Unnamed Footage Festival to go virtual for 2021

Found footage remains one of the most popular (and polarizing) sub-genres of horror films, thanks to pioneers such as The Blair Witch Project and Cannibal Holocaust. Now found footage even has its own festival with the Unnamed Footage Festival, set in Los Angeles.

Found footage fans will be pleased to know that in its fourth year, the Unnamed Footage Festival will be taking place, albeit in a different form. That’s become the norm for film festivals since COVID began shuttering movie theaters in 2020.

Prior versions of the Unnamed Footage Festival  have been held in San Francisco at the Balboa Theatre, the Roxie Theatre and ATA, but this year’s version will take place virtually as a 24-hour long “webathon.”

Advertised as a “live, one-time-only, day-long marathon of weird and exclusive in-world camera features and shorts”, UFF24hr will also offer Q&As with the filmmakers and other industry professionals.

The event will begin live-streaming Friday, March 26th at 8:00 p.m. ET, and you can get a virtual badge for $10. The badge gives viewers access to the full 24-hour event, and can be purchased beginning the first week of March through the festival’s website. Even better, all proceeds will go to non-profit and independent independent cinemas across the US. That’s important, because, as we all know, theaters have been devastated by COVID-19.

Featured films and shorts include:

I Blame Society – Gillian Horvat wrote, directed and stars in this one as a fictional version of herself. The film version of Gillian is creating a documentary in which she examines her friends’ perception of her as a person who they believe could commit murder.

0s & 1s – This comedy introduces us to James, who lives in an alternate, perfect reality through his computer. After a night of partying, he wakes up to find that his computer is missing. 0s & 1s is entirely set on a computer screen from the 00s.

Dwellers –  Megadeth bassist David Ellison and Bang Tango guitarist Drew Fortier collaborated to bring us this horror film. It’s the type of found footage we all love, in which a crew filming a documentary disappear into the sewers of L.A. Viewers are promised cameos from rock legends.

Poser – In this thriller, former skate legend Aiden comes back from rehab to be featured in a documentary about his recovery. When drugs are found in one of Aiden’s former hangouts, the documentary begins to unravel.

Murder Death Koreatown – OK, this one sounds intriguing, based on online reviews that refer to it as being especially unsettling and realistic. Murder Death Koreatown apparently has acquired a cult following, and UFF24hr’s website states that “this replay of the film will be a different cut than the version available on streaming platforms, with more surprises to come.” The basic plot involves a man who becomes obsessed with a neighbor’s murder. Making the film even more mysterious, the filmmaker(s) has chosen to remain anonymous.

Found footage lovers, take note: there will be more titles announced as the date for the festival gets closer, so keep your eyes and ears open.

We want to know which found footage movies you love the most. Tell us all about it in the comments section.