THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Sarah Polley and Luc Montpellier to receive Visionary Award

Actor-turned-director Sarah Polley and cinematographer Luc Montpellier will receive the Festival's Visionary Award for WOMEN TALKING, to be presented Thursday, Oct. 20. In the film based on the best-selling novel by Miriam Toews, the women of an isolated religious community grapple with reconciling their reality with their faith.

Rev. Al Sharpton and director Josh Alexander talk LOUDMOUTH

He's been called a con man, a charlatan, a race-baiting rabble-rouser, and a whole lot more, but who is he really and how did he become one of the most controversial Civil Rights activists of the modern era? Director Josh Alexander and film subject Reverend Al Sharpton join a Chicago International Film Festival audience for a conversation about their film, LOUDMOUTH, on Monday, Oct. 17.

Director JD Dillard joins DEVOTION presentation

Director JD Dillard will be on hand during the Chicago International Film Festival's presentation of the Artistic Achievement Award to DEVOTION star Jonathan Majors, with an audience Q&A following the screening on Saturday October 22. Dillard's film is an aerial war epic based on the bestselling book of the same name, telling the harrowing true story of Jesse Brown (Majors) and Tom Hudner (Glen Powell), two elite U.S. Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.

Mo McRae appears at A LOT OF NOTHING screening

Actor-turned-director Mo McRae joins the Chicago International Film Festival for screenings of A LOT OF NOTHING, for which he also serves as producer and co-writer. Fiercely committed performances drive this satirical hothouse thriller about a successful Black couple driven to take action after learning that their neighbor, a white policeman, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed youth, showing as part of the Festival's Black Perspectives program Saturday October 15 and Sunday October 16.

Previously announced special guests include director Steve James with Opening Night's A COMPASSIONATE SPY on October 12; Festival Centerpiece GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY's Kathryn Hahn, who receives a Career Achievement Award on October 18; Anna Diop, who receives the Rising Star Award for her work in NANNY on October 21; filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, who gives a Master Class at Industry Days followed by a presentation of his new film THE WHALE on October 22; award-winning screenwriters Tarell Alvin McCraney and Kemp Powers in an Industry Days conversation, "Writing Trauma and Transformation," on October 15; Composer Master Classes with Oscar-winning composer Mychael Danna on October 15 and Emmy-winning composer and filmmaker Kris Bowers on October 22; and more.

For more information, visit the Festival's website at www.chicagofilmfestival.com .