Organizers of the acclaimed Chattanooga Film Festival take their Spinal Tap references seriously and have fired off an opening salvo of films that, much like the fictional metal titan's amps, goes to 11. There's a method to the festival's madness. There are 11 films, one for each of the festival's years. This eclectic mix, when Voltron-ed together and seasoned liberally with the events (virtual and in-person) the festival is known for, comprises the festival's first full wave of 2024 programming.
Review for the festival and the films:
Hot on the heels of announcing a massive salute to The Twilight Zone and its creator, Rod Serling, in honor of Rod's 100th birthday and a 60th-anniversary screening of Russ Meyer's mother of all cult classics Faster, Pussycat! Kill Kill! The CFF's first wave of features is led by a World Premiere filled with the kind of VHS-worship practically guaranteed to worm its way into the hearts of the festival’s loyal fans.
In filmmaker Michael Turney's RetroTech Romance Video Vision, a woman unlocks a dark dimension through an old VCR, combining romance, horror, and analog technology in unique and spellbinding ways.
Video Vision in both vibes and execution perfectly embodies the genre-blending spirit of the Chattanooga Film Festival and serves as its opening night film selection for the year. Because of the festival's ongoing commitment to accessibility for its 2024 edition, the CFF team endeavored to find filmmakers and partners who understand the importance of this issue, and audience members will have the option of tuning into this world premiere on-site and virtually (US residents only). This theme of accessibility extends to the festival's other programming. The CFF team has also ensured that an equal number of exclusive films and events are available to their attendees whether they are joining in on the fun in person at the festival's elegant haunted hotel home, The Read House, or attending virtually.
The festival's first wave also includes the return of several fan favorites, the first of which is critically acclaimed author Clay McCleod Chapman, whose yearly appearance and wild live storytelling and readings known as The Pumpkin Pie Show are an unmissable and sacred CFF tradition and an annual highlight. This year's event will feature readings from Chapman's novel What Kind of Mother and other tales
Next up is a multi-time alumnus and multi-talented filmmaker/author beloved to the festival's fans, Izzy Lee, who will be on hand signing copies of her new novella I Can See Your Lies.
Continuing its tradition of partnering with forward-thinking companies that are curating and releasing some of the world's best genre cinema, CFF is honored to once again work with Art Brut Films, which will be presenting a special screening of a unique take on the slasher genre: filmmaker Nick Verdi's Sweet Relief, a film that feels more than a little infused with the hangout DNA of early Richard Linklater films while still delivering a story that will resonate with genre fans.
Presenting another buzzed-about special screening for attendees is Dread. Dread will bring the thrills of another longtime fan-approved CFF alum filmmaker, Jill Gevargizian's (The Stylist) latest feature, Ghost Game, to the festival. The film also boasts a screenplay by previously announced guest author/screenwriter Adam Cesare.
Because CFF tends to lean into the eerie grandeur of its haunted home at The Read House Hotel with events uniquely suited to the vibes, the festival has also announced Poe Things: An edgar Allan Show, an event that will explore the death and life of Poe, contain a secret screening of one of the greatest film adaptations of Poe's work, a live Poe-formance and even another opportunity for guests to get a book they'll surely love signed by the author, Poe biographer Mark Dawidziak and his essential A Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe. The book was recently chosen by Barnes & Noble as its March non-fiction title of the month.
Also back, after playing a pivotal role in the festival's 2023 salute to Tales From the Crypt are some of CFF's favorite fathers, the Dads From the Crypt, who'll take part in this year's Twilight Zone celebration with a special live episode of their show.
If all these films weren't enough, CFF has announced that one of the undisputed hits of its 2023 edition returns. The delicious maximalism of the RED EYE block features a seven-night series of secret screenings that are exclusive to the festival's virtual platform. Guests can expect forgotten gems, special anniversary screenings of cult classics, and indie rarities that won't come to a streaming service near them anytime soon.
And now the 11 films of CFF 2024's First Wave, which contain everything from a hauntingly beautiful ghost story to a mid-life crisis in documentary form to funny and artfully inventive new takes on vampire stories, modern fairytales, and at least one film that features what could be described as a teleportery, witchcrafty, kidnapping adjacent butterfly knife comedy... with time travel. In other words, all the hallmarks the festival knows are adored by the warm-hearted and open-minded fans who have turned the Chattanooga Film Festival into a Summer Camp For Cinephiles.
Features:
A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree
Directors Adam Mann, Skye Mann | Canada 2023
Padraig embarks on a journey to turn a living tree into a coffin for his already dead and buried wife. He bargains his way into an eccentric carpenter's shop. What starts out as an act to help alleviate grief and guilt slowly descends into a harrowing selfish game of discovery; as John pulls Padraig deeper into the world of Irish folklore and ancient magic.
*Hybrid
Flipside
Director Christopher Wilcha | United States 2023
When filmmaker Chris Wilcha revisits the record store he worked at as a teenager in New Jersey, he finds the once-thriving bastion of music and weirdness from his youth slowly falling apart and out of touch with the times. FLIPSIDE documents his tragicomic attempt to revive the store while revisiting other documentary projects he has abandoned over the years. In the process, Wilcha captures This American Life icon Ira Glass in the midst of a creative rebirth, discovers the origin story of David Bowie’s ode to a local New Jersey cable television hero, and uncovers the unlikely connection between jazz photographer Herman Leonard and TV writer David Milch. This disparate collection of stories coheres into something strange and expansive a moving meditation on music, work, and the sacrifices and satisfaction of trying to live a creative life.
*In-Person Only
Ganymede
Directors Coby Holt, Sam Probst | United States 2023
When the son of a small town politician develops a crush on his openly gay classmate, he finds himself stalked by a grotesque creature that increasingly inhabits his thoughts and threatens physical harm.
*Hybrid
Ghost Game
Director Jill Gevargizian | United States 2024
Presented by DREAD - Participating in an internet challenge that requires breaking into homes and living undetected alongside the residents, a thrill-seeking couple target an infamous haunted house and endure a series of chilling incidents as they witness a family descending into madness.
*In-Person Only
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Director Ariane Louis-Seize | Australia 2024
Sasha is a young vampire with a serious problem: she's too sensitive to kill. When her exasperated parents cut off her blood supply, Sasha's life is in jeopardy. Luckily, she meets Paul, a lonely teenager with suicidal tendencies who is willing to give his life to save hers. But their friendly agreement soon becomes a nocturnal quest to fulfill Paul's last wishes before day breaks.
*In-Person Only
Sleep
Director Jason Yu | South Korea 2023
A young, expectant wife must figure out how to stop her husband's nightmarish sleepwalking habits before he harms himself or his family.
*In-Person Only
Someone Dies!
Director Justin Petty | United States 2023
*North American Premiere
A deadbeat detective investigates a cryptic note that leads to the discovery of an incomprehensible kitchen sink.
*Hybrid
Sweet Relief
Director Nick Verdi | United States 2023
Presented by Art Brut Films - A woman's dangerous inclinations, a sadistic child killer, and a panic surrounding an online murder challenge reveal the insidious violence of a small New England town.
*Hybrid
The Vourdalak
Director Adrien Beau | France 2023
Lost in a hostile forest, the Marquis d'UrfÃ, a noble emissary of the King of France, finds refuge in the home of a strange family.
*In-Person Only
Video Vision
*World Premiere
Director Michael Turney | United States 2023
When an old VCR mysteriously shows up at digitizing facility Video Vision it starts affecting employee Kibby (Andrea Figliomeni) in strange ways. Meanwhile an unlikely romance with a trans man (Chrystal Peterson) has Kibby's head in the clouds until she's brought to her knees by the supernatural force that's slowly taking control of her body and mind. When Kibby and Gator investigate the VCR's origins they discover she has unwittingly unlocked the dark dimension of Dr. Analog.
*Hybrid
The Wheel of Heaven
Director Joseph Badon | United States 2024
In this genre-hopping “cinematic mixtape” a woman caught up in predatory relationships is thrown into a multi-layered world of choices after she discovers a mystical book in a thrift store.
*Hybrid
Until March 18 film fans can take advantage of the festival's generous Early Bird discounts by visiting the festival’s site at chattfilmfest.org or via this link.