The Chicago International Film Festival begins its second half century tonight, Thursday, October 15. The venerable event will screen more than 130 feature films by the time it wraps on Thursday, October 29. Among these are nearly 30 docs, of which a selection are profiled below.
Two titles will have their world premieres here before heading to DOC NYC next month: Nicole N Horanyi’s MOTLEY’S LAW, about the only American lawyer licensed to practice in Afghan courts; and Rob Hatch-Miller’s SYL JOHNSON: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS (pictured), on the retired soul singer who found an unexpected second chance with the emergence of hip hop. Other titles include Daan Veldhuizen’s BANANA PANCAKES AND THE CHILDREN OF STICKY RICE, about the tension from development on a remote Laotian village; Patricia Natalia Bruschtein’s TIME SUSPENDED, about an aging woman’s struggles to retain the memories of Argentina’s disappeared; Ila Beka and Louise Lemoine’s THE INFINITE HAPPINESS, an exploration of a utopian communal Danish apartment complex; and Rosa von Praunheim’s TOUGH LOVE, a hybrid tale of a German pimp turned karate champion and the woman he loves.
what (not) to doc 