Lake County Film Festival announces 2026 Feature Film Slate
LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Lake County Film Festival returns in 2026 for its Sweet 16 edition, celebrating sixteen years of independent cinema with a diverse, ambitious, and international slate of feature films. The festival runs March 12–23, 2026, with Opening and Closing Night films to be announced at a later date.
This year’s festival will screen films at three venues: the College of Lake County in Grayslake, the Gorton Center in Lake Forest, and — for the first time — the Antioch Theater in Antioch, expanding the festival’s footprint and access across Lake County.
This announcement focuses exclusively on the festival’s feature film lineup, which includes 23 films (with two additional titles to be revealed later): 14 documentaries and 9 narrative features. Short films will be announced separately.
True to the festival’s mission, the Lake County Film Festival does not impose a single theme. Instead, the Sweet 16 lineup reflects a wide spectrum of voices, styles, and subjects — from intimate character studies and inventive comedies to urgent social documentaries and formally daring international work.
International and Festival Highlights
Among the most anticipated selections is Gunman (El Gattiero) from Argentina, directed by Cris Tapia Marchiori. Filmed as a single continuous one-shot and based on true events, the film follows a disgraced former hitman navigating betrayal and survival in a corrupt Buenos Aires neighborhood. The film will also screen at the prestigious Berlinale, marking it as one of the festival’s most internationally recognized selections.
Several titles arrive with major festival pedigree, including Honeyjoon and The Last Dive, both of which screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, as well as acclaimed documentaries WTO/99 and Shuffle, with Shuffle earning both the Audience Award and Jury Award at SXSW, bringing timely, emotionally resonant storytelling to Lake County audiences.
Local Connections
Defined as films connected to the Chicago or Milwaukee regions, five feature films in this year’s lineup highlight Midwestern voices:
- Cycle — Centered in Racine, Wisconsin, examining police violence and accountability.
- The Green Mill: A Real Chicago Joint — A loving portrait of Chicago’s legendary jazz institution.
- I Agree With You — A Chicago-set relationship comedy-drama.
- Kaleidoscope Child — A global humanitarian journey directed by a Milwaukee-based filmmaker.
- Not If I See You First — A Chicago-based comedy from director Aaron Wertheimer.
Filmmakers in Attendance
Filmmakers are expected to attend screenings for the following feature films:
Age Of Audio, Saffron Robe, Not If I See You First, Cycle, I Agree With You, Kaleidoscope Child, and The Green Mill: A Real Chicago Joint, offering audiences opportunities for post-screening conversations and personal engagement.
About the 2026 Feature Lineup
The 2026 feature selection spans genres, continents, and storytelling approaches, including:
Narrative highlights such as American Stream, Anywhere, The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo, Weekend at the End of the World, and Under the Lights, explore themes of identity, ambition, friendship, disability, and consequence through comedy, drama, and science-fiction.
Documentary selections include deeply personal and socially urgent works such as Shuffle, Second Nature: Gender and Sexuality in the Animal World (narrated by Elliot Page), The Magic Lantern, Saffron Robe, Voices: The Danny Gans Story, WTO/99, and The Last Dive, offering audiences stories that range from global activism and spirituality to music, science, history, and human resilience.
Together, these films reflect the festival’s ongoing commitment to quality, curiosity, and cinematic risk-taking.
Tickets and Information
Full lineup details and scheduling information can be found at
www.lakecountyfilmfestival.org
Individual tickets are $10, with discounted day, weekend, and full-festival badges available. Festival badges include meals, unlimited popcorn and meet-and-greet breakfasts for staff, filmmakers, VIPs, and badge holders.
Looking Ahead
As the Lake County Film Festival celebrates its Sweet 16, the goal remains unchanged: to bring remarkable, often underseen films to engaged local audiences — and to create meaningful connections between filmmakers and the community that supports them.
Additional announcements, including Opening Night, Closing Night, and short film programs, will follow.
The 2026 Lake County Film Festival Feature Film Slate
Narrative Features
American Stream
Narrative • Drama/Thriller • USA • 2025 • 104 Minutes
Director: Chandler Chavez
Kyle Jordan is an aimless 20 something, working a dead end job and living with his high school sweetheart, Sammi. One day, he decides to finally pursue his dream of becoming a live streamer and discovers what the true cost of chasing fame is.
Anywhere
Narrative • Crime/Drama • USA • 2025 • 102 Minutes
Director: Chandler Chavez
A roughneck commits a hasty and brutal crime after discovering his scumbag brother is planning to run off with his cheating wife, completely upending the only life he’s ever known.
Gunman
Narrative • Action • Argentina • 2025 • 80 Minutes
In Spanish with English Subtitles
Director: Cris Tapia Marchiori
In Isla Maciel, a Buenos Aires neighborhood rife with drug trafficking, “el galgo,” a disgraced former hitman for “la madrina,” is released from prison and struggles to survive through petty theft. One night, an opportunity arises: la madrina’s gang offers him a lowly job as a gatillero—shooting at a business to intimidate its owner. Though the task is beneath his once-feared reputation, he accepts, driven by desperation and the hope of regaining favor with his former boss.
But in a corrupt neighborhood, nothing is as it seems. What begins as a simple job quickly spirals into chaos and betrayal, turning into a race against time and his own fate. Based on a true story, this gripping tale unfolds in real time through a single continuous one-shot sequence, filmed on location in the real Isla Maciel.
Honeyjoon
Narrative • Comedy/Drama • USA • 2025 • 75 Minutes
Director: Lilian T. Mehrel
In this light-and-dark comedy, June and her Persian mom Lela travel to the Azores islands for a grief anniversary, with contrasting ways of coping. A charming surfer brings balance as they (and we) surf the waves of life, loss, flirting… an unforgettable ride.
I Agree With You
Narrative • Comedy/Drama • USA • 2025 • 76 Minutes
Director: Jake VanKersen
After canceling plans with friends, Hector and Penny begin a game of role-play that threatens to undo their relationship.
The Legend Of Juan Jose Mundo
Narrative • Comedy/Drama • USA • 2025 • 92 Minutes
Director: Michael Walker
Set in suburban NY in 1984. Julie Gornick hosts a charismatic, larger than life Spanish exchange student. As he starts hooking up with the girls in her class, Julie falls in love with him. Or what she thinks is love.
Not If I See You First
Narrative • Comedy • USA • 2024 • 71 Minutes
Director: Aaron Wertheimer
In town for work, Kenny meets Aaron, who convinces him to extend his trip a few days to see the famous sights of Chicago. But when Kenny’s car explodes and Aaron gets selective amnesia, will their fledgling friendship lose its way?
Under The Lights
Narrative • Drama • USA • 2024 • 108 Minutes
Director: Miles Levin
Sam, a boy with epilepsy, is so desperate to feel normal that he wants to go to prom despite knowing the lights will cause a seizure.
Weekend At The End Of The World
Narrative • Comedy/Sci-Fi • USA • 2025 • 82 Minutes
Director: Gille Klabin
Best friends Karl and Miles head up to a cabin in the woods, bequeathed to Miles by his recently deceased Meemaw. What starts out as a weekend of partying, getting Karl over his ex, and fixing up the cabin in the hopes of becoming property tycoons, quickly descends into an adventure of inter-dimensional portals, possessed demonic heralds, and the fate of our world in the hands of two idiots.
Documentary Features
Age Of Audio
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 80 Minutes
Director: Shaun Michael Colón
A cinematic documentary voyage through audio storytelling and podcasting, where visionary creators navigate the depths of creative freedom, financial triumphs, challenges, and societal complexities, painting a vivid tapestry of inspiration and resilience.
Cycle
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 96 Minutes
Directors: Laura Dyan Kezman & William Howell
Cycle pierces the silence surrounding police violence in America through the killing of Ty’rese West, an 18-year-old Black teenager whose death at the hands of police occurred without cameras, witnesses, or public scrutiny. In the absence of visual evidence, his case slipped quietly out of view—mirroring a broader pattern in which accountability depends on what can be seen.
The Green Mill: A Real Chicago Joint
Documentary • Music • USA • 2025 • 57 Minutes
Director: Paul L. Carr
The Green Mill is known as an old hangout for Al Capone and where Billie Holiday sang, and as a swinging jazz joint for generations of Chicagoans. In 2024, owner Dave Jemilo and five longtime employees gathered to talk about working till dawn, about playing the music, pouring the drinks, and living the nightlife.
Kaleidoscope Child
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 57 Minutes
Director: Michael Patrick McKinley
Kaleidoscope Child follows David Ault, a former actor and singer turned spiritual teacher and global humanitarian, as he cultivates schools and communities in Cambodia, India, and Guatemala. A longtime friend and collaborator of the late Louise Hay, David carries forward the essence of her teachings — demonstrating how love in action can transform lives and communities.
The Last Dive
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 91 Minutes
Director: Cody Sheehy
Terry is a legendary figure in Baja Mexico, an American veteran who has spent decades living on—and in—the water. Once a man burdened by a troubled past, Terry’s life was transformed by an unlikely friendship with Willy, a 22-foot oceanic manta ray. For nearly two decades, Willy would slap his wings against the hull of Terry’s sailboat to signal their next dive, and together they explored the ocean’s depths—an extraordinary bond that turned Terry into an unexpected conservationist.
Now in his 80’s, Terry embarks on one final journey to a remote island in hopes of reuniting with his old friend. But he’s also searching for something deeper: peace, closure, and a chance to say goodbye.
The Magic Lantern
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 76 Minutes
Director: Ali Brown
Marijke Brown receives a mysterious letter revealing details about her rescue as an infant by the Dutch Underground. The letter sparks a 30-year odyssey for her and her son, a filmmaker, as they connect to family lost in the Holocaust– and each other.
Saffron Robe
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 85 Minutes
Director: Jane Centofante
Saffron Robe is a feature documentary that follows a revered Buddhist abbot in the remote northern region of Laos as he navigates the challenges of a sacred life under a communist regime.
An ambitious spiritual leader, Abbot Onekeo Sittivong defied convention by establishing a new school for the his country’s poor and undereducated children. But something else is happening at this school in a misty forest. The abbot and his fellow saffron-robed monks and young novices are working tirelessly to revitalize ancient Lao Theravada Buddhist practices and education almost lost to history.
Second Nature: Gender And Sexuality In The Animal World
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 81 Minutes
Director: Drew Denny
Did you know that clownfish change sex from male to female? (So if Nemo’s mom had died in real life, his dad would have become his mom!) Did you know that albatross, penguins and swans parent in same sex pairs? Or that bonobos are matriarchal and have same-sex sex every day?
Narrated by Elliot Page, Second Nature debunks myths that females are “inferior” and being queer is “unnatural,” following trailblazing Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Joan Roughgarden as she meets other groundbreaking scientists exploring the 1500+ animal species who engage in same-sex sexual behavior and parenting, change sex, form matriarchies, and more…
Shuffle
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 82 Minutes
Director: Benjamin Flaherty
Shot over three years, Shuffle follows three individuals whose lives depend not on entering treatment, but on getting out alive. The film exposes the insurance-fueled cycle of addiction treatment fraud that’s spreading across the country. Using his own experience as a guide, the filmmaker narrates personal stories that serve as a framework for a broader investigation. With the help of an FBI informant, an insurance analyst, and the former executive director of a Philadelphia-based treatment facility, Shuffle uncovers a web of public policy and private interests preying on a vulnerable population for profit.
Slouching Towards Branson
Documentary • Music • USA • 2025 • 107 Minutes
Director: Will Wood
In his new comedy special “Slouching Towards Branson,” singer-songwriter and alt-comic Will Wood performs for audiences across the U.S., intertwining songs from his discography with a drug-addled, rat-filled, spiritually confused “about as true as a true story can be while still being a story” story about accidentally going viral, timeshare presentations, and the end of the world.
Tight & Nerdy
Documentary • Music • USA • 2025 • 82 Minutes
Director: Jeff Nucera & Jonathan Ruane
Tight & Nerdy is a feature-length documentary that takes viewers on a journey deep inside the world of the first burlesque troupe devoted to rock music’s multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning misfit, “Weird Al” Yankovic.
The film documents the troupe’s travels as they get ready to return to the stage where it all began, giving viewers a glimpse into what drives this niche art form. With themes of female empowerment, body positivity and self-acceptance, Tight & Nerdy is aimed squarely at those who have ever felt powerless, bullied, lonely or simply “not enough.” This film ultimately tells the tale of finding connections in a chaotic world, and learning how to accept that which makes one different, all wrapped up in big personalities, over-the-top costumes, unforgettable performances, and an interview with Weird Al himself!
Voices: The Danny Gans Story
Documentary • Music • USA • 2025 • 102 Minutes
Director: Andrew Gans
Voices: The Danny Gans Story is a poignant and personal exploration of a son’s journey to understand his father. Andrew Gans, son of the renowned Las Vegas entertainer, Danny Gans, embarks on an intimate exploration of his father’s inspiring, improbable life and the circumstances surrounding his untimely passing.
Through a tapestry of archival footage, never-before-seen home videos, and intimate interviews, Andrew paints a vivid portrait of a man who juggled the roles of acclaimed performer, devoted family man, and a beacon of inspiration, yet privately battled with severe health issues and chronic pain which led to Opiate dependency.
WTO/99
Documentary • USA • 2025 • 102 Minutes
Director: Ian Bell
An immersive archival documentary that depicts the four-day clash between the then-emerging World Trade Organization (WTO) and the 40,000+ people who took to the streets of Seattle in 1999 to protest the WTO Conference and the WTO’s impact on human rights, labor, and the future effects of continued globalization.
