Atlanta Underground Film Festival
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AUGUST 8 - 10, 2025
Join us at Limelight Theater - 349 Decatur St. SE, Atlanta
2025 AUFF Film Program
Friday, August 8
We’re kicking off the festival by celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Settle in for a stacked lineup of shorts blocks starting at noon : survival stories, queer identity, sci-fi spirals, and horror that hits home. Connect with fellow creatives at Fanfare, our filmmaker mixer, then stick around for the afterparty. Come dressed as your favorite character. Prizes go to the best costumes and runners-up.
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
From alien cages and time loops to war zones, these shorts push their characters to the edge. A mother makes an impossible choice. A scientist risks his mind. A soldier stares down his own blood. Whether the danger comes from outer space or deep within, survival is the only option - even if it breaks you.
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
This is our Queer Shorts Block. A bold, tender, and defiantly original lineup. From cosmic cowboys and bird-fueled awakenings to church crushes and awkward hook-ups, these films explore identity, desire, and the strange paths we take to find connection. Whether you're running toward love or away from the past, these stories celebrate what it means to live out loud, wild and untamed, just like they should be.
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 4:00 PM
These sci-fi shorts bend time, identity, and reality. A grieving couple programs a daughter from memory. A pest control worker faces a growing threat inside her. A mirror swaps two lives. A hacker rewrites her path. And somewhere in the code, a ghost might be watching. When technology twists the rules, nothing stays grounded.
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 6:00 PM
These doors should never be opened. From cursed dollhouses to twisted family roles, this horror block dives into the places we’re told are safe but aren’t. Kidnappers disguise themselves as fathers, spirits pose as grandmothers, and the walls around us turn into traps. Whether it’s a knock at the door or a house that breathes, each film reminds us that once you step inside, getting out isn’t guaranteed.
Special Event: Fanfare filmmaker mixer
60 min.
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Meet your fellow filmmakers, make connections, and kick off the weekend with great conversation. Whether you're screening a film or just here for the vibes, Fanfare is your chance to network and connect before the chaos begins.
General public: $15 at the door. Free entry if you come in Rocky Horror costume. Filmmakers and badge holders always get in free.
I'm Going Home Local Shorts #5
92 min.
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
These Georgia-made shorts are grounded in place but reach far beyond. Set on ranches, in suburbs, bank vaults, and outer space, the stories explore grief, memory, strange encounters, and unraveling realities. From time loops and missing children to mockumentary oddities and rural tragedies, this block captures the many versions of what “home” can mean and how hard it is to hold onto.
Special Event: Opening Night Rocky Horror Picture Show Theme Party
Friday, August 8, 2025 at 11:00 PM - late
We’re celebrating the 50th Anniversary of one of our favorite cult classics, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Come dressed as your favorite character. The best costume wins $100 and two All Access Passes to Atlanta Horrorfest in October. Runner-ups will also receive All Access Passes to Horrorfest.
General public: $15 at the door. Free entry if you come in Rocky Horror costume. Filmmakers and badge holders always get in free.
Saturday, August 9
Saturday night at AUFF is pure chaos and craft. In Theater One, shorts range from docs and animation to wild comedy and surreal nightmares. In Theater Two, some bad-ass features push boundaries. Don't miss the 6 PM Filmmaker Mixer, and dive into the madness.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 12:00 PM
These documentary shorts explore how we search for meaning, connection, and identity in a confusing world. From conspiracy theories and spiritual questions to family letters, prison reform, and free-roaming cats, each story offers a glimpse into someone's truth. Some are funny, some are raw, all are deeply human.
ANXIOUS.
97 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 12:30 PM - Theater #2
Nida Chowdhry directs, writes, and stars in her debut feature film ANXIOUS., a surreal dark comedy about a woman named Ruby who has an anxiety attack and trips down the rabbit hole of her mind, where she meets versions of herself who take over her life.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Welcome to the strangest cartoon lineup you’ll ever cry to. In this set, lake monsters just want clout, mushrooms lead to chaos, fetus monsters fight back, and a crab becomes the best survival buddy you didn’t know you needed. These animated shorts cover grief, politics, bodily autonomy, friendship, and the occasional monster uprising - all wrapped in wildly original visuals.
WELCOME TO KITTYTOWN
88 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 2:30 PM - Theater #2
Welcome to Kittytown paints a hilarious, suspenseful, and unforgettable vision of a post-apocalyptic future. After a GMO contamination reverts civilization into a wasteland dominated by a deadly green soil, Vern (Darren Zimmer), an ailing farmer, is barely surviving....
Vibe Check Shorts #8
87 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
This block covers it all. From haunted bidets to dream invasions, emotional voicemails to botched tattoos, these shorts blur the line between absurd and sincere. It’s comedy with bite, heartache with punchlines, and just enough chaos to keep you guessing. Consider this your official vibe check.
Street Trash
85 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 4:30 PM - Theater #2
In the year 2050, global economic turmoil has destroyed the middle class in Cape Town, South Africa, which is now divided between the ultra-rich and the unhoused. Ronald and group of fellow houseless friends uncover a plot by the local government to “liquify“ the houseless population with a sinister chemical agent called “V”.
SPECIAL EVENT: Creative Circuit- Saturday Mixer
60 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Join us for a relaxed but energized filmmaker mixer where we’ll guide you through a few quick creative meet-and-greets to get the conversation flowing. Think of it as organized chaos - with drinks.
You’ll walk away having met fellow directors, writers, producers, actors, and weirdos you might actually want to collaborate with someday. Open to all attending creatives.
F*CKTOYS
85 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM - Theater #2
In the year 2050, global economic turmoil has destroyed Fucktoys is a lush, 16mm fever dream that reimagines the Major Arcana of the Tarot through the story of AP: a struggling pollyanna seeking salvation from a curse. AP is promised by not one but multiple psychics that for a cool $1000 -and the sacrifice of a baby lamb- it can be lifted. So she makes money the only way she knows how: scootering her way deeper into the night...
Slightly Off Shorts #9
93 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Nothing is quite what it seems in this set of mostly local shorts. Panic attacks turn into dreamscapes, tech toys get too honest, and even a hitman just wants a peaceful day at work. Whether navigating grief, sexuality, surveillance, or an unhinged night shift, these characters all share one thing - the feeling that reality is just... slightly off.
McConadilla
100 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 8:45 PM - Theater #2
McConadilla tells the twisted tale of a struggling artist whose wise-cracking Texan armadillo puppet comes to life, dragging him into a chaotic spiral of murder, vengeance, and shocking hilarity. Combining dark humor, suspense, and a large dash of the absurd, McConadilla offers a unique cinematic experience that audiences won’t soon forget...
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 9:15 PM
This comedy block delivers absurdity at full volume. Whether it’s an influencer giving a vampire a brand refresh, a comical take on sexy time or friends melting down over burritos and time capsules, each short dives headfirst into the ridiculous. These characters might take their situations seriously, but the stories never do. This is comedy that lives up to its name: seriously not serious.
ASTRAL PLANE DRIFTER
89 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 11:00 PM - Theater #2
THE BEST WESTERN/SCI-FI/KUNG-FU/GRINDHOUSE/PSYCHEDELIC STONER COMEDY IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!!!
Sometime before yesterday... or after tomorrow, a man called Drifter, goes on an existential journey through a maze of outrageous scenarios with his trusted Sidekick, to save the day. The girl. And maybe even the Universe!
A Long Strange Trip Shorts #11
102 min.
Saturday, August 9, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Fasten your seatbelt! This block veers off the road and into strange worlds, surreal twists, and the wild spaces between comedy, grief, fantasy, and sci-fi. From porch pirates and space truckers to telepathic strangers and haunted dreams, these stories follow oddball characters on unexpected journeys. Some are looking for a purpose. Some are running from trouble. All of them are headed somewhere weird.
Sunday, August 10
We close out the fest with films that push the limits. Surreal experimentals. Raw dramas. indie features and plenty of local work from our Georgia filmmakers. It all builds toward the Awards and After Party.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Nothing goes as planned in this block of chaos, betrayal, and blowback. From a post-apocalyptic standoff to lovers on the edge, these stories follow characters who are pushed too far - and push right back. Whether it’s a grieving vampire, a tripping couple, or a bride dodging disaster, everyone here has one thing in common: they’ve had enough. Dark, sharp, and sometimes absurd, this is where breaking points get messy.
She Cried That Day
88 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 12:30 PM - Theater #2
She Cried That Day is the story of a sister's love and the spirit, strength and will of Indigenous Women refusing to let their loved ones remain invisible in the eyes of the justice system.
Broadcast Signal Lost Shorts #13
99 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM
These shorts don’t follow the rules. They glitch, loop, and unravel. You’ll find misfortunate intruders, sentient wives, haunted kitchens, cult commercials, corrupted video, and bodies turning inside out. Stories become static. Meaning slips. It's part performance, part fever dream, and everything feels off in the best possible way.
The Hike
63 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 2:30 PM - Theater #2
A road trip with two best friends to the Appalachian mountains takes an askew turn, with both women learning more about each other's checkered past as they ascend.
Heavy Weight Shorts #14
89 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
These drama shorts carry the quiet tension of lives under pressure. A father confronts a bully, a widow returns to a forgotten farm, a wife confronts her husband’s other woman at a seedy motel. From asylum seekers and immigrants to fractured families and strained love, each story reveals what people carry - and what happens when the weight becomes too much.
The House Among the Trees
75 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 4:20 PM - Theater #2
After three thieves break into a secluded house, they accidentally discover a small town's dark secrets.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
These stories unravel softly. A woman teeters between madness and magic. A support group leader crosses a line for justice. A grieving widow demands answers. From indie film sets to haunted dates, each short explores what happens when reality slips and emotions boil beneath a composed surface...
Withdrawal
94 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 6:30 PM - Theater #2
A passionate singer-songwriter and her rebellious boyfriend must withdrawal from heroin, to keep her conservative parents from sending her to rehab.
The Deep South Shorts #16
89 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
These mostly Georgia-made shorts explore the darker corners of Southern life. Grief lingers, secrets resurface, and decisions are made under pressure. From rural isolation to internal battles, each story reveals a different truth about what it means to survive, transform, or come undone in the Deep South.
American Deadbolt
86 min.
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM - Theater #2
In the aftermath of a horrific 4th of July attack, a group of five desperate people find themselves trapped in the back room of a restaurant. But as they fight to keep alive they soon discover that their greatest threat may actually be locked in the room with them.
SPECIAL EVENT: Awards & Closing Party
Sunday, August 10, 2025 at 10:15 PM
The credits roll, the lights come up, and the celebration begins. Join filmmakers, cast, crew, and fans as we reveal this year’s award winners and raise a toast to every story shown on our screens. This is the moment to celebrate your work and the community that made it possible.
Entry is free for badge holders. Guests are welcome with a $15 door pass.