2022 Initial Slate of Films Announced

David Lynch’s 1997 hallucinogenic neo-noir “Lost Highway,” presented in a newly restored 4K version at the IMAX, will be the special event screening as the Tallahassee Film Festival returns to local screens Labor Day Weekend. The festival also offers more grounded dramas and thought-provoking documentaries.

The film, which stars Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette, and a wild cast of supporting characters, is a surreal journey into madness, certain to feel even more intense and hypnotic on the 5-story-high IMAX screen. The new 4K digital restoration of the mind bending mystery will show at the IMAX theater in downtown’s Challenger Learning Center on Sept. 4. 

“The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See ‘Titanic,’ ” is a prize-winning Norwegian film about, well, exactly what it says: an isolated blind paraplegic cinephile who embarks on a risky excursion outside the safety of his apartment. It’s … a comedy? Or a thriller. Or a pandemic-relatable story about struggles we all have faced in recent times. 

The legendary Montreal filmmaker Denis Cote makes his TFF debut with his latest effort, “That Kind of Summer,” an edgy, naturalistic drama about a small group of sex addicts in a recovery program at a bucolic retreat, quarantined with their own unruly drives and demons.

The French-language film, which bowed at the Berlin Film Festival, is part of a slate of favorites celebrated by audiences and critics at the South by Southwest, Sundance, Fantasia, and Tribeca festivals.

Among them are festival alum Robert Machoian’s “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers,” starring Clayne Crawford and Jordana Brewster, which is a brooding morality tale from the director of “The Killing of Two Lovers,” and Sierra Pettengill’s eye-opening documentary “Riotsville, U.S.A.,” which brilliantly uses archival footage to explore the militarization of the police and the reaction of a nation to the uprisings of the late ’60s.

In another documentary, a Sunshine State tradition – the nudist colony – is the subject of filmmakers Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan’s observational lens in “Naked Gardens.” Fans of midnight fare will have lots to look forward to, as well, with the bizarre gonzo madness of “All Jacked Up and Full of Worms,” the debut feature from Chicago’s Alex Phillips. 

Another festival alum, Michael Glover Smith (Mercury in Retrograde, 2017), returns with his latest feature, the family drama “Relative,” featuring an ensemble cast of talented actors from his native Chicago. 

Also back is documentary filmmaker Harrod Blank, whose short film “Dugout Dick” offers an intimate portrait of an off-the-grid, Idaho hermit.

Audiences can also expect a diverse assortment of films by Florida-based filmmakers, competing for the festival’s $1,000 Flamingo prize, given to the director of the top-ranked Florida film and co-sponsored by Flamingo Magazine. 

Some 50 films, including features and shorts, will screen Sept. 3 and 4, at venues downtown (IMAX) and in the All Saints District (Cap City Video Lounge, Marriott Residence Inn), with a Saturday night party at The Bark and a special VIP/Filmmakers brunch on Sunday at Charlie Park.

Passes are on sale now, and more films, a full schedule, and If-You-Go details will be announced in the coming weeks! So keep your eyes peeled!