Announcing the Chicago Festival 62nd lineup!
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We’re thrilled to announce the full lineup for the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival!
Mark October 14-25 in your calendar and get ready for 12 unforgettable days of new, international, and independent cinema! This year’s lineup features 113 feature films and 57 shorts from more than 60 countries, including 4 World Premieres and 15 North American Premieres!
CLUB KID Opens, BEHEMOTH! Closes 62nd Edition of North America’s Longest-Running Competitive Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival today announced the full lineup of films and programs included in this year’s 62nd edition of North America’s longest-running competitive film festival, unspooling October 14 - 25, 2026. This year’s program includes 113 feature films and 57 shorts, four World Premieres, 15 North American Premieres, and 21 U.S. Premieres, and showcases cinema from more than 60 countries around the world including Japan, Sweden, Italy, the Central African Republic, Argentina, Iran, Costa Rica, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, and more.
Watch the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival Sizzle Reel
The Festival opens its 62nd edition on Wednesday, October 14, with A24’s Cannes sensation CLUB KID, about a club promoter who sees his whirlwind lifestyle upended by the arrival of the 10-year-old son he never knew he had, for which writer, director, and star Jordan Firstman will receive the Festival’s Breakthrough Award. Opening Night After Dark brings VICTORIAN PSYCHO, Zachary Wigon’s delightfully unhinged twist on 19th century social conventions following a psychopathic governess struggling to tamp down her murderous tendencies. The Centerpiece presentation of MOUSE, screening Wednesday October 21, brings Chicago filmmaking duo Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson (GHOSTLIGHT, SAINT FRANCES) back to the Festival with this gem following teenager Minnie, who forms a complicated relationship with her best friend’s mother and features a tribute to star Sophie Okonedo.
Closing Night presents BEHEMOTH!, in which a gifted cellist (Pedro Pascal) returns home after 20 years on the road to face a personal reckoning in Tony Gilroy’s epic journey through time and music. Utilizing an unprecedented nine composers, the film is a love letter to movie scoring and the dizzying power music holds on our memories and our imaginations. Special guests include Pulitzer-prize-winning and Oscar-shortlisted composer Michael Abels (GET OUT) who will be in attendance for a post-screening discussion.
Tributes and Retrospectives
In addition to Firstman and Okonedo’s Tribute events, Carrie Coon is set to be honored with the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award, delivering one of the year’s most extraordinary performances in Guy Nattiv’s THE LIBERATION; director Ira Sachs receives the Q-Hugo Artistic Achievement Award for his THE MAN I LOVE; director Andrew Haigh picks up the Spotlight Award as he returns to the Festival with A LONG WINTER; and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor returns to the Festival with the World Premiere of LIZ HERE NOW, picking up the Tour de Force Award for her star turn. Marlon Wayans is set to receive the Career Achievement Award for his body of work both in front of and behind the camera, during An Evening with Marlon Wayans; writer, director, and star of THE WATERMELON WOMAN, Cheryl Dunye, will be honored with the Career Achievement Award at a special retrospective screening of the landmark New Queer Cinema film.
Special Presentations
Special Presentations include THE DEBUT, writer/director Jesse Eisenberg’s immensely clever film following an unassuming housewife (Julianne Moore) who, when cast in a community theater production, loses herself under the spell of a strong-willed director (Paul Giamatti); DannyBoyle’s explosive cinematic rollercoaster about a group of visionaries and misfits in the world of tabloid journalism, INK; Marie Kreutzer’s thriller GENTLE MONSTER, starring Léa Seydoux as a concert pianist who must protect her son after her husband is accused of an unspeakable crime; Mike Leigh’s self-described last film, the profoundly moving TENDER LOVING CARE about how we look after each other; the animated RAY GUNN, a noir-infused sci-fi epic from Oscar winner Brad Bird; Guy Nattiv’s THE LIBERATION; Tim Blake Nelson’s THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF WILSON SHEDD; WILD HORSE NINE from Martin McDonagh, Paweł Pawlikowski’s FATHERLAND, and Pedro Almodóvar’s BITTER CHRISTMAS.
Spotlight Presentations
Highlights of this year’s Spotlight Presentations include Peter Farrelly’s I PLAY ROCKY, the electrifying true story of how Sylvester Stallone bet everything on himself to play Rocky Balboa; Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney’s definitive portrait of one of the most controversial and unchecked figures of our time in MUSK; 14th, a thrilling exposé about the hidden architecture of a shattered America, featuring an appearance by director Ava DuVernay; and IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT, Nanni Moretti’s seductive tale of love and its possibilities following an unforgettable meet-cute.
30th Anniversary of Black Perspectives
The Black Perspectives program, inspired by Spike Lee, celebrates three decades with tributes honoring Sophie Okonedo, on hand to receive the Festival’s Spotlight Award at the Centerpiece presentation MOUSE and also appearing at screenings of competition title CLARISSA; landmark queer comedy THE WATERMELON WOMAN writer, director, and star Cheryl Dunye, receiving the Career Achievement Award at a special retrospective screening of the film followed by a conversation with filmmaker Stephen Winter, whose own groundbreaking entry in the New Queer Cinema movement CHOCOLATE BABIES will also enjoy a retrospective screening.
Chicago Films and Filmmakers In Focus
Chicago and Illinois stories unspool in the Festival’s popular City & State program, featuring the World Premiere of Frankie Nasso’s doc EVER AFTER, following Chef Curtis Duffy as he launches a new world-class restaurant during a pandemic; the U.S. Premiere of Kris Rey’s witty, queer coming-of-age comedy TRASH MOUNTAIN; the World Premiere of Chicago filmmaker Reveca Torres’s WHILE WE ARE HERE, beautifully expanding notions of disability and engaging with iconic disabled artists Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, and Henri Matisse; NO HANDS: THE WILD RIDE OF THE SCHWINN BICYCLE COMPANY by Daniel Clarke; and the World Premiere of ANA THE CLEANER, Guy Bauer’s look at a true crime junkie who believes she’s uncovered a murder while cleaning the homes of Chicago’s elite.
Departures: Global Cinema
Exploring new horizons and opening windows into different worlds, gripping films invite audiences on a journey into the unexpected with titles including EIGHT BRIDGES, a mesmerizing study of light, movement, and American infrastructure contemplating a series of bridges across the country, with director James Benning in attendance; LOVE IS THE MONSTER, in which a tropical dystopia ruled by fear and inequality sees a woman trying to right wrongs with her young granddaughter, with director Neto Villalobos Brenes in attendance; Fernanda Tovar’s Berlin Generation Crystal Bear winner SAD GIRLZ, seeing the bond between teen best friends tested as they react in drastically different ways to a traumatic event; Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning JOSEPHINE, Beth de Araújo’s drama featuring a knockout performance by Channing Tatum; and a young woman’s life is upended by a crash that requires her to use a wheelchair, and meets an aspiring stand-up comic whose subversive spirit helps her heal in STAND UP, with filmmaker Mari Sanders in attendance.
International Competitions
Filmmakers from around the world compete for the Gold Hugo award in the categories of International Feature, International Documentary, New Directors, and OutLook, in addition to Oscar-qualifying Shorts programs, in North America’s longest-running competitive film festival. Highlights of this year’s competitions include ALL OF A SUDDEN, the new film by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, the Oscar-winning director of DRIVE MY CAR (2021); recent Venice Grand Jury Prize winner POSSIBLE LOVE, from South Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong; the U.S. Premiere of Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Acting winner CONGO BOY, from director Rafiki Fariala; and the North American premiere of MARIINKA, a documentary epic from multi-award-winning filmmaker Pieter-Jan De Pue.
Short Films
The Festival presents 57 short films from around the world, ranging from comedies to dramas, documentaries to thrillers, in nine Shorts Programs. Highlights include WHEN THEY’RE GONE, featuring Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and Glynn Turman, stars of Chicago classic COOLEY HIGH, screening in the Black Perspectives: Love with No Place to Go program; the World Premiere of trans filmmaker Luc Duggan’s transformative LEPTOCEPHALUS in the Animation: Altered States program; Algeria’s WHAT DO THE MAKNINES DREAM OF in the Drama: We’ll Meet Again program; A WOMAN’S PLACE IS EVERYWHERE in the Documentary: Fault Lines program; Comedy: Anxious/Attachment selection WE WERE HERE; ASHEGETHAM, presented in the Outré: Deviants and Deviations program; and just in time for spooky season, After Dark: Siren Songs presents six films including SCISSORS, starring Ethan Embry.
Special Events and Programs
Collectors and casual movie fans alike are invited to the Festival’s inaugural Physical Media Fair October 17 and 18, featuring a Saturday evening swap meet in partnership with Revolution Brewing, where guests can bring their own laserdiscs, VHS tapes, DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K movies to trade with one another; and a Sunday pop-up shop stocked with films from distributors such as Kino Lorber and Kartemquin, and local stores including Reckless Records, Exile in Bookville, The Brown Elephant, and more. Throughout the weekend, expect surprise visits from special guests and filmmakers who will chat about the importance of film preservation and the joys of owning a tangible piece of a beloved movie on disc. Opening weekend also sees the return of Industry Days, the Festival’s hub for filmmakers and industry professionals to connect, share ideas, and be inspired. This year’s Industry Days program includes a Master Class: Directing the Actor, led by writer, director, and actor Tim Blake Nelson.
The Chicago International Film Festival runs October 14 - 25, 2026 with film screenings and programs presented at venues across the city including AMC NEWCITY 14, the Music Box Theatre, the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Chicago History Museum, the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, as well as community screenings at pop-up locations including Kennedy-King College and the National Museum of Mexican Art.
Tickets for Opening Night and Centerpiece presentations are on sale now; tickets for the full slate of films presented at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival will go on sale to the general public on September 24, 2026 with Cinema/Chicago members’ pre-sale tickets on sale September 18. Memberships and passes now available at www.chicagofilmfestival.com.
For more information, visit the Festival’s website at https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/.
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Applications for media accreditation for the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival are now open at this link.
Images and press materials available in the Chicago International Film Festival Media Center at this link.
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Festival Information
Celebrating its 62nd edition October 14 - 25, 2026, the Chicago International Film Festival is North America's longest-running competitive international film festival and an Oscar® and BAFTA-qualifying festival. Showcasing acclaimed and exciting new films from around the world, the 62nd edition will be held in theaters and at venues across the city, featuring a select program of films with open and closed captions. From dramas and thrillers to documentaries and comedies, the Festival’s lineup spans a range of genres. Signature competitive sections include International Feature Film, New Directors, International Documentary, and Shorts, alongside curated programs such as Black Perspectives, Comedy, OutLook, After Dark, and City & State, which showcases films made in Chicago and throughout Illinois.
2026 Festival Sponsors and Partners
The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival's sponsors include Festival Sponsors: Acqua Panna, Adobe, CineCity Studios, Cinespace Studios, Delta Air Lines, DePaul University, Fannie May, Illinois Production Alliance, Make It Better Foundation, MPB, MUBI, Sanpellegrino, SAG-AFTRA, SAGindie, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Wintrust. Official Agency: Ogilvy; Publicity Agency: Acacia Consulting Group; With Major Support from Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation, John and Jacolyn Bucksbaum Family Foundation, Charles Droege and Julie Wroblewski, GS Gives - Christopher M. Keogh, and Cynthia Stone Raskin. The Chicago International Film Festival acknowledges support from the Illinois Arts Council.
About Cinema/Chicago
Cinema/Chicago, the non-profit 501(c)(3) presenting organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, enriches the community through year-round programming devoted to international and independent cinema. We strengthen communication and inspire empathy among people of diverse cultures through artistic, educational, and creative development programs that promote discovery and discussion and inspire new visions of our shared future.
Cinema/Chicago's programs include the Chicago International Film Festival, Industry Days, Summer Screenings, CineYouth Festival, Community Cinema, the Digging Deeper into Movies lecture series, and year-round Chicago Industry Exchange Lab (CIX: Lab). Celebrating its 62nd edition October 14 - 25, 2026, the Chicago International Film Festival is North America's longest-running competitive film festival. For more information, please visit www.chicagofilmfestival.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
