We wanted to make sure you knew about this incredible event unfolding across Chicago this weekend from our friends over at Filmspotting. Get tickets here. Official press release below.
Filmspotting Fest returns June 27–28, bringing together film critics, artists, and audiences for a weekend of repertory cinema, live discussions, and communal moviegoing experiences across two of Chicago’s most beloved venues: the Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture and the Music Box Theatre.
Presented by Filmspotting, the long-running Chicago-based podcast and WBEZ radio program hosted by Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen, the festival celebrates films that reward revisiting, discovery, and discussion.
“Filmspotting Fest is about bringing the conversations we’ve been having for years on the podcast into a live setting,” said Filmspotting co-founder Adam Kempenaar. “These are films that stay with us, change with us, and become richer through shared viewing.
Following the success of the inaugural Filmspotting Fest in March 2025, this year’s edition explores the theme of time — not simply as subject, but as something woven into storytelling through anticipation, memory, nostalgia, and the persistence of the past.
Saturday, June 27 – Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture
11:00 AM — Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Intro and post-screening conversation with critic and author Carrie Rickey (A Complicated Passion: The Life and Work of Agnès Varda).
3:00 PM — Krisha (2015) — 10th Anniv. Screening
Intro and post-screening conversation with writer/director Trey Edward Shults.
7:00 PM — Wet Hot American Summer (2001) — 25th Anniv. Screening
Intro and post-screening conversation with actress Marguerite Moreau and critic Scott Tobias (The Reveal).
Sunday, June 28 – Music Box Theatre
11:00 AM — The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) — 25th Anniv. Screening (35mm)
Intro and post-screening conversation with critic Michael Phillips.
