The Coronado Island Film Festival Takes Over the Island This Year, From the Del to the Bay

The 11th Coronado Island Film Festival opens next Wednesday, Nov. 4, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 8, by the festival's own schedule. That's more than 140 films across five days, according to the festival's lineup announcement in Coronado Times. This year the biggest change is where the festival goes. For the first time, the closing-night reception leaves the Village for the waterfront at the Marriott Coronado Island Resort & Marina. The festival's last weekend also falls on the same days as two of the island's own November traditions. On the map and on the calendar, festival week now covers the whole island.

Six venues plus the bay

The festival's official venue list has six addresses, and only one of them is a movie theater. The rest are places locals already use for weddings, lectures, library programs and church. For festival week they become screening rooms, panel stages and tasting tables. The closing-night reception adds a seventh stop, at the Marriott.

The Marriott is the one bay-side address in that table. CIFF describes the move in its own words on the festival schedule: "This year, we're doing something we've never done before." The rest of the week builds toward that Sunday evening, so the plan below follows the days in order.

Wednesday starts at the Del

The festival opens the night before its first official screening, with the Leonard Maltin Industry Tribute Gala at the Hotel del Coronado's Garden and Crown Room on Nov. 4. The published itinerary lists a 5:30 p.m. reception and red carpet, dinner and awards at 7 p.m., and an after-party at 9 p.m.

Wednesday is also the first day of badge pickup at the John D. Spreckels Center. The box office page lists pre-festival pickup for Nov. 4 and 5, with Wednesday hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Some of the daily hours on that page don't line up with the weekday labels printed next to them, so check with the festival before you plan a pickup around them. Tickets are also sold at the Village Theatre.

Thursday and Friday, the food comes to the Spreckels Center

Opening night is Thursday, Nov. 5, with I Play Rocky, Peter Farrelly's film about Sylvester Stallone's push to star in the film he wrote. Before that, the daytime program brings local food producers into the Spreckels Center through the Culinary Cinema Series.

Thursday at 10:30 a.m.: Savory Shorts

"PAIRINGS Savory Shorts" screens three short films: A Vineyard Cinderella, The Art of Sharing and The Sideways Phenomenon. According to the event page, Fox Point Farms, FigJam, The Vault and Marchelle provide tastings, with Joel Jordan of Haven Farm + Table and Fox Point Farms as tastings chef.

Friday at 1:30 p.m.: Top of the World

"PAIRINGS: Top of the World" screens the documentary about Windows on the World, the restaurant that sat atop the World Trade Center. Bebemos Tequila and Balsamico Italian Kitchen provide tastings during the Q&A, according to the event listing.

At night, the screenings are at the Village Theatre. Centerpiece titles include Danny Boyle's Ink and Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut. Williston, directed by Adam Seidel and Jonathan Lipniki, has its world premiere at the festival. If you want dinner near the theater, By the Sea opened in August on the second floor of 1300 Orange Ave. It serves Greek- and Italian-inspired food with an emphasis on seafood, according to Coronado Times.

Saturday, the festival shares the day with the city

Saturday, Nov. 7, is the busiest day on the island. The city's 2026 special events calendar lists the Hometown Banner Ceremony that day. The festival also holds its annual Jury Awards on Saturday, with $20,000 in cash prizes for filmmakers and screenwriters.

From 4 to 6 p.m., "Avenue of the Stars: Scenes & Sips" turns Orange Avenue into a progressive tasting for badgeholders. Check-in is at The Bower Coronado, and the walk starts with a Bebemos tequila tasting. The event page says the StarPass is free for badgeholders but needs a reservation.

"The way we watch movies may evolve, but the feeling of discovering them together in a theater never will."

Merridee Book, the festival's CEO and artistic director, said that in the lineup announcement published by Coronado Times. Saturday's schedule spreads that idea of watching together well beyond the theater, from the banner ceremony to the tasting walk down Orange Avenue.

Sunday runs from the Strand to the bay

The last day starts early, and some of it is outside the festival. The Silver Strand Veterans Day Half Marathon, with its 10 Miler, 12K and 5K, runs on Sunday, Nov. 8, from Coronado toward Silver Strand State Beach.

At 10 a.m., the Spreckels Center hosts HAROLD!, a tribute to silent-film star Harold Lloyd with his granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd, film critic Leonard Maltin and a restored Lloyd film.

The festival's closing evening is split between the bay and Orange Avenue.

1. 6 to 7:30 p.m., Marriott Coronado Island Resort & Marina. The "Reception on the Bay," sold either with a screening of Mouse or as a reception-only ticket.
2. 7:30 p.m., Village Main Theatre. The closing-night film, Paper Tiger, James Gray's crime thriller with Miles Teller, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, set in 1986 Queens and Brooklyn.

Badges, reservations and seats

There are two main badges on the 2026 badge page:

• Marquee Badge, $895. Includes one ticket to the Leonard Maltin gala, early reservations and access to select events.
• Emerald Badge, $495. Reserved access to a curated selection of screenings and panels, without the gala.
• Student badge. Offered in limited numbers by request, for films, panels and workshops.

Badgeholders still need to reserve every screening and event, and a badge doesn't guarantee a seat. The festival says limited individual tickets may be available for select screenings and events. If a particular night matters to you, like closing night at the Village Theatre, reserve as soon as your badge is active.

Before and after the festival

Two other island events sit on either side of festival week. The city's Halloween Happening is tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 30, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Spreckels Park, followed by an activity at the Coronado Public Library at 6 p.m., according to the City of Coronado. Twelve days after closing night, Skating by the Sea opens at the Hotel del Coronado on Nov. 20 and runs through Jan. 3, 2027. In between, the full festival schedule and reservations are on the festival site, and the box office at 1019 7th Street handles in-person questions.

If guests are flying in for festival week, or you're wondering how a busy November weekend affects a rental calendar, Olga Stevens Group can help with stays and property management on the island, starting with our rentals team. Schedule a private consultation with Olga Stevens Group, and we'll be glad to talk it through, in English or Spanish, before the festival begins on Nov. 4.