The 61st Chicago International Film Festival has added three high-profile titles and a major guest to its October program, including a tribute to Gus Van Sant, the U.S. premiere of Mona Fastvold’s “The Testament of Ann Lee” and Damiano Michieletto’s Italian feature “Primavera.” The festival runs Oct. 15–26 across venues citywide.
Van Sant will receive the Festival’s Visionary Award during a special presentation of his latest feature “Dead Man’s Wire” on Oct. 18. The filmmaker, whose career spans from “My Own Private Idaho” to “Good Will Hunting” and “Milk,” will also take part in a directing master class at Industry Days, the Festival’s annual conference for filmmakers and professionals to connect, share ideas, and find inspiration. “Dead Man’s Wire” is billed as the latest example of Van Sant’s long-standing blend of experimentation and humanist storytelling.
Fastvold, whose recent credits include co-writing and producing Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” will be in Chicago to present a 35mm screening of “The Testament of Ann Lee.” The period drama stars Amanda Seyfried as the founder of the Shakers, a radical 18th-century religious sect, and is co-written with Corbet. The Music Box Theatre will host the Oct. 16 screening, marking the filmmaker’s return to the venue following last year’s Festival presentation of “The Brutalist.”
The lineup expansion also features Michieletto’s “Primavera,” a debut narrative feature from the Italian opera and stage director. The film follows a young violinist whose discovery of her gift coincides with the arrival of composer Antonio Vivaldi. Primavera will screen Oct. 18 and 19.
Now in its 61st year, Chicago International Film Festival remains the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Programming will be spread across familiar venues including AMC Newcity 14, the Music Box, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Chicago History Museum, and the Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago. The festival will also extend to community screenings at Kennedy-King College and the National Museum of Mexican Art.