Don Shanahan
The charming Chicago suburb of Oak Park is famous for its list of historical artist natives, and residents, ranging from Betty White and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio to Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ernest Hemingway. Their cinema scene is rich and growing, as evidenced by the arrival of the 3rd Oak Park Illinois Film Festival (OPILFF), coming later this month. The OPILFF is proud to announce its list of films that will be presented in the 2026 festival, running September 19 and 20.
The Oak Park Illinois Film Festival is an annual celebration of cinema, bringing together filmmakers, audiences, and the Oak Park community to showcase films with a unique Oak Park connection—whether through content, cast, crew, or setting. OPIFF recently announced its opening-night “Hollywood Film” selection, Nicole Holofcener’s Enough Said, which will be presented at the Classic Cinemas Lake Theatre on September 16th. Cocktail attire will be optional, and guests are encouraged to arrive by 6:30 pm. Tavi Geninson, an actor in the film and Oak Park native, will present a pre-recorded Q&A to welcome guests to the screening. The opening-night film on September 16 will cost $25, and tickets are on sale now.
The 3rd Oak Park Illinois Film Festival schedule will consist of four blocks of films on Saturday, September 19, and two blocks of films on Sunday, September 20, at the Madison Street Theater in Oak Park. Meals will be provided for guests and festival pass holders throughout the weekend. There will also be an industry panel and a special presentation from animation producer and Oak Park resident Charlie Sweitzer. Sweitzer’s animation credits run the gamut of 2D (Amazon Prime Video’s The Mighty Nein), 3D (DreamWorks’s Scared Shrekless), and the unclassifiable (Adult Swim’s Tigtone).
The first Saturday block of the 3rd Oak Park Illinois Film Festival will consist of films themed around “Breaking Free” or the idea of feeling trapped. These films will include Bored, Call Me Speed!, Space Hustler, Eighteen, The Knot Job, and Hot Water. Following that block will be one featuring “Divine Feminine” short films focused on women claiming their power. The films in this block include Corners of Girlhood, Sing a Black Girl Song, Sewer Pigs Declare War on London!, Marimar’s Story, The Tensile Strength of Air, and The Wilted Flower.
The afternoon block on September 19 will be themed to “Community,” or common systems of belief and identity. These will include سحر Sahar, Sur La Kuro, and Surviving Zendik Farm. Closing out Saturday will be an “After Dark” shorts program with themes of horror and fright. These films include No Clean Hammer, Last Night, Enter the Void: A Paper Story, The Antidote, Here to Help, CLOUT, and The Hitchhiker.
On Sunday, the 3rd Oak Park Film Festival will begin with a ”Legacy and Impact” program, exploring documentaries of real humans working to leave their mark in the world. These films will include Be the People, Belly Button – Chapter 2 Mezcal, Generating Our Future, Lou Holtz: 60 Minutes to Play and a Lifetime To Remember, and Nasty. The final film block of the festival will focus on the topic of “The End,” or coping with loss, death, and dying. Films in this program will include ABEL, Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum, IN THE REALM OF THE HEART, Judgement Day, and Saying Goodbye: A Personal Documentary of Attachment and Loss at End of Life.
To find the full list of films for the 3rd Oak Park Illinois Film Festival, including film categories, lengths, and credits, visit the festival website. The festival’s block schedule will also be available soon on this website.
Weekend festival passes that allow guests into all film screenings and events at the Madison Street Theater can be purchased now for a limited time at a discounted $60 before September 10, at which time they will increase to $70. These festival passes can be purchased now by visiting the festival’s ticketing page. Individual block tickets will soon be available for purchase at the early bird cost of $12, moving up to $15 closer to the festival.
FULL FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 (Lake Theatre, Oak Park)
6:30 PM – Event Start, photos with Step-N-Repeat backdrop
7:00 PM – Opening remarks, presentation and interview with Tavi Gevinson, and screening of Enough Said
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 (Madison Street Theater, Oak Park)
9:30 AM – On-site registration, festival pass pickup, light breakfast
10:15 AM – Festival Kick-off and opening remarks from president and founder, Joyce Porter
10:20 AM – BLOCK 1: BREAKING FREE – Characters Feeling Trapped
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Bored, Call Me Speed!, Space Hustler, Eighteen, The Knot Job, Hot Water
12:45 PM – Lunch Break
1:30 PM – BLOCK 2: DIVINE FEMININE – Women Claiming Their Power
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Corners of Girlhood, Sing a Black Girl Song, Sewer Pigs Declare War on London!, Marimar’s Story, The Tensile Strength of Air, The Wilted Flower
3:00 PM – INDUSTRY PRESENTATION: ANIMATION – Charlie Sweitzer, Animation Producer
3:45 PM – Afternoon Break
4:00 PM – BLOCK 3: COMMUNITY – Systems of Belief & Identity
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ﺳﺣر (Sahar), Sur La Kuro, Surviving Zendik Farm
6:15 PM – Dinner Break
7:15 PM – BLOCK 4: AFTER DARK – Make It Out Alive
- No Clean Hammer, Last Night, Enter The Void: A Paper Story, The Antidote, Here To Help, CLOUT, The Hitchhiker
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 (Madison Street Theater, Oak Park)
9:30 AM – On-site Registration, Festival Pass Pickup, Light Breakfast
10:15 AM – BLOCK 5: LEGACY & IMPACT – Leaving Your Mark
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Be the People, Belly Button – Chapter 2 Mezcal, Generating Our Future, Lou Holtz: 60 Minutes To Play and a Lifetime To Remember, Nasty
12:15 PM – INDUSTRY PANEL: Resources for Film Directors
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GUESTS: Jess Jones – SAG-AFTRA, Brian Peters – Stuntman, Mari Moroz – Distribution
1:00 PM – Lunch Break
1:45 PM – BLOCK 6: TRANSITIONS – Coping with Loss
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ABEL, Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum, In the Realm of the Heart, Judgment Day, Saying Goodbye: A Personal Documentary of Attachment and Loss at End of Life
3:45 PM – Afternoon Break
4:00 PM – AWARDS CEREMONY (featuring music of Zach Porlier)
5:00 PM – FESTIVAL END (Informal reception)
Thank you Don! This is great.
My pleasure, Joyce!