What to see, how tickets work and where to stay for the 2026 Crested Butte Film Festival, Sept. 24-27.
The Crested Butte Film Festival returns Sept. 24-27 with movies screening at just under 9,000 feet.
Now in its 16th year, the festival brings more than 50 films to Crested Butte over four days. And the screenings are only part of the appeal. Free panels, filmmaker conversations, parties and a Saturday bike parade make the weekend feel like a movie mecca in the mountains.
What should I see?
Thursday, Sept. 24, starts at 5 p.m. with The Siege of Paradise, Gar O’Rourke’s documentary about the strain overtourism places on Italy’s Cinque Terre, where millions of annual visitors descend on communities with only a few thousand residents. The opening night continues with “A Knight at the Movies Showcase” at 7:30 p.m.
Friday offers one of the festival’s widest-ranging lineups. The Life We Leave, at 10:30 a.m., follows an entrepreneur trying to build a large-scale human-composting facility in Washington state. At 1:30 p.m., Sundance selection Hot Water follows a Lebanese mother and her teenage son on a road trip west after he is kicked out of school.
Evening choices include The Incomer, Louis Paxton’s offbeat comedy about siblings on a remote Orkney island resisting a council official sent to evacuate them, and Summer Tour, a documentary about Deadheads following Dead & Company on its 2023 farewell tour. Friday also includes outdoor adventure shorts, narrative shorts and documentary shorts.
Saturday is especially strong for viewers who want a Colorado connection. The Colorado Filmmaker Showcase begins at 10:30 a.m., followed at noon by the free “Stories of Home: Short Films on Resilience and Place” program. At 4 p.m., Hold Onto Me follows an 11-year-old girl trying to reconnect with her estranged father; Myrsini Aristidou’s debut won the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award at Sundance.
At 7 p.m., Jane Elliott Against the World profiles the Iowa teacher whose 1968 blue-eyes/brown-eyes classroom exercise made her a nationally known anti-racism educator. The Siege of Paradise gets a second screening at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday winds things down with the free “Made in Colorado: State of the Industry” panel at 1 p.m. and Blue Heron at 4 p.m. Sophy Romvari’s semi-autobiographical drama follows an immigrant family on Vancouver Island as an older son’s behavior destabilizes the household. Best of the Fest documentary shorts screen at 4:15 p.m., while “A Knight at the Movies Showcase” and Jane Elliott Against the World return for encore screenings that evening.
How do tickets work?
Single tickets are $19.95. Four-ticket packs are $68, six-ticket packs are $96 and 10-ticket packs are $150, while Festival Passes start at $250 and include unlimited films, priority entry and access to festival parties. Patron Passes for $1,000 add reserved seating access and other perks.
The important wrinkle: A pass or ticket pack does not automatically reserve a seat. Attendees must log in and book each screening separately. Reservations remain open until a film reaches capacity, and passholders and ticket-pack holders should arrive at least 20 minutes before showtime to guarantee entry.
Do I need a car?
Not necessarily. Crested Butte’s Mountain Express runs free buses between town and Mt. Crested Butte every 20 minutes, with service continuing late enough to cover most festival nights. Alpine Express also operates a late-night shuttle from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. for $10 per person.
The main box office is at the Center for the Arts, 606 Sixth St., with another at the Majestic Theatre, 507 Red Lady Ave.
How do I get there — and where should I stay?
Gunnison-Crested Butte Regional Airport is about 30 miles away, though flights are limited. Montrose is about 90 miles away, while Denver International Airport is roughly 250 miles, or about a 4 1/2-hour drive.
For lodging, the festival points visitors toward several hotel and vacation-rental partners. One of the more affordable options is RMBL 365, which offers hostel-style accommodations and private rooms in town for festival attendees, with rates from $70 to $180 per night.
Book quickly, pack layers and remember that Crested Butte sits at 8,885 feet. The movies may be the reason for the trip, but the festival is designed to make the town itself part of the experience.