The Chicago International Film Festival, which opens on Oct 11, isn't the only game in town this month for adventurous filmgoers in the Chicagoland area. In fact there's another international film festival also taking place this weekend.

On October 5-7 the first annual Chicago International Social Change Film Festival will happen in downtown Chicago, at the Showplace ICON theaters, on 150 W. Roosevelt Road.

The festival is the brainchild of two African-American Northwestern University graduates, Todd Belcore and Emile Cambry Jr, whose passion for social jistice and desire to be a force for change, inpsired them to create the festival.

As Belcore said: "There are a lot of people complaining about what's going on in our society, but  there aren't enough opportunities to do something about it. This is the perfect vehicle for that. It's our responsiobility to make social change cool again." 

In fact the festival's mission statement is that "independent film is a tool toward better world understanding of the issues facing society today and how to change them."

The nearly 60 films being screened this weekend from every part of the world incduing the U.S. Canada, U.K, Europe, Cuba, Africa, Latin America and even Nepal, cover a wide range of issues, from homelessness, climate change, heathcare, the Middle East conflict, preventing urban violence, child labor, human trafficking and many other topics.

And there will also be many guest speakers, experts and panels during their week-long long festval.

For more information, including a .pdf fille of the complete and extensive program schedule that you can download, go HERE.

Here's the trailer for the festival: