The Most Exciting Movies Playing at the 2025 Chicago International Film Festival

The 2025 Chicago International Film Festival kicks off this week! This was the first festival that I attended back in 2008, and I have attended it every year since. It is a great film festival that does not receive the same level of love and attention as some higher-profile festivals, but it deserves to be mentioned as one of the best in North America. It highlights numerous unique movies from around the world and showcases some of the best filmmakers working today.

This year’s festival includes over 120 feature films and 70 shorts from around the world. Like previous years, the festival features some of the biggest and buzziest films of 2025 from directors such as Richard Linklater, Rian Johnson, Kelly Reichardt, Chloé Zhao, Park Chan-Wook, and Gus Van Sant, among others. Here are my picks for ten of the most exciting movies playing at the 2025 Chicago International Film Festival.

You can find the full schedule of everything playing at the 2025 Chicago International Film Festival here.

Film descriptions courtesy of IMDb.

 

Breathless and Nouvelle Vague

What It’s About: Breathless follows a small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder of a police officer, who attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy. Nouvelle Vague examines Jean-Luc Godard and the creation of the film.

Why I’m Excited: The Chicago International Film Festival dives into the French New Wave this year by showing Jean-Luc Godard’s iconic crime film and Richard Linklater’s latest film, Nouvelle Vague. Both films play back-to-back on Sunday, October 19^th, at the Gene Siskel Film Center.

 

Hamnet

What It’s About: A powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.

Why I’m Excited: Chloé Zhao’s newest film got rave reviews out of Telluride and TIFF. This is a major Oscar contender, with many claiming Jesse Buckley as the frontrunner for Best Actress.

 

It Was Just an Accident

What It’s About: A small mishap triggers a chain reaction of ever-growing problems.

Why I’m Excited: Renowned director Jafar Panahi’s newest film won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which is reason enough to be excited.

 

Kelly Reichardt Retrospective

What It’s About: A retrospective on the films of award-winning director Kelly Reichardt.

Why I’m Excited: The queen of quiet cinema is getting a retrospective at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, which includes screenings of some of Reichardt’s past films, Old Joy, First Cow, and Showing Up, and her latest film, Mastermind. Reichardt will also be in attendance for these screenings.

 

Miroirs No. 3

What It’s About: After a car crash kills her boyfriend, piano student Laura is taken in by Betty, who witnessed the accident. Living with Betty’s family brings comfort, but Laura starts questioning their intentions as time passes.

Why I’m Excited: Christian Petzoldt is one of the most underrated directors working today, so I’m always excited when he has a new film.

 

No Other Choice

What It’s About: After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.

Why I’m Excited: Early word is that No Other Choice is one of Park Chan-Wook’s finest films, which is crazy to think about considering Wook’s stacked filmography.

 

Resurrection

What It’s About: A woman’s consciousness falls into an eternal time zone during a surgical procedure. Trapped in many dreams, she finds the corpse of an android and tries to wake him up by telling endless stories.

Why I’m Excited: Nobody makes movies like Bi Gan. They are challenging, hypnotic, and visually marvelous films, unlike anything you’ve ever seen. I cannot wait to see what he has in store for us this time.

 

The Secret Agent

What It’s About: In 1977, a technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown of Recife in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks.

Why I’m Excited: Wagner Moura won Best Actor at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s first feature film since 2019’s Bacurau.

 

Sentimental Value

What It’s About: An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.

Why I’m Excited: Joachim Trier’s follow-up to The Worst Person in the World has been getting nothing but rave reviews since it premiered at Cannes this year, with many claiming it is one of the year’s best films and a surefire Oscar contender.

 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

What It’s About: Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet. Sequel to Glass Onion (2022).

Why I’m Excited: The third Knives Out film brings back Daniel Craig as super detective Benoit Blanc and boasts a stacked supporting cast around him, including Josh O’Connor, Jeremy Renner, and Glenn Close.

 

BONUS: IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU & TRAIN DREAMS

I’ve already had the pleasure of seeing both of these films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is an unsettling and stressful look at a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown that features one of the year’s best performances from Rose Byrne. Clint Bently’s Train Dreams is a beautifully made western with Joel Edgerton’s best performance to date. It was my favorite movie out of the festival this year and is one of the year’s best films.

 

The 61st Chicago International Film Festival takes place from October 15th through October 26th.

 

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