The Chicago International Film Festival today announces Opening and Closing Night selections, as well as the full slate of films included in the Festival’s U.S. Indies, Spotlight: Musicals and After Dark categories.

Chicago will play host to gala screenings of Damien Chazelle’s La La Land and Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival as respective bookends to the 52nd Festival, opening on October 13 and closing on October 27.

A full list of these newly announced programs is below. Tickets for these events and all film screenings go on sale September 21 for Cinema/Chicago members and September 23 for the general public.

As the Festival closes on October 27, audiences will enjoy a Closing Night presentation of Arrival, the stirring and thoughtful drama starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker as an elite team enlisted to help humankind communicate with aliens. The selection complements the Festival’s After Dark program, featuring the best in new science fiction,
thrillers and horror films from around the world.

In addition to The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (celebrating its 30th anniversary rerelease at the Festival where it first premiered), featured After Dark selections include Prevenge, the venomous dark comedy about a pregnant woman convinced her unborn baby is urging her to murder ; Raw, winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week and the feminist horror tale that follows a young vegetarian who discovers an insatiable taste for meat; and first time filmmaker Nicolas Pesce’s The Eyes of My Mother, the elegant, visually striking nightmare a bout a young woman’s isolated adulthood.

CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION

Arrival – Dir. Denis Villeneuve
When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team—led by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams)—is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers—and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity. Starring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker and Michael Stuhlbarg.

Join us as we celebrate another amazing year of films at Closing Night of the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival! Closing Night will be held at AMC River East 21 on Thursday, October 27. Visit www.chicagofilmfestival.com for details.

AFTER DARK The best in genre cinema from around the world.

AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE

Amok (Dzgan) – Dir. Vardan Tozija, Macedonia
Two sharp, introverted boys struggle against a foster care system that is, at best, indifferent and, at worst, wholly corrupt and cruel. While Petar dreams of escape and prosperity, Filip lashes out and forms a gang of “lost boys” hellbent on punishing each of their abusers. In this chilly Eastern European City of God, violence, exploitation, and revenge rule the streets.
Macedonian with subtitles.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe – Dir. André Øvredal, U.S./U.K. (previously announced)
A father-son coroner team (Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch) face the ultimate head-scratcher with their latest corpse: an unidentified beautiful young woman who boasts no obvious cause of death. As they dig deeper into the examination (and into Jane Doe’s body), the duo uncover increasingly strange and terrifying things. This bloody, clever, and medically rigorous horror film turns the morbid conventions of the genre literally inside-out.

The Darkness (Las Tinieblas) – Dir. Daniel Castron Zimbrón, Mexico
In a fog-drenched forest trapped in eternal dusk, a father and his three children are sequestered in a log cabin, hiding from a monster lurking just outside. When the eldest son disappears, the middle child begins to question his father’s judgement and the truth of what really lies beyond. Fantasy, terror, and Oedipal conflicts combine in this hypnotizing post-apocalyptic
fable that evokes both Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy-scapes and Victor Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive.

The Eyes of My Mother – Dir. Nicolas Pesce, U.S.
In this visually striking nightmare, one horrific act forever alters a young farm woman’s life. We follow Francisca, a surgeon’s daughter, from this traumatic event to an isolated adulthood, as she seeks to fulfill her parents’ legacy in increasingly gruesome ways. Elegant black and white cinematography elevates shocking body horror into the realm of a timeless folktale.

Headshot – Dirs. Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto, Indonesia
This bloody martial arts extravaganza is filled to the brim with eye-popping stunts. A nameless amnesiac (The Raid’s Iko Uwais) wakes up in a hospital with severe head trauma. Dubbed “Ishmael” by his doctors, the only thing he remembers is his uncanny ability to kick ass—and that a crime syndicate wants him dead. To uncover his dark past, Ishmael must fight his way
through large swaths of the Indonesian criminal underworld.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer – Dir. John McNaughton, U.S. (previously announced)
Thirty years after its premiere at the Festival, John McNaughton’s unflinching, fact-based exploration of a sociopathic mind remains one of the most disturbing horror films ever made. Michael Rooker is galvanizing as the titular loner who catches the eye of Becky (Tracy Arnold), the troubled sister of his leering roommate. This masterful independent film will screen in a
never-before-seen anniversary restoration, with cast and crew in attendance.

Prevenge – Dir. Alice Lowe, U.K.
At seven months expecting and on her own, Ruth becomes convinced her unborn baby is instructing her to kill people—and so she does, giving new meaning to the term “pregnancy craving.” Writer-director-star Alice Lowe (Sightseers) made Prevenge while she herself was pregnant, adding another subversive layer to a venomous comedy that skewers the mystique of motherhood.

Raw – Dir. Julia Ducournau, France/Belgium
Justine’s having a tough time adjusting at her new veterinary school. After the timid vegetarian is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in a hazing ritual, she’s overtaken by a different sort of insatiable hunger—and an unexpected sexual appetite. This gruesome feminist horror tale cooks up a deadly dish of sexual identity with a dash of dark humor and a generous
helping of gore.

We Are the Flesh (Tenemos la carne) – Dir. Emiliano Rocha Minter, Mexico
This psychedelic carnival of S&M, incest, cannibalism, and other X-rated taboos follows a fleeing brother and sister who seek shelter in a dilapidated building inhabited by a modern-day
ogre. In order to survive, they must submit to his every sick whim and enact his most depraved fantasies. Produced by Mexican compatriot Carlos Reygadas and endorsed by Alejandro G. Iñarritu, We are the Flesh represents a shockingly original vision from a new Mexican auteur.

ABOUT CINEMA/CHICAGO
Cinema/Chicago, the presenting organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, is a year round not for profit arts and education organization dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art form of the moving image. In addition to the annual Festival, the organization presents a number of film centric programs throughout the year, including the International Screening Program, the Chicago International Television Festival, CineYouth Festival, the Education Program and Members Film Screening Series. Celebrating its 52nd edition October 13 – 27, the Chicago International Film Festival is North America’s longest running competitive film festival.