AGFA August
August 1-8 and August 23-30
Dive into the weird, wild world of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA)’s 15th Anniversary. AGFA is the world’s only nonprofit archive and film distributor dedicated to preserving and protecting the greatest genre films of all time.
Since its inception, AGFA has rescued over one-hundred features from the void, including the works of exploitation pioneer Doris Wishman, underground trash-art king Jon Moritsugu, Riot Grrrl icon Sarah Jacobson, and found-footage founder Joe Dante. AGFA’s archives house over six-thousand 35mm film prints, a 4K scanner, and prestigious libraries such as the Something Weird archive. AGFA exists to preserve the legacy of genre movies through collection, conservation, and distribution. AGFA satisfies this mission by rescuing, restoring, and sharing largely forgotten films on home video and in theaters, as well as providing film scanning and restoration services. Celebrating this milestone and its Seattle connection through Something Weird Video, AGFA and SIFF are proud to partner to bring you the greatest genre films from the AGFA Archive.
AGFA August: The Zodiac Killer
USA | 1971 | 87 min. | Tom Hanson
August 1, 2024
Directed by Tom Hanson, who had previously owned a chain of Pizza Man restaurants, The Zodiac Killer was made to capture the real-life Zodiac Killer, but instead delivered the most outrageous and compelling "tabloid horror" vortex in the history of planet Earth. Introduced by Something Weird Video's Lisa Petrucci and AGFA's Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Shredder Orpheus (New Restoration)
USA | 1990 | 88 min. | Robert McGinley
August 1, 2024
Newly preserved by AGFA from the original film elements. The Greek myth is reimagined as a post-apocalyptic skateboard rock opera in Shredder Orpheus, filmed in Seattle and featuring a rare screen role from Steven Jesse Bernstein—the William S. Burroughs of the Pacific Northwest. Writer/Director Robert McGinley scheduled to attend.
AGFA August: Cannibal! The Musical
USA | 1993 | 95 min. | Trey Parker
August 2, 2024
The sole survivor of an ill-fated mining expedition tells how his taste for gold was replaced by that of human flesh. Like Oklahoma meets Bloodsucking Freaks, this infamous and hilarious musical from the creators of “South Park” is back to gross you out and get your toes tapping.
AGFA August: HEY FOLKS! IT’S INTERMISSION TIME VIDEO PARTY
USA | 2024 | 70 min. | Bret Berg, Joseph A. Ziemba
August 3, 2024
The AGFA team has spun a mountain of vintage cinema and drive-in ads (courtesy of Something Weird Video) into a haunted found-footage ode to moviegoing and the snack bar in mid-century America. Introduced by Something Weird Video's Lisa Petrucci and AGFA's Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Donnie Darko (4k Restoration)
USA | 2001 | 113 min. | Richard Kelly
August 3, 2024
Before "Stranger Things" combined science fiction, Spielberg-ian thrills, and 1980s nostalgia to much acclaim, Richard Kelly set the high-water mark with Donnie Darko. In arguably the first cult classic of the new millennium, a troubled teenager (Jake Gyllenhaal) is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes. New 4K Restoration. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: The Last Slumber Party (New Restoration)
USA | 1988 | 72 min. | Stephen Tyler
August 5, 2024
An escaped killer and boys with beer visit three teens having a pajama party. Reconstructed from scratch by AGFA from the film’s original elements–both the 16mm camera negative and VHS tape masters. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Terminal USA
USA | 1993 | 60 min. | Jon Mortisugu
August 5, 2024
Moritsugu’s Asian freak-out magnum opus shocked America when it was broadcast on television in the mid-90’s. The director himself plays twins (a drug-dealing bad-ass and a closeted math nerd) in a radically dysfunctional family that completely obliterates the noble myth of the “model minority.” Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: She Freak (New Restoration)
USA | 1967 | 83 min. | Byron Mabe
August 7, 2024
Newly restored from the original camera negative. In this gutter-noir reworking Tod Browning’s Freaks, a waitress joins a carnival, marries the owner, and makes various employees her enemies. New Restoration. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Blood Feast
USA | 1963 | 67 min. | Herschell Gordon Lewis
August 7, 2024
Widely considered the first-ever splatter film, Blood Feast is essential viewing for all horror film fans. The insane Ramses hypnotizes a socialite in order to land a job catering a party for her debutante daughter, and turns the event into an evening of gruesome deaths, bloody dismemberment and ritual sacrifice. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Indecent Desires (New Restoration)
USA | 1968 | 75 min. | Doris Wishman
August 8, 2024
In this perverse, dreamlike, and surprisingly complex film from one of the most prolific women filmmakers in American cinema, Zeb finds a doll and a ring in a garbage can. He realizes the doll looks like Ann, his neighbor. When he realizes Ann experiences everything he does to the doll, he starts to unwind. Newly restored in 2K from its original 35mm camera negative. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Attack of the Beast Creatures (New Restoration)
USA | 1985 | 80 min. | Mike Stanley
August 8, 2024
Originally known as Hell Island, the outrageously gory Attack of the Beast Creatures follows a group of survivors who wash up on the shores of a seemingly deserted island after their ship capsizes. It slowly becomes apparent that the island is home to a tribe of small doll-like creatures, who begin stalking and killing the survivors one by one. New restoration from the original 16mm camera negative. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: The Peanut Butter Solution
Canada | 1985 | 93 min. | Michael Rubbo
August 23, 2024
Ghosts restore a boy's hair when it falls out from fright, but then it won't stop growing. One of the most powerful and unique “childhood haunts” of the VHS era, full of mind-shattering concepts that still leave viewers in stunned disbelief. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: The Little Shop of Horrors
USA | 1960 | 72 min. | Roger Corman
August 24, 2024
Later adapted into the smash Broadway musical, screenwriter Charles B. Griffith and filmmaker Roger Corman's The Little Shop of Horrors is a classic horror comedy with appearances by Dick Miller and a young Jack Nicholson. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: The Films of the Gay Girls Riding Club (New Restorations)
USA | 1963 | 129 min. | Ray Harrison
August 24, 2024
Double feature of What Really Happened to Baby Jane and All About Alice. Spearheaded by filmmaker Ray Harrison, the Gay Girls Riding Club (GGRC) took California’s 1960s underground gay scene by storm with drag spoofs of classic Hollywood films. Introduction and performance by Seattle Drag Artist Uh-Oh (30 min drag show).
AGFA August: The Stairway to Stardom Mixtape
USA | 1972 | 70 min. | Various
August 25, 2024
From homemade R&B party hits to aggro stand-up comics, from interpretive dance by zombified children to amateur magicians, Stairway to Stardom is an unending treasure trove of bizarro entertainment that has been a staple among tape traders for decades. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: The Films of Sarah Jacobson
USA | 1996 | 125 min. | Sarah Jacobson
August 25, 2024
Sarah Jacobson's punk-spirited DIY films from the 1990s combine B-movie aesthetics and riot grrrl feminism, standing as a testament to the vision, determination, and raw talent of the Queen of Underground Cinema. Double feature of I Was a Teenage Serial Killer and Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore, Jacobsen’s only feature film.
AGFA August: The McPherson Tape
USA | 1989 | 63 min. | Dean Alioto
August 25, 2024
The world’s first found footage horror movie! On a fall evening in 1983, a young man videotaping his niece's fifth birthday party keeps the camera running as an alien invasion unfolds. AGFA + Bleeding Skull! are proud to present the world home video premiere of this important milestone in shot-on-video horror history, newly preserved from the original 3/4” master tape.
AGFA August: I Married a Witch
USA | 1942 | 77 min. | René Clair
August 26, 2024
As a 17th-century New England witch who comes to take revenge on the 20th-century descendant of the Puritan who persecuted her, Veronica Lake is all smolder and disruption. A fun romp from French master René Clair (Le Million). Introduced by SIFF Cinema Program Manager Kasi Gaarenstroom.
AGFA August: To Be or Not to Be
USA | 1942 | 99 min. | Ernst Lubitsch
August 26, 2024
Screwball masterpiece from Ernst Lubitsch (Ninotchka, The Shop Around the Corner) starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard as husband-and-wife thespians in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who become caught up in a dangerous spy plot.
AGFA August: She Mob
USA | 1968 | 82 min. | Harry Wuest
August 28, 2024
A gang of four lesbian inmates escapes from prison and kidnaps the boyfriend of a wealthy woman. An underground miracle that feels like an alt-Earth Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! as realized by a young John Waters. Introduced by Something Weird Video's Lisa Petrucci and AGFA's Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: GLOW - The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
USA | 2012 | 76 min. | Brett Whitcomb
August 28, 2024
From 1986–92, the airwaves were ruled by GLOW—a neon and glitter-soaked reimagining of the World Wrestling Federation with an all-female cast. This documentary, which inspired the hit Netflix series GLOW, chronicles the rise and fall of the iconic show through the stories of those who lived it.
AGFA August: Faces
USA | 1968 | 130 min. | John Cassavetes
August 29, 2024
One of John Cassavetes’ most moving efforts, with a stunted atmosphere of tense sexuality, wild outbursts, and off-the-cuff turns of phrase, all seen through the filter of purposefully gritty 16mm B&W. Preservation of the film funded by The Film Foundation with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in celebration of the 40th anniversary of this Cassavetes classic.
AGFA August: A Woman Under the Influence
USA | 1974 | 155 min. | John Cassavetes
August 29, 2024
Played by the legendary Gena Rowlands, a housewife on the verge of a nervous breakdown is committed for psychiatric treatment by her loving yet confused husband, with unpredictable results. John Cassavetes’ 1974 masterpiece is one of the most devastating portraits of a relationship ever filmed.
AGFA August: Shaolin Invincibles
Taiwan | 1977 | 90 min. | Cheng Hoi
August 30, 2024
A young woman becomes a great fighter with powerful skills and fights against her enemies after she's allowed to train in 18 forms of Shaolin kung fu in the Shaolin temple by a golden teacher. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.
AGFA August: Secret Screening
August 30, 2024
Shh...it's a secret! Come find out what the series finale will be at this mystery screening. Introduced by AGFA Executive Director Jackson Cooper.