Beyond Competition

Discovering Catharine

Palatine Public Library 700 N North Court, Palatine, IL, United States

A BWiFF 2025 Beyond Competition Presentation
"Discovering Catharine" explores McCulloch’s trailblazing career as one of the first female attorneys in the U.S. and her relentless fight for women’s equality, particularly in the legal and political arenas.

Free

Shiners: Voices from Owsley County

Palatine Public Library 700 N North Court, Palatine, IL, United States

A BWiFF 2025 Beyond Competition Presentation
Along with stunning original and traditional music, high school students write and perform a play about growing up in rural Appalachia. While overcoming problems of addiction in one of the nation's poorest counties, the inspiring students travel from their small town to Kentucky’s high school theater competition.

Free

Eugene O’Neill’s The First Man

Palatine Public Library 700 N North Court, Palatine, IL, United States

A BWiFF 2025 Beyond Competition Presentation
World renowned anthropologist Curtis is consumed by grief over his young daughters' deaths. He finds solace in immersing himself in preparations for his upcoming expedition to Asia, where he aims to unravel the mystery of "The First Man."

Free

Stampila

Classic Cinemas Tivoli Theatre 5021 Highland Avenue, Downers Grove, IL

A BWiFF 2025 Beyond Competition Presentation
A middle-aged woman plots to overthrow an unelected oligarch controlling her tiny country. Using only her intelligence and a stolen government stamp, she must outsmart the oligarch and his team of American political consultants.

$12

Traumnovelle

Classic Cinemas Tivoli Theatre 5021 Highland Avenue, Downers Grove, IL

A BWiFF 2025 Beyond Competition Presentation
A colorful adaptation of Schnitzler's work, in which a woman tells her husband that she has fantasies with other people, triggering his desire for his own adventures. Set in modern kinky Berlin, the film is much more than a mere reboot of Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut".

$12

Taste the Revolution

Music Box Theatre 3733 N Southport Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

A BWiFF 2025 Beyond Competition Presentation
Two aspiring filmmakers chronicle the story of a charismatic revolutionary, Mac Laslow (Oscar®-Winner Mahershala Ali), and the group of disillusioned college students drawn together one summer to change the world. But without a unifying direction or clear goals, the movement descends into chaos.

$12