ATLANTA, GA (September 4, 2020) — The Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference (ATLFF), presented by WarnerMedia, is pleased to announce the schedule of selected drive-in screenings that will take place during the 44th annual event from Thursday, September 17 – Sunday, September 27, 2020. The schedule revealed today represents a portion of the total 148 selected works that were chosen from a record-breaking 8,500+ submissions. In addition to the drive-in screenings, ATLFF will host virtual screenings and educational events throughout the 11-day festival.

There are 15 narrative and 10 documentary features, and 12 short film and creative media blocks that will screen at drive-in events. Among the announced drive-in screenings are films including THE OUTSIDE STORY, a comedy starring Brian Tyree Henry and Sonequa Martin-Green; IN THE COLD DARK NIGHT, a true-crime documentary feature set in Griffin, Georgia from filmmakers behind AMANDA KNOX and THE TED BUNDY TAPES; and the festival premiere of FANDANGO AT THE WALL, a documentary feature executive produced by Carlos Santana, Quincy Jones, and Andrew Young.

As an Academy Award®-qualifying film festival in the Animated, Narrative and Documentary short categories, ATLFF’s short film blocks represent some of most competitive juried categories at the festival. Notable shorts selections that will be shown at drive-in screenings include STUCCO, directed by Janina Gavankar and Russo Schelling in the “Late Night, Great Night” block; WHITE ECHO directed by Chloe Sevigny in the “Outta This World” block; and NIMIC from director Yorgos Lanthimos in the “Eat the Rich” block.

The screenings will feature works from ATLFF’s New Mavericks, ¡CineMás!, Noire, and Pink Peach specialty programming tracks—celebrating women, Latinx, Black and LGBTQ filmmakers and stories respectively. Approximately half of all of ATLFF’s selected works were directed by people of color and 20 percent of selected works have ties to Georgia.

The 2020 festival previously announced the shift to exclusively drive-in and virtual screenings and events to enable audiences in Atlanta and beyond to safely enjoy works from a diverse slate of more than 140 filmmakers. In addition to the 36 drive-in screenings announced today, 127 selected works will also play at the 2020 festival virtually. Marquee screenings will also join the lineup and will be announced at a later date.

Also to be announced is the full lineup of the 10th anniversary Creative Conference, the festival’s series of 20+ educational events. A key part of ATLFF’s programming, the 2020 Creative Conference will shift formats to virtual events, with a focus on Masterclass conversations and panels featuring accomplished directors, showrunners, producers, writers, actors, production designers, editors and more. The educational programming will cover a wide range of topics including virtual pitching, development, creating family friendly content, marketing, digital branding, podcasting, and sales and distribution. Industry experts participating in the Creative Conference this year have credits including “The Walking Dead”, “Greenleaf”, “All American”, “Lovecraft Country”, and LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.

Pullman Yard (225 Rogers St NE, Atlanta, GA 30317) will join The Plaza Theatre (1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306) and Dad’s Garage (569 Ezzard St SE, Atlanta, GA 30312), as the third drive-in screening venue.  

To view the schedule of films announced today, please visit https://atlantafilmfestival.com/schedule or download the all new Atlanta Film Festival app in the App Store or Google Play. ATLFF badges are now on sale on the festival’s website. Ticketing access is now open to badge holders. Individual ticket sales will open next week. Unlimited access to virtual screenings and events is available as well. 

The Atlanta Film Festival is the annual centerpiece of educational and enriching film programming that is provided year-round by its parent organization, the Atlanta Film Society (ATLFS). The festival was originally scheduled to take place in the spring but was postponed due to precautions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.