The 43rd Chicago International Film Festival begins on Thursday with the U.S. premiere of Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner. Roger Ebert has a preview of this year’s lineup, a remembrance of CIFFs past, and an anecdote on the Festival’s rumored origin story:

Legend has it that Orson Welles is responsible for the founding of the festival. Kutza, then fresh out of college, was at Cannes in 1963 and met the great man himself.

“Chicago?” Welles said. “That’s almost my hometown. Why doesn’t it have a film festival?” Kutza told Welles that he would personally start one if the director promised to attend it. Welles promised, Kutza delivered, and Welles never came.