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Celebrating their 50th Anniversary this October 9-23, the Chicago International Film Festival is proud to partner with WTTW11 to present a different film each month from our exciting and diverse history. For the past five decades the Festival has introduced Chicago audiences to new directors, new voices and new visions from around the world. From award winners and audience favorites, to first films by acclaimed directors, this series showcases the outstanding programming that has defined the Festival since 1965.
Chicago International Film Festival 50th Anniversary presents:
SISTER HELEN
Dirs. Rebecca Cammisa & Rob Fruchtman, USA, 2002
Thursday, May 29 at 10:00pm
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Film synopsis:
After Helen Travis’s son was stabbed to death, another died from drugs, and her husband, a heavy drinker, died at 55, she became a Benedictine nun. A daily drinker herself, she quit after these tragedies, and tried to make the most of her “second chance,” trying to “do for other peoples’ sons what I didn’t do for my own.” At the ever-bustling Travis Center, 69-year-old Sister Helen takes little chaff from the residents, frequently threatening to boot them out if they’re five minutes late, if they use drugs, or in one case, if they refuse to shower. She curses like a sailor, slaps the wall for emphasis when chastising residents, and considers Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” her theme song.
Men of various backgrounds come to Sister Helen for housing, and she isn’t obliged to take any of them in – her blistering interviews scare off any freeloaders. While her claim that she’s not a softie is true, Sister Helen and her residents forge a sort of family, and it’s obvious that she considers them sons. There’s an amazing amount of humor and insight behind her tough talk, and that’s what makes her such an interesting study for directors Fruchtman and Cammisa, who spent 12 months at the Travis Center. Their unobtrusive filming allow for the drama to unfold in surprising, atypical way in this warmly rendered, yet coldly realistic portrait. 88 minutes.
Shown at the 38th Chicago International Film Festival in 2002, Sister Helen won the Gold Hugo, for Best Documentary.
To view the film’s trailer, click here.
For upcoming 50th anniversary films on WTTW11, please click here.
For additional information about the Chicago International Film Festival, click here.
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