2026 Atlanta Documentary Film Festival Screening Schedule

These short films follow people who commit to care, protection, and stewardship, sometimes without recognition, and often when walking away would be easier.

Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM

86 min run time

WarAngel follows Casey Montana, a young woman in Georgia who rescues horses bound for slaughter through her nonprofit farm. As she saves these animals, their healing journey becomes intertwined with her own family’s story of love, loss, and resilience.

Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 8:40 PM

20 min. run time

Opening Short Film for Brannu: The Urban Horseman  

Brandon “Brannu” Fulton is a local horseman and rancher whose unconventional lifestyle has made him a target of city and county officials for more than a decade. As he fights citations, arrests, and government pressure over the land he owns, his daily life reveals larger conflicts around gentrification, eminent domain, and urban growth. This is a coming of age story about land, freedom, and a Black man pursuing his version of the American Dream in modern Georgia.

Opening Night Feature

Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 9:05 PM

108 min. run time

State of Nebraska V. Crotchy the Clown is a short documentary about a clown named Crotchy who took to the Public Access airwaves to do standup comedy and review pornographic films. It was, ironically, one of the less offensive programs broadcast, but nevertheless he ran afoul of censors after choking his chicken on television. The free speech case ended up before the Nebraska Supreme Court—and that’s when things got weird.

Friday, March 20 at 5:00 PM

27 min. run time

Opening Short Film for Never Get Busted!

Barry Cooper knows how to hide drugs, evade police, and cause trouble. He also used to be a decorated Texas narcotics officer.

After a raid goes wrong and devastates a family much like his own, Barry quits the force. Using leaked police footage, he releases a DVD series teaching drug users how to avoid getting caught and becomes a media sensation.

When police push back, Barry escalates, turning his camera on corrupt cops. This is the story of one man trying to flip the script on the War on Drugs before it catches up with him.

Friday, March 20 at 5:30 PM

105 min. run time

In 2016, amateur comedian Anthony Novak was arrested and jailed after police took a parody Facebook page mocking them as a serious crime. His case, which reached the U.S. Supreme Court, became a stark examination of free speech and police power. Just miles away, another police encounter ended not in a courtroom, but in death, revealing the far graver consequences when constitutional protections fail. 

Friday, March 20 at 7:20 PM

91 min. run time

These short docs follow people navigating power, displacement, and belonging, showing how community forms even when the ground itself feels contested.

Friday, March 20 at 9:15 PM

97 min. run time

Velvet Vision - The Story of James Bidgood (and the Making of Pink Narcissus)  explores the life and work of James Bidgood, whose lush 1960s fantasy photographs reshaped the beefcake genre. The film follows Bidgood as he attempts to create new work after a forty year hiatus while revisiting the mystery of his once anonymous cult film Pink Narcissus.

Saturday, March 21 at 2:00 PM

98 min. run time

In the Year of the Rabbit, a Chinese American adoptee journeys back to her birthplace for the first time, blending archival footage of her adoption with present-day reflections on family, memory, and identity.

Saturday, March 21 at 4:00 PM

88 min. run time

The story of a former sperm donor whose carefree bachelor life takes an unexpected turn two decades later. After registering with a DNA ancestry site, he discovers he may have dozens of children, leading to an unprecedented family reunion, a surprising romance with the mother of a donor child, worldwide media attention, and a remarkable experiment in instant family and an unconventional fatherhood.

Saturday, March 21 at 6:00 PM

63 min. run time

The lines between real life and reel life are muddied in the story of the Adams, an unconventional family who makes independent horror films. While they may vomit blood onto one another, lack boundaries and make frequent use of the f-word, they also face what every family must: change.

Saturday, March 21 at 7:45 PM

80 min. run time 

These short films treat art, performance, and craft as tools for survival, connection, and self-definition. 

Saturday, March 21 at 9:30 PM

77 min. run time

Get tickets online

The City of Atlanta, Georgia is known as "The City in the Forest." It has the highest tree canopy density of any major city in the United States.
But with increased growth and development, Atlanta is losing trees at an alarming rate.
Can "The City in the Forest" maintain its tree canopy? 

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM

102 min. run time

Zack Federbush, a prolific abstract artist on the autism spectrum, works tirelessly to complete a massive portrait in his own unique style as he prepares for an upcoming self-curated gallery exhibition.

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 3:05 PM

87  min. run time

Short films about the endurance of the human spirit. These stories sit with grief, addiction, loss, memory, and faith.

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM

70 min. run time

A woman whose daughter was murdered in a mass shooting finds a way to piece her life back together. Using the Japanese art of Kintsugi as a metaphor for repair, this short doc about one woman’s grief journey offers hope to those suffering from devastating loss.

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 6:30 PM

23 min. run time

Opening Short Film for The Werewolf in the Waves 

From the award winning director of KID 90, Soleil Moon Frye reunites with her childhood friend Seth Binzer, also known as Shifty Shellshock of Crazy Town. What begins as documenting a comeback tour becomes an intimate love story captured largely on Moon Frye’s iPhone, filled with euphoric moments and deep personal connection. As Seth relapses, the film shifts into a raw exploration of addiction, love, and loss, revealing the fragile line between hope and heartbreak.

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 7:05 PM

91 min. run time

The Atlanta Documentary Film Festival Awards take place Sunday as the closing event of the festival. Join us as we announce category winners and bring filmmakers and audiences together to close out the weekend.

Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 9:15 PM