Two journalists set out to document their friend's journey to reunite with his estranged sister. They track her to an undisclosed location where they are welcomed into the remote world of “Eden Parish,” a self-sustained rural utopia composed of nearly two hundred members and overseen by a mysterious leader known only as “Father.” It quickly becomes evident to the newcomers that this paradise may not be as it seems. Eden Parish harbors a twisted secret. What started as just another documentary shoot soon becomes a fight for survival.
UFF presents a repertory screening of Ti West's Jonestown-inspired opus at the Alamo Drafthouse's Terror Tuesday!
After uncovering a buried box containing a VHS tape and a mysterious book of witchcraft at the gravesite of Invoking Yell’s lead singer, Andrea Fernandez, a trio of metalheads unwittingly unleash a dark force. What begins as a documentary about Andrea's disappearance and the 1998 murders of her ill-fated bandmates quickly spirals into a waking nightmare-where the past doesn't just haunt those connected to it... it demands a sacrifice.
This year at UFF, we’ve been given the rare opportunity to show an early cut of this Chilean found footage sequel.
When two police officers show up to investigate a domestic dispute, there is an accidental shooting. Not wanting to be crucified by the public, the officers attempt to cover it up - only to uncover that the cameras aren't the only things watching them.
BODYCAM places the filmmaking tools directly in the hands of its performers, abandoning traditional coverage in favor of a raw, immersive approach. The result is a tense, constantly shifting perspective that feels like it's unfolding in real time. What began as a quietly produced, under-the-radar shoot is now a SHUDDER original. Join us for what might be the last chance to catch BODYCAM in theatres.
Fifteen years after leaving Corsica, Marie and Daniel return to visit their elderly grandfather. Looking to capture their reunion, they pick up the family camcorder, but what they uncover is far from what they expected. With its stylized combination of camcorder and archival footage, HERITAGE is a verisimilitudinous journey into Corsica, as it follows an array of misfits as it explores the isolation, ennui, and unwelcomeness they feel in their own island home.
Steeped in Corsican folklore, HERITAGE cements first-time filmmaker Baptist Agostini-Croce as a powerful new voice in found footage. Between its grounded, nigh-improvisational performances from local Corsican actors and footage captured on an actual consumer camcorder, HERITAGE evokes the found footage yore, and channels the raw immediacy that first captivated found footage horror audiences.
For their fourth anniversary, popular vloggers Rob and Carla set out on a romantic trip to a remote wilderness. Although cracks begin to show in their relationship they aim to capture every moment for their devoted followers. But what begins as a carefree escape soon spirals into something far more sinister.
For their fourth anniversary, popular vloggers Rob and Carla set out on a romantic trip to a remote wilderness. Although cracks begin to show in their relationship they aim to capture every moment for their devoted followers. But what begins as a carefree escape soon spirals into something far more sinister.
A group of camping YouTubers head to the woods to make their final video. Unbeknownst to them, four masked men follow behind, planning to make a video of their own. (Short #2 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
It's 3AM and I can't sleep. Some kind of sleep demon has attached itself to me. I've found a 3AM ritual that will prove it is there, watching. Always watching. (Short #1 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
I TRIED A RITUAL (2018) - The Balboa Theater @ 1:50 PM
One unassuming day in 2018, Lex finds an incantation and a set of instructions for a ritual in a book in the library. She sees no harm in giving it a try. (Short #3 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
In her quest for online fame, a female influencer, pursued by a real-life stalker, turns the tables by documenting her evasion on her vlog, which unexpectedly goes viral. (Short #4 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
Short Form Footage 1 - Short Film Block - The Balboa Theater @ 1:50 PM
The first of our two in-world camera short film blocks.
Screens With:
Rebrand (2026)
Dir. Edoardo Ranaboldo(United States)
Written by: Edoardo Ranaboldo
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:15:22
A group of camping YouTubers head to the woods to make their final video. Unbeknownst to them, four masked men follow behind, planning to make a video of their own. (Short #2 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
It's Watching (2026)
Dir. Michael Davis(United States)
Written by: Michael Davis
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:13:48
It's 3AM and I can't sleep. Some kind of sleep demon has attached itself to me. I've found a 3AM ritual that will prove it is there, watching. Always watching. (Short #1 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
I TRIED A RITUAL (2018) (2026)
Dir. Alexis Briscuso(United States)
Written by: Alexis Briscuso
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:21:00
One unassuming day in 2018, Lex finds an incantation and a set of instructions for a ritual in a book in the library. She sees no harm in giving it a try. (Short #3 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
Followers (2026)
Dir. Kevin Rahardjo(Indonesia)
Written by: Kevin Rahardjo
Genre: Screenlife
Runtime: 00:19:31
In her quest for online fame, a female influencer, pursued by a real-life stalker, turns the tables by documenting her evasion on her vlog, which unexpectedly goes viral. (Short #4 of "Short Form Footage 1" Block)
Welcome Back To My Channel - The Balboa Theater @ 3:35 PM
When influencer Suki Ren brings her American boyfriend, Leo, for a romantic camping trip in her home-country of Australia, things take a sinister twist; first when Leo’s douchebag friend Cass makes an appearance, pranking Suki with a fake corpse hanging from a tree. Things take an even worse turn when the trio is beset by a gang of backwoods cannibals who want to turn the three into their next meal.
On its face, Welcome Back to My Channel might sound like an outback take on Wrong Turn, it instead paints a bleak portrait of the modern clout-chasing strive for fame.
When Jay, an internet prankster, takes in a new roommate, Alan, he secretly documents the man’s odd behavior. As his behavior grows increasingly more bizarre, Jay pushes boundaries and limits to get more content. As things come to a head, it becomes clear that there’s something very, very wrong with Alan.
Exploring the toxicity of influencer culture, Alan at Night is an entertaining romp that blends cringe comedy with genuine thrills. You’ll never look at mayonnaise the same way again.
The Omni Ball Championship is here and tensions are rising in the big city. Meanwhile Boney, a pizza delivery skeleton, is just trying to make it through one increasingly impossible night.
Inspired by the experimental animation of Don Hertzfeldt, and constructed with the theory of Ian Hubert - who's known for his hyper detailed world building. BIG CITY PIZZA is an exciting addition to the genre of in-world-camera, skeleton POV, One take, Animated, features.
Screens With:
Special Delivery (2026)
Dir. Will Canalizo(United States)
Written by: Will Canalizo
Genre: POV
Runtime: 00:04:42
Disgruntled delivery drivers take their frustrations out on a delivery robot.
A grieving game master's new online role-playing adventure spirals into a deadly reality, trapping players in a supernatural fight for survival.
Told entirely through screens, webcams, and in-game interfaces, GROUPCHAT embraces its tabletop DNA while weaponizing the intimacy of digital space. Brownlie leans into the chaos of online collaboration, blurring performance and panic in real time. The result is a screenlife RPG session set during the Halloween season, something UFF thinks is long overdue.
At UFF, we don’t shy away from the grotesque, with past festivals featuring films that are shamelessly disgusting, depraved, and even downright pornographic (i.e. Koji Shiraishi’s Safe Word,) but nothing—we mean NOTHING—compares to American Guinea Pig: Slaughter of the Swine.
The fourth film in the American reboot of the infamous Japanese series (the first of which was famously reported to the FBI by Charlie Sheen, believing it was a genuine snuff film), Slaughter of the Swine is framed as FBI footage of a depraved religious ritual. Featuring 60 minutes of some of the most intense gore you’ve ever seen, the film is a masterclass in gore effects, with depictions of violence, torture, and abuse that makes The Human Centipede look tame.
This film will offend, sicken, and repulse you. You will be a worse person for having watched it.
Screens With:
Rot Log (2026)
Dir. Travis Nicholas Zariwny(United States)
Written by: Travis Nicholas Zariwny
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:08:00
Travis Zariwny plays a man who isolates himself inside a shared living space after noticing subtle signs of environmental decay — softening wood, spreading moisture, structural instability. Determined to approach the anomaly scientifically, he begins recording daily “rot logs,” documenting what he believes is a creeping biological intrusion.
Travis Zariwny plays a man who isolates himself inside a shared living space after noticing subtle signs of environmental decay — softening wood, spreading moisture, structural instability. Determined to approach the anomaly scientifically, he begins recording daily “rot logs,” documenting what he believes is a creeping biological intrusion.
Friday
27
Distort 2: The Dead Among The Trees - The Balboa Theater @ 12:00 PM
Not too long ago, a musician had a supernatural experience involving ghostly dogs and time-bending cassette tapes left for him in an Irish forest. Now, a documentary filmmaker brings the man back to the same forest to see just how real these experiences were, and to possibly save the woman who has been trapped there for 30 years.
Picking up right where the first film left off, Distort 2 builds upon the lore of the weeping man, the haunted tract of Irish forest, and the dark, hungry forces within. The film uses its incredible sound design to craft a haunting tale of folk horror with fascinating use of diegetic audio to make something truly unique.
Continuing where the first film left off, the looky-loo killer’s newfound infamy encourages him to push his crimes to further extremes as he documents his sadistic ventures, adding a new metatextual element to the film.
Jason Zink (Straight Edge Kegger, looky-loo) returns to San Francisco with his second journey into Found Footage Horror. Expanding his world while ensuring Part II stands firmly on its own, Zink welcomes newcomers into a nightmare of voyeurism, obsession, and the commodification of human suffering. Teaming up with fellow UFF8 alum Kansas Bowling (Cuddly Toys, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood) and bringing her singular presence to this unfiltered Midwestern horror, looky-loo: PART II doesn’t simply ask you to watch. It asks what it means that you want to.
We Put the World to Sleep - The Balboa Theater @ 3:55 PM
Adrian and Duru get lost in the characters they play in an apocalyptic film and embark on a secret mission to end the world for real. What follows goes beyond their wildest imagination.
If you haven’t seen Adrian Țofei’s 2015 feature Be My Cat: A Film for Anne, stop reading and watch it right now. If you have seen it, you’ll know that Țofei is a master of the bizarre, and his newest film is no exception. The middle film of a spiritual trilogy that includes Be My Cat and the upcoming Pure, WE PUT THE WORLD TO SLEEP expands his confrontational style into something far more expansive. Shot over nearly a decade across Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine, the film merges autofiction and layered reality games into a constantly shifting perspective piece. Rather than simply revisiting the confessional intimacy of Be My Cat: A Film for Anne, Țofei widens the frame to challenge what “captured reality” even means.
With the Tahoe Joe trilogy complete, Dillon Brown (Tahoe Joe, Ghost, The Summer We Dies) returns to found footage with his most intense film yet. Hoping to kick off the second season of his series with a bang, hunting influencer Cole Harrington travels into the wilderness of Northern Nevada in search of a mountain lion that’s been menacing local livestock, but when he finds a camera belonging to a pair of missing hikers his hunting expedition becomes a fight for survival with something much more dangerous than a simple wildcat.
While his Tahoe Joe films embrace the goofiness of the regional cryptid, PRIMAL DARKNESS is pure horror, using the isolation and emptiness of Northern Nevada—and the area’s numerous abandoned mines—to craft a bleak tale of survival that is not to be missed.
In the sequel to his hit creature feature, Anthony Cousins (Frogman, Scare Package) delivers another buffet of frights and frogs in this creature-feature sequel. Featuring new and familiar faces alike, FROGMAN RETURNS picks up where Frogman left off. Delving into the lore of the Loveland Frogman, this sequel cranks everything up to eleven, guaranteeing a froggy fantasy filled with more frogmen than you can wave a magic wand at.
Frogs aside, Cousins’ background as a cinematographer shines through in this film FROGMAN RETURNS adopts a far different style than its predecessor, eschewing the tracking lines and static of a Hi8 for crisp, digital look, that lets it show off its amazing practical effects creatures.
In the summer of 2006, five teenagers break into an abandoned prison that is supposedly haunted. As they explore the place, they discover that what inhabits it is much more dangerous than the paranormal.
Co-directors Karsen Schovajsa and James Bessey bring years of tenacious genre experience to their feature debut. Schovajsa, whose shorts have played festivals including Atlanta Horrorfest and Tuesday of Horror (where he received a Best Horror Short nomination), proved his DIY mettle shooting The Devil’s Hour on 35mm in a single day. Bessey, with a background working crew for major studios like Warner Bros. and Marvel while crafting tense, character-driven shorts of his own, pairs industry know-how with indie grit. Together, the duo have created a Hi 8 urban adventure that feels like a microbudget German gore film.
Screens With:
13_OCT_1985_ARCHIVE (2026)
Dir. Nicolas Dozol(Switzerland)
Written by: Nicolas Dozol
Genre: POV
Runtime: 00:02:00
Viewing of a recovered unclassified archive dated October 13, 1985.
13_OCT_1985_ARCHIVE - The Balboa Theater @ 9:10 PM
In 2009, director Gary Sherman – acclaimed for such classics as DEATH LINE, DEAD & BURIED and VICE SQUAD – came out of retirement to make the most extreme independent film of his career. But this was no ordinary graphic thriller. Sherman took a startling faux-documentary approach to the story of fictitious serial killer Carroll McKane (chillingly portrayed by Martin Cummins of RIVERDALE and WHEN CALLS THE HEART) by placing multiple video cameras in the basement room where the slaughter of 36 past victims had been recorded. When McKane kidnaps a noted forensic psychiatrist with the intention of forcing him to write his biography, it will unlock a nightmare of emotional torment, graphic carnage and three final victims.
Then comes the real shocker: After a handful of initial screenings, the film proved so disturbing to audiences that plans for its distribution were hastily scrapped and Sherman voluntarily removed his movie from circulation. Unseen for nearly 15 years, 39 now returns to select screens courtesy of Severin Films.
Two influencer sisters move to the woods to get away from it all. But what finds them is a following like no other. (Short #1 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
YouTuber Cooper investigates the abandoned cabin where cannibal serial killer Adam Malone died in 1968. Armed with night vision cameras and a spirit box, he begins what seems like another routine ghost hunt, until the equipment captures something impossible. (Short #2 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
A grieving widower disputes a sound analyst’s supernatural theory on what might have happened to his missing wife in this fictionalized short documentary. (Short #3 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
A documentary follows two park rangers as they investigate an abandoned vehicle deep in the remote forest. Their search leads to unsettling objects and a strange young man with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As day turns into night the rangers find themselves ensnared in a growing analog nightmare—one that is controlled by the all seeing Dark Watchers. (Short #4 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
Short Form Footage 2 - Short Film Block - The Balboa Theater @ 11:00 AM
The second of our two in-world camera short film blocks.
Screens With:
MIMICS (2026)
Dir. Shawna Edward(Canada)
Written by: Shawna Edward
Genre: Screenlife
Runtime: 00:13:52
Two influencer sisters move to the woods to get away from it all. But what finds them is a following like no other. (Short #1 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
Soaked in Tears (2026)
Dir. Cooper Neidecker(United States)
Written by: Cooper Neidecker
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:09:05
YouTuber Cooper investigates the abandoned cabin where cannibal serial killer Adam Malone died in 1968. Armed with night vision cameras and a spirit box, he begins what seems like another routine ghost hunt, until the equipment captures something impossible. (Short #2 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
ASMR (2026)
Dir. Jeremy Shipp(United States)
Written by: Jeremy Shipp
Genre: Faux Documentary
Runtime: 00:07:26
A grieving widower disputes a sound analyst’s supernatural theory on what might have happened to his missing wife in this fictionalized short documentary. (Short #3 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
The Dark Watchers (2026)
Dir. Elias Noel Almeda(United States)
Written by: Elias Noel Almeda
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:31:56
A documentary follows two park rangers as they investigate an abandoned vehicle deep in the remote forest. Their search leads to unsettling objects and a strange young man with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As day turns into night the rangers find themselves ensnared in a growing analog nightmare—one that is controlled by the all seeing Dark Watchers. (Short #4 of "Short Form Footage 2" Block)
Nearly a million smartphones and cameras are lost in the wilderness each year. For the first time in history, recovered footage from such devices is presented in a chilling anthology series.
Wilderness Tapes: Volume One chronicles a journey into an abandoned gold mine that goes wrong, plunging "Prospector Pete" into the depths of supernatural madness.
For over three decades, alternate reality games (ARGs) have blurred the line between reality and fiction, bringing together a thriving audience of players and enthusiasts. On March 28, step into the vast, reality-bending world of ARGs at The ARGathering, an immersive film festival event celebrating this frontier of storytelling. Presented by the Unnamed Footage Festival and hosted by ARG developer & documentarian Alex Hera, the ARGathering features a screening block of selected videos from popular ARGs, a panel Q&A with ARG creators, and an original immersive experience produced by Unfictional Productions.
The screening block includes selected videos from Anatomy (1963), Daisy Brown, Don’t Feed the Muse, hiimmarymary, Marble Hornets: Rosswood, Rasterflesh, and redredhat. The panel Q&A will be hosted by Alex Hera, in conversation with -k. of hiimmarymary and Dragonfly of Anatomy (1963).
When a team of ghost hunters travel to a backwoods cabin, they find themselves facing off with a cult survivor, his strange manservant, and a haunting that may or may not be real. Featuring twists, turns, and some excellent jump scares, This House is Totally Haunted will keep you locked in from beginning to end.
From the award winning filmmaker and UFF24Hr alum (The Ceremony Is About To Begin) Sean Nichols Lynch is back with his latest Found Footage film, This House Is Totally Haunted, and the title really says it all. Filled with Bay Area local talent that convincingly played their characters, this traditional found footage feature is set up with authentic jump scares, enjoyable comedic moments, and surprises nobody saw coming.
Shown exclusively through real phones, laptops, drones, and doorbell cameras, CONTENT follows a seemingly polite director whose commitment to “authenticity” curdles into obsession.
Shot for under $3,000 by a scrappy team of University of Arizona film school alumni, Meilech’s debut feature is an independent found footage satire of online performativity. Using real screens, real locations, and a crew that often doubles as the cast, the film leans into immediacy and voyeurism to capture the hyper-online world we inhabit. Rejecting the notion that phones and text threads are “un-cinematic,” CONTENT weaponizes the familiarity of webcams and front-facing cameras - placing us directly in the gaze of a stalking, maniacal filmmaker and daring us to look away.
Screens With:
The Auge (2026)
Dir. Rudolf "Ronny" Augenheimer(Germany)
Written by: Jannick Wenner, Daniel Seideneder
Genre: POV
Runtime: 00:05:00
Camera specialist Ronny J. Augenheimer presents his latest invention: A camera helmet that can turn even the most daring POV shots into reality.
When Edward, an ex-marine, takes a job as a security guard at the abandoned Wilshire Hospital, he expects to face long nights and the occasional vagrant, but instead finds himself thrown into a nightmare. Scheduled for demolition, the former mental hospital is a maze of labyrinthine hallways, and Edward’s night is only made worse by a mysterious prowler, a sinister hospital administrator, and a slew of medical dummies that refuse to stay put. As tension mounts, Edward’s new job turns into a terrifying fight for survival with forces he can barely comprehend.
Nicholas Pineda’s directorial debut is a found footage tour de force, sporting a stellar central performance from lead actor Paul Syre (Smoking Tigers, Badly in Love) and an unforgettable locale, INFIRMARY is sure to delight found footage fans looking for a scare.
A hypochondriac heads to the Wisconsin Dells to get out of his head and relax. He's instructed by his doctor to record video diaries of his anxiety symptoms, but soon finds something sinister in the Midwestern air—his own demons and a bad time.
David Dawson (Flesh Games, Leech) returns with his magnum opus, using his unique “incel noir” style to tell a mature story about male loneliness, mental health, and the isolation of Middle America.
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While searching for his missing sister in Northern Thailand, a fitness vlogger is introduced to the legend of Saming, a shapeshifting tiger that consumes and replaces its victims. Ignoring warnings from the locals, he ventures into the jungle, believing his sister vanished there. As his trek leads him deeper into the brush, his companions disappear one-by-one, and he finds himself stalked by a mysterious spirit in the form of his sister.
Rooted in Thai oral folklore, Rungroj Rojanachotikul’s film is a deeply personal look at grief and spirituality. Excellently shot and edited, Saming takes brilliant advantage of the beautiful locales of Northern Thailand, making it a unique piece of found footage folk horror.
Screens With:
Atavic (2026)
Dir. Albert Blay(Spain)
Written by: Albert Blay
Genre: Found Footage Horror
Runtime: 00:11:46
Cris and Kitus go in search of their friends in an isolated area of the coast, where they were filming a university short film project.
DieDieBooks will be presenting a talk on Kenneth Anger’s seminal film Invocation of My Demon Brother. Hosted by author Jarett Kobek (I Hate the Internet, Motor Spirit), the event will delve into the San Francisco-shot film that captures the dark side of the 1960s, and continues to intrigue audiences with its transgressive subject matter and bewildering cast that includes Mick Jagger, Manson family member Bobby Beausoleil and Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey.
Evan, a filmmaker from Mississippi, catches feelings for a gal he meets at a found footage film festival in San Francisco. They decide to make a movie together, exploring the haunted landscapes of Evan’s family history in the swamplands of Florida. Old wounds are reopened and generational trauma reveals itself to be perhaps the scariest part of this attempted mockumentary that ends up being a little too real. The line between fiction and reality has never been slipperier, the southern accents have never been thicker, and the real feelings have never been more complicated than what you’ll see in FLORIDA, MAN.
During a camping trip to Pinelands National Reserve, a couple’s cellphones mysteriously refuse to stop recording. What at first appears to be a benign software malfunction, the pair quickly realize that something inexplicable lurks in the woods, and whatever it is, it wants to be seen.
DON’T LOOK IN THE DARK is The Blair Witch Project for a post-Skinamarink audience. Highly experimental and taking advantage of vertical recording, intense shaky cam, and long stretches of darkness broken only by the panicked sounds of the film’s protagonists, Samuel Freeman’s directorial debut derives horror not only from the couple’s circumstances, but from the very way we interact with technology in a world where everyone has a camera.
Recent natural disasters have had an emotional impact on filmmaker Jaume Carrió, who reflects on loss in this essay that analyzes society's way of capturing memories.
Early Came the Stories - The Balboa Theater @ 5:20 PM
Recent natural disasters have had an emotional impact on filmmaker Jaume Carrió, who reflects on loss in this essay that analyzes society's way of capturing memories.
The Devil's Teardrop - The Balboa Theater @ 7:10 PM
Sarah, a young American, convinces her three friends - Isaac, Jackie, and Horacio - to assist in completing her audacious ecological documentary. Their journey takes them deep into the shadowy world of illegal mining in an enigmatic Peruvian forest. Upon arrival, locals vehemently caution them against approaching the forest or the mining town, citing the presence of the Supay - an ancient being from Andean mythology capable of taking various forms and remaining unnoticed to attack intruders.
Initially dismissing these warnings as ploys to conceal illegal activities, the group defiantly breaches the prohibition, venturing into the forbidden territory. However, they swiftly realize the chilling myths hold genuine and terrifying truths, along with the actual purpose of their presence - a revelation that will forever alter their fates.