The 2025 Fall Arts Preview: Our picks in Film and TV

ArtsATL staff

August 20, 2025

Georgia is still a center for film and TV production, and it’s also home to a wide array of film festivals and special screenings this fall.

Christmas movies? Meh. They crank them out yearly, and most of them are pretty terrible. There are, of course, many notable classics. So why spotlight Oh.What.Fun.? The production team and cast of this Atlanta-filmed Amazon Prime film promise a bit more edge than the average holiday fare. It’s directed by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer, The Big Sick), based on a short story by Austin, Texas-based writer Chandler Baker, with a script by Baker and Showalter.

The New York Times best-selling author of The Husbands (a Good Morning America Book Club pick she’s adapting for Amazon MGM and Plan B with Kristen Wiig), Baker’s latest novel is Cutting Teeth, which she’s adapting for TV. With all of that in the works, it’s no surprise she was one of Variety’s 10 screenwriters to watch in late 2024.

The impressive cast list includes Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloë Grace Moretz, Danielle Brooks, Denis Leary, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria and Joan Chen.

In May, Hulu announced that Chad Powers will premiere with two episodes on September 30, followed by new episodes every Tuesday.

The half-hour comedy tells the story of a college quarterback who torpedoes his career prospects with bad behavior, then disguises himself and changes his name to get a new start with another struggling team. The show is based on a sketch from the Eli Manning series Eli’s Places. If you’re getting Ted Lasso vibes, that’s no surprise. That Jason Sudeikis character was created for a promotional sketch for NBC’s airing of England’s Premier League football matches.

The show stars series co-creator and co-writer Glen Powell and was filmed in Georgia. Among the many reported filming locations for the project were Morehouse College, University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, Believe Music Hall (at the corner of Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Central Avenue) and Georgia State University’s Center Parc Stadium (formerly Turner Field, the one-time home of the Braves).

Out On Film returns this fall with its 37th annual festival from September 25 through October 5. Screenings will be held at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema and Out Front Theatre Company, with more than 140 films and the presentation of an Icon Award. A couple of the featured films were shot here in Georgia, including director Garrett Abdo’s debut feature, Exit Interviews. It stars Tuc Watkins as a middle-aged gay man who begins a personal documentary project following his long history of failed relationships. Also shot here in Georgia is We Are Pat, a documentary about obsession, transness and how art ages over time, told through Julia Sweeney’s 1990s cult character Pat from Saturday Night Live.

Assembly, a recipient of a 2024 Out On Film Filmmaker Fund Award, follows internationally acclaimed artist Rashaad Newsome as he works on a multimedia exhibition and performance at New York’s historic Park Avenue Armory. Once a bastion of White military power, the Armory is transformed into a vibrant celebration of Black and queer culture. And in a sign of these troubled times, filmmaker Kim A. Snyder (Newtown, Death by Numbers) explores an unexpected front line where librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy, free access to information and our First Amendment rights.

ArtsATL Editor-at-Large Jim Farmer has served as director of Out on Film for 16 years.

More film and TV highlights . . .

Film Love continues its mission of bringing rarely seen cinematic treasures to Atlanta audiences with Scottish filmmaker Bill Douglas’ ’70s trilogy: My Childhood (1972), My Ain Folk (1973) and My Way Home (1978) on August 28 at the Plaza Theatre. The Plaza will also host a screening of the Robert Wiene classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 4K with live score by Bent Frequency on October 15.
The Atlanta Indian Film Festival will screen independent Indian cinema September 26 through September 28 at the Tara Theatre and introduce Indian directors, actors and producers to the city through corresponding events.
Hosted by the University of North Georgia at the Gainesville campus on October 16 and October 18, the Georgia Film Festival screens films made in Georgia as well as across the Southeast.
The 7th annual Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival takes place September 23 through September 27 at Morehouse College and screens documentaries, features and shorts.

In 1973, six young men and one old shrimper were caught with nine tons of marijuana in sleepy Steinhatchee, Florida. At the time, it was the biggest drug bust in U.S. history. The Green Flash tells the story of Steve Lamb, the youngest of the group, and you can see it at the Tara on October 21. Director Ethan Payne will be on hand for a Q&A following the film.
Calling all science fiction nerds! The Atlanta Sci-Fi Film Festival, founded in 2015, will screen independent science fiction films for free at Peachtree Corners Town Center from October 24 through October 26.
October is spooky season, so it’s the perfect time for the 19th annual Atlanta Horror Film Festival, featuring a chilling three-day lineup of horror flicks on screen at Limelight Theater from October 17 through October 19.
Off the Wall @ 725 Ponce continues its series of experimental film and video art projected onto five stories on the face of the Eastside Trail’s 725 Ponce building on the Beltline. Coming up are The Universe in a Grain of Sand (2024) by Mark Levinson, on September 19 and September 20, and Empire (2008-2012) by Phil Solomon on November 14 and November 15.
Women in Film and Television Atlanta’s 10th Annual Women in Production Summit and Short Film Showcase happens at 10 a.m. September 13 at SCADshow. This year’s theme is “The Shift: Industry Change & Building What’s Next.”