How Best To Fest
It's summertime, y'all. And goddangit, you know what that means? It's time for CAMP. No, not one of those new-fangled spring camps; we're talking Camp Classic. SUMMER. FUCKING. CAMP.
We just checked with the weatherman, and it sure seems like Summer will be here before we know it, and if you're anything like us, all that sunshine, all that humidity, well, that's no kinda place for you. We're special creatures we film fans. We aren’t built for all that. That's why we're cordially inviting you to join us as we stay the hell inside.
LET US GORGE OURSELVES ON as much strange and incredible cinema as a week can hold. Your festival experience is of the utmost importance to us, be you human, filmmaker, or beast. That's why we've taken the liberty of creating this guide for you. Kinda like Reese's, there's no wrong way to eat CFF, but there is a way for you to have maximum fun while marching through our madness. You will find the keys to our kingdom below. Welcome to Summer Camp For Cinephiles. We hope your mom sewed your name in your underwear.
Don't ignore the virtual festival platform if you've got a hybrid badge. It's JAMMED with amazingness, and your eyeballs will want to see for themselves. Apart from the daily special screenings, live events, and MORE, you'll also want to check out the virtual festival platform EVERY night at midnight for our secret screening series, THE REDEYE. It's our way of helping you close down every night of the festival. It's our gift to you from our hearts to your weary souls, and it is our earnest hope that watching these films WILL FOREVER CHANGE YOU. Nightly strangeness awaits you.
Make sure to join our CFF 2024 FANS AND FILMMAKERS Discord server. You will get the invite in the week leading up to the festival. Our server plugs you into all the fun of the fest and includes channels for every feature film and short film block playing at the fest, allowing you to chat with the filmmakers themselves, ask Q’s, and get A's. Don't even get us started on all the cool new friends you're gonna make. There are also daily watch parties and exclusive bonus filmmaker chats.
And while we're talking about this year's FANS AND FILMMAKERS Discord server, we encourage you to check out the pinned posts at the top of each film or short film block's channel, where you'll find things like each film's Letterboxd page, socials you can follow if you love the movie and maybe even a few lil surprises from the filmmakers themselves. Remember that if you see something you love to give some love on Letterboxd, it could make all the difference in another film fan deciding to take a chance on a very excellent piece of work in the future!
Go in totally cold to at least one film or shorts block. JUST TRY IT. Don't read anything, don't ask anyone. WE DARE YOU.
If you’re concerned about the content of any film don’t hesitate to ask and we’ll be happy to give you info that will allow you to make an informed decision. Not every type of film is right for every type of person and respecting that is part of the way we try to do things here. Our programming team will also offer content warning reminders in their film intros.
We take great pride in the fact that in 11 short years, we've become known for our festival's programming but of equal importance to the films is our festival's culture of KINDNESS. It might sound corny, but it ISN'T; we all respect one another, and we treat each other with courtesy and respect from our staff to our attendees to our filmmakers. It's a simple rule that's served us well, and we think is one of the secret ingredients to our festival's success. CFF is a safe space for all.
We believe accessibility is the true future of film festivals, so if you’re wondering why our festival is split between in-person and virtual days, it’s not only because we selfishly want to give you more and more days of amazing films each year and plenty of time to watch them, but also because we care about those who might not be physically able to join us. We know some of you might have some “but the movie theater is SACRED” kind of beliefs, and YES, of course, we love movie theaters too (in the pre-pandemic pre-Nicole Kidman era at least), but we’re also all video store kids, and we saw and fell in love with many of our all-time favorite films from the comfort of our couches. That’s an essential part of cinema’s history too. There’s no greater joy in our eyes than the tradition of watching and sharing movies, but it’s a joy that can happen in person AND IN YOUR HOME. BEING ACCESSIBLE MATTERS, and we intend to do so going forward for as long as we exist. We sincerely hope more festivals, film distributors, and even filmmakers will consider this and do the same. We are grateful to every single one of the filmmakers that chose to stand by these principles with us again this year.
Vote for your favorite short film and your favorite feature when our audience award voting begins on opening day (June 21) of the festival. Our audience award ballot box will become accessible starting on the festival's first day, and WE NEED YOUR VOTE to help us honor this year's talented filmmakers.
Keep reading! There's like 24 of these goddamn things!
Check out our carefully curated guide to cool local spots written by multi-time festival alum and local Corey Smith.
Have a hybrid badge, and you're attending our in-person days as well as the virtual fest? GUESS WHAT? WE'VE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO SEE EVERYTHING AND ATTEND THE PARTIES; IT'S A CFF-GUIDED TOUR. After the tour? We turn you loose onto our virtual festival platform to choose your own adventure. It's almost like we did it this way on purpose.
Speaking of our fest’s parties: it would be silly for you to miss the Rod Serling’s 100th Birthday Party that we're throwing as part of opening night with our pals RED GENE and our favorite masters of the spirit world Chattanooga Whiskey (get it? SPIRITS?). It would also be silly not to come in your spookiest black and white costume or attire or even dress as your favorite character (or creature) from a Twilight Zone episode.
Don't eff around and miss the PUMPKIN PIE SHOW. Clay McLeod Chapman is not only one of the earth's greatest horror authors, but he's also one of the earth's greatest live storytellers, and hearing a reading from Clay in a haunted hotel is a MEMORY YOU WANT. You might even need it.
Speaking of authors, THIS YEAR WE GOT LOTS. Why it’s a veritable Spook Fair this year featuring signings from Clay McLeod Chapman, Izzy Lee, Benjamin Percy, Mark Dawidziak and Anne Serling. Once again our pals at locally owned bookshop A Little Bookish will be around with copies of a selection of titles by each of these folks that you can get signed. Look at you supporting horror's most wonderful authors and small businesses simultaneously!
For our hybrid folks, check out our lobby every day. We're proud to have a metric ton of personally picked local merchants and vendors that we think are a perfect complement to the eerie vibes of this year's fest. Highlights include our best buds at Snapdragon Hemp, a mini-spooky book fair by A Little Bookish, pop-up record shops by Flustered Fairy, Cold Brew Boba, Terror-Vision, Danger Zone Video, Attack of the Killer Collectibles and even some festival merch if you are into us, and you think you wanna take things to the next level.
Once you've joined our Discord server, check out our very own pirate radio station, RADIO FREE CFF, with a positively packed playlist of jams carefully curated to soundtrack your non-movie watching time with us. PRO TIP: IF YOU AREN'T HITTING SHUFFLE, YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
Have a hybrid or virtual badge? Make sure to check out our virtual schedule, as certain special screenings are only available for a limited time window or have accompanying watch parties or special bonus content associated with them.
Need help with absolutely anything? On Discord, visit the CFF Help Desk channel and let us whisk your worries away in real-time, or email our constant volunteer-monitored cffhelpdesk@chattfilmfest.org email address.
You can enjoy this year's short films as lovely little palette cleansers between features. Still, you can also watch them in block form, where we've taken the liberty of sequencing them for you like a rad lil short cinema mixtape. There's only one wrong way to do it: NOT to WATCH THEM AT ALL. Don't forget to check out four more blocks straight up STACKED with great films on the virtual festival platform; it's jammed with more than 12 hours of incredible short films of all types.
High-five at least one festival volunteer. They're here because they love movies and want to make your weekend even more fun. How neat is that?
See something you love? Make a friend and/ or a memory? CFF is an entirely volunteer-run 501c3 non-profit. Consider making a small donation of any amount to our CFF 2024 Venmo @CFF2024. Before we close out each year's festival, we try to make sure we have the money for all the deposits we’ll need to put down to make the next year's festival a reality, so consider helping us make year 12 a sweet cinema-filled reality. We're all in this together, so we'll keep you posted all week and let you know when we reach our goal.
Check out all of this year’s live podcasts! Featuring some of our favorite film related shows and their talented hosts because gabbin’ about film is the COOLEST.
Did you grab a hybrid badge? Come to our early badge and ticket pick-up event on June 20. Have a drink at the Read House’s gorgeously eerie bar. Say hello to at least two people with badges or tickets you don't already know. You'll probably be friends soon. Now hydrate, maybe do some stretches and get a good night's rest knowing you're READY for the week you'll be spending with us.
ONE FINAL THING BEFORE WE GO. THANK YOU. From the bottom of our hearts, we never imagined we'd get to do this for three years, let alone ELEVEN, and that's something we'll never stop feeling grateful for. We started a festival but you all started a community around it that this festival wouldn’t be the same without. We just picked out a few movies, and we're pretty damn lucky that you all came and hung out with us.