An enduring gem of the film festival circuit is the less glitzy but audience-centric Chicago International Film Festival. In its 42nd year, North America’s oldest competitive film festival focuses on showcasing the best films on the festival circuit in contrast to the hyped "World Premieres" of Toronto and Cannes.

This year’s fest started with a bang, an opening night ceremony hosted by Spike Lee at the historic Chicago Theatre. The event honored Dustin Hoffman with a Career Achievement Award followed by a special screening of his upcoming film, Stranger Than Fiction, a new Chicago-based comedy directed by Marc Foster (Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland).

Over two weeks, the festival showcased nearly 100 feature films, 14 documentaries, and 34 short films originating from 38 countries.

The AMC River East 21 and AMC Landmark theatres hosted the majority of the screenings. Earlier this year, AMC Entertainment, Inc. announced the launch of their AMC Select program, committing one screen in selected theatres to screening Independent features. AMC’s support of this year’s festival marked another stride toward honoring this commitment.

AMC’s type of corporate support for the festival stands in marked contrast to the City of Chicago’s lack of subsidization. This year, Chicago contributed about $11,000 to operating expenses and sponsored advertisements throughout the area. However, the City denied the Festival’s request for a city-subsidized office space for a permanent facility. Perhaps this disparity in funding, compared to festivals such as Toronto, has been the factor holding Chicago’s festival back from reaching a higher status in the industry.

While it can’t boast the glamour factor of what the film industry considers "A-List" festivals such as Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance, the CIFF still attracted plenty of luminaries. Following their premiers, directors treated audience members to question and answer periods. Director Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity) participated in an interview at the October 11 screening of The Queen, a critically acclaimed look behind palace walls during the week following Princess Diana’s death. In addition, directors Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu and Darren Aronofsky were also on hand to present their features: Cannes favorite Babel and romance The Fountain, respectively.