The Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) is (nearly) upon us! Kicking off June 23rd and running through the 28th, we are excited to announce more stellar programming in this final wave (check out the first wave announcement here.) From events to twenty additional features and six blocks of short films, this year’s festivities are bound to be a blast.
Leading a trio of world premieres is CFF 2022’s Opening Night Film The Leech, from filmmaker and CFF alumni Eric Pennycoff. The Leech is Pennycoff’s sophomore feature, following his debut Sadistic Intentions, starring genre favorites Jeremy Gardner and Graham Skipper.
Alana Purcell’s charming comedy/drama True Believer won over the genre-hardened hearts of the festival’s entire programming team, and will be making its world premiere debut, following the story of siblings discovering family secrets at a quirky cabin in the desert.
This year’s closing night film will be the world premiere of Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen’s lean and mean thriller Night Shift, which promises to leave “attendees with their blood pumping and eyeballs ready for whatever the talented duo of directors makes next.”
In past years, the festival hosted multiple secret screenings. This year they’re changing it up with one singular secret screening, by design. The festival has begun releasing a series of codes and clues surrounding the screening, giving CFF 2022 VIP Badgeholders a chance to be some of the first to experience one of the year’s sure-fire home runs for genre film fans. Fans can email their guesses to secrets@chattfilmfest.org. The first lucky fan to guess the screening will win a badge to attend CFF 2023.
The shorts block will be presided over by fan favorites and CFF alumni, The Monster Squad‘s Andre Gower and Ryan Lambert. The 2022 shorts lineup includes more than 70 short films, comprising six feature-length blocks packed with new work from returning filmmakers Izzy Lee, Chris McInroy, and Beck Kitsis.
Rounding out this year’s live events are a tribute to Up All Night‘s Rhonda Shear, A Magical Ass Evening of… magic with filmmaker of the previously announced CFF 2022 selection Breathing Happy, and world-class magician Shane Brady. Eric Pennycoff, Jeremy Gardner, and Graham Skipper will be presenting a live commentary track recording along with other members of the cast and crew of The Leech. CFF will also be welcoming filmmaker and film historians Stephen Scarlata (Jodorowsky’s Dune) and Josh Miller (Sonic The Hedgehog 1 and 2) for a special live episode of their acclaimed podcast The Best Movies Never Made.
The Discord server will be your round-the-clock CFF party headquarters, badge holders can attend nightly watch parties. Individual tickets for applicable feature films and the shorts blocks will be available 48 hours before the festival starts on June 23rd. VIP badges are available now at chattfilmfest.org.
Check out the lineup and details below:
FEATURE FILMS
THE SNAKE GIRL AND THE SILVER-HAIRED WITCH
This movie feels like it was dreamed into existence. When a girl named Sayuri is reunited with her family after years in an orphanage, she’s plagued with phantasmagorical visions involving a fanged demon, wild monsters, and murder by snakes. And it only gets weirder from there. Directed by Noriaki Yuasa (the co-creator of the GAMERA series) and adapted from the work of manga pioneer Kazuo Umezu, THE SNAKE GIRL AND THE SILVER-HAIRED WITCH is a stylish, theremin-fueled gothic nightmare that’s easily the most traumatizing movie ever aimed at a kids audience. Salvador Dali would be proud.
A PURE PLACE
Director: Nikias Chryssos | 2021 | 91 mins | Drama/Folk-Horror | Germany/Greece | German/Greek
Award-winning director Nikias Chryssos (DER BUNKER) follows up on his success with the story of a young and feverish boy named Paul who must challenge the obsessive community that surrounds him in order to free his sister from the nefarious conspirations of the cult leader, Fust.
CRYO
Director: Barrett Burgin | 2022 | 118 mins | Mystery/Sci-Fi/Thriller | United States | English
Trapped in an underground facility, five scientists wake from cryogenic sleep with no memory of who they are or how long they’ve been asleep. They soon make a shocking realization: a killer is hunting them down there, and may even be hiding among them.
GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY
Director: Theodore Schaefer | 2021 | 77 mins | Arthouse/Drama | United States | English
After having her identity stolen, a woman, and her son’s pregnant girlfriend, bond together on a surreal journey as they attempt to track down the perpetrators.
MAKE POPULAR MOVIES
Director: Bryan Connolly | 2022 | 74 mins | Comedy | United States | English
A self-important filmmaker aspires to change cinema. An actress and actor languishing in commercial hell gets cast. Through this journey they find fame and emotional destruction. Hooray for Hollywood! A slapstick absurdist film about how people create and view movies in the 21st Century.
MODEL OLIMPIA – North American Premiere
Director: Frédéric Hambalek | 2020 | 89 mins | Arthouse/Drama | Germany | German
A mother has designed an unconventional plan to change her son’s disturbing obsessions.
MOTHER MIDNIGHT
Director: Mike Beech | 2022 | 96 mins | Drama | South Korea | Korean
Twenty-something Jiwon attempts to deal with the loss of her mother and her father’s worsening drinking. Faced with a violent neighbor threatening the family, and complicated love life, she accepts the aid of a local shaman.
MYSTERY SPOT
Director: Mel House | 2020 | 111 mins | Drama/Horror | United States | English
A number of lost souls find refuge in a small motel in the middle of nowhere, its only distinguishing characteristic being the ruins of an old Mystery Spot—a long-dead roadside attraction with strange metaphysical powers. Nathan and Rachel find solace in one another, both attempting to escape dark pasts that seem to be using the Mystery Spot to go from being painful shadows of their lives to very real entities of the present. Everyone at the Mystery Spot will be affected by its unique properties, but only some will survive its reality-shattering implications.
NIGHT SHIFT – World Premiere – Closing Night Film
Directors: Greg Swinson, Ryan Thiessen | 2022 | 98 mins | Thriller | United States | English
After a break-in occurs during her first night on the job, the lone night shift janitor must fight to survive when she becomes the target of the masked intruders.
PHANTOM PROJECT
Director Roberto Doveris | 2022 | 97 mins | Arthouse/LGBT | Chile | Spanish
In filmmaker Roberto Doveris’s heartwarming LGBTQ+ Chilean comedy, we follow Pablo, a young actor who dreams of starring in a movie, but to pay the bills, he has to work as a simulated patient in medical schools and bizarre alternative therapy sessions.
PUSSYCAKE – North American Premiere
Director: Pablo Parés | 2021 | 82 mins | Comedy/Horror | Argentina | Spanish
A struggling all-girl rock band goes on tour and discovers their worst problem is not just being forgotten by their fans.
SECOND SUN – North American Premiere
Director: Rinat Tashimov | 2021 | 90 mins | Arthouse/Comedy/Drama | Russia | Russian
A film about the life of a modern Siberian Tatar village on a forgotten stretch of the Silk Road.
SECRET SCREENING
Director XXXXX | 2022 | ?? min | REDACTED | United States | English | REDACTED.
Though the CFF Secret Screening has long been a sacred tradition of our festival, this year’s truly takes the cake. We’re so excited about this one we’ve decided to shroud it even more in mysterious ass mystery than our past secret screenings. Yeah, we know there was that one time we made y’all join a cult before we started the movie, but it was obviously totally worth it! We’ve already begun dropping cryptic hints and badly rhyming clues for eagled-eyed festival attendees, and we’ve set up the email address secrets@chattfilmfest.org if you’d like to venture a guess as to what this year’s secret screening is. The first person to email us with a correct answer will get a free VIP badge to CFF 2023. This screening is open to VIP Badge Holders only
SELF PORTRAIT
Director: Joële Walinga | 2021 | 68 mins | Experimental | Canada
A portrait of humanity as captured by its surveillance cameras.
THE ATTACHMENT DIARIES
Director: Valentín Javier Diment | 2021 | 102 mins | Erotic Thriller | Argentina | Spanish
Two troubled women on the edge see their lives intertwined when they embark on a vicious crusade of revenge, fueled by shifting passions and haunting secrets.
THE CREEPING
Director: Jamie Hooper | 2022 | 94 mins | Horror | UK | English
A concerned young woman moves home to look after her ailing grandmother and soon finds herself fighting a malevolent presence with a dark secret.
THE LEECH – World Premiere – Opening Night Film
Director: Eric Pennycoff | 2022 | 82 mins | Comedy/Horror | United States | English
A devout priest welcomes a struggling couple into his house at Christmas time. What begins as a simple act of kindness quickly becomes the ultimate test of faith once the sanctity of his home is jeopardized
THE UNSETTLING
Director: Harry Owens | 2021 | 93 mins | Drama/Horror/Mystery | United States | English
Abena and Kwame are struggling to recover from a devastating tragedy. They travel to Los Angeles for a vacation that they hope will help them find their way back to one another. Instead, during an awkward dinner with estranged friends, Vivian and Anthony, Abena is increasingly terrorized by an evil possessing the house. As her terror grows, it ultimately engulfs all four with horrifying consequences.
TRUE BELIEVER – World Premiere
Director: Alana Purcell | 2022 | 89 mins | Comedy/Drama | United States | English
Siblings discover family secrets at a quirky cabin in the desert.
WOLKA – North American Premiere
Director: Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson | 2021 | 100 mins | Drama | Iceland/Poland | Polish
Anna gets paroled from a Polish prison after fifteen years behind bars. Once free, Anna has but one goal – to find a woman whose name is Dorota.
ZERIA
Director: Harry Cleven | 2021 | 61 mins | Animation/Sci-Fi | Belgium | French
Gaspard is the last man on Earth. Zeria, his grandson, is the first human to be born on Mars. Gaspard tells him about his life, his fears, his loves… in the hope Zeria will come to see him before he dies… Zeria would be the first human being to return to Earth without having ever known it…
SHORTS
CFF Salutes Your Shorts Short Film Showcase Vol 9.
54 MILES TO HOME, dir. Claire Haughey (USA); AM I THE TUB?, dir. Laura Shepard (USA); BREAK ANY SPELL, dir. Anton Jøsef (Canada); CRUISE, dir. Sam Rudykoff (Canada); DIRTBAG, dir. Karsten Runquist (USA); REKLAW, dir. Polaris Banks (USA); THE DROWNED, dir. Adam Park (UK); URSULA, dir. Hannah Heller (USA); WILD CARD, dir. Tipper Newton (USA)
Dangerous Visions Vol. 1
Horror and Genre Shorts Showcase
7 MINUTES IN HELL, dir. Shane Spiegel, Justin Reager (USA); BOX, dir. Jonathan Maxwell Shander (USA); COMMUNITY SERVICE, dir. Grayson Tyler Johnson (USA); LIVIN’ AFTER MIDNIGHT, dir. Tom von Dohlen (USA); MUNKIE, dir. Steven Chow (New Zealand); OFF LIMITS, dir. Megan Gorman (USA); SLEEP, dir. Alexandra Pechman (USA); SMILE, dir. Joanna Tsanis (Canada); STREAMER STALKER, dir. Gaelan Draper (USA); SUCKER, dir. Alix Austin (UK); SWOLE GHOST, dir, Tim Troemner (USA); THE SWEET SPOT, dir. Evan Enderle (USA); TRASH LIFE, dir. Jeffrey Owens, Dillon Vaughn (USA); THE WOODSMAN, dir. Kyle Kuchta (USA); WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS?, dir. Douglas Wicker (USA)
Dangerous Visions Vol. 2
Horror and Genre Shorts Showcase
BALL LIGHTNING, dir. Gavin M. DuBois (USA); DESTINATION: MOON, dir. Nathaniel JW Hendricks (USA); EXO SAPIEN, dir. James C. Williamson (South Africa); FOUND, dir. Jean Grant (USA); INCH THICK, KNEE DEEP, dir. Anatasha Blakely (USA); LOVE YOU, MAMA, dir. Alexandra Magistro (Canada); RED IS THE COLOR OF BEAUTY, dir. Beck Kitsis (USA); SPECTER OF WEEPING HILL, dir. Matthew Barber, Nathaniel Barber (USA); THE ANGST, dir. L. Gustavo Cooper (USA); THREE WAYS TO DINE WELL, dir. Alison Peirse (UK); VISITORS, dir. Kenichi Ugana (Japan); VOYEUR(S), dir. Arthur Delaire, Edouard de Luze (France); WEEE WOOO, dir. Charlie McWade (USA)
School House Block
Student Film Showcase
BROKEN HEARTS, dir. Alessandra Lichtenfeld (USA); CYCLES, dir. Jakey Lutsko (USA); DARKSIDE, dir. Spencer Zimmerman (Canada); NAHRANI, dir. Simon Pfister (Germany); SKELETONS, dir. Steven Hedrick (USA); SPLIT ENDS, dir. Cookie Estés (USA); THE ROTTING OF CASEY CULPEPPER, dir. Daniel Slottje (USA); UNDERDOGS, dir. Alex Astrella (USA); WHY IS IT SO WARM ON CHRISTMAS, dir. CHOI Woo Gene (Republic of Korea); WISH YOU WERE HERE, dir. John Otteson (UK)
The Tennessee Entertainment Commission Presents the
CFF 2022 Tennessee and Regional Filmmaker Showcase
DAYS COUNTED, dir. Chandler Gibson (USA); IN THE BALANCE, dir. Ryan Gentle, Austin Quarles (USA); ROGER MUST DIE, dir. Allison Shrum (USA); SHAPES – VARIATION III, dir. Matt Eslinger (USA); SOPHIE IN FURBYLAND, dir. Pacey Hansen (USA); THE DEVIL WILL RUN, dir. Noah Glenn (USA); THE MONSTER INSIDE, dir. Ashley Hammelman (USA)
WTF (Watch These Films)
Strange and Magical Short Film Showcase
A NEW DAY (BROUGHT TO YOU BY HORIZON RESEARCH SYSTEMS), dir. Nate Southard (USA); ARGUS, dir. Ethan Barrett (USA); BIRDWATCHING, dir. Samantha Soule (USA); BUDDYMOVIE, dir. Ryan McGlade (USA); COHERENCE, dir. Patrick Scopick (Canada); CUBED ROW, dir. Gonzalo Nosal (USA); EVERY TIME WE MEET FOR ICE CREAM YOUR WHOLE FUCKING FACE EXPLODES, dir. Anthony Cousins (USA); FLOATERS DOT COM, dir. Stephen Girard (USA); GUTS, dir. Chris McInroy (USA); HELL HOLE, dir. Gregory Shultz (USA); HIGH HORSE, dir. Addie Doyle, Lee Hurst (USA); KHARON, dir. Casey T. Malone (USA); MEAT FRIEND, dir. Izzy Lee (USA); PRETTY PICKLE, dir. Jim Vendiola (USA); TAKE HIM DOWN, dir. Joe Raasch (Canada); THE BLOOD OF DINOSAURS, dir. Joseph Badon (USA); WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL, dir. Megan Duffy (USA)
EVENTS
CFF SALUTES UP ALL NIGHT AND RHONDA SHEAR
From 1989 to 1998, if you were a fan of genre cinema, you knew where to turn every Friday and Saturday night. USA Up All Night was home to curated cult and horror cinema, and it introduced legions of cinephiles to weird and wonderful worlds they had no idea existed (or maybe they did know, and their parents forbid them to look!). It also brought the classic concept of the movie host into a whole new era and regularly featured skits, comedy, and killer special guests (THE RAMONES!!!).Initially hosted by the late great Gilbert Gottfried, Up All Night kicked things into high gear in 1991 when the tenure of its best known and most beloved host, Rhonda Shear, began. Rhonda had a background in everything from modeling to comedy. Her quick wit and unforgettable enunciation of the show’s name (even now, we’re sure you’re hearing it in your head!) made the show a cult hit for an entire generation of cinephiles.
A badass to this very day, Rhonda is now a best-selling author and a wildly successful entrepreneur known worldwide for her, inclusive of all body types, Rhonda Shear Intimates products, and her ongoing charity work with the American Cancer Society. From her tenure on Up All Night to her appearances everywhere, from Spaceballs to Full House, you’re not going to want to miss this one, folks. Join CFF as we salute Rhonda and have a fascinating career-spanning chat with one of the true queens of genre cinema.
THE LEECH – Live Commentary Track
Help celebrate CFF 2022’s opening night film as we join THE LEECH’s writer/director/producer Eric Pennycoff along with the film’s stars Jeremy Gardner, Graham Skipper, Taylor Zaudtke, and Rigo Garay for a cocktails (or mocktails!) encouraged live commentary track that will provide fun and fascinating insights into one of our wildest 2022 offerings.
CFF Presents: A Magical Ass Evening with Shane Brady
Not only is Shane Brady a talented actor/writer/director, he’s also one of the most gifted
magicians working today. Though his magic skills are on full display in his new film BREATHING HAPPY, making its world premiere at this year’s fest, Shane has a hell of a lot more tricks up his sleeve (sorry, we couldn’t resist). Along with his lovely assistant—acting CFF Mayor David Lawson Jr.—Shane has graciously offered to regale CFF 2022 VIP Badge Holders with some of his signature magical badassery.
The Best Films Never Made Podcast
CFF is pleased to welcome filmmakers and film historians Stephen Scarlata (JODOROWSKY’S DUNE) and Josh Miller (SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 1 and 2) for a special live episode of their acclaimed podcast in which the duo explores the most legendary movies NEVER made. Laugh and learn about the weird and wild world of cinema that almost was!
The Return of the Monster Squad
Our ride-or-die homies for life, Andre Gower and Ryan Lambert, stars of earth’s finest film, THE MONSTER SQUAD, make their triumphant return to CFF. They’ll be acting as hosts for our Dangerous Visions and WTF Shorts blocks and leading Q&A sessions with this year’s attending filmmakers. This year’s CFF shorts RULE so we hope you’re ready to ROCK UNTIL YOU DROP.
THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER, Double Feature w/ Live Cast & Crew Dispatches
We’ve got your Saturday night all planned out for you: Join us on the official CFF 2022 Discord Server for a Double Feature Picture Show of the wildest order; we’ll be watching filmmaker Jay Burleson’s THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART V! Immediately followed by THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART I (trust us, this is the order in which you want to experience them). Throughout the watch party we’ll be getting live dispatches and updates from the cast and crew’s private screening, and we honestly can’t wait to share in celebrating this fantastic pair of films with you.
