Now in our 24th year, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, the longest running “underground” film festival in the world, is an internationally recognized program providing a venue for documentary, experimental and avant-garde narrative film and video. The festival’s mission is to select and screen film, video and related works presenting a diverse line up of moving image programming focusing on filmmakers working to reinvent and explore new approaches to established practices, to foster new forms of media art and to build an audience for such work. Our goal is to achieve these aims by presenting a fun, user-friendly and accessible event..if you suspect your film is “underground,” it probably is.

The Chicago Underground Film Festival exists to showcase the defiantly independent filmmaker. Our mission is to promote films and videos that dissent radically in form, technique, or content from the "indie" mainstream and to present adventurous works that challenge and transcend commercial and audience expectations...if you suspect your film is "underground," it probably is.

Founded in 1993, The Chicago Underground Film Festival (CUFF) is a year-round organization dedicated to the work of film and video makers with defiantly independent visions. Unlike many other “independent” film events our goal is not to imitate old guard, market-driven events such as Sundance but Instead to focus on the artistc, aesthetic and fun side of independent filmmaking. CUFF promotes works that dissent radically in form, content and technique from both the tired conventions of Hollywood and the increasingly stagnant IndieWood mainstream.

CUFF 22 will take place April 15-19, 2015 in Chicago, IL