The Chicago International Film Festival continues through Sunday at AMC River East, 322 E. Illinois.
‘The Road Not Taken’ (China)
An ostrich farmer in debt to a crook is tasked with taking care of a kidnapped boy. This winning road movie zigzags across the Gobi Desert, a landscape of outlaw business pursuits. Director Tang Gaopeng hits many tonal notes in the three-day storyline. Motifs that rhyme include blood spilled on two roads and two characters mistakenly believing they accidentally killed two others. 5:45 p.m. Oct. 18; 3 p.m. Oct. 19; 2:45 p.m. Oct. 20
‘Shorts Program 2: Outside the Lines’
My favorite in this fine program of animated shorts is the 21-minute “Solar Walk.” Filmmaker Reka Busci, who studied at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, imagines many origins of our universe. We go on a ride-along with cosmic explorers giddy with curiosity. 7:45 p.m. Oct. 18
For more festival details, go to www.chicagofilmfestival.com.