The 28th Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival runs November 1 through 8, 2026. Every venue on its list of screening sites is at a Lewes address. The Rehoboth Beach Film Society lists three screening venues this year: Cinema Art Theater on Dartmouth Drive, the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware on Lewes-Georgetown Highway, and Lewes Public Library on Adams Avenue. Rehoboth Beach still gets the festival's social calendar: an anniversary party at the Convention Center and a red-carpet night above the boardwalk.
For anyone who lives in town, that changes how the week works. The films are up Route 1, and the parties are close to home. Here's how the festival got to this point and how to plan around it.
In 2025 one venue was in town. In 2026, none are.
Last year's program listed four venues. Three were in Lewes: Cinema Art Theater, the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware, and Lewes Elementary School on Savannah Road. The fourth was the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center at 229 Rehoboth Avenue. The Convention Center hosted the 2025 spotlight evening. According to the Cape Gazette's October 2025 preview, that night screened the Oscar-qualifying short "Elle Elle" and was followed by a red carpet and soirée.
The 2026 program swaps Lewes Elementary for Lewes Public Library and drops the Convention Center from its list of film venues. The Film Society hasn't publicly explained the change, and none of the local coverage we found gives a reason. The festival hub hasn't moved. It's still the Hyatt House at 17254 Five Points Square in Lewes, the same as in 2025, and that's where pass holders pick up their badges.
How a Rehoboth festival ended up in Dartmouth Plaza
The name still fits the festival's purpose. The Film Society says it was founded in February 1998 to produce an off-season festival that would bring tourism spending to Rehoboth Beach businesses while also serving year-round residents. The first festival, that November, showed 102 features, documentaries, and shorts. John Waters hosted the opening-night gala at the Bottle & Cork.
For its first sixteen years, the festival screened at Movies at Midway. In April 2014 the Film Society lost that theater space. For the 2014 and 2015 festivals it put together a mix of borrowed rooms: Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes, the Baycenter in Dewey Beach, and Metropolitan Community Church in Rehoboth. In July 2015 the society announced a permanent home in Dartmouth Plaza, which the Cape Gazette described at the time as "behind the Wawa on southbound Route 1 in Lewes."
The theater opened March 17, 2016, with a 108-seat main room and a smaller second room. "Now, we have control over our future," the board president told the paper. That smaller room is now called JEMS, and it seats 36. The rest of the festival has followed that move over the past decade. Once the society had a building of its own in Lewes, the screenings gathered around it. This year the last screening venue in Rehoboth is gone, and the 2026 program celebrates the theater's 10th anniversary.
The three nights the festival comes back to town
The anniversary celebration happens in Rehoboth. Here's the in-town calendar, along with the closing breakfast just down Route 1 in Dewey:
| Date | Event | Where | Ticket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Nov. 2, starting 4:45 p.m. | Cinema Art Theater 10th Anniversary Member Spotlight | Rehoboth Beach Convention Center | $75 members, $100 non-members |
| Thurs., Nov. 5, from 8:30 p.m. | Red Carpet Welcome Cocktail Soirée | Above the Dunes, Rehoboth Beach | $75 |
| Sun., Nov. 8, 10 a.m.–noon | Glass Wave Award Breakfast Ceremony | Hyatt Dewey Beach | $60 |
The Monday event at the Convention Center is the only time a film is shown in Rehoboth during festival week, and it isn't on the official list of screening venues. The festival's event page pairs member recognition with the world premiere of "Lewes, DE: Drawn by the Sea." So the one premiere held in Rehoboth this year is a film about Lewes. The end time isn't consistent across listings: one page of the program says 6:30 p.m., while other festival listings say 6:45 p.m.
On Thursday the festival moves to Above the Dunes, the second-floor restaurant at 101 S. Boardwalk, which bills itself as "Elegant Dining Above the Boardwalk." The soirée ticket covers a two-hour open bar and hors d'oeuvres. Two printed details are inconsistent. The program lists the date as "1/6" in one spot, and the end time shows up as both 11:45 p.m. and midnight. Thursday, November 5, at 8:30 p.m. is the date and start time everywhere else.
The Sunday breakfast debuts the festival's Glass Wave Award. Actor Shea Whigham is named as its first honoree.
What the screenings cost this year
Apart from that Monday premiere, the films are all in Lewes, and every ticket price went up except the student pass. These are the 2026 prices, compared with what the 2025 program charged:
- Single film ticket: $15 for Film Society members and $18 for non-members, up from $12 and $15
- Film panels: $35, up from $25
- "Boardwalk" all-access pass: $425 for members and $475 for non-members. Last year's seven-day pass was $350 and $400, and this year's festival runs eight days.
- "Beach Ball" weekend pass: $350 for everyone, covering Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 8. Last year's weekend pass was $275 and $300.
- "Splash" student pass: $50, down from $75
- Active military and students: $12 and $9 per film, the same as last year
The program lists free parking at all sites. It also asks ticket holders to be in line at least 30 minutes before their screening. Pass holders get priority seating, and general admission is seated after them. Public ticket sales opened October 3, so popular screenings in the 36-seat JEMS room may already be selling down.
The films that bring people up Route 1
The program describes the lineup as "more than 115" films. The Coastal Point lineup story and Visit Rehoboth's October 5 preview both count 113, from more than 32 countries. A few dates are worth planning around:
- Opening night, Sunday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m. "Jimmy" opens the festival. Actor Jen Lilley is scheduled to stay for a talk-back after the screening.
- "First Snow" at 20. The festival is marking the film's 20th anniversary. Filmmaker Mark Fergus and cinematographer Eric Edwards are both scheduled for a talk-back.
- "Children of Men" at 20. It's the other anniversary screening, with its own talk-back led by Fergus, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter who is a special guest and panelist this year.
- Closing Day, Sunday, Nov. 8. The at-a-glance schedule ends with "Test" at 5:45 p.m. No separate closing-night film is listed.
The program also lists "Clarissa," "Everybody to Kenmure Street," and "Nina Roza," along with several international Oscar contenders. One scheduling overlap on opening day: Bodhi Kitchen at 10 N. 1st Street in Rehoboth has a $95-per-person dumpling-making class, cocktail demo, and family-style feast on Sunday, November 1. It's listed on the chamber calendar but isn't connected to the festival.
The theater keeps going after November 8
Cinema Art Theater runs well beyond festival week. The Film Society's "CAT This Week" program shows first-run independent, documentary, and international films Wednesday through Sunday. It also brings in Metropolitan Opera Live in HD, Exhibitions on Screen, and National Theatre Live, plus smaller film festivals in the spring. Executive Director Dave Bever hosts the "Dave's Classics" series, which pairs older films with an introduction and a talk-back. This month's pick is "Bride of Frankenstein." Groups of 20 or more can buy advance tickets to a scheduled film for $9 a person.
Rehoboth Avenue has its own November schedule. Ledo Pizza recently opened at 47A Rehoboth Avenue, which the Cape Gazette reported on October 7. Jerk & Jambalaya at 70 Rehoboth Avenue is open Thursday through Sunday this fall, according to Rehoboth Beach Main Street's October newsletter. The same newsletter lists the Christmas at the Beach Craft Fair on November 21, the tree lighting on November 27 from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., and the Holiday Stroll on November 28. If you want more on how the town's calendar resets after summer, our post on Rehoboth's single off-season date covers it. For the Lewes side of the festival map, see our Lewes neighborhood guide.
If you're weighing a home closer to Rehoboth Avenue or closer to the Five Points area where the festival hub sits, I'm happy to talk through how each part of the area works from day to day and week to week. Reach out to Denise Karas anytime. Let's Connect.
