THE CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION presents the return of the

CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL

MAY 20-26, 2016

MUSIC BOX THEATRE

3733 North Southport

Chicago, IL 60613

The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is pleased to announce the dates and location for the 4th Annual Chicago Critics Film Festival (CCFF). The festival will run from May 20-26, 2016, and will once again take place at Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre.

The event features a selection of films chosen by members of the organization, comprised of recent festival favorites and as-yet-undistributed works from a variety of filmmakers, ranging from Oscar winners to talented newcomers. It is the only current example of a major film critics group curating its own festival.

The festival has given Chicagoans the opportunity to see the hottest unreleased titles weeks or even months before making their commercial debuts. This year’s installment alone saw the local debuts of “Kahill Gibran’s The Prophet,” “The New Girlfriend,” “Goodnight Mommy,” “Batkid Begins,” “The Connection,” “The Second Mother,” “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead,” “The Overnight” and “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl,” the much-talked-about Sundance prize winner that served as the Closing Night event.

Over the course of its first three years, CCFF has already attracted an impressive array of talent as well. The list of those who have appeared at the festival to screen their films includes Sarah Polley (“Stories We Tell”), William Friedkin (a rare 35mm showing of his 1977 classic “Sorcerer”), David Wain (“They Came Together”), Dick Miller (“That Guy Dick Miller”), Cobie Smulders (“Results” and “Unexpected”) and Joe Swanberg (“Digging for Fire”). It has even begun to become a favorite place for filmmakers to return to with their latest works–James Ponsoldt appeared at the inaugural festival with his acclaimed “The Spectacular Now” and returned earlier this year, along with actress Joan Cusack, to screen “The End of the Tour.” Director Bobcat Goldthwait has come two years in a row with last year’s “Willow Creek” and this year’s Audience Award Winner “Call Me Lucky.”

Future details, as well as information on the previous editions of the festival, can be found at the official CCFF website at www.chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com

CFCA Case Statement

The CFCA has always been dedicated to supporting and celebrating quality filmmaking that has something to say about our world, our lives, and our society. In the past, while it supported and fought for the continued role of film critics in the media, the CFCA’s primary public interaction was through the announcement of its annual film awards each December. In recent years, however, the CFCA moved aggressively to expand its presence on the Chicago arts scene and to promote critical thinking about cinema to a wider base. In 2012, in addition to re-launching a late-winter awards ceremony, CFCA members presented numerous film screenings at theaters like the Studio Movie Grill in Wheaton, and Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18 in Rosemont, Illinois. CFCA members also team-taught a new Young People’s Film Criticism Workshop at Facets Multimedia that emphasized not just film analysis and criticism, but also writing skills to middle- and high-school students, many of whom were attending the course on lower-income scholarships. With this film festival, we intend to take the next step.

The Future of the CFCA

As the Chicago Film Critics Association looks ahead to the future, it hopes to be a much larger presence on the Chicago arts landscape and an even more effective force for critical thinking and film appreciation. To do so will mean more efforts at public outreach, education, and enlightenments, and that will require a larger financial investment.

Going forward, the CFCA intends to set ambitious goals, including expanding the public presentation of films, teaching more film-based classes to both youth and adults, and making the Chicago Critics Film Festival into a long and ongoing annual tradition.

Music Box Theatre

For more than 30 years, the Music Box Theatre has been the premier venue in Chicago for independent and foreign films, festivals and some of the greatest cinematic events in Chicago. It currently has the largest cinema space operated full-time in the city. The Music Box Theatre is independently owned & operated by the Southport Music Box Corporation. SMBC, through its Music Box Films division, also distributes foreign and independent films in the theatrical, DVD and television markets throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.musicboxtheatre.com

Contact:

Erik Childress

Producer

Office: (847) 439-5750

Cell: (224) 805-1573

e-mail: kgouda@aol.com

Brian Tallerico

Producer

e-mail: briantallerico@gmail.com