‘La La Land’ to open, ‘Arrival’ to close Chicago film festival

The musical “La La Land,” a favorite at the world’s recent big film festivals, will be the opening feature of the Chicago International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday.

Emma Stone stars in “La La Land” as an aspiring actress who sings her way through romance with a Los Angeles jazz musician (Ryan Gosling). Damien Chazelle of “Whiplash” fame wrote and directed the film, scheduled to open in Chicago on Dec. 9.

A reception at the Sheraton Hotel Chicago will precede Oct. 13 screening at AMC River East 21.

Closing out the festival on Oct. 27 at AMC River East will be “Sicario” director Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi film “Arrival,” starring Amy Adams as a linguist heading a team investigating the landing of mysterious spacecraft. Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker co-star.

Tickets for both events go on sale Sept. 21 for members of Cinema/Chicago, which stages the festival, and Sept. 23 for the general public. For ticket information and other festival offerings, go to www.chicagofilmfestival.com.