Sean Parker
Chattanooga Film Festival 2023 marks its 10th anniversary with a celebratory, jam-packed program of fun and film. Each wave of programming of CFF23 has been even more exciting than the last, and the parties they’re throwing make me want to give up on everything and plan a trip straight to Tennesee. As we had previously mentioned in the fest’s first announcement, this will be the first time CFF23 returns to a live in-person format since 2019, and they’re making sure to pull out all the stops when it comes to gatherings. We’ve already outlined the Black Magic Masquerade party taking place in a haunted hotel in that announcement, but joining in on the fun will be horror hit-makers LVCRFT, who have previously worked with the likes of Rhianna, Madonna, and Mark Ronson and whose member DeepKutz (Amanda “MNDR” Warner) was recently seen as Skeleton Sam in Disney’s Hocus Pocus 2. DeepKutz will also attend Childen of the Night: A Horror and Music Panel along with director Jamie Carreiro, who is presenting their film Tell Alice I Love Her at the festival, among other hand-chosen musicians and filmmakers.
Tell Alice I Love Her will lead the Dangerous Visions shorts block alongside thirteen mind and genre-bending shorts that include new submissions from festival alumni Izzy Lee (Meat Friend), Francisco Lacerda (Freelancer), and Meg Swertlow (Give Me an A). On the flip side, the return of CFF Salutes Your Shorts block will again spotlight up-and-coming student filmmakers from throughout the Southeast. This year features fifteen entries, from stop-motion projects to an adaptation of Stephen King‘s All That You Love Will Be Carried Away, making it a must-see for curious King devotees. These blocks join the WTF (Watch These Films) Block and Fun Side Epics blocks already announced.
Now, what you really want to know about: the new film announcements!
This final wave announcement brings us news of the world premiere of Andrew Adams’ “coming-of-rage story” American Meltdown as the festival’s final film in its After Hours program. The After Hours finale is one of the most highly anticipated at the festival, joining Jonas Trukanas’ slasher film We Might Hurt Each Other, the closing night film Trim Season, and the opening night film, Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls on my growing list of must-see titles. Joining that list is the North American premiere of Tristan Barr’s sci-fi horror spectacle Subject, which was acquired by Screambox ahead of its screening at the Chattanooga Film Festival. This makes three Screambox releases appearing at CFF23, as Subject, We Might Hurt Each Other, and the earlier announcement of Keishi Kondo’s New Religion will make their way to the streaming channel later this year.
Screambox isn’t the only heavy-hitting horror company to showcase in Tennessee this year. Chattanooga Film Festival continues its collaboration with Dark Star Pictures by adding Alice Maio Mackay’s kickass punk-rock slasher flick Bad Girl Boogey (I may be biased, I have a production credit on the film) and Jon Garcia and Lacy Todd’s Summoning the Spirit to their first wave pair of titles, King on Screen and The Elderly.
Festival alum Onur Tukel is back with a new horror title as well. The That Cold Dead Look In Your Eyes director, who we last saw on-screen at CFF as the warden in The Third Saturday in October, returns behind the camera for Poundcake. Described as a horror satire about a serial killer stalking straight white men, Poundcake is said to also feature Tukel’s signature talent of blending genres as it flips the slasher formula for cultural provocation. If you’ve seen Tunkel’s verbose COVID two-hander Scenes From an Empty Church, you’ll know to expect the unexpected while also being robustly intrigued.
Speaking of The Third Saturday in October, the extraordinarily niche but nevertheless expanding micro-genre of football-slasher films gets two entries in CFF23 with a special screening of August Kane’s remastered ’70s film End Zone 2 and the mockumentary The Once and Future Smash, about the two actors, Michael St. Michaels and Bill Weeden, who both portrayed End Zone 2‘s killer, now vying for the role in an upcoming reboot.
Of all the CFF23 press kit images, Art Brut Films’ Mind Body Spirit hooked me the most. A movie about a yoga influencer and the ritual practices she’s learned from her grandmother, the still provided appears as an upside-down still of a person doing yoga in a well-framed window shot. However, the cold, dread-drenched tone and gothic fireplace in an otherwise empty room produce discomfort in those who stare long enough to finally see the contorted pose of the shadow-laden subject of the photo. The debut feature of Alex Henes and Matthew Merenda gives me chills with a single image, making me wonder what they’ll be able to do with a full-length film.
Animated film fans are in for a fantastic treat with The Wierd Kidz. I was lucky enough to catch this at Salem Horror Fest this year and enjoyed the hell out of it. The film is an ’80s throwback to Goonies-style adventures while simultaneously throwing it back to the ’50s nuclear-panic era giant bug films. CFF says, “Fans of previous CFF selection Attack of the Demons should make it a point to include this film on their watchlist,” but I would add animation fans, Stranger Things fans, and monster movie fans to that list as well. Zach Passero’s film is fun, surprising, and you’ll absolutely want to check it out.
These horror titles join a strong lineup of already-announced features at CFF23 that includes Satan Wants You, a documentary about Michelle Smith’s claims she was involved in a Satanist cult while under hypnosis, and the subsequent book, Michelle Remembers, which single-handedly sparked the Satanic Panic of the ’80s. The extreme horror title Beaten to Death, where a man is led down a path that leaves him physically destitute. And the Chilean black-metal Blair Witch Project-looking found-footage flick Invoking Yell that CFF calls “love at first fright.”
CFF23 presents plenty of alternative titles on the horror periphery for those looking for off-beat films or films lightly touching the horror spectrum. In their second wave announcement, Nathan Blackwell’s The Last Movie Ever Made caught my eye. With the end of the world imminent, a group of friends revisits the sci-fi film they were making in high school together. Meanwhile, Molli & Max in the Future teams Girls‘ Zosia Mamet with SNL‘s Aristotle Athari for a delightful-looking sci-fi rom-com that traverses time and space. Rounding out the science fiction titles in the final wave is Andrew Legge’s Lola, a cinematic black-and-white film set in the 1940s where two scientists intercept broadcast transmissions from the future and suffer Twilight Zone consequences.
Treading beyond genre lines, Ann Oren’s Piaffe, which I had the pleasure of seeing at the Boston Underground Film Festival in April, tells the story of an introverted foley artist who finds enjoyment in living life unbound to the domineering moldings of their older sibling when a horse tail protruding from their spine sparks an air of identity and eroticism. Double that up with D. Smith’s Sundance award-winning documentary Kokomo City, where the lives of four black trans sex workers are examined for a night of LGBTQ+ poignancy during Pride month.
And these are just a part of the incredible onslaught of films, shorts, and events Chattanooga Film Festival is unleashing in their “Cinema Tsunami.” Check out everything CFF23 is offering on their website, and read the synopses’ of everything announced in the final wave press release below. Festival badges, both virtual and hybrid, are on sale now but act fast; quantities are extremely low.
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FEATURES
American Meltdown
Director Andrew Adams | USA, 2023
*World Premiere
Synopsis: A ‘Millennial Coming-of-Rage’ story about a young woman who loses her job and struggles to pay rent… Until she befriends a pickpocket who convinces her that the only way to survive in America is by committing petty crimes.
*Virtual only
Bad Girl Boogey
Director Alice Maio Mackay | Australia, 2022
Presented by Dark Star Pictures
One Halloween, blood was shed by the wearer of a parasitic mask cursed with black magic and bigotry. Sixteen years later, when Angel’s best friend is slaughtered by a killer with the same mask, they must overcome their personal struggles, fight their fear, and find the masked killer before he, or it, slaughters everyone they hold dear. Filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay made Bad Girl Boogey at just 17. The film is a gory throwback slasher with a very diverse cast and very representative of the trans community, including filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay.
*Virtual only
Blow Up My Life
Directors Ryan Dickie, Abigail Horton | USA, 2023
A disgraced pharmaceutical employee accidentally discovers a deadly opioid vape conspiracy, sending him on the run to expose the crime with a trail of chaos in his wake.
*Virtual only
Brutal Season
Director Gavin Fields | USA, 2022
*Special screening
In 1948, the Trouths are facing no income and the hottest summer on record. When their estranged son inexplicably returns, the apartment is full again – but is it big enough for the gambling, trauma, and substantial life insurance policy that comes in his wake?
*Virtual only
End Zone 2
Director August Kane | USA, 1970
Fifteen years after the events of End Zone, Smash-Mouth is back to finish off the cheerleaders who killed his mother.
*Virtual only
Followers
Director James Rich | USA, 2023
As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the past rises from the dead to claim its revenge. A year after surviving a brutal attack, a social media influencer and her friends find themselves once again in the crosshairs of a dangerous and relentless dark web cult, thirsting for retribution and willing to stop at nothing to get it.
*Virtual only
Hell Hath No Fury
Director Zachary Burns | USA, 2023
A husband and wife separately and unknowingly plot to murder each other on the same fateful night.
*Virtual only
Lola
Director Andrew Legge | Ireland, UK, 2022
Presented by Dark Sky Films
In 1941, sisters Thom and Mars have built a machine, LOLA, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future. This allows them to listen to iconic music before it has been made, place bets knowing what the outcome will be, and embrace their inner punk well before the movement came into existence. But with World War II escalating, the sisters decide to use the machine for good to intercept information from the future that could help with military intelligence. The machine initially proves to be a huge success, rapidly twisting the fortunes of the war against the Nazis. While Thom becomes intoxicated by LOLA, Mars begins to realize the terrible consequences of its power.
*in-person only
Mind Body Spirit
Directors Alex Henes, Matthew Merenda | USA, 2023
Presented by Art Brut Films
An aspiring yoga influencer embarks on a ritual practice left behind by her estranged grandmother.
*In-person only
Poundcake
Director Onur Tukel | USA, 2023
Poundcake is the story of a New York City serial killer who is murdering straight white men in unspeakable ways. Podcasters are chiming in with their theories on who the killer is, what his motives are, and how to stop him. Is it all a hoax to garner sympathy for cisgender white men? Some people think so. Others find the murders cathartic, even funny. Are the victims finally getting what they deserve after inflicting centuries of oppression? Can the killer be stopped? New Yorkers must find a way to end the hate and embrace positivity instead. It might be the only way to kill the beast!
*In-person and virtual
Soft Liquid Center
Director Perry Home Video | USA, 2023
A recently single woman moves out on her own, but her newfound relief soon curdles as alarming, inexplicable events turn her home into a house of horrors.
*Virtual only
Stag
Director Alexandra Spieth | USA, 2022
An urban loner fights for a chance at redemption when she’s invited to her estranged BFF’s bachelorette party.
*Virtual only
Subject
Director Tristan Barr | Canada, 2023
*North American Premiere
Presented by Screambox
Compiling suppressed footage, Subject follows a man on his way to prison when he gets intercepted by a secretive government agency to have him serve his sentence by observing a terrifying creature in a close-quartered, isolated facility.
*Virtual only
Summoning the Spirit
Director Jon Garcia and Lacy Todd | USA, 2023
Presented by Dark Star Pictures
When Carla and Dean decide to escape the hustle of the big city and buy a nice quiet house in the woods, they bring some big plans with them: start a family, grow a garden, write the next great American novel. Now their nearest neighbor is nearly a mile down the road, but a mile doesn’t seem so far when they find out that he’s the leader of a cult who claims to telepathically communicate with Sasquatch. Danger threatens their new home as the cult leader tries to get Carla and Dean to join his followers on ‘The Farm.’
*Virtual only
The Bigfoot Trap
Director Aaron Mirtes | USA, 2023
A journalist’s life is changed forever when he’s locked inside of a bigfoot trap by an insane sasquatch hunter.
*Virtual only
The Haunting of Hype House
Directors Brandon Douglas, Matt Farren | USA, 2023
With his brother visiting for the weekend, social media star Jared Zenith attempts to contact the ghost haunting his home but instead finds himself possessed by it.
*Virtual only
The Legend of MexMan
Director Josh Polon | USA, 2023
Germán Alonso strives to create his first feature film, the fantastical sci-fi epic MEXMAN, in spite of struggles with his producers, an unrequited love, and tensions with a documentary crew.
*Virtual only
The Once and Future Smash
Directors Sophia Cacciola, Michael J. Epstein | USA, 2022
In 1970, Mikey and William both portrayed football cannibal Smash-Mouth in the influential cult hit, End Zone 2. Now, 50 years later, only one can wear the mask.
*Virtual only
The Third
Director Manuel Lagos, Jr. | USA, 2023
A couple’s Fourth of July weekend is interrupted by the arrival of an estranged childhood friend.
*Virtual only
The Weird Kidz
Director Zach Passero | USA, 2022
On a weekend campout, a dark monster terrorizes a group of campers who fall prey to an ancient legend and conspiring local townsfolk. For pre-teen Dug, Mel and Fatt, and Dug’s older brother and girlfriend, a night out in the desert becomes a survivalist horror adventure.
Zach Passero’s heartfelt coming-of-age tale about growing up and surviving a night of terrors juggles frights, laughs and an amputated arm in this unique hand-animated joy ride of a creature feature.
*Virtual only
TRAP
Director Anthony Edward Curry | USA, 2022
Facing life in prison, a hood dreams of the violent streets that forged his identity, but cursed his soul.
*Virtual only
Wintertide
Director John Barnard | Canada, 2023
Beth, a volunteer watch person of an isolated northern city, battles a plague of depression that transforms the few remaining residents into empty, zombie-like automatons. She discovers that by entering an alternative dimension through her own dreams, she’s able to stave of the illness during the long, possibly endless winter. But will her power be enough to sustain her?
*Virtual only
EVENTS
Children of the Night: Music and Horror Panel
Join CFF, LVCRFT, and a ghoulish gaggle of special guests as we do a good and geeky deep dive into two great tastes that taste great together – music and horror cinema. From the synth scores of Carpenter classics to DePalma’s Phantom of the Paradise. to the heavy metal madness of cult favorites like Trick or Treat and The Gate, we firmly believe that iconic horror is made even more iconic by great music.
*Virtual
Stretch that Buck: Film Budgeting 101 with Seed & Spark
Presented by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission
You’ve got a script you’re proud of, and now you want to bring it to life! But first: what should your crowdfunding goal be? In this workshop, Seed&Spark’s Meghan Ross will teach you how to build your first budget, utilize loans to make up your budget (conceptually as well as literally), navigate the ask, break down your script, and cut costs without sacrificing your vision. Make that dollar stretch!
*Virtual
Rustic Films 4th Annual Screenplay Pitch Competition
Presented by the Tennessee Entertainment Commission
Rustic Films producer David Lawson, Jr. is back and this time with guest judges Gil Adler and A L Katz. Chosen finalists will pitch their film for the chance for a mentoring session with David, which will include advice on next steps forward. If you’ve got a project you’d like to submit for this year’s competition, simply a paragraph write-up of your project to scripts@chattfilmfest.org. Submissions are open now and close on Thursday June 15 at 11:59pm PT.
*Virtual
Oddity Roadshow
Oddity Roadshow is an actual play TTRPG comedy horror podcast run by Joel Ruiz and produced by the Do You Validate Network. They’ll be putting on a live TTRPG show for CFF this year featuring a story about a haunted movie theater that is filled with ghosts of past guests, movie stars, and workers as the cast of Oddity Roadshow must find a way to help clear out the theater before the big film festival starts the next day.
*Virtual
PinPalz: Partying is Such Sweet Sorrow
For those attending in-person, join us for a special closing night party at the Classic Arcade Pinball Museum. Grab a pint, exchange info with the friends you’ve made, and tell everyone you’ll write them on Discord as the fest continues to party on virtually. Our hope is an evening filled with endless vintage pinball can take the sting out of the bittersweet goodbyes.
*In-person only.
CFF Salutes Johnny Disco
Meet Hollywood’s most famous extra, Johnny Disco, also known as “The Invisible Man.” Disco has done and seen it all, from going cross-eyed in Steve Martin’s iconic film The Jerk to arresting ‘Kramer’ on an episode of “Seinfeld.” Virtual attendees will be able to join CFF in an exclusive chat with Disco to hear the amazing stories behind some of his favorite appearances in film and television ahead of the new documentary film being made about his incredible career.
Monster Squad Pint Night
Want to get a head start on the fest? Join us at Chattanooga’s own Hutton & Smith Brewery on Thursday, June 22, to grab your badge (or tickets) and slam some pints with Andre Gower of The Monster Squad. We’ll screen the film, have some special door prizes and hang as we all get ready for three days of on-the-ground mayhem. (Time to be announced.)
SHORTS
CFF SALUTES YOUR SHORTS
(Student and Tennessee Filmmakers)
After Hours
Director James Ross | USA, 2022
After closing hours in a department store, the night shift security guard and custodian encounter strange, unusual occurrences. Armed with only their walkie-talkies and overhead cameras, they discover a stealthy, vicious predator.
Anya
Director Chris Davies | USA, 2023
When a sinister entity emerges from the forest on a 1970s Halloween night, a young woman’s true motives are revealed – and her future is decided forever.
Crossing Tides
Director Gabriel Liam Cook Henk | USA, 2023
A recently widowed older woman struggles to cope with the loss of her husband while adjusting to a life of silence and loneliness. As time passes, she begins to receive visitations from her late husband that shows a deeper look into what she fears and hopes for.
Don’t Look Too Far Ahead
Director Nattalyee Randall | USA, 2022
“Don’t Look Too Far Ahead” is a film about Miami native and first-generation Haitian-American college basketball athlete David Jean Baptiste. Although privilege and wealth did not allow David the same basketball opportunities as many of his peers, he continued to persevere and create his own legacy. Watch as David plays the last home game of his college career at The University of Chattanooga and reflects on what’s ahead.
Greenhouse
Director Rachael Porter | USA, 2022
An aspiring flower farmer planting her first crop faces opposition in the place she least expects it—from within herself.
Harmonious
Director Valery Garcia | USA, 2022
Guided by greed and naïveté, two young women take the extreme avenue of summoning a demon. They must now choose between their desires and friendship.
Morse Code
Director McKenzi Vanderberg | USA, 2022
After a loved one’s tragic death, Stefani uses Morse Code to speak with The Beyond. In her search for answers, she inadvertently discovers questions far more dangerous.
netneutral
Director Edwin Loughry | USA, 2022
Two co-workers discuss a possible alien abduction.
Punch The Boss
Director Taryn Grace | USA, 2023
Doug has been stuck in a dead-end job with a terrible boss for years, but today he’s finally had enough.
Retribution
Directors Ava Marie Howard, David Steven Smith | USA, 2023
1866 – A year after the end of the American Civil War, a priest turned bounty hunter rests for the night with an emancipated slave he is transporting to be hanged when a mysterious traveler stumbles into camp.
Solitude
Director Trevor Hancock | USA, 2022
During his weekend cabin getaway to find solitude, Brett finds himself at odds with an obnoxious neighbor that won’t seem to give him peace. As the getaway progresses, Brett becomes less stable and begins to have certain diabolical thoughts about achieving the peace he so desperately seeks.
Stephen King’s: All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
Director Bolen Miller | USA, 2022
Based on the Stephen King short story: A middle-aged traveling salesman contemplates his life choices at a shitty motel in Nebraska.
The Businessman
Director Nathan Ginter | USA, 2022
On the way home from school, a young girl runs into a mysterious salesman who looks to instill the fear of financial insecurity and coerce her into selling fashion magazines for him.
Dangerous Visions
Dead Enders
Directors Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker | USA, 2022
A disaffected, young gas station clerk on the midnight shift must learn to give a damn about something after malevolent mind-controlling bugs are set loose by irresponsible oil drillers.
Fetal Position
Director Joseph Yates | USA, 2022
A man tries to abort his alien pregnancy in violation of the pro-life “Heartbeat Bill.”
Glitch
Director Rebecca Sonia Berrih | USA, 2022
While FaceTiming her daughter, a mother spots something scary on the video feed that can’t be seen with the naked eye…
Gnomes
Director Ruwan Heggelman | Netherlands, 2022
Unknowingly, a girl enters the habitat of a tribe of killer gnomes during her daily run. Lured by mysterious glowing mushrooms, she’ll soon wish she’d stayed on her usual tracks…
Keep Scrolling
Director Luke Longmire | USA, 2022
While on TikTok, a young girl scrolls onto a haunted live stream.
Memento Mori
Director Izzy Lee | USA, 2023
In 1983, a scientist in isolation resurrects a dead colleague.
Mickey Dogface
Director Zach Fleming | USA, 2022
Halloween night, three friends high in a van, and an urban legend surrounding a cult singer’s mysterious death in a fire – what could go wrong?
No Overnight Parking
Director Meg Swertlow | USA, 2023
*North American Premiere
A woman fleeing from her abusive husband gets locked in an underground parking garage with a masked killer.
Seaborne
Director Dylan Ashton | USA, 2022
A seaside home invasion turns sinister when a young mother discovers her intruders have risen from beneath the sea.
Splinter
Director Marc Bernardin | USA, 2023
Young Benjamin (Brooks Firestone) has spent most of his ten years on an airplane that almost never lands because when his feet touch the ground, rage spreads like a virus. But when a mid-air collision forces the plane out of the sky, it falls to his caretakers Morgan (Yetide Badaki) and Chris (Moon Bloodgood) to deal with the explosive fallout.
Stop Dead
Director Emily Greenwood | UK, 2022
When a workaholic city detective and her laid-back partner try to stop a disheveled girl staggering down the middle of a country road, they discover she’s being stalked by some unseen entity with a horrifying ultimatum: you stop moving, you die.
Tell Alice I Love Her
Director Jamie Carreiro | USA, 2023
Years after a world-changing disaster, a woman on a critical mission through the wilderness is forced to make a desperate choice.
The Inverts
Director Evan Jordan | USA, 2023
An abductee assembles a collection of video evidence and testimonies from amateur researchers, which brings to light some startling revelations about the world we live in before making a life-altering decision.
They Call It… Red Cemetery!
Director Francisco Lacerda | Portugal, 2022
Among the crosses of an old cemetery, two outlaws have a dispute over honor, companionship, and greed.
VEXED
Director Gene Blalock | USA, 2022
A woman struggles with her identity as a charming late-night connection takes a dark turn.
