Unnamed Footage Festival Unveils Its Full Line-Up Of Found Footage Horror
Today, the Unnamed Footage Festival announces the full lineup of found footage horror, faux documentary, screenlife, and first-person POV cinema for UFF666. This includes another batch of short and feature films at the Balboa & 4-Star Theaters, the opening night Recalibration Party details, and a wild new poster by artist Ilan Sheady of Uncle Frank Productions. Additionally, UFF has brought on a panel of filmmakers, writers, and industry professionals representing some of the most knowledgeable and influential voices in the genre as the 2023 festival jury.
Check out the first wave of titles announced exclusively by Dread Central.
After six years of found footage programming, UFF will finally present the film that turned an entire generation into found footage horror fans, Paranormal Activity. Oren Peli’s groundbreaking film pumped new blood into the genre in 2007, and it’s hard to say the festival would even exist if not for its impact. The late-night screening will be hosted by filmmaker and underground performance artist Joshua Grannell (Peaches Christ, Writer & Director of All About Evil) on Friday, March 24 at the Balboa Theatre.
The Recalibration Party will open the festival on Thursday the 23rd with filmmaker Jeff Ryan’s vlogumentary horror-comedy Mean Spirited, with producer Owen Williams in attendance. Following that will be the return of the found footage horror power hour, Don’t Stop Recording 2: “This Is Really Happening”—60 clips in 60 minutes each followed by a toast. The party will be hosted by local SF horror influencer Terrell Trotty (Blu-ray Tuesday With Terrell), with beer donated by Lime Ventures.
For UFF666, two new shorts blocks will be introduced highlighting different aspects of in-world camera filmmaking. UFF Channel 666: “Broadcasts From Hell,” is a block for found footage horror purists, featuring a collection of horror shorts sure to shock and scare.
This includes the world premieres of The Fallen Woman (dir. Jennifer Zhang) and the sequel to UFF3 selection The Rage, The Rage Part 2 (dir. Joshua Cleave). <file_corrupt>.shorts is a collection of hybrid and absurdist short films, featuring Brian Lonano’s Tetsuo-inspired CONTENT: The Lo-Fi Man and the Korean film Digital Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro: The Real-World Guide to Set Up and Workflow (dir. HONG Seong-yoon).
Saturday night at the 4-Star theater will feature a screening of the lost 2011 film Tontine with producer Dean Zanuck in attendance for a Q&A. Unseen aside from 2 festival screenings in 2011, Tontine was believed to be a lost reality show by some and a hoax by others.
Described as “The Blair Witch meets Survivor on steroids”, real-life reality TV star Rob Mariano (Survivor, The Amazing Race) went on an entire press tour promoting Tontine as an upcoming show he was hosting. Yet while the production was trying to secure distribution for this ahead-of-its-time experiment about the horrors of reality TV while protecting the secret of the marketing, Tontine slipped through the cracks. Shot on film on the island of Fiji with the assistance of Peter Jackson’s post house Park Road, this will be the first time the film is seen by an audience in over a decade and it is not to be missed.
Rounding out the program is the world premiere of Chilean death metal film Invoking Yell, UFO conspiracy faux doc Gulf of Silence, Lebanese haunted house horror What is Buried Must Remain, and Logan Paul-inspired livestream-gone-wrong #chadgetstheaxe. The festival will close out with a screening of the highly anticipated Horror In The High Desert 2: Minerva with the director Dutch Marich in attendance.
The 2023 jury, headed by Terrell Trotty, will include writer and found footage horror scholar Mary Beth McAndrews (Dread Central editor-in-chief, Scarred For Life podcast), critic and podcaster Terry Mesnard (owner of Gayly Dreadful, Scarred For Life podcast), award-winning author Dr. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (Found Footage Horror Films: Fear and the Appearance of Reality), filmmaker Adam Stillwell (Director The Free Fall, The Triangle), and 2022 UFF Founders Award winner, indie filmmaker Gerald Varga (Star & Director Murder Box, and My Inner Demon: A Geraldson Tale).
Lastly, local sponsor, sex health & wellness shop Good Vibrations, has donated a collection of toys that will be given away at the late-night screening of Koji Shiraishi’s new pink film, Safe Word.
The complete schedule of shorts and features will be available on the Unnamed Footage Festival website.
Purchase a badge here. Individual tickets will be available at the box office of each theater.
Purchase individual tickets for the opening night party (included with badge) on Eventbrite.
FINAL WAVE OF UFF FILM SELECTIONS
INVOKING YELL (2023, Chile, dir. Patricio Valladares)
WORLD PREMIERE – Set in 1997 in South Chile, a trio of metalhead twenty-something girls ventures into the woods to create their demo tape for their black metal band, Invoking Yell. While also documenting the eerie and unsettling process of recording psicofonías (EVP, or electronic voice phenomena) in the woods for the final track, dynamics between the girls begin to reveal a tension much greater than typical band infighting.
MEAN SPIRITED (2023, USA, dir Jeff Ryan)
A failed influencer documenting his vacation with his friends for a vlogumentary turns into a nightmare when a demon joins the party. Set in the Poconos, Mean Spirited explores the relationship between two former childhood best friends, one of whom has become an extremely famous actor and the other, an annoying and jealous vlogger. Friendships may die but evil never does. Q&A with producer Owen Williams.
WHAT IS BURIED MUST REMAIN (2022, Lebanon, dir. Elias Matar)
A team of inexperienced, young ghost hunters breaks into a well-known haunted house inhabited by the spirit of a French industrialist who murdered his family inside. What Is Buried Must Remain acts as a commentary on the creative structure of found footage haunted house films by cleverly reworking both the charactersʻ and viewersʻ assumptions and using the setting to observe the impacts of occupation.
#CHADGETSTHEAXE (2022, USA, dir. Travis Bible)
Four livestreaming social media influencers, including the Logan Paul-esque Chad Ryan, venture into Devil’s Manor, the former home of a Satanic Cult and the perfect place to go viral. In a world of internet popularity above all, this very believable setup provides a delightful satire of toxic masculinity and influencer culture, filled with laughs and scares. Get ready #chadpions, because #chadgetstheaxe is sure to delight.
TONTINE (2011, USA / Fiji, dir. Ezna Sands)
A reality TV show becomes Lord of the Flies, as the contestants quickly turn on each other when they find themselves shipwrecked on a desert island. Described as “The Blair Witch meets Survivor on steroids”, real life reality show star Rob Mariano (Survivor, The Amazing Race) went on an entire press tour promoting Tontine as an upcoming reality show he was hosting. Shot on film on the island of Fiji with the assistance of Peter Jackson’s post house Park Road, this will be the first time the film is seen by an audience in over a decade and it is not to be missed.
THE GULF OF SILENCE (2020, USA, dir. Mina Rhodes)
The fictional Dr. Laura Gale, Ph.D., an experiencer and UFOlogist, acts as the subject of this true-to-form documentary as she chronicles decades of extraterrestrial encounters and coverups. The film is styled after the iconic gay documentary Portrait Of Jason (1967, dir. Shirley Clarke) and features spectacular narration, sound design, and editing that come together to create a film that is all at once mysterious, avant-garde, and utterly enthralling. Q&A with director Mina Rhodes.
HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT 2: MINERVA (2023, USA, dir. Dutch Marich)
Picking up where the 2021 film left off, Dutch Marich’s Horror in the High Desert 2: Minerva continues to explore mysterious disappearances in the high deserts of north-eastern Nevada, introducing new victims, new forms of media, and plenty of new scares. Investigating the death of a woman in a locked house and a disappearance on an isolated stretch of Nevada highway, the film uncovers chilling similarities to the disappearance of Gary Hinge. Horror in the High Desert 2 builds on the scares and lore established in the first film with terrifying results which will leave you on the edge of your seat.
UFF CHANNEL 666: “BROADCASTS FROM HELL”
The Rage Part 2 (dir. Joshua Cleave)
A chemical scientist and a small team of ex soldiers have been sent to investigate the bio lab where a deadly virus was accidentally released.
The Fallen Woman (dir. Jennifer Zhang)
Two intrepid internet ghost hunters travel to a ranch purportedly haunted by a gold-rush era Chinese sex worker. As their friendship rapidly deteriorates, a dark secret about one of the hunters’ connection to the case comes to light.
user_ (dir. Alex Montilla)
Bubbly camgirl, Amber, is menaced during a private chat by a mysterious and frightening user.
Glitch (dir. Rebecca Sonia Berrih)
While FaceTiming her daughter, a mother spots something scary on the video feed that can’t be seen with the naked eye…
Shadowban (dir. Shane W. Brennan)
Late on Halloween night, Fiona is out delivering products from her “side hustle”, but never missing an opportunity for content she is live streaming the journey.
<FILE_CORRUPT>.SHORTS
Digital Video Editing with Adobe Premiere Pro: The Real-World Guide to Set Up and Workflow (dir. HONG Seong-yoon)
A scene from a typical romance film falls apart when a ghost appears out of nowhere… but this doesn’t belong in the film at all. Can the director and editor fix the footage?
CONTENT: The Lo-Fi Man (dir. Brian Lonano)
“Filmmaker” Brian Lonano tries to talk about a beloved cult film. What happens next will shock you!
Annihilator (dir. Kyle Mangione-Smith)
A young man at the end of his rope seeks to experience transcendence through the ultimate act of submission.
The Blood of the Dinosaurs (dir. Joe Badon)
Uncle Bobbo teaches children where oil comes from.
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