Many film festivals grace the City of Brotherly Love, but none quite like PUFF.
The Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival will feature six days of different movies and events beginning Tuesday, Sept. 24. Now in its 9th year, the “DIY Film Festival” of South Philly has slated its largest showcase yet for 2024, and locals are invited to experience it all.
“So much amazing talent comes through our doors each year that it just seems like a no-brainer to set something like this up,” said festival director Wil Keiper of the Filmmakers Meetup in a statement. Filmmakers Meetup welcomes actors, distributors, writers, and others involved in local filmmaking. “Especially this year when our screeners were literally overwhelmed with how many quality submissions we were getting – we want everyone to be able to meet each other and talk. Film is so alive in Philly right now.”
The organization is a local nonprofit, founded and operated by disabled artists. The goal of this event is to bring an alternative festival to help highlight new and undiscovered films to cinema fans in the region.
Fresh surprises in-store this year include a guest curation on Tuesday by new local friends of the festival, SPACE MELT CINEMA, an exclusive Filmmakers Meetup, music videos and a networking party on Wednesday.
As a release notes, a fan favorite, PUFF’s signature oddball programming will kick off on Thursday, Sept. 26, with two experimental features: ‘Nias’ (France., dir. Baptiste Rambaud) and ‘Sincerely Saul’ (USA, dir. Ian Francis Tripp). Plus, Philadelphians can also catch the demonic horror ‘Lampir: The Immortal Witch’ (Indonesia, dir. Kenny Gulardi) and PUFF’s annual Bizarre Short Block.
Friday, Sept. 27 will continue with showings of the sci-fi comedy ‘That Alien, Sound’ (USA, dir. Brando Topp) co-starring Richard Masur, and the gritty revenge-thriller ‘Bystanders’ (USA, dir. Mary Beth McAndrews). The evening will see PUFF host the cast and crew for the highly-anticipated Philadelphia premiere of the zombie horror-comedy ‘All You Need is Blood’ (USA, dir. Cooper Roberts), co-starring Mena Suvari and Eddie Griffin. The Festival will also screen Sci-Fi shorts on Friday, the release notes.
Saturday Sept. 28 is the largest day for PUFF. The day will feature two blocks of shorts: The ‘Global Grab Bag’ and ‘Horror’. Some standouts from these categories include ‘Thirst Trap’ (USA, dir. Chantal Massuh-Fox), and the horror-oddity ‘Voidcaller’ (Sweden, dir. Nils Alatalo), plus the centerpiece for the evening, ‘Carnage for Christmas.’
On Sunday, Sept. 29, the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival returns to “celebratory vibes” with a free brunch for badge-holders (or those who purchase a Sunday ticket), the Local Shorts block, a block of modern music videos edited together with retro commercials and ads, and the Puff Awards where the coveted Puff Tiaras will be awarded for the best films seen all week.
As the release explains, tickets and badges for PUFF9 are available for purchase online at the official eventive page and will be available at the door at Theatre Exile at 1340 S 13th St. (where the Festival’s events and screenings will take place.) Tickets for individual films and short blocks are on sale for $15. All-access badges are on sale for $125 (over $100 in savings). A Saturday-only badge is also available for $75.
To find out more information on the Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival and everything it has to offer in its 9th year in 2024, visit phillyunnamed.eventive.org
