Onion City Experimental Film Festival Returns for 36th Year

Chicago's premier showcase for avant-garde and boundary-pushing cinema announces its 2026 lineup.

Apr. 1, 2026 at 5:08pm

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The 36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival is set to take place April 9-12 in Chicago, featuring a diverse array of films, live performances, and digital art installations that push the boundaries of traditional cinema. The festival will include works by local and international artists that explore new visual languages, political themes, and sensory experiences.

Why it matters

The Onion City Experimental Film Festival has long been a vital platform for showcasing innovative and thought-provoking moving image work that challenges mainstream filmmaking. As one of the leading experimental film festivals in the country, it provides a crucial space for artists to present work that expands the possibilities of the medium and engages with pressing social and political issues.

The details

The festival will open on April 9 with a reception featuring digital art installations by Peter Burr and Boris Labbé on the 150 Media Stream public display. The following night will see the return of the '[We Don't Know Yet] What a Cinema Can Do' live performance program, featuring Chicago-based artists James Connolly, AJ McClenon, and the collective Alterotics. The film screenings will include works that utilize a range of analog and digital techniques, from Masha Vlasova's 'Midsummer' which treats 16mm film with the sun, to Joshua Gen Solondz's 'Xtended Release (version 2.5)' which incorporates tape, ink, and corrosive chemicals. Other highlights include Isiah Medina's feature 'Gangsterism' and Charlotte Zhang's 'Tycoon', which explore politics, theory, and emotional experience through experimental narrative approaches.

  • The 36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival will take place April 9-12, 2026 in Chicago.
  • The opening night reception is on April 9 from 5:30-7:30 PM.
  • The '[We Don't Know Yet] What a Cinema Can Do' live performance program is on April 10 at 8 PM.
  • Isiah Medina's 'Gangsterism' will close the festival on April 12 at 7 PM.
  • Charlotte Zhang's 'Tycoon' will screen on April 11 at 8 PM.

The players

Elise Schierbeek

Onion City Experimental Film Festival programmer who hopes the festival's 'treasure hunting' will draw people in.

Nicky Ni

Onion City Experimental Film Festival programmer and occasional Chicago Reader contributor who hopes people will come to the festival 'to check out films that they want to love, hate, talk about, sit with, daydream about the next morning, or films that will cozy up in the memory.'

Peter Burr

Event curator whose work 'Continuous Monument' will be presented at the opening night reception.

Boris Labbé

Artist whose VR work 'Ito Meikyū' will be adapted for the 150 Media Stream public display at the opening night reception.

Charlotte Zhang

Director of the feature film 'Tycoon' which will screen at the festival.

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What they’re saying

“As an artist I just make films for other artists.”

— Clem, Filipino Canadian filmmaker

“I rather speak and offend not with content but with grammar.”

— Clem, Filipino Canadian filmmaker

“that treasure hunting draws people in.”

— Elise Schierbeek, Onion City Experimental Film Festival programmer

“to check out films that they want to love, hate, talk about, sit with, daydream about the next morning, or films that will cozy up in the memory.”

— Nicky Ni, Onion City Experimental Film Festival programmer

What’s next

The Onion City Experimental Film Festival will continue its tradition of pushing the boundaries of cinema with its 36th edition, providing Chicago audiences with a unique opportunity to discover innovative and thought-provoking works from local and international artists.

The takeaway

The Onion City Experimental Film Festival remains a vital platform for showcasing the most boundary-pushing and politically engaged work in the world of avant-garde and experimental cinema, cementing Chicago's reputation as a hub for cutting-edge artistic expression.