The Chicago International Film Festival, presented by Cinema/Chicago, is the longest-running competitive international film festival in North America, held each October. Its 62nd edition ran Oct. 14–25, 2026, with screenings and events at Loop, Near North and South Side venues. The 2027 dates haven’t been announced yet; check the official festival site for updates.
What it is
The Chicago International Film Festival has been the city’s premier autumn showcase of new work from around the world for over six decades: features, shorts, tributes, industry programming, and free community screenings. Its spring counterpart, the Chicago Critics Film Festival, is presented by the Chicago Film Critics Association. It’s still Oscar- and BAFTA-eligible for some categories, but for local audiences the draw is simple — seeing movies in actual rooms, often with the filmmakers in town, before the din of awards season solidifies into consensus.
Venues
The 62nd festival ran 12 days, Oct. 14 through Oct. 25, 2026, at AMC NEWCITY 14, Gene Siskel Film Center, Music Box Theatre, Chicago History Museum and the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at the University of Chicago, among others. The National Museum of Mexican Art (always free to visit; see our free museum days guide) and Kennedy-King College hosted free Community Cinema screenings, and the 2026 program added a first-time Physical Media Fair.
62nd festival award winners
- Gold Hugo, Best Film: The Dreamed Adventure (Valeska Grisebach), which also won the Silver Hugo for Best Lead Performance (Yana Radeva)
- Silver Hugos: Everytime (Jury Prize; Best Supporting Performance, Lotte Shirin Keiling); La Gradiva (Best Director, Marine Atlan; Best Ensemble Performance); All of a Sudden (Best Screenplay, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and Léa Le Dimna); Look Back (Best Cinematography, Senzo Ueno); The Spiral (Best Visual Effects)
- New Directors Competition, Gold Hugo: Marie Madeleine (Gessica Généus)
- International Documentary Competition, Gold Hugo: The Illusion of an Everlasting Summer (Alessandra Sanguinetti)
- OutLook Competition, Gold Q-Hugo: Summer Drift
- City & State Competition, Chicago Award: Finding Your Laughter
The winners were announced Oct. 23, 2026. See the full list on the festival’s award winners page.
62nd festival highlights
Opening Night, Oct. 14, 2026, at the Music Box Theatre featured Club Kid, written and directed by and starring Jordan Firstman, who was slated to receive the festival’s Breakthrough Award. In the film, a New York club promoter discovers he has a 10-year-old British son he never knew about and tries, awkwardly, to grow up.
The Centerpiece, on Oct. 21, 2026, at the Music Box, was Mouse, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan & Alex Thompson. Set in North Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2002, it follows two high-school best friends whose bond is shattered by tragedy; Sophie Okonedo was slated to receive the Spotlight Award.
Closing Night, Oct. 25, 2026, at the Music Box was Behemoth!, written and directed by Tony Gilroy, with Pedro Pascal as a gifted cellist who returns home to Los Angeles after 20 years on the road, alongside Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor and Will Arnett.
The festival’s First Look titles included work from Martin McDonagh, James Gray, Pedro Almodóvar, Paweł Pawlikowski and Tim Blake Nelson.
Tributes: The 62nd festival’s tributes included An Evening With Marlon Wayans at the Logan Center; a Career Achievement Award for Cheryl Dunye with a screening of The Watermelon Woman; the Q-Hugo Artistic Achievement Award for Ira Sachs with The Man I Love; a Spotlight Award for Andrew Haigh with A Long Winter; an Artistic Achievement Award for Carrie Coon with The Liberation; and the Tour de Force Award for Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor at the world premiere of Liz Here Now.
Tickets
Tickets and Festival Passes are sold only through Cinema/Chicago’s official channels at chicagofilmfestival.com, typically going on sale in September, with an earlier pre-sale for Cinema/Chicago members. Passes have not covered Opening Night, Closing Night, the Centerpiece, Special Presentations or tributes, which are ticketed separately.
Free Events
You don’t need a paid ticket to take part in the Chicago International Film Festival. The 2026 edition offered free events and screenings, including Community Cinema programs at the National Museum of Mexican Art and Kennedy-King College.
New in 2026 was the Physical Media Fair, which brought together collectors, vendors and film fans for a celebration of Blu-rays, DVDs, VHS and other physical media. Free programs are a good way to sample the festival without buying tickets for a full day of screenings.
Space and reservation requirements differ by event, so check the festival’s official schedule when the next edition is announced.
Tips for Attending
Get there early. Get there about 30 minutes before your screening. Ticket holders will be seated 15 minutes prior to showtime and unclaimed tickets will be released to the standby line.
Allow plenty of time between venues. The festival is held in theaters across Chicago. If you are seeing more than one film in a day, it is easiest to schedule them at the same venue. Otherwise give yourself a good travel buffer.
If a screening sells out, don’t despair. Standby works because not everyone with a ticket arrives. Popular shows can have long standby lines – it’s best to arrive early rather than hope to get a seat at the last minute. It’s also worth checking online from time to time as tickets can become available again.
Prioritize films you might not get another chance to see. Big releases often hit cinemas or streaming not long after the festival. International films, documentaries, and smaller independent movies can be much more difficult to find down the line—and they can be some of the most memorable discoveries of the festival.
Enjoy filmmaker Q&As. Stay after the credits if a director, actor or other filmmaker is scheduled to attend. One of the things that makes a film festival different from a regular trip to the movies is the post-screening discussion.
Don’t pack your day too tight. Multiple movies can be fun but leave time to eat, travel and take a break. A couple or three well spaced screenings usually make for a better festival day than running from one theater to the next.
Between festivals, browse our picks of the best movies set in Chicago, or see what’s playing on Chicago stages now.