Chicago International Film Fest offers some international movies a path to the Oscars

At the Academy Awards in March, the eerie Jonathan Glazer film “The Zone of Interest” took home the Oscar for best international feature film.

Just a few months earlier, it was shown at the Chicago International Film Festival.

The festival, which runs Oct. 16–27 at theaters across town, has earned a reputation in the film world as a preview of the Oscar's best international film category. Last year, three of the five finalists in the international category screened at the Chicago festival. So did half of the films nominated for the Oscar’s top honor: best picture.

That track record adds to the festival’s gravitas, both among audiences and filmmakers.

“I think there's an added level of excitement, and that sense of ‘I saw it first’ or ‘I saw it before it was even on anybody's radar,’ ” said Mimi Plauché, the festival’s artistic director, who oversees the programming decisions.

“But also on the international scale, we get a lot of filmmakers who will come to us and say, ‘I want to be considered alongside these films that you're known for programming.’ ”

For this year’s 60th anniversary festival, Plauché and her team selected 122 feature films and 71 shorts from more than 7,000 submissions, each of which were viewed by at least two people. The work comes from more than 60 countries.

Already, at least 10 films on this year’s Chicago lineup have been designated as their country’s entry for the Academy Awards’ best international feature race. That means there’s a good possibility that Chicago audiences will once again get an Oscars preview.

But the lineup is not exclusively foreign films — there’s a fair amount of American star power on deck as well, including the opening night film "The Piano Lesson." Directed by Malcolm Washington, the movie adapts August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play and stars John David Washington. The director and star are sons of Hollywood royalty Denzel Washington.

Other big draws include the film adaptation of the popular novel "Nightbitch," starring Amy Adams, and the festival’s closer, "Here," starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.

For Plauché, the right balance of celebrity and up-and-coming filmmakers is top of mind. She knows audiences want a mix of familiar and fresh.

“We see our mission as being fulfilled by uplifting both the celebrated as well as providing a platform for new cinema,” she said.

Among some filmmakers, the Chicago festival also has a reputation for showcasing female directors.

“There was kind of a special attention to women, which I didn't find in other festivals,” said Italian filmmaker Maura Delpero, making her eager to return this year with her new movie, "Vermiglio," which Italy will enter into the Oscars race.

The film is set in a rural Italian village during World War II. It’s a deeply personal movie which draws upon the story of Delpero’s father.

“I think the audience is appreciating the fact that it tells a piece of Italian history, but also a universal story without space and time,” she said.

The Chicago festival, which its organizers say attracts 45,000 people over 12 days, got its start in 1964. After attending a film festival in Europe, filmmaker Michael Kutza — who was just 22 at the time — had a vision to make Chicago a hub for international film. In its first year, the festival showed eight feature films at the original Carnegie Theatre downtown.

The festival has grown exponentially in its six decades and is now North America’s longest-running competitive film fest. It emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on a new model: expanding its footprint in the city of Chicago. In addition to venues like AMC NEWCITY 14 and the Gene Siskel Film Center, movies are now also screened everywhere from the University of Chicago to the National Museum of Mexican Art.

“So just really thinking about: How do we best serve a broad Chicago audience? And really, how do we bring the festival experience to Chicagoans who live in all different parts of the city?” Plauché said.

But it’s also a matter of curating an experience that goes beyond an otherwise typical trip to the movie theater. Plauché said the appeal of a festival is the shared experience it presents — and the opportunity to hear about the work from the experts. That’s why she encourages people to attend screenings that include a Q&A with a filmmaker, some of whom are likely to get a nod from the Academy.