My Courses

The Chicago International Film Festival—the longest-running competitive film fest in North America, mind you—just announced its full line-up for this year’s 59th edition. The Chicago cinephile celebration will kick off on October 11 with an opening night screening of Minhal Baig’s “We Grown Now,” and after screening nearly 100 hundred features, will close on October 22 with Jeff Nichols‘ “The…

In 2019, Matthew A. Cherry’s “Hair Love” became a milestone in Black animation excellence. The Kickstarter project that became an Academy Award-winning animated short about a Black father, Stephen, attempting to do his daughter Zuri’s hair before visiting his girlfriend Angela at the hospital captured the hearts of many nationwide. It was a refreshingly positive depiction…

When the death of someone by brutal policing becomes a national issue, we don’t often get a sense of how their family has privately been impacted. Loved ones of the deceased may speak out behind news podiums, but that can only be the surface of what they’re experiencing. “After the Fire,” an exceptional directorial debut…

The best parts of Morgan Neville & Jeff Malmberg’s “The Saint of Second Chances” are like hearing stories from a good friend over beers after a game. He may have fled the city after the traumatic misfire of Disco Demolition, but Mike Veeck feels to me like a true Chicagoan, someone who values friendship, family,…

Matt writes: The Toronto International Film Festival just ended this past Sunday, and you can find our complete coverage of its enticing selections in this table of contents, featuring reviews and essays penned by Brian Tallerico, Nick Allen, Robert Daniels, Marya E. Gates, Monica Castillo and Chaz Ebert. This year’s distinguished recipient of the TIFF Ebert Director…