The 61st Chicago International Film Festival will launch Oct. 15 with the world premiere of Kevin Shaw’s documentary “One Golden Summer,” which revisits the rise and fall of Chicago’s Jackie Robinson West Little League team. The opening night screening will take place at the Music Box Theatre.
Shaw, whose previous credits include “Let the Little Light Shine” and “America to Me,” turns his lens on the South Side athletes who became national celebrities in 2014 after winning the U.S. Baseball Championship. The Jackie Robinson West squad, the first all-Black team to claim the title, drew national headlines, magazine covers and an invitation to the White House before being stripped of their victory following accusations that the team violated residential boundary rules.
The film revisits the events through the voices of the players, now adults, alongside parents, coaches and reporters who covered the story. “One Golden Summer” explores the fallout of the scandal and its broader themes of race, power and money in youth sports.
The 2025 Chicago International Film Festival will run Oct. 15–26 with screenings and events across the city, including at AMC Newcity 14, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Chicago History Museum, the Reva and David Logan Center at the University of Chicago, and pop-up locations at Kennedy-King College and the National Museum of Mexican Art.
The full slate of films for the 61st Chicago International Film festival will be announced on September 18, 2025. Tickets for the opening night gala are currently on sale, with tickets to to the rest of the Festival’s presentations available to the public beginning Sept. 26.