The Coronado Island Film Festival is back for its 11th edition, November 4 to 8, 2026, and the schedule is posted. Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky opens the festival on Thursday, November 5, and James Gray’s Paper Tiger, with Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, closes it on Sunday, November 8. Film critic Leonard Maltin hosts the Industry Tribute Awards Gala at the Hotel del Coronado on opening Wednesday.
CIFF is a walkable festival spread across Coronado’s Village Theatre, the Hotel del, and a handful of community spaces. In between, there are panels, a food-and-film series, a shorts program, and a tasting stroll down Orange Avenue. Here is the plan as posted on the festival site as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Wednesday, November 4, through Sunday, November 8, 2026 |
| Where | Venues around Coronado, mainly the Village Theatre, 820 Orange Ave., Coronado, CA 92118 |
| Opening night | I Play Rocky, Thursday, November 5, 6:30 p.m. (badge holders only) |
| Closing night | Paper Tiger, Sunday, November 8, 7:30 p.m. |
| Badges | Emerald $495, Marquee $895 (includes the gala), plus Industry and Student badges |
| Reservations | Required for every screening, event, and party |
| Payment | Cash-free: major credit cards and Venmo |
| Official site | festival.coronadofilmfest.com |
What’s screening
Opening, centerpiece, and closing nights
- Opening Night: I Play Rocky, Thursday, November 5, Village Main Theatre. Doors at 6 p.m., film at 6:30. Farrelly’s film tells the story of Sylvester Stallone refusing to sell his Rocky script unless he could star in it. The cast includes Anthony Ippolito, AnnaSophia Robb, Toby Kebbell, and Matt Dillon. Badge holders then head to a private after party at The Tavern with DJ TeeLynn. Pick up your wristband at opening night check-in.
- Centerpiece: Ink, Friday, November 6, 7 p.m., Village Main Theatre. A San Diego premiere about a group of misfits with an idea for a new kind of news.
- Centerpiece: The Debut, Saturday, November 7, 7 p.m., Village Main Theatre. A shy housewife lands a bit part in a community theater musical and goes full method actor.
- Closing Night: Paper Tiger, Sunday, November 8, 7:30 p.m., Village Main Theatre. A San Diego premiere set in 1986 Queens and Brooklyn, written and directed by James Gray.
- Closing night on the bay: Mouse. New this year, CIFF moves its closing night reception to the waterfront at the Marriott Coronado Island Resort & Marina, 6 to 7:30 p.m., followed by a 7:30 screening of Mouse with Sophie Okonedo and David Hyde Pierce. (That event page still showed a 2025 date on September 28, so confirm before you go.)
Red carpet films
These are the festival’s red carpet titles, with the times listed on the schedule. Several are San Diego premieres, and CIFF says its red carpet films have sold out every year.
| Film | When |
|---|---|
| In Waves (animated) | Fri., Nov. 6, 10:30 a.m.; Sun., Nov. 8, 10:30 a.m. |
| Line Cooks | Fri., Nov. 6, 1:30 p.m.; Sat., Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m. |
| Josephine | Fri., Nov. 6, and Sat., Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. |
| Hustler | Fri., Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 8, 4:30 p.m. |
| Ray Gunn (Brad Bird, animated) | Sat., Nov. 7, 10 a.m. |
| Tangles (animated) | Sat., Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. |
| Behemoth! (Tony Gilroy, with Pedro Pascal) | Sat., Nov. 7, 1 p.m. |
| Killing Castro | Sat., Nov. 7, 4 p.m. |
| Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff | Sat., Nov. 7, 4:30 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 8, 1:30 p.m. |
| Minotaur | Sun., Nov. 8, 10 a.m. |
| The Last Spy, about 102-year-old CIA spymaster Peter Sichel | Sun., Nov. 8, 1 p.m. |
| Williston (world premiere) | Sun., Nov. 8, 4 p.m. |
The Leonard Maltin Industry Tribute Awards Gala
Wednesday, November 4, in the Garden and the Crown Room at the Hotel del Coronado. A champagne reception and red carpet start at 5:30 p.m., dinner and awards at 7, and an after party with dancing at 9. Maltin, the festival’s host and honorary jury president, interviews the honorees onstage. The 2026 honorees have not been posted. The gala is not included in the Emerald badge; the Marquee badge includes one ticket.
Panels, food films, and shorts
- Panels at Sacred Heart and the John D. Spreckels Center include State of the Industry (Thursday, 10 a.m.), an In Conversation session presented by Variety (Thursday, 1 p.m.), a Gold Derby panel (Thursday, 3 p.m.), The Writers Room (Friday, 10 a.m.), The Chemistry of Casting (Friday, 4 p.m.), and Women on the Move, presented by Deadline (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.).
- Culinary Cinema Series: Savory Shorts (Thursday, 10:30 a.m.) and Top of the World, a documentary about Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the World Trade Center (Friday, 1:30 p.m.). Both at the Spreckels Center.
- ShortsFest: more than a dozen themed shorts programs at the Coronado Community Center’s Nautilus Room, including two animation showcases, plus an Emerging Filmmakers: High School program at the Coronado Public Library’s Winn Room (Saturday, 1 p.m.).
- Special engagements: Womanhood: The Series and HAROLD! are listed on the site, with details still thin.
Badges and tickets
Badges are sold through the festival’s badges page on Elevent.
- Emerald Badge, $495: advance reservations in October, films, panels, MasterLab workshops, priority entry line, opening night film and after party, the Culinary Cinema Series, the Hospitality Lounge, weekend happy hours for badge holders, and morning coffee and donuts. No gala.
- Marquee Badge, $895: everything in the Emerald, plus one gala ticket, the VIP Lounge with complimentary weekend lunch, and early theater entry. Seats are not reserved.
- Industry Badge: Emerald perks at a discount for working entertainment professionals, by application. Not for media and press.
- Student Badge: films, panels, and workshops only, by application. Parties are not included, and students show ID to enter any venue with alcohol.
- Single tickets: film pages have a reserve and purchase section; per-screening prices were not shown when we checked.
The fine print: no refunds, but transfers are allowed with box office approval. A badge does not guarantee a seat. Every screening, event, and party needs a reservation, first come, first served. Films open 30 minutes before start time.
If you only have Saturday
A sample day built from the posted schedule, November 7:
| Time | What |
|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | Ray Gunn, Village Main Theatre |
| 1 p.m. | Behemoth!, Village Main Theatre |
| 4 to 6 p.m. | Avenue of the Stars: Scenes & Sips, starting at The Bower Coronado |
| 7 p.m. | Centerpiece: The Debut, Village Main Theatre |
| 9 p.m. to midnight | After the Credits at The Dive, the rooftop lounge at The Bower |
| 8 p.m. (optional) | Or swap the rooftop for the So Diego haunted walking tour |
Scenes & Sips is a tasting stroll down Orange Avenue past the sidewalk stars honoring people with ties to Coronado’s film history. It starts with a Bebemos tequila tasting at The Bower, where you pick up a StarPass map of the stops. It is for badge holders only, the StarPass is complimentary, and space is limited, so reserve early.
Venues
- John D. Spreckels Center, 1019 7th St., Coronado, CA 92118. Hospitality center, main box office, Culinary Cinema Series, and VIP Lounge.
- Village Theatre (Main, Screen 2, and Screen 3), 820 Orange Ave., Coronado, CA 92118
- Coronado Community Center, Nautilus Room (ShortsFest), 1835 Strand Way, Coronado, CA 92118
- Hotel del Coronado (Crown Room, Founders Hall C), 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado, CA 92118
- Winn Room at Coronado Public Library, 640 Orange Ave., Coronado, CA 92118
- Sacred Heart, 655 C Ave., Coronado, CA 92118
- Marriott Coronado Island Resort & Marina (closing night reception)
Box office hours at the Spreckels Center: Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Getting there and staying over
Coronado sits across the bridge from downtown San Diego, and CIFF says every venue is within walking distance of the others. The festival’s hospitality sponsors are Loews Coronado Bay Resort, the Hotel del Coronado, and the Glorietta Bay Inn. The same week, the San Diego Food + Wine Festival holds its Grand Weekend along San Diego Bay, November 6 to 8.
Accessibility
A golf cart pickup at the Spreckels Center is available to help transport guests with disabilities or anyone who needs extra support. The festival has not posted other accessibility details; questions can go to info@coronadofilm.com.
A little history
CIFF launched in 2015 as a nonprofit and leans on the island’s Hollywood past: Some Like It Hot was filmed here, and the festival lists Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Marilyn Monroe, and Tom Cruise among the stars tied to Coronado. The Crown Room, where the gala is held, has welcomed presidents, movie stars, and royalty since 1888.
Still to come
Gala honorees, single ticket prices, parking and shuttle details, and a confirmed date for the Mouse closing night reception. The 824 Journal will update this guide as the festival posts them.
Sources
- Coronado Island Film Festival, official site
- CIFF 2026 festival site
- CIFF: Festival Schedule
- CIFF: Badges (box office hours, fine print)
- CIFF badge packages on Elevent (prices, founding year)
- CIFF: Opening Night, I Play Rocky
- CIFF: Closing Night, Paper Tiger
- CIFF: Closing Night Reception and Film, Mouse
- CIFF: Behemoth!
- CIFF: Leonard Maltin Industry Tribute Awards Gala
- CIFF: Avenue of the Stars, Scenes and Sips
- CIFF: ShortsFest Exhibition
- CIFF: Festival Venues and Transportation
- CIFF: Things To Do
- CIFF: Where To Stay
- CIFF: About
Featured photo: Ctorbann via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
