The longest-running underground film festival in the world, the Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF), returns for its 32nd edition from September 17–25, 2025, building on a storied history of presenting the most genre-defying, groundbreaking, and unique works emerging from the indie scene. This year’s lineup features 22 feature films and 74 shorts, organized into ten shorts programs, plus four additional shorts screening before feature presentations. Films will light up screens at both the Gene Siskel Film Center and Harper Theater in Hyde Park.
CUFF opens on September 17 with the Midwest Premiere of ROOM TEMPERATURE, the third and most hauntingly realized collaboration between cult author Dennis Cooper (The Sluts, The George Miles Cycle) and filmmaker Zac Farley. Set against the barren California desert, the film follows a family’s increasingly unhinged DIY haunted house ritual, overtaken by the father’s obsessive vision.
The festival closes with $POSITIONS, the riotous feature debut from Chicago’s own Brandon Daley. Premiering earlier this year at SXSW, this hyper-anxious comedy-thriller follows Mike Alvarado, a Midwestern family man whose foray into the crypto market spirals into addiction, volatility, and emotional chaos.
This year’s CUFF continues its reputation for showcasing daring debuts and rediscovered gems.
World Premieres include:
END OF HISTORY, Jacob Gregor’s satirical meditation on a content-obsessed society.
AMERICAN DENDRITE, Adam Marshall Present’s Super 8mm road trip along the Mississippi River from Chicago to the Gulf.
A MIXTAPE FOR STOM, Adrian Goycoolea’s intimate portrait of late Japanese experimental filmmaker Stom Sogo.
Additional Highlights:
Midwest Premiere of KOMBUCHA, Jake Myers’ feverish satire of startup culture featuring Chicago talents Terrence Carey (The Bear), T.J. Jagodowski, Charin Alvarez, and Claire McFadden.
U.S. Premiere of UZEDA – DO IT YOURSELF, Maria Arena’s raw documentary on Sicily’s legendary noise-rock band Uzeda.
Midwest Premiere of THE SECRET LIVES OF BILL BARTELL, David Markey’s exploration of a punk rock enigma whose stories never quite align.
CUFF also shines a spotlight on cinematic history:
The U.S. Premiere of the 4K restoration of Paul Morrissey’s MIXED BLOOD (1984), a feral gang war comedy set in 1980s Alphabet City with salsa beats and the screen debut of John Leguizamo.
HENRY FONDA FOR PRESIDENT, Alexander Horwath’s archival feature traversing American history from 1651 to the 1980s, narrated by Fonda himself.
True to its underground spirit, the 32nd CUFF continues to blend boundary-pushing experimentation with rediscovered archival treasures, offering audiences an unmatched window into the past, present, and future of independent cinema.
The Chicago Underground Film Festival runs September 17–25, 2025. For full schedules and advance ticketing, click here.
