This article was written by Cortlyn Kelly.
MUBI Fest returns to Chicago April 26th and 27th as its launching point for its 2025 world tour. As the only stop in the United States, Chicago’s film community finally experiences an air of exclusivity and opportunity that acknowledges the city’s place as an international contributor to and cultivator of culture. This year’s theme, “Lost in Translation,” transcends beyond language; it toys with the human experience dealing with time and technology.
MUBI is many things: a streaming service, a distribution studio, a publication. With well-crafted cinema at its core, the platform recognizes its role in constructing a canon that contextualizes movies as being in conversation with other forms of creativity and complex contemporary concepts.
The festival, screening several new and canonical titles, will be hosted at the historic Music Box Theater and the semi-recently redeveloped Salt Shed. This pairing of venues honors and mirrors the programming, a celebration of legacy cinematic pieces and new innovations of the medium. Saturday screenings of Ishtar (1987) on 35mm with a post-screening conversation between MUBI Notebook Editor Chloe Lizotte and Chicago critic Kat Sachs, Inherent Vice (2014) on 70mm, and Blow Out (1981) showcase adventures and mysteries across time and mental states. Sunday at the Salt Shed showcases much more than just cinema; a sneak peek of Pavements (2024) and the new 4k restoration of The Fall (2006) are accompanied by a makers market and a live performance by Boy Harsher.
One of the most notable programs is the Sunday screening of the Chicago-set classic, Cooley High (1975). The 50th anniversary of the film will be projected on 35mm in the Music Box Theater’s intimate screening room, the perfect cozy cinema for a nostalgic and naturalistic picture. A concert is not the typical closing night event for a film festival, but Boy Harsher’s career and partnership started with the cinematic arts. Festival goers may hope that their performance will also feature snippets from their new horror short film, The Runner, to which they served as producers, directors, and soundtrack makers.
As MUBI adds another branch of building a movie-loving community, it's fitting yet crucial to take this leap of faith into bringing people together, in person. MUBI Fest continues to bring “cinema and culture, curated” to 11 cities across three continents. The evolution of programming molding to its respective setting proceeds to pave MUBI’s path as a leading distributor and discovery platform for diverse and dynamic independent cinema.
Visit MUBIFest.com for the full lineup and details.
Cortlyn Kelly is a film and culture critic, personal essayist, art appreciator, avid baseball fan, and forever student. Since the first grade, her approach to all endeavors is: “There is so much to learn.”