Who does not like found footage movies? They might be referred to as “guilty pleasures” or talked about in the context of “I gotta admit, I like them”, but there is no denying their popularity. From the genre reinvigorating The Blair Witch Project, to new favorites like last year’s Host, the sub genre continues to please audiences around the world.
Since 2018, the Unnamed Footage Festival has brought a unique and often obscure selection of found footage horror, first-person POV cinema, and faux documentary to San Francisco, with previous festivals being hosted at the historic Balboa Theatre, the Roxie Theater, and ATA. Strange times call for strange measures, and like so many other events, the fourth edition of the annual film festival is moving to a virtual landscape in the form of a 24-hour long webathon.
Along with announcing the event, the first wave of films have also been announced.
I Blame Society (2021)
Writer/director Gillian Horvat plays a fictionalized version of herself working on a documentary exploring her friends’ belief that she has the ability to commit murder. Over the top and incredibly funny, the movies walks the fine line between fiction and reality. Along the way, it also skewers indie filmmaking and gender inequality.
0s & 1s (2006)
Director Eugene Kotlyarenko’s (Spree) sophomore feature 0s & 1s is exploding with nostalgic internet ephemera as a pioneering screenlife comedy set entirely on a computer screen from the 00s. James Pongo (Morgan Krantz) has a cushy job, a busy social life and an alluring love interest all through the click of a mouse. But when he wakes up after a night of reckless partying to discover that his computer is missing, James’ hyper-connected reality takes a nosedive.
Dwellers (2021)
A collaboration between Megadeth bassist David Ellison and Bang Tango guitarist Drew Fortier, Dwellers is a found footage horror set in the deep, damp sewers of L.A. While shooting a documentary, a filmmaker and his crew go missing while uncovering a terrifying and vicious secret below the city’s surface. It’s C.H.U.D meets The Blair Witch Project featuring surprising cameos from several rock legends.
Poser (2020)
Aiden Doherty, once a skate legend, returns home from rehab to star in a documentary about his recovery in the lo-fi, Ohio punk skateboarding thriller Poser. But it doesn’t take long for the project to derail when a drug stash is uncovered in an old hangout spot. Directed by up-and-comer Jake Striebel, and with a killer garage punk soundtrack featuring tracks from Together Pangea and The Raging Nathans.
Murder Death Koreatown (2020)
An exclusive screening in collaboration with the anonymous filmmaker themselves. A man’s curiosity over his neighbor’s murder becomes a conspiratorial descent into madness. Since the premiere of Murder Death Koreatown at UFF3, the film has garnered a cult following for its bizarrely unnerving blending of reality with fiction. This replay of the film will be a different cut than the version available on streaming platforms, with more surprises to come.
The Unnamed Film Festival begins on March 26. For more info, check out the official site.
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