Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2024 - Preview

PUFF 9
Sept. 24th - Sept 29th
The Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival returns!

by "Doc" Hunter Bush, contributor, host, and podcast czar

Chockablock with original films of all stripes from gonzo comedy to head-trip horror (and beyoooond!) the spooky season doesn't start for me until the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival is near. For a ninth year (!!!!!!!!!) the fine folks at PUFF have gathered together a truly, madly, deeply eclectic selection of features, shorts, and music videos into one place, for you. They return this year to Theater Exile for an impressive six-day lineup of screenings and events from Tues. Sept. 24th - Sun. Sept 29th, with the film screenings beginning on Thurs. Sept 26th! The old joke goes: Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate (eight) nine. Things would have gone very differently if seven tried to eat PUFF 9, I'm sure.

Join me as I check out PUFF for a ninth glorious, gory-ous, weird and way-out year. Below I've highlighted just a few flicks you may want to make time for. And don't forget to take a gander at everything they've got planned here: PUFF 9.

THURS. Sept. 26th:

Lampir: The Immortal Witch
Directed by Kenny Gulardi
Showtime: 6:45 pm
Buy tickets HERE

I've been in a real vampire headspace this year gearing up for Vamp-tober on the Hate Watch/Great Watch Podcast, so the title Lampir leapt out at me like a ghoul from a tomb. Apparently, if the subtitle is to be believed, the antagonist is an Immortal Witch and not a vampire, but by the time I clocked that fact, it was too late; I was hooked. This Indonesian film follows a group of friends to a pre-wedding photo shoot at an enigmatic villa and the trailer features some really fantastic cinematography! There's a windshield wiper scene transition that legit blew me away! I cannot wait for this one.

FRI. Dept. 27th:

Chainsaws Were Singing
Directed by Sander Maran
Showtime: 10:30 pm
Buy tickets HERE

The trailer for Chainsaws Were Singing states that it has been "in the making" for a decade and, honestly, this seems like a decade's worth of crazy crap (complimentary). This Estonian gonzo, splattery, silly, chainsaw-centric musical looks like nothing else on the PUFF lineup and I have the feeling this will be a real crowd-pleaser to kick your weekend off right!

SAT. Sept. 28th:

Voidcaller
Directed by Nils Alatalo
Showtime: Noon
Buy tickets HERE

I'm a sucker for drug-trip films, because they allow filmmakers to cut loose a little more; arresting visuals, intuitive storytelling, creative edits. In other words: cinema! I'm also drawn to creative black and white photography and stories described as "Lovecraftian" because I'm a sucker for indescribable cosmic horror, kind of especially when done on a smaller budget - again, it forces the filmmakers to be creative! Swedish  flick Voidcaller has a bare-bones description about people suffering from amnesia beginning to suspect they are connected via something cosmic and sinister, but combined with those interest points above means I'll be starting my day the Voidcaller way.

Screening before Voidcaller is an animated short called The One about a man competing against a 30-foot-long monster worm on a dating show. Many of the features have a short film paired with them btw.

Párvulos
Directed by Isaac Ezban
Showtime: 7:00 pm
Buy tickets HERE

I caught this earlier this year as part of my Fantasia International Film Festival coverage and I'm really psyched to see it again! The post-apocalyptic zombie sub-genre might seem as far past its expiration date as the zombies themselves, but Mexican filmmaker Isaac Ezban manages to introduce enough novelty and creativity into the film's clichés and conventions that it feels not just fresh but genuinely exciting! Combining survival horror with an Amblin Entertainment-style approach to family drama, Párvulos ("little ones") is pure genre dynamite!

SUN. Sept. 29th:

Local Block
Showtime: 1:00 pm
Buy tickets HERE

Each day of film screenings at PUFF includes at least one collection of short films - Thursday's Bizarre Block; Friday's Sci-Fi Shorts; and Saturday's Global Grab Bag and Horror Shorts - but the Local Block is always near and dear to my heart. This collection features all shorts made by local filmmakers! How could I NOT love it? This year's assortment features a lucky 13 entries with subjects ranging from misophonia to a four year-old detective. I love the variety and imagination on display in short films, and the PUFF crew always curate a really broad assortment. I hope you'll join me at this year's festival to appreciate all the hard work of the filmmakers and organizers alike!

The 9th Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival runs from Sept. 24th - Sept 29th. Get tickets HERE.