Chicago International Film Festival

The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the composite eyes of early film actresses Theda Bara, Pola Negri and Mae Murray, set as repeated frames in a strip of film.
In 2010, the 46th Chicago International Film Festival presented 150 films from more than 50 countries. The Festival's program is composed of many different sections, including the International Competition, New Directors Competition, Docufest, Black Perspectives, Cinema of the Americas, and Reel Women.
Its main venue is the AMC River East 21 Theatre in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago.
International Connections Program.
The International Connections Program was created in 2003 in order to raise awareness of the international film culture and diversity of Chicago, and to make the festival more appealing to audience and staff of various ethnicities. Foreign films are screened for free throughout the city weekly from July through September.
Awards.
Winners are awarded Hugo Awards in eight different competition categories.
Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Winners of the festival's "Lifetime Achievement Award" include Steven Spielberg, Helen Hunt, Dustin Hoffman, Martin Landau, Shirley MacLaine, Lord Richard Attenborough, François Truffaut, Jodie Foster, Sigourney Weaver, Robin Williams, Manoel de Oliveira, and Clint Eastwood.