Chattanooga Film Festival Completes Assembly of Massive Movie Monolith With its Final Wave of 2025 Programming

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (May 23, 2025) -Today Chattanooga Film Festival organizers gave their fans even more bang for their 2025 badge buck by announcing another jam-packed wave filled with a veritable Whitman’s sampler of the genre programming for which CFF has become known. 

CFF’s third and final wave of 2025 includes a film programmed by a very special guest, another World Premiere, sneak preview screenings, and a gargantuan 2025 shorts program.

Joining the festival’s programmers and curating a secret screening as part of the 2025 edition of their fan-favorite REDEYE secret screening series is one of the hardest-working men in showbiz—actor/author/horror ambassador David Dastmalchian who will give fans insight into the wild world of his selection, a film presented by longtime CFF co-conspirators Arrow Video

Further fleshing out the 2025 festival’s previously announced lineup of world premieres and early special screenings is the World Premiere of ALAN AT NIGHT, which manages to be freaky and funny in equal measures, a Top Secret Sneak Preview screening of a fantastically funny new film and CFF fan faves Olivia Taylor Dudley and Riley Dandy dazzling lead turns in Cassie Keet’s stone killer cult thriller ABIGAIL BEFORE BEATRICE, a film you should add to your watchlist right now.

If you’re into the whole brevity thing, Chattanooga’s massive 130 short film lineup–the largest in the festival’s 12 year history–includes scores of new voices and more than a few returning favorites including new short works from Megan Duffy, Andrew Bowser, Chloë Levine, Chris McInroy, Sam Fox, Benjamin Percy and more than 100 more of the most exciting voices in genre cinema spanning nine jam-packed shorts blocks. Like most of the festival’s lineup, these films can be experienced in-person and virtually for those who want to bathe in the weird waters of CFF’s party-fueled Summer Camp for Cinephiles atmosphere. 

As festival tradition dictates there will also be special live episodes of podcasts film fans will know and love, including special episodes of The Hip Pocket, Horror Queers, Video Monsters, and even a special live episode from the folks at Dread Central. 

Chattanooga Film Fest–a volunteer-run 501c3 non-profit–is also currently holding what it’s termed a “digital bake sale,” calling on its fans to help weather the financial storm of the current political climate. A donation at any level nets you interesting perks, including membership in the festival’s unhinged monthly virtual secret screening and film club, the Double Secret Cinema Society. The festival is seeking out any additional donors, sponsors, or fellow weirdos who’d like to help them keep the pilot light of strange and unusual cinema lit and burning strong. 

Guests who attend in person will also be treated to one of the festival’s legendary complimentary cocktail competitions presented by the mixologists at the Choo Choo Cocktail Collective and join the previously announced free tattoos (from the popular Mainline Tattoo) as yet another perk for those who make the pilgrimage to Chattanooga.

SKEETER

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 11 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 12,000 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, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube or even join our virtual monthly secret screening series with The Double Secret Cinema Society on Patreon.

Usable graphics and images available for download here: https://tinyurl.com/CFF25-FinalWave-EPK

Press Contact: Chris Dortch, Sr. (chris1@chattfilmfest.org).

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CFF 2025 FEATURE FILM ANNOUNCEMENTS (FINAL WAVE)

ABIGAIL BEFORE BEATRICE (d. Cassie Keet)

An isolated woman is confronted by her past when a fellow former cult member reaches out with news that their leader has been released from prison early. What happens when your search for love and acceptance leads you to a toxic relationship? How do you move on when you can’t let go? 

ALAN AT NIGHT (d. Jesse Swenson)
World Premiere

When fledgling podcaster and prank-channel proprietor Jay Conley finds himself in sudden need of a roommate, he hastily welcomes a shy, Alabamian herpetologist named Alan into his Bushwick apartment. Despite his social clumsiness and a snore that could move needles on the Richter Scale, Alan initially proves himself to be an excellent houseguest. But soon his harmless quirks give way to increasingly alarming nocturnal behaviors and Jay reacts as any decent, young content-creator would - by capturing the proceedings on camera. As Alan's erratic conduct and mysterious symptoms escalate to a violent crescendo, our camcorder-wielding protagonist and his idler best bud must choose between their consciences, their safety and the allure of views, likes and subscribes. 

BOB MORGAN’S JUST GOING TO TELL SOME STORIES (d. Tom Marksbury, Grayson Tyler Johnson)

Bob Morgan's Just Going to Tell Some Stories... about art and garbage, sex and drugs, aids grief, cultural subversion and being an outsider turned community icon. The story of an assemblage artist and queer Kentucky.

DARK MY LIGHT (d. Neal Dhand)

Detective Mitchell Morse's investigation into a beachfront serial killer is complicated by a hothead new partner, a severed foot on the beach, his fracturing relationship with his wife, and his own slipping sanity.

ITCH! (d. Bari Kang)

Amid a mysterious deadly outbreak called the ITCH. A widower and his estranged young daughter take sanctuary in a department store, only to realize the real terror is inside with them.

OLD WOUNDS (d. Steven Hugh Nelson)

An aspiring filmmaker documents a road trip with his girlfriend to meet her family. As he learns more about her past, they discover he's not the only one filming them.

PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT (d. Christopher Bickel)

Max, a young record store clerk stumbles upon a rare vinyl LP and is drawn into the world of a 1970s hippie commune. An invitation to the remnants of the cult and its unholy spawn leads to grave circumstances for Max and her friends.

SOLVENT (d. Johannes Grenzfurthner)

While searching for Nazi documents in an Austrian farmhouse, a team of experts uncovers a hidden secret buried in its bowels. American expatriate Gunner S. Holbrook becomes obsessed with solving the mystery, and as his sanity wanes, he must confront an insatiable evil. Can he find redemption before it drains the life out of him?

THE ONLY ONES (d. Jordan Miller)

Six friends set out to a secluded house for a relaxing weekend away, when they unwittingly start a snowballing effect of chaos, death and paranoia. As the body count climbs, the survivors don't know who to trust, or who is next.

THEY WERE WITCHES (d. Alejandro G. Alegre)

Mia, an expert speaker in witchcraft, takes a trip to see a therapist. On the way she meets a group of young people who will begin to die one by one to bring an evil spirit back from death.

UNIVERSE 25 (d. Richard Melkonian)

Mott the angel is sent on a holy mission in London and Bucharest. In his search for a mysterious saint, he encounters a world that sends him off course and forces him to face his true identity.

CFF 2025 SHORT FILM ANNOUNCEMENTS (FULL LINEUP)

401 (d. Neal Tyler)
'77  (d. Christopher Perna)
A DIVINE COMEDY: WHAT THE HELL (d. Valerie Lee Barnhart)
A FOREST (d. Isabel Nola)
A HAUNTING AT ALMA DRIVE (d. Dalton Allen)
AGORAPHOBIA (d. Ashley Wong)
ALL KINDS OF ANIMALS (d. Becky Sayers)
ANIMAS FORKS (d. Samuel Blakesberg)
ANY LAST WORDS (d. Isaac Rathé)
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? (d. Zen Pace)
ARSON (d. Erin Broussard)
BAKING AND ENTERING (d. Lance Harbour, Cole Keisling, Andrew Lacy, Zach Legaux, Brooklynne Scivally)
BANANAHEAD (d. Christopher Greenslate)
BATHROOM SPIDER (d. Christine Weatherup)
BEAST OF THE NORTHWOODS (d. Harrison Reeder)
BEEF CREEK - Animated Pilot (d. Kurt Vinci, Seby X Martinez)
BLOODY MARIAN (d. Sommar Ashleigh Boulware)
BLUBBER (d. Chloë Levine)
BRICK BOY (d. Scott Vasey)
BUMP (d. Kyle Kasabian)
C.U.N.T. (SEE YOU NEXT TUESDAY) (d. Gabriela Perez Figuereo)
CAT & FISH (d. Nilram Ranjbar)
CEASE TO EXIST (d. Taylor Nodrick)
CHECK PLEASE (d. Shane Chung)
CHERRY-COLORED FUNK (d. Chelsie Pennello)
CHICKENBOY (d. Matthew Rush)
CLOSED CIRCUIT (d. Karl Redgen)
CANCER SZN (d. Zachary Green)
DAMN HANDY (d. Peter Filardi)
DAMNED (d. Lukas Anderson)
DAUGHTERS OF EVIL (d. Adam Taylor, Natasha Malone)
DEAD PET SHARK (d. Misha Gankin)
DEADLY DUELS VII (d. Justine Beed)
DESTROYER (d. Judd Myers)
DID MY HEART LOVE TILL NOW (d. Veronica Tullo)
DID YOU REMEMBER THE CAT? (d. Daniel Foster)
DISFIGURA (d. Jake Bradbury, Toni Blando)
DON’T BUY THE LIVERWURST (d. Nathaniel Hendricks)
DON’T SCREW THIS UP (d. Nathan Evans)
DON’T LOOK (d. John Wyatt)
DREAM AMERICAN (d. Greg Marcks)
ELDRITCH KARAOKE (d. Joe Loftus)
ELEGANCIA (d. Maria Shevtsova)
EMPTY JARS (d. Guillermo Ribbeck)
ENDZGIVING (d. Tina Carbone)
ESCAPE (d. Lorenzo Manetti)
FACES (d. Blake Simon)
FEED (d. Kara McLeland)
FOREVER YOURS (d. Elliott Louis McKee)
FRANKENBABES FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE! (d. Andrew Bowser)
FRENCH LESSONS (d. Anna Maguire, Kyle Greenberg)
HER HOUSE (d. Will Lee)
HI I JUST MOVED HERE (d. Alessandro Pulisci)
HIVE (d. Felipe Vargas)
HOWL IF YOU LOVE ME (d. John R. Dilworth)
HUMAN RESOURCE (d. Henry Chaisson)
I DREAMT OF BEING AN ACTRESS (d. Isabel Nola)
IS THAT A MIME? (d. Michael Spencer)
IT DRAWS CLOSER (d. Joshua David Matthews)
KRAKENS MAW (d. Miro Santeri Seppanen)
LOLA (d. Grace Hanna)
LOUD (d. Adam Azimov)
MANNY WOLFE (d. Trevor Neuhoff)
MASKS (d. Andre LeBlanc)
MEEET (d. Laama Almandani)
MIRROR MAN (d. Jakob Owens)
MODEL CITIZEN (d. Rachael Dahl)
MR. STATIC (d. Mike Williamson)
OK/NOTOK (d. Pardeep Sahota)
OPEN WIDE (d. Sam Fox)
PARKING LOT SEAGULLS (d. Michael Curtis Johnson)
PHROG (d. Brandon Vallee Ross)
POCKETMAN (d. Ericka Clevenger)
POP MONSTERS (d. Megan Brooks)
PUMPKIN GUTS (d. Bryan M. Ferguson)
RADIATION (d. Peter Collins Campbell)
RANDY AS HIMSELF (d. Margaret Miller)
RED IRON ROAD: IN THE HEAT (d. Sam Chou)
REM (d. Blair Bathory)
ROUGE (d. Nicholas Jackson)
SECOND DATE WITH WET SARA (d. Creston Whittington, Evan Enderle)
SEMPRE AVANTI (d. Matthew Barber, Nathaniel Barber)
SEVERED (d. Megan Duffy)
SEWING MACHINE (d. Tyler William Hagen)
SICK DAY (d. Hughes Ransom)
SIN EATER (d. Corey Simpson)
SKEETER (d. Chris McInroy)
SLOW (d. Rebecca Berrih)
SLUSH (d. Ashley George)
SOMETHING’S WRONG WITH KIT (d. Lida Everhart)
STRINGS (d. Ava Pearson, Eleanor Smith, Nina Zandvliet)
STRIYA (d. Paige Campbell)
SUPPER (d. Joshua Ryan Dietz)
SWEET DREAMING (d. Andrew Laudone)
TEAGAN AND HIS BROS (d. Ronald Short)
TERROIR (d. Casey Rogerson)
TETHER (d. Meredith Berg)
THE ANGEL (d. Barrett Burgin, Jessica Burgin)
THE ANOMALIST (d. Matt Farren)
THE BEGUILING (d. ​​Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby)
THE BOHANNONS - NIGHT CONSTRUCTION - Official Music Video (d. Matt Eslinger)
THE CONFECTION (d. Christopher Jason Bell)
THE CREATURE OF BLOOD LAKE (d. Dylan A. Young)
THE FLACALTA EFFECT (d. Rochée Jeffrey)
THE GIRLIES (d. Natalie Couture)
THE HUMMING GROWS (d. Aughbar)
THE KEY CLUB (d. Lee Boxleitner, Sam Boxleitner)
THE KOLA TAPE (d. South Turk)
THE LAST THING SHE SAW (d. Anthony Cousins, Rebecca Daugherty)
THE LILY & THE SCORPION (d. Charlie Netto)
THE PLEDGE (d. Jackson Stofka)
THE PRINCESS OF COYOTE PALMS (d. Danielle McRae Spisso, Stephen Vanderpool)
THE SELKIE (d. Sara Friedman)
THE THINGS WE KEEP (d. Joanna Fernandez)
THE TRAVELER (d. Matthew Scheffler)
THE TRAVELER & THE TROLL (d. Adam Murray)
THE VANITY (d. Megan Rosati)
THERE IS NO ANTIMEMETICS DIVISION (d. Adria Marie Lang)
TIL DEATH DO US PART (d. Bronwyn Blanks-Bludell, Alexander Protich)
TIN SOLDIERS (d. Aris Federman)
TO WRITE THE ENDING (d. Shaler Keenum)
TWO BREATHS (d. Kateryna Kurganska)
VHX (d. Alisa Stern, Scott Ampleford)
VOTE FOR WYRM (d. Benjamin Percy)
WAKE (d. Sean Carter)
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT BALLOONS (d. Jennifer Bonior)
WHAT’S LEFT (d. Ryan Gentle, Austin Quarles)
WRONG GUY (d. Brett Maline)
YOU WAKE TO FIND YOURSELF ALONE IN THE WOODS (d. Brad McHargue)
YOU’RE AN ANGEL (d. Zachary Eglinton)
YOUR HUSBAND WAS A GOOD MAN (d. Jamie Alvey)

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