Almost a full half year before the start of the festival on June 18, the Chattanooga Film Festival has announced a "fun-sized first wave of films and events."
Now in its 13th year, the festival will celebrate that anniversary with a screening of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (which may or may not actually be more of a 40th anniversary celebration for the film) hosted by filmmakers and married couple Becca Howard and Joe Lynch. Howard and Lynch will also host a 45th anniversary screening of Heavy Metal and a live recording of their podcast A Couple of Old Fashionds. Alongside the live podcast recording, attendees on the ground in the festival's namesake city can look forward to video artists Everything is Terrible's "psyche-shredding" multimedia show Memory Hole: Animals Are Over.
Among the just six films announced, there's already much to get excited about. Festival goers will have a chance to see Avalon Fast's Camp which Maxwell Rabb argued cements her as "one of the most daring young voices in indie horror" in his review from the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival last October. The anthology horror film Grind will serve up segments from filmmakers Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust. And two docs will dive into the joys and tribulations of filmmaking, Anthony Frith's Mockbuster and Curtis James Matzke's First Feature, which is making its world premiere at Chattanooga.
Most exciting right now is the festival's call for submissions to their anti-AI "A.I. (Analog Idiocy) filmmaking challenge." Submissions for 30-60 second anti-AI PSAs can be sent to CFFhelpdesk@chattfilmfest.org through midnight on April 31. The film that wins the challenge will not only earn its filmmakers two hybrid 2026 VIP festival badges, but it will also play before every in-person screening of the fest.
See the full announcement below:
After the recent launch of discounted Early Bird badges for their 2026 event (discount code EARL_LEE_BIRD valid through January 31!), organizers of the Chattanooga Film Festival -- affectionately referred to as "summer camp for cinephiles" by its fans -- teased a fun-sized first wave of films and events taking place at the 13th edition of their festival, which will be held in person at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre from June 18-21 and virtually June 19-27.
This event also marks the long-awaited return of a fan-favorite guest -- filmmaker Joe Lynch, who along with his wife and frequent collaborator filmmaker Becca Howard will treat guests to a live episode of their popular podcast A COUPLE OF OLD FASHIONEDS.
Joe and Becca will also help the festival celebrate the anniversaries of two bona fide cult classics by hosting screenings of 1981's HEAVY METAL and FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES, which turn 45 and 40 respectively in 2026.
Also sure to thrill festival goers is the return of EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE, who've graced CFF's stages and events many times over the years and now return with the psyche-shredding spectacle that is their live MEMORY HOLE: ANIMALS ARE OVER show.
This experience can best be described by using their own words: "a surreal, anti-civilization performance and video that unfolds in a mind-melting spectacle you'll never forget (no matter how much you wish you could). Composed entirely of found home video, it's an uncanny blend of art, horror, hilarity, and sadness. The experience will have you giggling in terror, all while wondering if there's a monster lurking just behind you. Memory Hole proudly presents their latest work Animals Are Over, interwoven with a live performance/score, plus previously unseen clips from their 11-year archive of madness."
CFF also once again honors its long-running commitment to audience accessibility by offering a jam-packed slate of films and events that will be presented virtually. This includes the fourth year of the wildly popular nightly secret screening series RED EYE, in which fans are treated to virtual screenings and accompanying watch parties featuring some of the weirdest cinema on Earth. Though the CFF continues to embrace new technologies which make it easier for film fans to participate in the fun, they've doubled down on their highly publicized ban on films and productions made with the use of generative AI software.
"As we rapidly approach a world in which all major film studios are owned by the same small group of billionaires and both the theatrical window and the human side of film production are being threatened, we feel a deep responsibility to remind fans that it's human heart, creativity and community that have made the medium of motion pictures such an impactful one," said Chris Dortch II, Festival Director and Lead Film Programmer.
In addition to CFF's GenAI ban, festival organizers are also launching their first-ever A.I. (Analog Idiocy) filmmaking challenge. The festival is asking filmmakers to create their own AI-free 30-60-second anti-AI public service announcement videos. Those interested in participating can email their Anti-AI ads to the festival at CFFhelpdesk@chattfilmfest.org before midnight on April 31st. The festival's programming team will select a winner and, in addition to receiving a pair of hybrid 2026 VIP festival badges, the winning spot will also screen before each and every one of the festival's in-person screenings.
GRIND (d. Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, Chelsea Stardust)
This horror anthology tackles the modern work landscape through four timely perspectives - the hustle culture of an MLM, the endless repetitiveness of a food delivery driver, the online horrors of a content moderator, and the unionization of a familiar-feeling coffee shop.
CAMP (d. Avalon Fast)
Presented by Dark Sky
Haunted by a traumatic past, Emily finds solace as a camp counselor while navigating grief, witchcraft and the power of female friendship. Emily feels at home as she's taken in by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and wrap her in a veil of peace & forgiveness. Emily stands at the forefront of a new kind of life, but there's a voice out there in the woods she can't quite seem to ignore. The voice is whispering - and she's telling Emily to go home.
FLUSH (d. Grégory Morin)
Presented by Dark Sky
Middle-aged coke fiend Luc (Jonathan Lambert, Quentin Dupieux's REALITY) is having a pretty terrible night. Having gone to confront his ex at the club where she works, determined to somehow win back her love, one thing leads to another and he soon finds himself wedged firmly in a toilet, effectively trapping him in a bathroom stall. Trapped, we should mention, with a heap of coke that he stole from the bar's resident dealer. He's soon found, setting off an increasingly crazy series of circumstances that veer from the hilarious to the intensely grotesque as Luc's world is assailed from every conceivable direction in a bizarre race against time that will have you gasping.
FIRST FEATURE (d. Curtis James Matzke)
World Premiere
Intrepid student filmmaker Thomas Reilly-King (affectionately known as TRK) spends years doing whatever it takes to complete his first feature film, aptly titled Enduring Destiny, as classmate Curtis Matzke documents his antics and looks back on the experience together ten years later. Searching for fame in a production spanning several years, the unflappable writer/director/actor calls in every favor and spends his last dime to realize his bizarre vision. The resulting film is its own brand of absurdity, featuring an 80s-style theme song, superfluous green screen, and excessive ADR. He even makes talking action figures of his character. What began as a behind-the-scenes student production, FIRST FEATURE is a love letter to student filmmaking in the digital age, showcasing the absurdity of what could be a future cult classic.
A struggling filmmaker's chance at redemption collides with chaos and compromise as he navigates the eccentric world of notorious production house, The Asylum. Mockbuster is a comedic, behind-the-scenes documentary of the making of a B-grade smash, THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, that is both an unashamed celebration of trash cinema and a forensic look at the collision between art and commerce.
LUCID (d. Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall)
A 1990s art student uses a lucid dreaming elixir to break through creative blocks, but soon finds herself trapped in a nightmarish underworld where her suppressed memories and inner demons become deadly monsters.
With its commitment to audience and filmmaker accessibility, its warm-hearted southern hospitality, and its consistently surprising and eclectic programming, the Chattanooga Film Festival has, in just 13 years, been chosen as One of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World (MovieMaker Magazine), one of FilmFreeway's Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festivals in the World out of the nearly 14,000 festivals on that platform, been chosen One of the Best Genre Film (MovieMaker) and Horror Festivals (Dread Central) and hailed as "the gold standard on how to run a welcoming, unpretentious, no-bullshit film fest for folks who want to hang out and have a good time together" by legendary cinema publication FANGORIA.
The Chattanooga Film Festival is a 501c3 non-profit run entirely by a small but passionate crew of volunteers. All proceeds from the festival's ticket and badge sales and donations go directly to the staging of each year's festival. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org or follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube or even join our virtual monthly secret screening series with The Double Secret Cinema Society on Patreon.