The 57th Chicago International Film Festival Hosts its Second Year of Drive-In Screenings

Last year’s Drive-In offerings for the 56th Chicago International Film Festival were a big success at the ChiTown Movies location in the Pilsen neighborhood. Continuing that success, the Drive-In program has returned with its classic format for the upcoming 57th Chicago International Film Festival. Five drive-in features will be presented at 2343 South Throop Street. Tickets to the Chicago International Film Festival drive-in screenings, and the full program and drive-in schedule are available online now.

Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

This year’s Drive-In series begins with the documentary The Velvet Underground. It plays on Opening Night, Wednesday, October 13, 2021. The event features a virtual Q&A with director Todd Haynes after the feature. Consider that doc appointment viewing for fans of Haynes and his approachability with his films.

The other four selections offer prestige and excitement in plenty of places. One of them is the star-studded Netflix western The Harder They Fall, starring Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Zazie Beetz, LaKeith Stanfield, and Delroy Lindo. The western screens on Saturday, October 16.

Other selections include:

Michael Pearce’s thriller Encounter, starring Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed

Antlers, the new film combining the creative talents of The Shape of Water’s Guillermo del Toro and Hostiles, Into the Furnace, and Crazy Heart director Scott Cooper
A late-night presentation of indie coming-of-age occult horror hit Hellbender

Two kids and a man hold weapons towards a threat in the rocky outside. — Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

A mother clutches her son in a room. — Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

A Black cowboy leads a group on horseback through a town. — Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

A teen girl forms a symbol out of sticks. — Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

A man strums on his guitar while wearing sunglasses. — Image courtesy of Cinema/Chicago

Drive-in audiences at every screening will receive alcohol-free Heineken 0.0 beer. For an extra perk, Dark Matter Coffee will be on hand at the drive-in screenings of The Velvet Underground, Antlers, and Encounter distributing cans of their new Director’s Cut Cold Brew, part of a first-ever partnership between the Chicago coffee company and the Festival.

For more information on these drive-in selections for any of the offerings of the 57th Chicago International Film Festival, visit the festival website. Festival Passes are on sale now, with individual tickets available for the general public on its purchasing website. Bring your car and a stash of your own snacks and enjoy! Follow the festival’s action here with our writer Don Shanahan or on their social media accounts:

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