Chicago Feature ‘Loafers,’ Shot for $6,000, to Premiere at Dances with Films New York

‘Loafers’, a modern take on the mumblecore classics of the mid 200s, will hold its world premiere as an official selection of Dances with Films New York, an indie bi-coastal film festival now in its 28th year. ‘Loafers’ will be screening at the Regal Union Square on January 17th, 2026. Tickets can be found here.

The film’s writer and director, Zach Schnitzer, is proud to have his debut feature film premiere at such a prestigious film festival. He and many of the cast are excited to attend.

‘Loafers’ is the story of Isaac and Cameron, two best friends living together after graduating from college, who feel stuck. They work boring jobs, waste time, and smoke weed with their universe of friends. This universe expands, though, when Isaac’s old friend Cyrus crashes on his couch and keeps extending his stay. As Cyrus ingratiates himself with the friend group and Cameron makes some bad decisions, the pressures of adulthood come screaming into focus as everyone must suddenly decide who they want to be when they grow up.

The ensemble cast includes an exciting array of Chicago talent, including Zach Schnitzer (who also wrote and directed the film), Melissa Marie, Dan Haller, Olemich Tugas, Ruby Sevcik, Chloe Rodriques, Cole Steeves, Beck Nolan, Ryan Kitley, and Charin Alvarez. Click here for the full cast.

‘Loafers’ was shot over 11 days with a budget of $6,000 and a crew of roughly four people (sometimes five if we got lucky). Deeply inspired by the films of Joe Swanberg, John Cassavetes, Andrew Bujalski, the Duplass Brothers, and Cooper Raiff, LOAFERS focused not on technical achievement but on emotional excellence. Who needs expensive, time-consuming lights when you have incredible actors?

‘Loafers’ was made to, in the words of director Zach Schnitzer, “tell our own story, to look at what it feels like to be young right now and represent it as only someone our age could. It’s a film made with money scraped together from menial jobs, with whatever equipment we could get our hands on, and where we cashed in all of our favors, but this is what makes ‘Loafers’ special. It’s DIY filmmaking at its best: rough around the edges but full of life. It’s a film we care deeply about, and we hope you do too.”

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