Schedule of the Event:

April 10, 2025

SALLY - 5:30pm

“The documentary includes eye-opening interviews with family members and former astronauts and archival video of Ride herself, to create an engaging, socially relevant portrait of an American heroine and of the culture.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Sally explores the life and legacy of astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, who became the first American woman to blast off into space and forever changed the course of science, exploration, and women's empowerment. But as she flew into orbit, Ride faced the challenges of institutional critics and the prejudice of an American public who were skeptical that a woman could do the job of an astronaut. Undeterred, Ride dove headfirst into that struggle, propelled by a determination few could match. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, Sally also chronicles the 27-year romance with life partner Tam O'Shaughnessy, which was kept secret from the public until the day of Ride's death.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 103 min
Filmmakers: Cristina Costantini
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

BUY OPENING NIGHT TICKETS

April 11, 2025

THE STAMP THIEF - 4:30pm

Gary Gilbert, a Hollywood writer-producer with time and money to spare, brings a film crew to Poland to make a movie. But underneath this ruse lies an ulterior motive—to recover stamps stolen by a Nazi officer during the Holocaust and return them to their rightful heirs. Part detective story, part heist film, part untold history, THE STAMP THIEF investigates a tale dating back to the Holocaust—a mysterious Nazi stole priceless stamp collections from concentration camp victims and buried the stolen stamps in a small town in Poland. Embarking on a real-life “Argo”-like adventure, one-time Seinfeld producer Gary Gilbert sets out to confirm the story and recover the stamps. His tactic: a fake movie shoot. His goal: to return the stamps to their rightful owners, hopefully delivering a small measure of justice more than 70 years after the Holocaust.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 100 min
Filmmakers: Dan Sturman
Language: English, Polish, German
Rating: Unrated

HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES - 4:45pm

With an engaging cast led by dimpled actor and pop singer Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul and 78-year-old Usha “Taew” Seamkhum, it renders universal the central message of cherishing those we love while there is still time. - Variety

After his grandmother is diagnosed with cancer, a scheming young man moves in to care for her, motivated by a desire to secure her fortune for himself. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that winning Grandma's favor is no easy feat.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 126 min
Filmmakers: Pat Boonnitipat
Language: Thai
Rating: Unrated

EVERY LITTLE THING - 5:00pm

“Big-hearted… effortlessly riveting. Offers a vision of compassion as a way of life.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Author and wildlife rehabber Terry Masear has an ambitious goal: to save every injured hummingbird in Los Angeles.  But the path to survival is fraught with danger.  This heart-expanding Sundance hit introduces audiences to Terry’s diminutive patients through breathtaking slow-motion photography and emotional story telling.  Over the course of director Sally Aitken’s moving documentary, we become deeply invested in humming birds like Cactus, Raisin, Jimmy, and Wasabi, celebrating their tiny victories and lamenting their tragedies.  Through Terry’s eyes, each bird becomes memorable, mighty and heroic.  Her compassion and empathy serves as a reminder that grace can be found in the smallest of acts and the tiniest of creatures.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 98 min
Filmmakers: Sally Aitken
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

THANK YOU VERY MUCH - 7:00pm

Arguably the most transparent portrait of the comedian while still trying to perpetuate some of his mystery. - The Playlist

Andy Kaufman's provocative comedy often outraged audiences, challenging them to confront their own presumptions. Through never-before-seen footage and intimate recollections, filmmaker Alex Braverman explores Kaufman’s brief but impactful life and career. As the lines between performance and reality blur in our present age, Kaufman’s genius resonates more than ever.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 99 min
Filmmakers: Alex Braverman
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

OKIE - 7:15pm

“A perspicacious and revealing watch for those who have thought they've grown beyond the scope and needs of their hometowns and communities.” - Roger Ebert.com

Louie Mulgrin is the one who got out of his rural Illinois town, becoming a bestselling novelist and writing searing literary tell-alls about his rustic Midwestern enclave. When Louie, newly engaged and successful, returns home to settle his late father’s affairs, he receives a welcome that’s equal parts admiration and resentment. Is Louie a local hero or an exploitive opportunist, getting rich off the stories of those he was once closest to?

In her accomplished feature debut, Chicago native Kate Cobb crafts a skillful tale that’s tinged with suspense, as Louie revisits relationships from his youth: a resentful best friend, an ex-girlfriend, a bully turned local cop. As he gets ****** deeper into the past, he must come to grips with what he’s done to get ahead in the present — and his loosening grip on reality. Shot in and around Dekalb, IL, Okie is an absorbing and complex dramatic thriller about the delicate balance between ambition and loyalty.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 100 min
Filmmakers: Dan Sturman
Language: English, Polish, German
Rating: Unrated

VERMIGLIO - 7:30pm

Critic’s Pick! “A rich, enveloping film that asks viewers to approach it as if tiptoeing through the snow.” – The New York Times

The lush and breathtaking beauty of the Alps, filmed with painterly grace under natural light from frigid winter to redemptive spring, provides the physical and emotional backdrop for Vermiglio, Maura Delpero’s visionary film, which won the Silver Lion at the 2024 Venice Film Festival. This singular portrait of a sprawling family, set in the small, mountainous village of Vermiglio during the waning days of WWII, follows a series of dramatic, consequential events after the arrival of a taciturn Sicilian soldier (Giuseppe De Domenico), who hides out in town after deserting the army. While there, the soldier develops a romance with the family’s eldest daughter, Lucia (Martina Scrinzi). Vermiglio shows the lives of a provincial family in a remote village suspended in time by the customs of a fading era. Conjuring stories from her own family’s past, Delpero creates a deeply personal and human tale that recalls the great neorealist movement in Italian cinema, but through Lucia’s perspective Vermiglio feels distinct and novel. Italy’s Official Selection for the 2025 Academy Awards.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 118 min
Filmmakers: Maura Delpero
Language: Italian
Rating: Unrated

April 12, 2025

SALLY - 1:00pm

“The documentary includes eye-opening interviews with family members and former astronauts and archival video of Ride herself, to create an engaging, socially relevant portrait of an American heroine and of the culture.” - The Hollywood Reporter

Sally explores the life and legacy of astronaut Dr. Sally Ride, who became the first American woman to blast off into space and forever changed the course of science, exploration, and women's empowerment. But as she flew into orbit, Ride faced the challenges of institutional critics and the prejudice of an American public who were skeptical that a woman could do the job of an astronaut. Undeterred, Ride dove headfirst into that struggle, propelled by a determination few could match. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, Sally also chronicles the 27-year romance with life partner Tam O'Shaughnessy, which was kept secret from the public until the day of Ride's death.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 103 min
Filmmakers: Cristina Costantini
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

SHEPHERDS - 1:30pm

A Montréal copywriter sets out to reinvent himself as a sheep herder in the French Alps despite knowing literally nothing about the centuries-old craft, in this adaptation from director and co-writer Sophie Deraspe.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 114 min
Filmmaker: Sophie Deraspe
Language: French
Country: Canada, France
Rating: R

EVERY LITTLE THING - 3:15pm

“Big-hearted… effortlessly riveting. Offers a vision of compassion as a way of life.” – The Hollywood Reporter

Author and wildlife rehabber Terry Masear has an ambitious goal: to save every injured hummingbird in Los Angeles.  But the path to survival is fraught with danger.  This heart-expanding Sundance hit introduces audiences to Terry’s diminutive patients through breathtaking slow-motion photography and emotional story telling.  Over the course of director Sally Aitken’s moving documentary, we become deeply invested in humming birds like Cactus, Raisin, Jimmy, and Wasabi, celebrating their tiny victories and lamenting their tragedies.  Through Terry’s eyes, each bird becomes memorable, mighty and heroic.  Her compassion and empathy serves as a reminder that grace can be found in the smallest of acts and the tiniest of creatures.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 98 min
Filmmakers: Sally Aitken
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

OKIE - 4:00pm

“A perspicacious and revealing watch for those who have thought they've grown beyond the scope and needs of their hometowns and communities.” - Roger Ebert.com

Louie Mulgrin is the one who got out of his rural Illinois town, becoming a bestselling novelist and writing searing literary tell-alls about his rustic Midwestern enclave. When Louie, newly engaged and successful, returns home to settle his late father’s affairs, he receives a welcome that’s equal parts admiration and resentment. Is Louie a local hero or an exploitive opportunist, getting rich off the stories of those he was once closest to?

In her accomplished feature debut, Chicago native Kate Cobb crafts a skillful tale that’s tinged with suspense, as Louie revisits relationships from his youth: a resentful best friend, an ex-girlfriend, a bully turned local cop. As he gets ****** deeper into the past, he must come to grips with what he’s done to get ahead in the present — and his loosening grip on reality. Shot in and around Dekalb, IL, Okie is an absorbing and complex dramatic thriller about the delicate balance between ambition and loyalty.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 100 min
Filmmakers: Dan Sturman
Language: English, Polish, German
Rating: Unrated

HOW TO MAKE MILLIONS BEFORE GRANDMA DIES - 4:15pm

With an engaging cast led by dimpled actor and pop singer Putthipong “Billkin” Assaratanakul and 78-year-old Usha “Taew” Seamkhum, it renders universal the central message of cherishing those we love while there is still time. - Variety

After his grandmother is diagnosed with cancer, a scheming young man moves in to care for her, motivated by a desire to secure her fortune for himself. Unfortunately for him, it turns out that winning Grandma's favor is no easy feat.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 126 min
Filmmakers: Pat Boonnitipat
Language: Thai
Rating: Unrated

ART FOR EVERYBODY - 7:00pm

“With observations from collectors, friends, art critics, his family, and Kinkade himself in archival footage, this documentary reveals what all those pictures of cozy cottages hid: a complicated life as tragic as it was triumphant.” - The San Francisco Chronicle

You’ve seen his cozy cottages, idyllic gardens, and welcoming village streets on everything from canvas to commemorative plates. Both celebrated and disparaged for his kitschy signature settings, the “Painter of Light” Thomas Kinkade rocketed to popularity in the ‘90s by marketing himself to American evangelicals and pitting himself against the elite art establishment.

Yet beneath the pristine public persona were demons that would drive him to alcoholism, scandal, and death from an overdose in 2012. After his passing, Kinkade’s daughters uncovered a trove of unseen, unexpectedly dark paintings, a discovery that launched an investigation into their father’s true personality.

Through the voices of skeptical critics, adoring fans, and Kinkade’s closest friends and family, Art for Everybody digs deep into Kinkade’s life and work to elucidate the real man behind the persona. Accomplished editor Miranda Yousef’s directorial debut is an insightful documentary that peels back the layers of Kinkade’s facade, delivering a portrait of a complex man divided by the same forces that continue to pull us apart as a nation.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 99 min
Filmmakers: Miranda Yousef
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

April 13, 2025

THE STAMP THIEF - 1:00pm

Gary Gilbert, a Hollywood writer-producer with time and money to spare, brings a film crew to Poland to make a movie. But underneath this ruse lies an ulterior motive—to recover stamps stolen by a Nazi officer during the Holocaust and return them to their rightful heirs. Part detective story, part heist film, part untold history, THE STAMP THIEF investigates a tale dating back to the Holocaust—a mysterious Nazi stole priceless stamp collections from concentration camp victims and buried the stolen stamps in a small town in Poland. Embarking on a real-life “Argo”-like adventure, one-time Seinfeld producer Gary Gilbert sets out to confirm the story and recover the stamps. His tactic: a fake movie shoot. His goal: to return the stamps to their rightful owners, hopefully delivering a small measure of justice more than 70 years after the Holocaust.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 100 min
Filmmakers: Dan Sturman
Language: English, Polish, German
Rating: Unrated

ART FOR EVERYBODY - 1:45pm

“With observations from collectors, friends, art critics, his family, and Kinkade himself in archival footage, this documentary reveals what all those pictures of cozy cottages hid: a complicated life as tragic as it was triumphant.” - The San Francisco Chronicle

You’ve seen his cozy cottages, idyllic gardens, and welcoming village streets on everything from canvas to commemorative plates. Both celebrated and disparaged for his kitschy signature settings, the “Painter of Light” Thomas Kinkade rocketed to popularity in the ‘90s by marketing himself to American evangelicals and pitting himself against the elite art establishment.

Yet beneath the pristine public persona were demons that would drive him to alcoholism, scandal, and death from an overdose in 2012. After his passing, Kinkade’s daughters uncovered a trove of unseen, unexpectedly dark paintings, a discovery that launched an investigation into their father’s true personality.

Through the voices of skeptical critics, adoring fans, and Kinkade’s closest friends and family, Art for Everybody digs deep into Kinkade’s life and work to elucidate the real man behind the persona. Accomplished editor Miranda Yousef’s directorial debut is an insightful documentary that peels back the layers of Kinkade’s facade, delivering a portrait of a complex man divided by the same forces that continue to pull us apart as a nation.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 99 min
Filmmakers: Miranda Yousef
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - 3:15pm

“Stirringly acted and gorgeously filmed, this swashbuckler leaves previous versions of Dumas's famous revenge saga in the dust.” - The New York Times

The target of a sinister plot, young Edmond Dantès is arrested on his wedding day for a crime he did not commit. After fourteen years in the island prison of Château d’If, he manages a daring escape. Now rich beyond his dreams, he assumes the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo and exacts his revenge on the three men who betrayed him.

Genre: Narrative
Run Time: 178 min
Filmmakers: Matthieu Delaporte
Language: French
Rating: Unrated

THANK YOU VERY MUCH - 4:15pm

Arguably the most transparent portrait of the comedian while still trying to perpetuate some of his mystery. - The Playlist

Andy Kaufman's provocative comedy often outraged audiences, challenging them to confront their own presumptions. Through never-before-seen footage and intimate recollections, filmmaker Alex Braverman explores Kaufman’s brief but impactful life and career. As the lines between performance and reality blur in our present age, Kaufman’s genius resonates more than ever.

Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 99 min
Filmmakers: Alex Braverman
Language: English
Rating: Unrated

BUY ALL ACCESS PASS

Date: April 10-13, 2025

Location: Classic Cinemas Charlestowne 18 Theatre, 3740 E Main St, Saint Charles, IL 60174

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