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Facets, christened “a temple of great cinema” by revered film critic Roger Ebert, celebrates its 45th anniversary today, Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Since 1975, Facets has brought global, diverse audiences together to experience the power of film as a community. In celebration of this legacy, we’ll be exploring some important moments from our past (check out the first in the series) and we’re asking you to submit your own favorite Facets moments in this online form. Facets was founded in 1975 by award-winning film critic and long-time WBEZ commentator Milos Stehlik, who died last July after a six-month battle with cancer. Born out

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In honor of our 45th anniversary, David Edelberg and Randy Adamsick, current members of the Facets board of directors and colleagues of Milos Stehlik for more than 30 years each, share their watchlist.  The favorites listed are both emblematic of Milos’s vision and also represent some important milestones in cinema history that occurred at Facets. All films listed are available to rent from Facets. Become a Facets Member for only $10 /month and start renting today. (1) Intimate Lighting Directed by Ivan Passer, Czechoslovakia, 71 mins. Two old friends, Peter, a professional musician, and Bambas, a provincial one, reunite for a weekend in their small

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Revenge is a dish best served cold…make it a feast with three hand picked recommendations from our rental catalog to check out after you stream A White, White Day at Facets Virtual Cinema, available now until May 28. The latest from Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason, follows a grief-stricken man desperate for answers about his late wife’s affair. As an off-duty police chief getting up there in age, nobody suspects Ingimundur to be someone corrupted by desire for revenge. Classic thriller tropes and a distinctly Nordic arthouse sensibility are used to beautifully illustrate this underdog tale of revenge and unconditional love. Watch now (1)

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Watch five international, award-winning films for every age, hand selected by CICFF Festival Director, Ann Vikstrom.   Take a break and leave the curation to us. These films not only screened at a past festival, but they made such an impact on our expert jurors that they were awarded a top prize! Now you can watch them at home for free.   (1) Island AGES 2+ Directed by Max Mörtl and Robert Lobel, Germany, 3 mins.   Creatures gather to make music in Island (2017).  CICFF35 BEST PRODUCTION FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AWARD   On a colorful and exotic island, a quirky ensemble of creatures brings their plops, hoots, rattles and snaps together to create an imaginative musical masterpiece.   Watch

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Check out a special list of films to watch over spring break from Facets’ Education Director, Kathleen Beckman.  Spring break is here, despite the COVID-19 pandemic keeping most of us sheltered in place.  To help families stay connected, creative, and engaged with thoughtful films and television, our Education Director, Kathleen Beckman, has put together a special list of films to watch and discuss with your kids.  Each selection includes Kathleen’s unique take on the film along with questions and activities designed to dig deeper into learning themes that address the personal, cultural, and production aspects of a film.  (1)  Sherlock Jr.  AGES 7+  Directed by Buster

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At Facets’ Film 101 summer camp, the best way to have fun is to work together as a team. It’s pretty clear that something like soccer is a team sport. You have your goalie, your center back, your sweeper. You have your coach yelling from the sidelines. It’s all pretty straightforward and fits nicely into our understanding of traditional team sports. But what if we told you filmmaking is also a team sport? Just think about how long the credits roll at the end of your favorite film. You have your director, your cinematographer, your actors. You have your writers, your editors,

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While the tragic passing Milos Stehlik is felt throughout the FACETS' community, he lives on through his legacy. FACETS is determined to continue Milos vision of bringing the world to the viewer through independent and international film. It has been both an emotional and inspiring year here at FACETS. Emotional in the overwhelming community response to the untimely death of our founder, Milos Stehlik. Inspiring in the outpouring of support for Milos’s work and for FACETS' future as a global film institution.    “Milos Stehlik, the late Founder and Executive Director of FACETS, had an exceptional eye for content, and believed in bringing

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Brutal passion and political commentary meet in Luis Buñuel’s take on the Frankenstein tradition.  Made during his commercial period in Mexico, The Brute (1953), which pits a bourgeois landowner against his working-class tenants, may qualify as Luis Buñuel’s most political work. At the time of the film’s release, Mexico was going through an intense period of change and economic growth. Women received the vote, industrialization was occurring at a rapid rate, and the government had cut public funding. Conflicts between the state, the workers, and the labor unions were common.  Nevertheless, The Brute works well as both a twist on the Frankenstein mythos and a Marxist fable.

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A relic of Buñuel’s commercial period in Mexico, Susana offers up sex, sensationalism, and literal Sturm und Drang.  The vast majority of Luis Buñuel’s filmography was released before his ascension to the throne of surrealist cinema. The filmmaker may have first come into the public conscious in 1929 due to his radical vomit-inducing collaboration with Salvador Dali, Un Chien Andalou, but his career also included a largely fruitless seven-year Hollywood residency and an 18-year period in Mexico. Within those two decades, Buñuel churned out 21 films, nearly all melodramas or action films meant to appeal to large audiences.  Susana (1951) is very much a product of Buñuel’s more commercial

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Filmmakers Lorena Munoz and Sergio Wolf trace the life of an iconic tango singer who vanished at the height of her career.  Ada Falcon was a tango diva. She sang on cinema screens. Her voice dominated the airwaves. Tabloids were preoccupied with whispered rumors of her tumultuous affair with her married conductor. And in 1942, at the height of her popularity, Ada Falcon announced she was retiring. Within months, one of the most famous singers in Argentina had simply vanished.  In their documentary, I Don’t Know What Your Eyes Have Done to Me (2003), filmmakers Lorena Munoz and Sergio Wolf trace Falcon’s life from