THE BIGGEST GENRE FESTIVAL IN THE U.S. HEADS TO THE WINDY CITY WITH CHICAGO’S PREEMINENT THEATER IN APRIL 2026
Beyond Fest, the largest genre film festival in the United States, is proud to announce its first geographical expansion. Built in partnership with Chicago’s iconic Music Box Theatre, this new evolution of Beyond Fest will take place April 2–5, 2026, bringing four days of all-killer-no-filler, cinematic excess and celebration.
Submissions for Beyond Chicago are now open through FilmFreeway, inviting filmmakers from around the globe — especially those from Chicago, the Midwest, and the Great Lakes region — to bring their wildest, weirdest, and most uncompromising visions to screen with one of the nation’s most passionate film communities.
Beyond Fest will bring to Chicago what it does best: high-energy premieres, stunning repertory screenings, iconic talent, and late-night discoveries, transforming the Music Box Theatre into a hub of packed houses, big reactions, and cinematic exuberance that can only be experienced in the communal setting of a movie theater. Championing both global and local cinema, Beyond Fest Chicago will showcase films that challenge, thrill, and unite, highlighting the full spectrum of our most electrifying art form.
Founded in Los Angeles in 2013, Beyond Fest is the highest-attended and most densely programmed genre film festival in the U.S., with its most recent edition drawing over 30,000 attendees and screening 95 features. Known for its boundary-pushing programming and in-person appearances from seminal filmmakers including James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro, S. S. Rajamouli, Julia Ducournau, and Bong Joon Ho, Beyond Fest has built a reputation for fearless storytelling and ardent fan support — qualities that it’s committed to bringing to Chicago.
Beyond Chicago is presented by Beyond Fest and the Music Box Theatre combining their shared mission to preserve, celebrate, and advance the cinematic arts.
Festival submissions: https://filmfreeway.com/BeyondFestChicago
Beyond Fest: beyondfest.com
Music Box Theatre: musicboxtheatre.com
Press release: Beyond Fest Expands to Chicago in Partnership with Music Box Theatre
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