The fourth Chicago International Documentary Festival continues through Sunday, April 8, with screenings at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division; Portage; Society for Arts, 1112 N. Milwaukee; and Univ. of Chicago Doc Films. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $9, $7 for seniors and students, and $7 for shows before 2 PM or after 10 PM. A festival pass good for ten screenings is available for $70 but does not include the closing-night gala; for more information call 773-486-9612. Following are selected films; for a complete schedule visit chicagodocfestival.org.
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Chernobyl: The Invisible Thief Bernard Debord’s Sun and Death, a recent French documentary on victims of the 1986 nuclear power plant explosion in Chernobyl, was scathing in its treatment of the Soviet government’s lies and cover-ups. There’s less finger-pointing and more personal sadness in this German documentary by Christoph Boekel: his wife, whom he met when she served as his Russian interpreter on another film project, died from exposure to Chernobyl radiation. The most memorable interviews here are with a talented painter who worked on the mop-up team after the disaster (and has also since died) and a former science editor at Pravda who’s followed the story for two decades. In German with subtitles. 59 min. (JR) Also on the program: Jerzy Hoffman’s 50-minute Polish/Ukrainian documentary Ukraine: Birth of the Nation. a Sat 4/7, 7:30 PM, Society for Arts.
RCrazy Sexy Cancer If there’s such a thing as a feel-good movie about cancer, then Kris Carr’s video memoir is it. A beguiling former actress with a can-do attitude, Carr is devastated to learn she has a rare, incurable cancer, but she throws herself into augmenting her medical treatment with macrobiotic diets, spirituality, yoga, and networking with other cancer fighters. Her talent for improvisational humor (she compares liquid barium to the stuff found on peep-show floors) gives the film much of its energy, while her compassion for other patients adds gravitas. Carr doesn’t talk about happy endings–she’s in stage four of the disease, and as she says, there is no stage five–yet her acceptance of her condition frees her to approach life head-on. 89 min. (AG) a Sat 4/7, 7 PM, Chopin Theatre.
His Big White Self British documentary maker Nick Broomfield profiled South African white supremicist Eugene Terreblanche in The Leader, His Driver and the Driver’s Wife (1991); this 2006 video mixes old footage with a new interview but offers scant insight into the heart of racism. “The Leader” appears with his followers, wearing Nazi-like insignia, and there are overlong scenes with two who knew him. His followers wanted an all-white homeland, preferred race war to the end of apartheid, and ultimately turned to terrorist bombings. Most revealing is that Terreblanche drunkenly attacked his own black employee, an act that sent him to prison. Today he writes poetry–and seems unrepentant. 93 min. (FC) a Fri 4/6, 9 PM, Portage.
Senator Obama Goes to Africa Bob Hercules will attend this screening of his 60-minute work in progress. Tickets are $15. a Sat 4/7, 8 PM, Univ. of Chicago Doc Films.
