Chattanooga Film Festival Sells Its Soul and Rocks ’N’ Rolls With Massive Second Wave Announcement
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (May 1, 2025) - With their twelfth edition rapidly approaching at the end of June, organizers of the acclaimed Chattanooga Film Festival have announced a second wave chock full of the eclectic and electric cinema their event has become known for over the last decade.
Powered by a pair of wild World Premieres and the announcement of its 2025 Closing Night Selection, the Chattanooga Film Festival continues its mission of making the world a safer place for strange and wonderful cinema of all types.
“At a time when more festivals seem to be normalizing generative AI in film production or filling their programming with sneak previews of studio or wide-release titles rather than discovering and platforming new voices, we felt a serious responsibility to work harder than ever before to shine a spotlight on independent filmmakers and projects this year,” festival director and lead film programmer Chris Dortch II said.
The second wave's world premieres include NOCLIP 2: RETURN TO LUNCHLAND, the stoned-out sequel to last year’s NOCLIP, a sleeper hit with CFF’s fans that took home the CFF’s inaugural Jeff Burr Prize. With the original NOCLIP being acquired for distribution by the team at Ethos so that genre fans all over can see what the fuss is about, fans of eerie liminal horror will find lots to love about filmmakers Gavin Charles and Alex Conn’s newest nightmare.
Also World Premiering is filmmaker Erik Bloomquist’s (FOUNDER’S DAY, SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS) thrilling new feature SELF-HELP in which a young woman attempts to rescue her mother from a secret online community after she becomes entangled with its enigmatic leader.
Highlighting the CFF’s second motion picture mushroom cloud is another film sure to be a hit with fans excited for the return of the festival’s music-in-film programming block Sonic Cinema: filmmaker Jonathan J. Sequeria’s fantastic punk rock doc THE MOST AUSTRALIAN BAND EVER! Rounding out the 2025 Sonic Cinema offerings is a special screening of filmmaker F.W. Murnau’s silent classic FAUST with an original metal af live score by the mad geniuses The Silent Light–because it simply wouldn’t be CFF without a little Satanic Panic.
CFF’s second wave also features a special screening of one of the year’s wittiest and most wonderful pieces of work: filmmaker Annapurna Sriram’s FUCKTOYS. Along for the ride are documentaries both fascinating (EXORCISMO) and fun (THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN), timely sci-fi drama UNDER THE BURNING SUN, the wildly crowd-pleasing POOLS and PORTAL TO HELL, the black-as-night comedy FOUL EVIL DEEDS, the too-weird-for-words IN THE MOUTH, and in true CFF tradition, a ghost story—THE BELDHAM.
Closing out CFF’s 2025 edition is the hilarious and horrifying QUEENS OF THE DEAD. Not only is QUEENS one of the most flat-out fun times you’ll have in a movie theater this year, its winning formula of Drag Queens and Club Kids versus the undead is made all the more effective by its filmmaker: the talented Tina Romero, daughter of iconic filmmaker George A. Romero.
These events, along with more than 45 additional features and dozens of short films, live podcasts, and the fest's now infamous nightly secret screening series, the Red Eye, are sure to please longtime fans and newcomers who can access the festival's virtual offerings from anywhere in the U.S. Badges are available for sale now at https://chattfilmfest.eventive.org/. CFF 2025 takes place from June 20-28.
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), as well as one of the Best Genre Film (MovieMaker) and Horror Festivals (Dread Central) and was recently 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, Bluesky, TikTok, and YouTube or even join our monthly virtual secret screening series with the Double Secret Cinema Society on Patreon.
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https://tinyurl.com/CFF25-2ndWave
NOCLIP 2: RETURN TO LUNCHLAND
CFF 2025 FEATURE FILM ANNOUNCEMENTS (SECOND WAVE)
EXORCISMO (d. Alberto Sedano)
Under the Franco dictatorship, Spain’s rigid censorship laws had repressed any form of sexuality outside of Catholic marriage. But after Franco’s death and the consolidation of democracy, ‘Clasificada S’ films – restricted to those over 18 years old, with the warning that their content may offend the sensibilities of the viewer – embodied a period in Spanish history when sex went from being a sin to becoming a cinematic expression of political freedom. In the new documentary EXORCISMO, director Alberto Sedano explores the history behind Clasificada S, the battles it fought, and the distinctive dramas, thrillers and horror shockers that subverted the values of the former dictatorship. Narrated by Iggy Pop, featuring revealing interviews with actors, directors, historians, and showcasing clips from films by Jess Franco, José Ramón Larraz, Ignacio Iquino and more, EXORCISMO tells the incredible true story of a film movement that rocked Spanish culture, changed the face of genre films, and left its transgressive mark on global cinema forever.
FOUL EVIL DEEDS (d. Richard Hunter)
A series of comedically dark vignettes that give way to a fragmented anthology of humanity's everyday pettiness, as seen through the voyeuristic lens of a distanced point of view. Tapping into society's addiction to the judgement of others, FOUL EVIL DEEDS is stacked with black humour amid the everyday cruelty of the banal suburban life.
FAUST (1926; d. F. W. Murnau)
Special Screening with Original Live Metal Score by The Silent Light
God and Satan war over earth; to settle things, they wager on the soul of Faust, a learned and prayerful alchemist.
FUCKTOYS (d. Annapurna Sriram)
Special Screening
Fucktoys is a lush, 16mm fever dream that reimagines The Fool’s Journey of the Major Arcana Tarot through the story of AP: a peppy, sanguine young woman seeking salvation from a curse. AP is promised by not one, but multiple psychics that—for a cool $1000 and the sacrifice of a baby lamb— it can be lifted. So, she makes money the only way she knows how, scootering her way deeper into the night, into the uncouth underbelly of Trashtown. Dark, irreverent, and sexy, AP stumbles upon new characters and absurd situations, each more unhinged than the last, as she winds her way toward the inevitable. Fucktoys is a campy romp that explores the intersection of intimacy, exploitation, and class in a pre-millenium alternate universe of dilapidated urban decay and pastel cotton candy skies.
IN THE MOUTH (d. Cory Santilli)
Merl has been living his life as a recluse, in complete isolation, unable to leave his house after discovering a giant version of himself protruding from his lawn, blocking any attempt at escape. He’s run out of money, but if he doesn’t pay his rent in the next five days then his landlord is going to evict him. With no other options left, he is forced to get a roommate to pay him the debt in advance. Larry, an older man traveling shockingly light with only the clothes on his back, heeds the call and comes to live with Merl. It’s an adjustment for sure, but maybe they can learn a thing or two from each other. Or maybe Larry’s just found the perfect place to hide…
NOCLIP 2: RETURN TO LUNCHLAND (d. Gavin Charles)
World Premiere
In this sequel to the award-winning found-footage film NOCLIP, the two explorers return from the void in search of even more liminal spaces. In the process, they find backrooms that lead to multiple new surreal locations, plus some familiar ones…
POOLS (d. Sam Hayes)
Kennedy has one day to get her shit together or get kicked out of school for good. Instead of buckling down, she rallies a ragtag crew for a midnight pool-hopping adventure through the lavish estates of her college town. But under the surface, Kennedy is searching for answers to the questions tearing her up inside in the wake of her father's death. As the secrets spill, this wild escape becomes a cathartic journey of self-discovery.
PORTAL TO HELL (d. Woody Bess)
Dunn is a debt collector. His life of routine is interrupted when a portal to hell appears in his local laundromat. A demon follows and explains in no uncertain terms he’s there to drag Dunn’s neighbor, Mr. Bobshank, to hell. Bobshank owes a debt. Helping people pay their debts is what Dunn does best. A deal is offered - three souls to save Bobshank. Dunn says no. But one of his debtors follows him to the laundromat and well... once you do one, what’s another two? Dunn makes good on his end of the bargain. But the portal stays. The demon explains. Who gets into heaven isn’t up to God or the Devil. It’s up to you. Bobshank hasn’t forgiven himself. Dunn can convince Bobshank to do just that. Or find a fourth soul. The question Dunn has to answer is if you throw away everyone that’s made mistakes, who’s left?
SELF-HELP (d. Erik Bloomquist)
World Premiere
A young woman attempts to rescue her mother from a secret online community after she becomes entangled with its enigmatic leader.
THE BELDHAM (d. Angela Gulner)
Struggling single mom Harper moves in with her mother to renovate a fading suburban farmhouse. The two are joined by her mother's new boyfriend and a mysterious live-in home aide, both who claim to be dedicated to Harper's postpartum care. But things are not what they seem. A sinister presence lurks within the house… one that has designs on Harper's child. As Harper investigates, she uncovers dark truths about the nature of her reality, and questions the intentions of those entrusted with her care. A multi-generational love story disguised as a horror, The Beldham explores the fine line between care and control, and the desperate lengths mothers will go to to protect the daughters they love.
THE MOST AUSTRALIAN BAND EVER! (d. Jonathan J. Sequeira)
The Secret Origin of the Hard-Ons. Three ethnic school kids from Western Sydney discover punk music and form a band. Together they fight racism and the music industry to become Australia’s biggest indie band larrikins. Before diversity was a buzzword, there was the Hard-Ons!
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN (d. Brett Whitcomb, Bradford Thomason)
In 1998, the Disney Channel Original Movie “Halloweentown” was filmed in St. Helens, Oregon. Since then, the town has become a de facto Halloween destination with over 50,000 visitors each October. “The Spirit of Halloweentown” is an observational portrait of St. Helens 25 years later focusing on its residents as they transform the town and navigate their inescapable identity. Just as ghouls and ghosts inhabit the Halloweentown of the movie, many St. Helens residents believe their town to be truly haunted. As visitors pour into the city and specters of all kinds fill the autumn air, life for the locals in Halloweentown becomes much more than the celebration of a movie. It’s a quest for belonging and a reckoning with demons both personal and spiritual.
UNDER THE BURNING SUN (d. Yun Xie)
In a barren, desolate land where abortion is outlawed, Mowanza struggles with her unwanted pregnancy. When she hears of a distant land with a lenient abortion policy, Mowanza, armed with only a half-empty water bottle and a battered car, embarks on a journey across the desert toward the lush land of Iropus.
QUEENS OF THE DEAD (d. Tina Romero)
Closing Night Selection
When a zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a warehouse party, an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead.
