The 49th Annual Chicago International Film Festival kicks off October 10th and runs for two jam packed weeks. The longest running competitive film festival in American history, we have CIFF to thank for discovering great directors like Martin Scorcese, John Waters and more. This year has over 150 feature films representing over 50 countries from every corner of the world including a special series called Cine of the Americas. Fourteen feature films representing Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and beyond. Check out our top five picks from this years epic line-up below and see the full schedule of Cine of the Americas HERE. 
Tanta Agua
Director: Ana Guevara Pose and Leticia Jorge
Mexico / Uruguay / Netherlands
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Alberto, father to Lucia and Federico, tries to reconnect with his children after a divorce. A storm quickly makes his ideal getaway into a family vacation gone wrong when the family is stuck in a tiny hotel room with no choice but to deal with tensions head on.
Heli
Director: Amat Escalante
Mexico
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Director Amat Escalante won Best Director at this years Cannes for his powerful, shocking, yet very real look at Mexico’s drug-related violence and how it effects people from all walks of life.
Purgatorio
Director: Rodrigo Reyes
Mexico + USA
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Purgatorio gives a voice to the people on a border town in Mexico. A man of God who leaves food and water in the desert, a Minuteman guarding the border, and individuals who will stop at nothing to get to America, Rodrigo Reyes’ documentary leaves the politics aside to shine a light on the harsh realties of those taking part in the immigrant experience.
Memories They Told Me
Director: Lúcia Murat
Brazil
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Old friends and all onetime members of Brazil’s radical resistance, come together around Ana, the heart of their circle, now on her deathbed. Reflections and shared memories touches on revolution and terrorism, love and sex, and the compromises we must make as we grow older.
La Paz
Director: Santiago Loza
Argentina
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Liso returns home to Buenos Aires after a stint at as psychiatric clinic ready to rebuild his life. La Paz follows Liso’s struggle to reconnect with family and friends while those around him try and fail to understand him. La Paz explores the depths of loneliness taking us on an emotional journey.