The 59th Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) kicked off Wednesday with an opening night movie at the Music Box Theatre in downtown Chicago.
The opening film "We Grown Now" tells the story of two young boys discovering the joys and hardships of growing up in Chicago's Cabrini-Green public housing complex around 1992.
"Every year, the Chicago International Film Festival brings films from all over the world to Chicago, highlighting the stories of people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and countries to expand our understanding of the world and further the critical discourse," said Charles Droege, CIFF board chair. "This year, we are showcasing 150 plus films from 50-plus different countries."
CIFF is North America's longest-running competitive film festival. This year's theme is Critics Welcome, which embraces questions and conversations on the films.
"We invite Chicago audiences to awaken their inner film critic," said Mimi Plauche, Artistic Director of CIFF. Such conversations would make audiences' experience "more enriching, more engaging and more layered," she said.
The festival program includes an International Competition, New Directors Competition, Documentary Competition and Short Film Competition.
"Only the River Flows," a Chinese film directed by Wei Shujun, who also co-wrote the screenplay, is selected for the International Competition, a category CIFF defines as films that are "masterful, stylish, and bold" and "represent the best in modern filmmaking from around the globe."
Films selected from other Asian countries include India, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea.
The 59th CIFF runs until Oct. 22, with films shown at seven venues across the city.
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