61st Chicago International Film Festival — Chicago, IL: The Windy City welcomes a worldwide film festival
Since its opening in mid-October, the 61st Chicago International Film Festival in Chicago, IL, has lived up to its reputation as the longest-running competitive international film festival in North America by offering a diverse schedule of industry events, community screenings, tributes, and world and regional premieres. The festival, which takes place from October 15–26, 2025, features films from over 60 countries, including a good mix of well-known productions, regional tales, and unexpected finds.
One Golden Summer opens the 61st Chicago International Film Festival with a poignant, local tone.
The festival began with the world premiere of One Golden Summer, a documentary that retraces the ascent and decline of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team in Chicago. The story, which combines heartbreak, triumph, and questions of justice, struck a deep chord with Chicago audiences. The local focus of the film served to highlight the festival’s dual goals of bringing international cinema to Chicago and promoting local voices.
Dates, locations, and the festival’s organisational structure The 61st Chicago International Film Festival
With community cinema and pop-up screenings at locations like the National Museum of Mexican Art and Kennedy-King College, the 61st edition will take place from October 15–26, 2025, at a number of important Chicago venues, including AMC NEWCITY 14, the Music Box Theatre, the Gene Siskel Film Centre, the Chicago History Museum, and the Logan Centre for the Arts. The festival’s ticketing channels offer individual tickets as well as festival passes, including “Passport” passes for 10 and 20 screenings.
Highlights of the programming include international scope, premieres, and auteurs at the 61st Chicago International Film Festival
The lineup for this year includes both up-and-coming artists and the biggest names in modern film. In addition to crowd-pleasing entries, documentaries, and shorts, the festival’s program features new films from internationally acclaimed directors and eye-catching special presentations, ranging from Joachim Trier and Kelly Reichardt to Chloé Zhao and Park Chan-wook. According to reports, the slate includes dozens of shorts and over 100 feature films, including several world, North American, and American premieres.
Alongside festival crowd favourites and critics’ picks, notable entries on the Special Presentations and high-profile lists include works by renowned directors like Jim Jarmusch and Guillermo del Toro. It is precisely this combination of prestige and discovery that attracts both casual moviegoers and industry delegates.
Special guests and tributes: discussions and celebrity power The 61st Chicago International Film Festival
A full schedule of tributes and special events is also included in the 61st festival. Along with other in-person appearances and retrospectives that allow viewers to view both new films and contextualising work by major artists, this year’s program announced a high-profile tribute to Spike Lee, which included an onstage conversation. Screenings are accompanied by industry days and panels that give press, distributors, and filmmakers a chance to network and advance their careers.
The 61st Chicago International Film Festival professional programming, Industry Days, and The Criterion Closet
With panels, market sessions, and carefully selected programs, Industry Days is back as a professional-focused event. Newer additions, like the festival’s version of “The Criterion Closet,” a carefully curated highlight area honouring important works, are meant to bridge the gap between marketplace discussions and moviegoer culture. The festival is positioned as a hub for the creative community and a springboard for films thanks to these programming decisions.
Highlights of Chicago: in-house films and community involvement The 61st Chicago International Film Festival
Although the festival’s audience is unquestionably international, a number of Chicago-based films and regional filmmakers are well represented on the schedule. Local audiences are guaranteed to feel directly represented by films that examine the city’s neighbourhoods, history, and modern life, such as Anything That Moves, directed by Chicago filmmaker Alex Phillips. With free or inexpensive screenings in local locations, the festival also keeps community access at the forefront of people’s minds.
“Find Your Genre” is the campaign and atmosphere. The 61st Chicago International Film Festival
Using genre as a cultural shorthand, this year’s marketing campaign, “Find Your Genre,” invites viewers to identify with romance, thriller, comedy, and documentary stories. The festival’s social media presence and OOH (out-of-home) efforts have produced a vibrant, approachable tone that goes well with its festival programming: serious films accompanied by light-hearted, audience-oriented messaging.
Why the festival is important: industry relevance and the awards track The 61st Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival continues to be relevant as a competitive event where films can acquire early momentum for awards season and international distribution, even outside of screenings and premieres. Its competitive sections and long history as a gauge of world cinema continue to draw interest from the industry and critics looking for blockbuster films. Due to this legacy, the festival is able to outperform its regional counterparts on the global festival circuit.
Accessibility, passes, and tickets The 61st Chicago International Film Festival
Both curated passes and single screening tickets are available for purchase. Access is extended beyond downtown festival hubs through community screenings and collaborations with local cultural institutions; many venues provide accessible seating and captioning. For up-to-date information and any last-minute additions, visit the festival’s official website and the screening schedule.
