Chicago International Film Festival

Major legitimate festival with strong credentials

The Chicago International Film Festival is North America's longest-running competitive film festival, founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza and held annually each fall. It showcases over 150 films from 50+ countries across diverse categories including international features, documentaries, new directors, LGBTQ+ films, and shorts, while serving as an Academy Awards-qualifying festival for short films. The festival is notable for discovering groundbreaking directors like Martin Scorsese and Ava DuVernay early in their careers and for its Black Perspectives Program founded with Spike Lee.

Last updated Aug 15, 2026

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In the News

• Here's a 16mm film I made in college!
  redditDec 18, 2025Neutral

  This is a short film I made a couple of years ago in college. I wrote it inspired by my grandparents relationship, but in this version my grandma kills my grandpa. A week after production wrapped, my grandpa died in real life (unrelated). Synopsis: Connie and George have been together for a few too many decades. To escape the monotony of their relationship, Connie decides to take George out on an anniversary picnic. Festival Selections: Best Student Film Madison Film Festiva…

• 16mm film I made in college
  redditDec 18, 2025Neutral

  This is a short film I made a couple of years ago in college, shot on 250D and 500T Kodak Film. I wrote it inspired by my grandparents relationship, but in this version my grandma kills my grandpa. A week after production wrapped, my grandpa died in real life (unrelated). Synopsis: Connie and George have been together for a few too many decades. To escape the monotony of their relationship, Connie decides to take George out on an anniversary picnic. Festival Selections: Best…

• How my no-budget film actually got into a top-20 festival
  redditOct 30, 2025Neutral

  I wrote, directed, acted in, edited (+ score, VFX, sound, color) ***PINPOINT***, a 16-minute horror/thriller shot on barely anything, and relying on many \*free borrowed locations, gear, and a tiny crew of 8. Despite this, we just premiered at **The** **61st Chicago International Film Festival** in their After Dark, shorts block, showcasing alongside films that have played all over the world at TIFF, Fantasia, etc -- and ones with budgets and crews 3x ours! Ahead of its Hall…