Arts Agenda: Independent films, festivals and special screenings

Each week, ArtsATL delivers a critic’s short list of the shows, exhibitions, concerts and events we recommend for the coming weeks within one discipline or venue type in the kaleidoscope of Atlanta arts and culture. Every week, we’ll present a different art form. 

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October 1-4

Atlanta Horror Film Festival turns 20 in 2026, marking two decades of screening films in front of local crowds who love horror. The Festival runs from October 1 through October 4 at 7 stages.

October 1-21

In Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, a young girl becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family. As part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2026, there will be screenings of both the original film (beginning on October 17, marking its 25th anniversary) and Spirited Away: Live on Stage, the film version of the stage production shot during the play’s 2022 run at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo (on October 1 and October 8). Both will screen at the Tara.

October 2-4

The Atlanta Indian Film Festival has been bringing some of the finest voices of Indian cinema to Atlanta since 2018, and it returns this year from October 2 through October 4 at the Tara Theatre.

October 3

Silver Scream Spookshow presents Ed Wood Jr.’s truly terrible and inexplicably entertaining Plan 9 from Outer Space at 1:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Oct. 3 at the Plaza Theatre.

October 6

A screening of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, along with Club Silencio: Music from the Work of David Lynch, begins at 7:30 p.m. on October 6 at the Plaza Theatre. Check out Club Silencio’s Jeffrey Bützer’s 11 Good Things on ArtsATL.

October 7, 14, 21 and 28

Landmark Midtown Art Cinema will host a special October Frights edition of Filmmaker Focus, showcasing the films of horror master John Carpenter every Wednesday in October, beginning with Halloween on October 7.

October 9

The Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre in Marietta will screen Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, a brilliantly hilarious tribute to classic monster movies. See it at 8 p.m. on October 9. The Strand will also be screening The Exorcist (October 15), A Nightmare on Elm Street (October 22) and the 1925 version of The Phantom of the Opera with live organ accompaniment (October 25). Check out the full list of spooky season films on the schedule at the Strand.

October 9-12

After more than a decade of sober political dramas and socially minded period pieces, the great Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi shifted gears dramatically with Kwaidan, a rapturously stylized quartet of ghost stories adapted from writer Lafcadio Hearn’s collections of Japanese folklore. The 4K restoration will screen at the Plaza Theatre on October 9, October 10 and October 12.

October 15-20

The highly anticipated 4K restoration of the director’s cut of Ken Russell’s delightfully unhinged 1971 film The Devils arrives at the Plaza Theatre on October 15. In 1634 France, charismatic Father Urbain Grandier becomes the target of a sexually obsessed nun’s witchcraft accusations, which corrupt church and state officials are all too happy to exploit. Screenings continue through October 20.

October 17

With five films in total, All Night Marathon Spooktacular III will span four decades of horror cinema from around the world, with two films being presented on 35mm film! Like last year, all titles will remain a secret until they hit the screen. It begins at 8 p.m. on October 17 at the Plaza Theatre.

October 21

The 2026 Coca-Cola Film Series continues with The Ring in Concert, featuring Hans Zimmer’s iconic soundtrack performed live by the Georgia Symphony Orchestra alongside the haunting 2002 movie on the big screen at the Fox Theatre on October 21.

October 22

Catch a special 35mm screening of Caligula: The Ultimate Cut, including a Q&A with editor and author Aaron Shaps, who will have signed copies of his new book, Caligula: The Official Story of the Film on sale in the lobby. The event begins at 7 p.m. on October 22 at the Plaza Theatre.

October 23

Stay in Your Lane: A Celebration of 50 Years of Car Wash is an evening honoring the creative lineage and cultural impact of the iconic film Car Wash. The event explores where the film came from, what its legacy means today and the creative lanes it continues to open for future generations. Guests will enjoy a special screening of the film followed by conversation, reflection and celebration surrounding its lasting influence on Black cinema, culture, music and storytelling. The event happens at 7 p.m. October 23 at The Tara.

October 23-24

The Climate Film Festival will feature screenings of Groundswell and The Tree Economy, along with the opportunity to learn more about local, relevant arts and environmental organizations. There will also be screenings of short films at the event, which will take place at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center on October 23 and October 24.

October 24-25

The American Black Film Festival Atlanta Pop-Up will feature a screening of Brown Sugar, which includes a conversation with star Taye Diggs about the making of the film, its cultural impact and why it continues to resonate with audiences more than two decades later. The Festival happens on October 24 and October 25 at AMC Madison Yards 8 and also includes a screening of the premiere episode of season three of P-Valley and many more events.

October 27

F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece of silent cinema, Faust: A German Folktale, celebrates its 100th anniversary with an aural update courtesy of a live electronic score by The Nebulous Orchestra. The one-night-only event happens October 27 at the Plaza Theatre.

November 7-8

Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy is set in 1930s New York at the height of the Depression. Joe Bonaparte is a gifted young violinist with extraordinary talent and a future in music until a chance at fame and fortune lures him into the brutal world of professional boxing. Sam Yates directs Josh O’Connor in this searing revival of Odets’ American classic as part of National Theatre Live, filmed at London’s Almeida Theatre. Screenings are at 1:30 p.m. on November 7 and November 8 at the Tara.

December 10

An alcoholic, abusive ne’er-do-well is shown the error of his ways in the 1921 Victor Sjöström holiday horror classic The Phantom Carriage, which will be presented with a live score by Bent Frequency and Javelinas at 7 p.m. on December 10 at the Plaza.