Save the date, cinephiles: The Chicago International Film Festival is back with exciting screenings, world premieres, and more events for cinephiles from Oct. 14 to Oct. 25, 2026.
The longest-running competitive international film festival in North America, the annual fest brings the industry’s buzziest films and top talent to Chicago each October.
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This year’s Chicago International Film Festival includes:
- 113 feature films
- 57 short films
- More than 60 countries represented
- 4 world premieres
- 15 North American premieres
The screenings will be hosted at venues across the city, including the Gene Siskel Film Center, the Music Box Theatre, the Logan Center for the Arts, and the Chicago History Museum.
If you need help narrowing down your list, we’ve compiled a few highlights of the 62nd annual Chicago International Film Festival.
Opening night: Club Kid
This year’s festival opens with Club Kid, written, directed, and starring comedian Jordan Firstman. This feature directorial debut follows a wild New York club promoter whose world is upended when he’s confronted with a son he never knew existed. Firstman is scheduled to attend this opening event and receive this year’s Breakthrough Award.
Centerpiece: Mouse
Chicago-based filmmaking duo Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan deliver a cathartic drama with Mouse, anchored by powerful performances. After a tragic accident takes her best friend Callie, Minnie forms a complex bond with Callie’s mother as the two navigate grief together. Warm, emotional, and deeply human, it’s a story that will stay with viewers long after the credits roll.
The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd
A captivating prison drama, The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd stars Amanda Seyfried as a creative writing teacher working at a maximum-security prison. As she builds a connection with a charismatic inmate, the film explores the complexities of crime, punishment, and redemption. Writer-director Tim Blake Nelson is scheduled to attend the screening.
Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu
This documentary follows friends and comedians Bob Odenkirk and David Cross as they attempt to hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Along the way, Bob and David Climb Machu Picchu explores friendship, Peruvian culture, and overcoming physical adversity. Bob Odenkirk is scheduled to attend the screening.
Fatherland
This German drama focuses on the relationship between a writer and his daughter as they embark on a road trip across Germany at the height of the Cold War. Starring Sandra Hüller as Erika and Hanns Zischler, Fatherland explores the long-lasting impacts of war and long-buried family traumas.
Paper Tiger
This intense family drama follows two brothers whose pursuit of the American Dream pulls them into a Russian mafia scheme in 1980s New York. Paper Tigerfeatures standout performances from Adam Driver and Miles Teller, who play brothers entangled in a life-altering scheme.
Ever After
This world-premier documentary follows the riveting journey of Chicago chef Curtis Duffy as he strives to open a fine-dining restaurant in the midst of a pandemic. Ever After closely follows Duffy’s struggles and setbacks as he doggedly pursues his own culinary dreams. Curtis Duffy and director Frankie Nasso are scheduled to attend the screenings.
Wild Horse Nine
This highly anticipated comedy tells the story of two CIA agents sent to Easter Island in 1973 for a case that spirals out of control. Wild Horse Nine is the newest film from Oscar-winning writer-director Martin McDonagh, known for hits like The Banshees of Inisherin, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and In Bruges.
Closing night: Behemoth!
In Behemoth!, a talented cellist played by Pedro Pascal returns home after decades on the road. An ode to the power of music on our memories and imagination, this film utilizes nine unique composers and an all-star cast that includes Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, and Will Arnett.
