June 3 – Aug 22, 2026
Summer
Screenings
Free films all summer long!
On The Road Again
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Route 66—America’s most iconic highway—this year’s Summer Screenings program will pay homage to the classic “road movie,” in which the journey is the destination. Featuring everything from gripping revenge odysseys and harrowing ocean crossings to introspective cross-country treks and whirlwind railway capers, these films explore what it means to “hit the road” in countries across the globe.
Summer Screenings is Cinema/Chicago’s annual free film series that casts a spotlight on a different country’s national cinema each week all summer.
Download the Summer Screenings 2026 brochure
Free Tickets
All Summer Screenings are free and open to the public.
Tickets are released every Monday at 10:00am for the following week’s film(s). Seating is general and on a first-come, first-served basis and is limited to theater capacity. Theater is overbooked to ensure a full house. Admission is not guaranteed. Doors open at 5:45pm for Wednesday screenings and 12:15pm for Saturday screenings.
If an event is sold out online (Standby Only) this means that advance tickets are no longer available. You can pick up a numbered Standby Card at the screening starting 45 minutes before the film’s start time. Open seats will be made available to Standby Card holders 15 minutes prior to the film’s start time (subject to availability.)
Accessibility
The McCormick Theater at the Chicago History Museum and the Claudia Cassidy Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center are physically accessible venues, with no-step entrances, accessible bathrooms, and limited wheelchair and companion seating. Learn more about accessibility at Summer Screenings…
To make a reservation or for any general questions or comments about accessibility at Summer Screenings, please fill out our request form, email us at access@chicagofilmfestival.com, or call us at 312.683.0121 x108.
Screening Venues
2026 Summer Screenings Schedule
Films are unrated. Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages including nudity and violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
Day by Day
Dag för dag
When Malte, a man living in a retirement home, is given a grim medical prognosis, he decides to pile into an RV and road trip from Gothenburg to Switzerland. Along for the ride are four unlikely companions, all hoping to help fulfill Malte’s final wish. Careening across the continent, friendships develop across generations and love begins to bloom in this sweet, life-affirming comedy about the beauty of life’s twilight years.
Dug Dug
Riding his motorcycle home one night, a man named Thakur tragically dies on the side of an anonymous stretch of country road. Days after clearing the scene, the police are shocked to find Thakur’s motorcycle has mysteriously reappeared at the site of the accident. Taken as a sign from heaven, a new religion is born. Pulsing with infectious energy, Dug Dug playfully satirizes the trappings of organized religion as it explores the mysteries of faith.
Special Thanks 2026
Cinema/Chicago’s Summer Screenings Program would not be possible without the support of the following individuals and organizations:
Australian Consulate-General, Chicago
Chris Elstoft, Consul-General; Asmeret Kidane, Deputy Consul-General
Consul-General of Brazil in Chicago
Ambassador Reinaldo José de Almeida Salgado; Sérgio de Toledo Barros, Deputy Consul General;
Instituto Guimarães Rosa – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil
British Consulate-General, Chicago
Richard Hyde, Consul-General; John Murphy, Deputy Consul-General
Consulate General of Canada in Chicago
Colleen Duke, Senior Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Services Officer
Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Commissioner Kenya Merritt
Chicago Film Office
Natasha Olguin, Alex Vazquez, Ben Shiplett
Chicago History Museum
Consulate General of Colombia in Chicago
Diego Alexander Angulo Marínez, Consul General; Jonnathan Gamboa, Vice Consul
Goethe-Institut Chicago
Dr. Leonhard Emmerling, Director; Leah Gallant, Program Curator
Consulate General of Hungary in Chicago
Bálint Bakondi Deputy Consul General; Erzsebet Máté, Cultural Affairs, Judit Szakos, Cultural Affairs
Illinois Arts Council Agency
Consulate General of India in Chicago
Ambassador Somnath Ghosh, Consul General
Instituto Cervantes of Chicago
Manuel Valenzuela Villarrubia, Interim Director; Teresa Hernando, Cultural Program Curator
Consulate General of Ireland, Chicago
Brian Cahalane, Consul General; Padraig Manning, Vice Consul; Sandra Hamilton, Public Diplomacy Officer
Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago
Chiara Avanzato, Director
Japan Information Center at the Consulate-General of Japan in Chicago
Masashi Mizobuchi, Consul-General; Hiroshi Ohoka and Byron Ovalle
Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago
Sangwoo Hong, Consul General
Consulate General of Mexico in Chicago
Ambassador Reyna Torres Mendivil, Consul General
Swedish American Museum
Karin Moen Abercrombie
Honorary Consulate of Sweden – Chicago
Karin Moen Abercrombie and Anna Engstrom Patel
Consulate General of Switzerland in Chicago
Joerg Oberschmied, Deputy Consul General; Célie Landry, Operations & Project Coordinator
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago
Dennis Yen-Feng Lei, Director General
Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Ministry of Culture, ROC (Taiwan)
Hui-Chun Chang, Director
Villa Albertine & the Consulate General of France in Chicago
Nathalie Filser, Cultural Attaché; Laurence Geannopulos, Coordinator
Summer Screenings Sponsors 2026
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