
After several years away, the Charleston Film Festival is coming back to the Terrace Theater, bringing four days of international cinema, documentaries, classic films, music, special guests and filmmaker conversations to Charleston from October 15–18.
The festival will take place alongside the 13th annual Charleston Jewish Film Festival, creating an expanded celebration of film and storytelling that reaches well beyond the traditional theater experience.
This year’s program promises a little bit of everything—from narrative features and documentaries to classic cinema and early looks at films generating attention during this year’s awards season.
And while the festival is looking around the world for stories, it is also turning its lens toward Charleston.
One of the most anticipated local highlights will be the opening reception, which will feature a screening of “Summerville 1970,” a film made right here in Charleston. Details about the reception are expected to be announced soon.
From Charleston to the World
The 2026 festival lineup crosses borders and genres, with films representing countries including France, Spain, Canada, Pakistan and Germany.
The documentary program is equally eclectic, with subjects ranging from the early career of legendary musician Jimmy Buffett to the acclaimed documentary “Sherman’s March.”
The result is a festival designed not simply around movies, but around the conversations, histories, cultures and communities that movies can bring together.
This year’s festival also marks a particularly collaborative moment for Charleston’s cultural scene.
Organizers are partnering with a growing collection of local arts organizations, theaters and cultural groups, including PURE Theatre, Nuovo Cinema Italiano Film Festival, Alliance Française de Charleston, Charleston’s Absent Friends and Charleston Music Hall.
Those partnerships reflect something Charleston has long understood: its creative community is at its best when the city’s artists, filmmakers, musicians, theaters and cultural organizations share the same stage.
Four Days at the Terrace
For film lovers, the return of the festival means four days to settle into the Terrace Theater and discover something new.
There will be opportunities to see films from around the world, revisit cinematic classics, hear directly from filmmakers and special guests, and get an early look at movies that could become part of the larger awards-season conversation.
But perhaps the most meaningful part of the festival’s return is simply that it is returning.
After several years away, Charleston once again has a dedicated multi-day celebration bringing filmmakers, audiences and the city’s arts community together under one roof.
Whether you’re a serious cinephile, a fan of documentaries, someone who loves discovering international cinema, or simply looking for something different to do in Charleston this fall, the festival offers four days of stories from places both familiar and far away.
And it all begins October 15.

Tickets are now on sale for individual films. Click HERE for tickets
The festival runs October 15–18 at the Terrace Theater, alongside the 13th annual Charleston Jewish Film Festival.
For a city with a long relationship with storytelling, performance and the arts, the return of the Charleston Film Festival feels like another reason to look toward the screen—and see what stories are waiting there.
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