Hot on the haunted heels of their tenth-anniversary announcement, organizers of The Chattanooga Film Festival have once again assembled a first wave of strange and fantastic cinema for their hybrid edition this year.
First up is the North American premiere of a film primed to knock the socks off CFF’s longtime fans - filmmaker Jonas Trukanas‘ perfectly executed Lithuanian slasher WE MIGHT HURT EACH OTHER. Trukanas' briskly paced hoot of a horror film is one of this year’s true standouts and another title presented by Screambox. WE MIGHT HURT EACH OTHER has all the makings of a deeply satisfying cult classic.
Closing out the festival for those attending in person this year is TRIM SEASON, marking the return of filmmaker Ariel Vida, who first attended CFF in 2019 with a secret screening of VIDE NOIR. Her latest combines a terrific ensemble cast, one of the best settings you’ll find in any horror film this year, plus some gnarly surprises. After the screening, we're happy to have our friends at SnapDragon Hemp on hand to help calm everybody down.
Lots of ink has been spilled from true crime books to fear-mongering cable news segments on the "Satanic Panic" of the 1980s. With their new film, SATAN WANTS YOU, directors Steve Adams and Sean Horlor take a provocative and fascinating look at the beginnings of this bizarre movement. With a meticulously researched structure and never before heard audio recordings of Michelle Smith, who, along with her psychiatrist Lawrence Pazdur was very much the patient zero of the whole panic, Adams and Horlor have crafted one of the year's wildest and most unmissable pieces of documentary filmmaking. Whether you're a fan of true crime docs or just a kid who had your Ozzy albums taken away by concerned parents, SATAN WANTS YOU is essential viewing.
Another documentary on the slate this year is D. Smith’s raucous and raw portrait of the lives of four black trans sex workers. KOKOMO CITY stands tall in our eyes as one of the most vitally important, entertaining, and poignant pieces of documentary filmmaking you’re likely to see this year. From its gorgeous black and white cinematography to an absolutely amazing soundtrack, Smith’s film practically leaps off the screen and we’re honored to have the opportunity to share it with our in-person audience in Tennessee.
Little known to most is the CFF team’s love of well-done romantic comedies. They are rare in the genre space, so when the team saw Michael Lukk Litwak's charming and delightful MOLLI & MAX IN THE FUTURE, it compelled them to drop a rom-com bomb into this year’s fest. With winning performances by Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant, Girls) and Aristotle Athari (SNL), Litwak's delightful far future set “com” never forgets that it also needs a good ratio of “rom.”
With a vibe that is reminiscent of the films of Peter Strickland, mixed with David Cronenberg, PIAFFE is one of the standout films of the year. A film that is sexy, strange, and utterly unique, and it’s recommended to let Ann Oren's debut feature lure you in with its lush, hypnotic beauty.
The CFF team is also working with the new maniacs on the genre scene, Welcome Villain, for a screening of Sam Curtain's feral flick BEATEN TO DEATH. As one might suspect, the title hints at an intense and extreme situation that will leave the audience wondering not only how much the human body can endure, but how much they themselves can.
Longtime fans of the fest will dig Patricio Valladares's INVOKING YELL. This 90's set, Chilean, all-lady black-metal band, found footage horror film was love at first fright for us.
What would you do if you knew the world was going to end? In filmmaker Nathan Blackwell’s THE LAST MOVIE EVER MADE, that choice is simple - recruit a group of old friends and even a few total strangers to help complete the science fiction film you abandoned making in high school. The result is a film dripping with charm and will make everyone in the audience want to go make a movie with their friends.
Writer/Director/Producer Alexander Canepa's masterful indie drama MRS. BOOKER ON 8TH AVENUE deftly weaves the neorealism of classic Italian cinema, the isolation of the pandemic, and the jazz-infused soul of Thelonious Monk together in truly wonderful ways to create a work of raw power and true independence. Shot on the streets over New York in just ten days, Canepa's talented cast bear their souls and the result is a beautiful and tragic tale that couldn't help remind us of Cassavettes at his peak.
The festival’s annual music-themed block, Sonic Cinema returns with a pair of films saluting outsider musicians we think will worm their way into your ears/hearts. This block will celebrate the tenth anniversary of LOCAL LEGENDS, the charming and funny autobiographical tale of songwriter Matt Farley, a man with over 24,000 songs to his credit, many bathroom-themed. We're proud to screen this wildly underrated classic and have a chat with Farley himself, moderated by Peter Kuplowsky (TIFF's Midnight Madness).
Next, the fest will warp your brain to the uncharted zone with a screening of filmmaker Louis Crisitello's warm-hearted documentary of Florida wild man musician and green screen aficionado Phil Thomas Katt - SPACE HAPPY: PHIL THOMAS KATT AND THE UNCHARTED ZONE.
It wouldn't be CFF without a celebration of metal and rounding out the 2023 Sonic Cinema offerings is a special screening of Michael Dimmitt's upcoming music documentary A WANDERING PATH (THE STORY OF GILEAD MEDIA). Open to virtual badge holders, this film is a portrait of Adam Bartlett, the visionary head of the fascinating and beloved Gilead Media, and the many incredible black metal, doom, and noise rock bands on the label’s roster. These bands have used the power of music to cope with issues from abuse to depression in unique and profound ways. Featuring incredible extreme musicians from Emma Ruth Rundle to Thou to Blood Incantation, Dimmitt's deeply personal and moving doc is a fantastic celebration of life and music, and CFF is proud to offer a sneak preview of the film before its official release.
Returning as part of the festival's celebrated short film program is the WTF (Watch These Films) block, highlighting a deranged dozen of the year's strangest and most magical shorts peppered with returning fan favorites like Chris McInroy with WE FORGOT ABOUT THE ZOMBIES, Addie Doyle & Lee Hurst’s fin. as well as wild and talented new voices like Vanessa Meyer’s FOOT TROUBLE and Alex Kavutskiy with VERTICAL VALOR.
Making its 2023 debut with the festival is a new virtually presented block of shorts called Fun Side Epics. Made up of eighteen shorts that genuinely feel like mini-features in every sense, from their world-building and complex characters to their slightly longer than your typical short film running times from filmmaker Montana Cypress' THE RED ORCHID to Estonian filmmakers EskoBros crazy cool TWIN TURBO. Fun Size Epics has over 5 hours of incredible short filmmaking, curated from all over the world.
Also returning is Stephen Scarlata (Jodorowsky's Dune) and Josh Miller's (Violent Night) Best Movies Never Made podcast with a special episode tie-in to our Tales From the Crypt salute. Josh, Steven, and some very special guests will dive deeply into DEAD EASY, the never-filmed follow-up to the classic Tales From the Crypt movie DEMON KNIGHT. There is plenty more from the crypt where that came from, including special live episodes of two more of the festival’s
favorite podcasts, Dad’s From the Crypt, plus Pretty h8 Machine and Crazysexy ghoul's L8 Night Ghouls, who've quickly begun making a name for themselves with genre fans.
Sure to excite fans of the eclectic mix of music, comedy, and film that has defined CFF over the past decade is the return of their infamous BOAT FLOAT. A sprawling triple-decker brouhaha hosted on Chattanooga's iconic Southern Belle Riverboat that has long served as the insane centerpiece of the festival's Saturday night parties. Comedian Jonah Ray will perform and be the night’s MC, Vinegar Syndrome will be on hand with a killer pop-up shop, and local heroes LILLIAN, featuring CFF’s lead illustrator and designer extraordinaire Travis Knight on bass. In addition, two of the Earth’s greatest hardcore bands will also play, Texas’ Strange Joy and Ohio’s Slug.
Both hybrid and virtual badges are on sale now at chattfilmfest.org. In-person screenings and events are taking place June 23 - 25 at The Read House located in downtown Chattanooga, plus additional party locations around the city. The virtual component of the festival is taking place June 23 - 29. Individual tickets for certain in-person and virtual films and events will become available closer to the festival.