Chattanooga Film Festival to celebrate ‘The Twilight Zone’ at 2024 festival

The Chattanooga Film Festival will return this year with screenings of feature and short films, live podcasts and more from June 21-28 at the Read House, 107 W. M.L. King Blvd.

The genre film festival, now in its 11th year, will be presented in a hybrid format with in-person and virtual programming available, according to a news release from the organizers.

This year’s festival will feature a salute to the anthology television series, “The Twilight Zone,” and the life and career of the show’s creator, Rod Serling, the release said. Author Anne Serling, Rod’s daughter, will be in attendance, joining the festival’s team and “The Twilight Zone” historian and author Mark Dawidziak for a screening of classic episodes, a panel discussion of the show’s legacy and influence and a 100th birthday celebration for the show’s creator, according to the release.

“Serling and ‘The Twilight Zone’s’ influence will be felt in eerie ways throughout this year’s festival,” festival director Chris Dortch said in the release.

The festival will also feature a 60th anniversary screening of director Russ Meyer’s cult classic film, “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” The film follows a group of go-go dancers as they set out for the desert and, in the process, take a young girl hostage and work to take a sum of money away from an old man and his sons, according to an online synopsis of the film.

Author and screenwriter Adam Cesare will be guest programming a secret screening and signing copies of his “Clown in a Cornfield” novels at the festival, the release said. In addition to its other programming, the festival will continue its nightly, secret screening series, The Red Eye.

All-access, VIP badges are on sale with early bird pricing and discounts until March 20, the release said. For more information, visit chattfilmfest.org.