The Chicago River and Marina City at night

About the Festival

Chicago DOCUFEST

An international documentary festival in Chicago, rooted in the non-fiction tradition of the Chicago International Film Festival.

Chicago River at night · Photo: Spatms · CC BY-SA 4.0

Chicago DOCUFEST presents twenty-eight documentaries completed in 2024–2026 across four competition sections — US and International feature and short programs. The festival runs October 28–30, 2026 in four Chicago venues, with filmmaker conversations after most screenings.

The festival grows out of Docufest, a documentary strand within the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF). Chicago DOCUFEST operates as an affiliated, independently programmed festival. We are not Cinema/Chicago; for CIFF history, see the Archive. The 2026 program and schedule list all official selections.

The Chicago Theatre marquee on State Street at night
The Chicago Theatre, State StreetPhoto: Matt Kieffer · CC BY-SA 2.0
Why Chicago

A City of Cinemas

From the movie palaces of State Street to the Music Box in Lakeview, Chicago has sustained one of America's deepest moviegoing cultures. The city gave the country its most famous film critics and one of its oldest competitive film festivals.

DOCUFEST screens in four of those rooms: a downtown multiplex, an art-house cinematheque, a 1929 neighborhood palace, and a college screening room. See Venues.

Programming

What We Look For

We welcome vérité, archival work, essay films, and hybrid forms. Guidelines · Entry form

History & Memory Human Rights Society & Justice Culture & Identity Environment Global Affairs