The organizers of the acclaimed Chattanooga Film Festival are truly turning it up to 11 for the festival’s 11th edition, which is being held this year from June 21 to June 28. In honor of this glorious occasion, the team has announced the first wave of features playing at the festival, along with several of their live events.
The CFF’s first wave of features is led by the World Premiere of Michael Turney’s Video Vision. In the film, a woman unlocks a dark dimension through an old VCR, combining romance, horror, and analog technology in unique and spellbinding ways.
DREAD, a sister company to Dread Central, is also bringing the thrills to the Chattanooga Film Festival! They’re hosting a special screening for CFF alum filmmaker Jill Gevargizian’s latest film Ghost Game as part of the fest! The film also boasts a screenplay by previously announced guest author/screenwriter Adam Cesare.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Chattanooga Film Festival has been a champion for accessibility, offering virtual festival access to those across the US. That continues with the 2024 festival, with the team ensuring that an equal number of exclusive films and events are available to attendees whether they are joining in on the fun in person or attending virtually.
Check out the first wave of Chattanooga Film Festival features below:
A Guide to Becoming an Elm Tree, dir. Adam Mann and Skye Mann
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, dir. Christopher Wilcha
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, dir. Coby Holt and Sam Probst
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, dir. Jill Gevargizian
Presented by DREAD – Participating in an internet challenge that requires breaking into homes and living undetected alongside the residents, a thrill-seeking couple targets 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, dir. Ariane Louis-Seize
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, dir. Jason Yu
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!, dir. Justin Petty
A deadbeat detective investigates a cryptic note that leads to the discovery of an incomprehensible kitchen sink.
*Hybrid
Sweet Relief, dir. Nick Verdi
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, dir. Adrien Beau
Lost in a hostile forest, the Marquis d’Urfé, a noble emissary of the King of France, finds refuge in the home of a strange family.
*In-Person Only
Video Vision, dir. Michael Turney
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, dir. Joseph Badon
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.
Categorized: News
