BY LISA TRIFONE ON APRIL 1, 2018
By April, it can be harder and harder to justify time spent in a movie theater. The days are finally getting longer and Spring is in full swing. In true Chicago fashion, however, the temps for April are looking bleak, meaning you can dive into the festivals, retrospectives and new movies happening this month guilt-free. You gotta stay warm, right?
Fred Rogers appears in Won’t You Be My Neighbor? by Morgan Neville. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jim Judkis.
April 5-8
DOC10 – Just a few years in and DOC10 is already a must-hit stop on the festival circuit for the year’s best documentaries. The brainchild of Chicago Media Project and head programmer Anthony Kaufman, the festival excels because of its laser focus: just ten documentaries screen over a long weekend at Lincoln Square’s The Davis Theater. You get one shot to catch each movie; miss it and you’ll have to wait until they come back around for a theatrical opening, if ever. (So, you know…don’t miss it!) This year’s crop includes Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (aka the Mr. Rogers doc) on Opening Night; a Saturday night with Ruth Bader Ginsberg in RBG; the Chicago premiere of Sundance official selection (and Kartemquin production) Minding the Gap; and The King as closing night, about filmmaker Eugene Jarecki’s road trip in Elvis’s 1963 Rolls Royce. Tickets are a bit steep, so corral some friends or plan a date night for the best deals. Learn more here.