Today at the Chicago International Film Festival: ‘Lady Bird’

After appearing in micro-indies by Chicago filmmaker Joe Swanberg, and beguiling roles as off-kilter characters in bigger features, Greta Gerwig makes a fine debut as a screenwriter and director. Her lovely comic drama (scheduled to open Nov. 10 in Chicago) boasts great casting and unstereotyped personalities. “I want to go where culture is, like New York or at least Connecticut or New Hampshire where writers live in the woods,” insists Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn”), a high school senior keen on getting out of Sacramento. Every exchange with friends and teachers ups the nuance of the title character, who insists they all call her the funny name she’s given herself. Most moving is her kindly knotted bond with her mother (Laurie Metcalf). Playwright Tracy Letts (Showtime’s “Homeland”), playing Lady Bird’s dad, is scheduled to appear at this Centerpiece screening. 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 18. Special admission: $25.

The Chicago International Film Festival continues through Oct. 26 at AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois.