By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com

THE CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION presents CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL

Posted Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 - Comments Off on THE CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION presents CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL
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APRIL 12-14, 2013
MUVICO THEATERS ROSEMONT 18
9701 BRYN MAWR AVE.
ROSEMONT, IL 60018

William Friedkin, Sarah Polley, James Ponsoldt, William Katt and Ashley Bell among those scheduled to attend the inaugural festival.

RELEASE:

The Chicago Film Critics Association announces its first annual Chicago Critics Film Festival, a three-day event offering more than 20 features and short films. This marks the first festival to be launched by a major U.S. film critics organization. The event, at the Muvico Rosemont 18 Theaters, will run April 12-14 and feature local premieres of as-yet-undistributed works from filmmakers ranging from Oscar winners to talented newcomers. William Friedkin, Sarah Polley, James Ponsoldt, William Katt and Ashley Bell among guest filmmakers scheduled to attend the inaugural festival.

Oscar-nominated actress/filmmaker Sarah Polley (“Away From Her,” “Take This Waltz”) will introduce the festival on opening night with her powerful and deeply personal documentary “Stories We Tell.” Twenty-year-old wunderkind filmmaker Emily Hagins will follow by introducing her fourth directorial effort, the coming-of-age comedy “Grow Up, Tony Phillips.” On closing night, the Sundance Film Festival hit “The Spectacular Now,” a comedy-drama starring Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Smashed”), Kyle Chandler (“Zero Dark Thirty”) and Miles Teller (“21 & Over”) will be presented with director James Ponsoldt scheduled to attend.

Afterward, Oscar-winning filmmaker William Friedkin (“The French Connection,” “The Exorcist,” “Sorcerer”) will sign copies of his new autobiography “The Friedkin Connection” and participate in a Q&A following a screening of one of his classic films.

Other scheduled films:

* “The Kings of Summer,” a youth-oriented comedy in the spirit of “Napoleon Dynamite” featuring performances from Chicago native Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”) and Alison Brie (“Community,” “Mad Men”)
* The off-beat superhero tale “Sparks” with scheduled appearances by director Chris Folino and co-stars William Katt (“Carrie,” “The Greatest American Hero”) and Ashley Bell (“The Last Exorcism”)
* The buzzed-about horror film “Black Rock”  with Kate Bosworth, Lake Bell and Kate Aselton
* “The Artist and the Model,” the latest film from Oscar-winning filmmaker Fernando Treuba (“Belle Epoque,” “Chico & Rita”) featuring performances from international screen icons Jean Rochefort and Claudia Cardinale
* The “Star Wars” documentary “The Force Within Us” with an appearance by suburban Chicago director Chris Macht
* The action-comedy “I Declare War”
* The Slamdance award-winner “The Dirties”
* The romantic drama “Leave Me Like You Found Me” with director Adele Romanski in attendance.
* The documentaries “When I Walk” and “The Institute”
* Two programs of shorts featuring selections from around the world and Chicago’s Columbia College students

FRIDAY, APRIL 12
7 PM: “Stories We Tell” (with Sarah Polley)
10 PM: “Grow Up, Tony Phillips” (with Emily Hagins and Peter Hall)

SATURDAY, APRIL 13
12 PM: “Grow Up, Tony Phillips” (with Emily Hagins)
1 PM: “Shorts Program #1” (with filmmakers)
2:30 PM: “The Institute”
3:30 PM: “The Force Within Us” (with Cris Macht)
4:30 PM: “Leave Me Like You Found Me” (with Adele Romanski)
6 PM: “The Kings of Summer”
7 PM: “Sparks” (with Chris Folino, William Katt and Ashley Bell)
9 PM: “The Dirties”
10 PM: “Black Rock”

SUNDAY, APRIL 14
12 PM: “Shorts Program #2” (with filmmakers)
12:15 PM: “The Artist and the Model”
2:30 PM: “Sparks”
2:45 PM: “When I Walk”
4:30 PM: “I Declare War”
5 PM: “The Spectacular Now” (with James Ponsoldt)
6 PM: William Friedkin Book Signing
7:30 PM: William Friedkin Event (title to be announced shortly)

Details at www.chicagocriticsfilmfestival.com

Individual tickets and festival passes can be  purchased online at
www.chicagocriticsfilmfestival.brownpapertickets.com

$100: Full Festival Pass (admittance to all screenings and the VIP after-parties on Saturday and Sunday)
$80: Saturday/Sunday Pass (admittance to all films and after-parties on Saturday and Sunday)
$50: Saturday or Sunday Pass (admittance to films and after-party on either Saturday or Sunday)
$25: Friday Pass (admittance to both Friday night screenings)

Individual ticket pricing:
$15: Opening Night presentation of “Stories We Tell”
$15: Closing Night presentation of “The Spectacular Now”
$12: All other feature film presentations
$10: Shorts programs
$15: William Friedkin event

MUVICO THEATERS ROSEMONT 18

All festival screenings and events will be held at the Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18.
Festival events will be at Bogart’s Bar and Grill on the second floor of the Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18, off of River Road and I-294 in Rosemont, Il. Muvico is easily accessible by public transportation; just a short walk from the Blue Line River Road exit.The Muvico Theaters Rosemont 18 is Chicago’s premiere movie-going experience featuring elegant stadium seating and state-of-the-art Sony 4K digital projection.

THE CFCA

The Chicago Film Critics Association has 51 active members dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of excellence in the cinematic arts. The group gave out its first achievement awards in 1989, The annual event has been attended by recipients such as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Robert Altman, Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington and many other filmmakers.

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