An enduring gem of the film festival circuit is the less glitzy but audience-centric Chicago International Film Festival. In its 42^nd 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 a hundred feature films, 14 documentaries and 34 short films originating from 38 countries.

So what exactly is an "indie film," anyway?

Throughout the history of cinema, there have been several "independent film" movements. In the early 20th century, pioneer filmmakers built their own cameras to escape the control of Motion Picture Patents Company, an Edison trust which monopolized the industry through its control of patents on raw film and cameras.

This first movement spawned an exodus of filmmakers to Hollywood, far from the watchful eye of Edison's center of operations in New Jersey. But over time, the Hollywood studio system started to emulate its predecessor, adopting a rigid profit-motivated method to churn out movies. Individual filmmakers, dissatisfied with the commercial ethic, sought ways to produce and release their films outside of the Hollywood system.

Over the past twenty years, moviegoers have begun to embrace the genre, initiating the release of an increasing number of independent films each year. Films by Independent directors such as Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, and Kevin Smith achieve an immediate cult status upon release, while a few, like Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ, have achieved grosses surpassing those of most studio-released pictures.

Consumer interest in independent film has resulted in the genesis of cable television stations, magazines, and local film festivals designed to meet the demand of moviegoers attracted to more original offerings.

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 towards honoring this commitment to support Independent Film.

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.

Rounding out the festival were several out-of-competition, theme centered categories including Black Perspectives, Cinema of the Americas, and Destination Greece. The largest of these themes, World Cinema (offering 42 features), proved a draw with Chicago’s large immigrant community as well as the average Joe looking for a foreign film fix.

Eric Steel’s The Bridge, was one of the festival’s most controversial offerings.

There was no lack of controversial offerings in the mix this year. Eric Steel’s The Bridge offered discomforting footage of 23 suicides from San Franscisco’s Golden Gate bridge. Filmed over a one year period, his documentary raised questions with both viewers and critics about the ethics of the crew documenting these deaths without intervening.

As the festival neared its final days, Michael Kutza, founder and artistic director, announced the winners of this year’s Feature Film Competition. Iranian director Asghar Farhadi`s complex tale of middle-class infidelity, Fireworks Wednesday, bested 18 other features in main competition to win the coveted Golden Hugo Award for best feature film. The Silver Hugo Award went to Hungarian director Gyorgy Palfi`s Taxidermia, a darkly comic exploration of three generations of a Hungarian family.

Hungarian director Gyorgy Palfi`s Taxidermia, a darkly comic exploration of three generations of a Hungarian family won the coveted Silver Hugo.

Other films recognized with major awards included James Longley’s Iraq in Fragments (awarded the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary), and directors James Anderson and Robert Postrozny’s Forgetting Betty (winner of the Gold Hugo in the Short Film Competition).

While unlikely to displace industry friendly festivals as the place to hold hyped premieres, the Chicago International Film Fest is finding its niche as an exciting alternative for the average filmgoer. You can find more information about year round events and next year’s festival on the Cinema Chicago website at http://www.chicagofilmfestival.org/.