Venice Film Festival Golden Lion. (click here)

Absolute love goes to Managing Director Vivian Teng, Artistic Director Mimi Plauché, and their amazing production staff for pulling off a festival that had all the gravitas, all the respect and all the cinema joy of an in-person event. We will meet again in 2021.

APPEARANCES OF THE DAY (October 24th only): 11:00am: Coffee Talk: Girls on Film: Women in Cinema … Five female directors talk about the concept and process of their female-centric films. 6:00pm: Artistic Achievement Award: Gianfranco Rosi … the director of “Notturno” (Italy) receives recognition from the Fest (For more info, click here).



BEST OF THE FEST: This one is easy … click here for the full rundown of Award Winners for the 56th CIFF, and download for bingeing the BEST in the next two days. The Festival ends officially on October 25th, 2020. Film will take you there.

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