Over the years, the Atlanta Film Festival has always celebrated local, homegrown films. For its 50th anniversary, that list has grown.
This year, the festival’s Georgia Film category features 47 films, from documentaries, to narrative shorts, to music videos. That’s 13 more films than the category had last year.
The Atlanta Film Festival will run from April 23 – May 3. For a guide to the Georgia films and filmmakers playing at this year’s festival, keep scrolling.
SHORTS
“500 Second to Tell You” (dir. Gerard Clarke)
Narrative short
Screening: April 26
Logline: A young man struggles to tell his best friend how he feels about her minutes before a cataclysm ends life on Earth
“American Woman – A Love Story” (dir. Mark Petersen)
Documentary short
Screening: May 2
Logline: Self taught Atlanta artist John Glover reveals his approach to his art and the inspirations behind his series of paintings “American Woman – A Love Letter”
“Band Practice” (dir. Linda Denson, Diana Khong)
Narrative short
Screening: April 30
Logline: A majorette and her band geek best friend attempt to check item #1 off their senior year bucket list: KISS GIRLS.
“BEYOND UNSTOPPABLE” (dir. Korstiaan Vandiver)
Narrative short
Screening: April 26
Logline: Two grieving Somali teens find hope on the soccer field, but it takes more than a game to turn teammates into family.
“The Birth of Trap Music” (dir. Christopher Scholar)
Documentary short
Screenings: April 23, April 25
Logline: Trap music is more than just a sound—it’s a survival mechanism, a coded language, and a system born from the Trap itself and now reaching worldwide.
“BLOOM” (dir. Glen Kwon)
Narrative short
Screening: April 26
Logline: After failing to end her life, Jisoo spends the day navigating the aftermath of her decision and the effect it had on her younger sister.
“Capriccio” (dir. Kiah Clingman)
Narrative short
Screening: April 25
Logline: Two strangers meet in a cozy bookstore where music and dance becomes their non-verbal language of expression, igniting an unexpected romance.
“Chasing the Sound Out” (dir. Anna Winter)
Experimental short
Screening: May 1
Logline: Filmed during a house show with friends, Chasing the Sound Out grows out of an ongoing personal inquiry into infrastructure and relationships.
“Constitution Lakes” (dir. Kyle Kramb)
Documentary short
Screening: April 26
Logline: A self-employed carpenter transforms an abandoned Atlanta park with a dark industrial past into an unexpected art installation.
“Drag Me To Church” (dir. Isabella Sullivan)
Documentary short
Screening: May 1
Logline: Worlds collide when a gay pastor in Atlanta, Georgia, bridges the gap between two divided communities by putting on a drag church service.
“Encierro” (dir. Jane Negreira)
Narrative short
Screening: April 24
Logline: Eerie sounds and a haunting call drag a woman into darkness, where she battles societal expectations to find freedom.
“Fishy” (dir. Milo Richards)
Narrative short
Screening: April 26
Logline: A trans drag queen contends with being a fish and growing scales..
“The Flint Dichotomy” (dir. Callie Russo)
Documentary short
Screening: April 26
Logline: A short documentary exploring the Flint River’s beauty and its hidden origins beneath Atlanta, revealing nature under the weight of progress
“A Flower Among the Fall” (dir. Mikael Trench)
Animated short
Screening: April 25
Logline: The quiet existence of a forest-dwelling pumpkin monster is interrupted when a band of cultist goblins kidnap it for a mysterious ritual.
“Girl Therapy” (dir. Thang Ho)
Narrative short
Screening: April 24
Logline: Two teens stuck finishing a project in a Victorian house meet ghost sisters who force them to confront their broken friendship.
“In the Garden” (dir. Ivey Redding)
Documentary short
Screening: May 2
Logline: Through a long-form poem, the director’s mother reflects on the life of her own aging mother in the rural American South.
“La Orquestra (The Orchestra)” (dir. Monica Villavicencio, Stephanie Liu)
Documentary short
Screening: April 26
Logline: A retired music teacher sets out to create a youth orchestra in Georgia, the first of its kind for undocumented and mixed status families.
“Max Needs to Pay Rent” (dir. Tony Michalski)
Narrative short
Screening: April 25
Logline: After a robotics engineer loses his job and can’t find a new one in time, he makes the robot he built work three jobs to help pay rent.
“Missing While Black” (dir. Chris Anthony Hamilton)
Narrative short
Screening: May 2
Logline: A white detective questions the mother of a missing Black girl, revealing her daughter’s safe return may not be his top priority.
“The Moth” (dir. Charlene Fisk)
Narrative short
Screening: April 28
Logline: A meticulous loner mistakenly opens her door to a clothing moth, propelling her into a battle for control over her house and her sanity.
“Oh Happy Day!” (dir. Ivan Rome)
Narrative short
Screening: May 1
Logline: Over the course of Easter week, a young boy struggles to impress his crush.
“The Other Side” (dir. Caroline Rumley)
Documentary short
Screening: April 24
Logline: One border. Two friends. Curiosity. Naïveté. Control.
“Parable of the Other” (dir. Joshua Cleveland)
Narrative short
Screening: May 1
Logline: A Boy searches for the true meaning of home after a day of school guided by ancestors and a magical book
“Roots of Tomorrow (Raíces Del Mañana)” (dir. Mariana Lopez, Ogechim Owho Osimini)
Narrative short
Screening: May 2
Logline: Daughter Allison and her mother Xiomara share an unbreakable bond, built through tender rituals of care and memory,
“Shaken” (dir. Millie Rose Evans)
Narrative short
Screening: April 24
Logline: When a young waitress is assaulted by her manager, she delves into a world of revenge, plotting to poison him with a tainted milkshake.
“Sheet Cake” (dir. Abbey Kincheloe)
Narrative short
Screening: May 1
Logline: In 1983, a woman faces judgment from her Weekly Wednesday Women’s Fellowship Group for her impending divorce. What came first? Love, or God?
“Tapestry” (dir. Jason Sheedy)
Narrative short
Screening: May 2
Logline: A desperate mother performs an occult ritual to resurrect her lost child.
“There’s a Devil Inside Me” (dir. Karina Lomelin Ripper)
Narrative short
Screening: May 1
Logline: After a Catholic confirmation class, a devilish teen pretends to be a nun but things go sideways when she’s mistaken for a real one.
“Under the Purple Water” (dir. Michael A. Benton)
Narrative short
Screening: April 24
Logline: Sean wants to rid himself of his anxiety. His therapist wants to rid himself of Sean.
“What Are Grandchildren Made Of?” (dir. Lindsey Susor)
Narrative short
Screening: April 24
Logline: When an accident reveals that his granddaughter is immortal, an old man starts an organ harvesting business to pay off his debts.
“WHITE NOISE” (dir. Jason Williams & Charleston Ford)
Narrative short
Screening: April 25
Logline: A mixed media romantic drama that follows the journey of a one-sided love affair.
MUSIC VIDEOS
“Elli Perry – If You Don’t Know By Now” (dir. Drew Cullen Miller)
Screening: May 1
Logline: This music video is a vibrant visual world that blooms to life around its captivating performer, singer/songwriter and producer Elli Perry
“Ethan Darla – “Beautiful Place (Solo)” (dir. Ethan Darla)
Screening: May 1
Logline: An artist exploring the idea of support through music and film
“girlpuppy – Windows” (dir. Trent Wayne)
Screening: May 1
Logline: girlpuppy laments her love with song in a glass casket and dances in her velvet bedroom.
“Jake Chisenhall – Flowers for Inez” (dir. rubnogs)
Screening: May 1
Logline: Jake Chisenhall attempts to ascend through the power of song. A pug tries to save the world.
“JayWood – Assumptions” (dir. Trent Wayne)
Screening: May 1
Logline: JayWood is asked to sing at a party and is transported into a cartoon world.
“The Macks – Dually of Man/The Modern Grape” (dir. Alec Kaplan)
Screening: May 1
Logline: The Macks receive an invitation to attend dinner at the home of a rich and powerful…ghoul…man. Will the fellas make it out alive?
“Pedro Gayo – Wake Up” (dir. Sebastian Peoples)
Screening: May 1
Logline: In a decrepit hospital, Pedro undergoes a surreal experiment that combines past and present, allowing him to relive memories.
“Revival Season – Full Frontal” (dir. Zach Wolfe + Trent Wayne)
Screening: May 1
Logline: Two moronic CEO’s drunk on greed hold auditions to find a superstar.
EPISODIC
“In Our 20’s” (dir. Eman Nkolo)
Screening: April 24
Logline: In Atlanta, four creatives balance ambition, love, and pressure as their lives collide at the coffee shop where they work.
“Reptilia” (dir. Chase Commins)
Screening: April 25
Logline: Jane, a Reptilian humanoid runaway, is swept away on a night to remember after joining an acting class on her quest to learn how to fit in.
FEATURES
“Frogtown” (dir. Costa Karalis)
Narrative feature
Screening: April 25
Logline: “Frogtown” is a unique genre-breaking film following a woman’s obsessive drive to prove the existence of a magical swamp creature she befriended as a child. Set in a small Florida town, home to 5,000 dreamers, and told from the POV of a documentary crew, the film blends truth and fiction like no other, forcing viewers to question what’s real and what’s not—and wonder when they let go of their own childlike imagination.
“Mudville” (dir. Adam Pinney)
Narrative feature
Screening: April 30
Logline: Ray Patterson, a 47-year-old unemployed dad, spends his days hitting baseballs at the community park in a desperate attempt to make it back onto the Atlanta Apaches, a major league baseball team he was signed to when he was younger. His struggles with drinking, which got him booted from the team in his early 20s, are still a daily problem. Ray is plagued with dreams of what he believes are Native American ghosts and supernatural forces that are holding him down and attempting to bury him and his dreams in the dirt. When a metaphysical event threatens Ray’s existence, his family watches hopelessly, while his wife, Holly, finds comfort in suburban witchery and the cosmic answers that the Tarot provides.
“Party USA” (dir. Jared Sprouse)
Narrative feature
Screening: April 29
Logline: When Taylor can’t get her shift at Party USA covered after her dad dies, she makes a deadly mistake that sparks a downward spiral of red, white, and blue-collared chaos in her small Southern town. She soon finds herself caught between the social pressures of a retail job, her quietly panicking boyfriend Damian, the financial expectations of her chair-bound mother, and her unemployable vape-loving brother Keegan. When Zhara, the sharp and determined daughter of Taylor’s missing boss, shows up looking for answers, the uneasy mix of grief, guilt, and darkly comic suspicion keeps tightening. Taylor does her best to keep smiling and get the store ready for the Fourth of July.
“Riverkeeper” (dir. Jason Goldman)
Documentary feature
Screening: April 30
Logline: For fifty years, the Clean Water Act has been a cornerstone of America’s environmental protections, empowering activists and communities to defend their waterways. In Atlanta, Dr. Jackie Echols embodies that promise, restoring the South River and advocating for the predominantly Black, working-class neighborhoods along its banks. When city leaders announce plans for “Cop City,” a massive police training facility that would clearcut one of Atlanta’s last forests, Jackie joins a diverse resistance movement to protect the land and people.
“SUMMER LOST” (dir. Timothy Hall)
Narrative feature
Screening: April 28
Logline: At a destination wedding in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Jordi attempts to keep his terminal illness a secret. Suffering from the same disease that took his mother’s life, he plans to soon return home to Spain to be with family. As the wedding weekend progresses, he finds himself drawn to Nick, brother of the bride. Their attraction deepens and Jordi finds himself in limbo as this new love begins to reshape his future as well as his past.
“Third” (dir. Alexander Parkinson)
Narrative feature
Screening: April 24
Logline: Thomas and Sandra have reached an uneasy point in their marriage—love remains, but intrigue has faded. So, when Ernesto mysteriously falls into their lives, charming and reigniting Sandra’s desire for excitement, she is quick to embrace him, leaving Thomas quietly displaced. Their decision to pull Ernesto into the fabric of their marriage escalates into an unbalanced three-way relationship that transforms their home and their bond.
