One of the Underground Film Journal’s favorite movies of 2008 is playing on the first night of the 5th annual Atlanta Underground Film Festival, but the rest of the fest, which runs Aug. 20-24, looks like a bang-up time as well.

That movie was Joshua von Brown’s Altamont Now, which we raved about here and it’s a hilarious punk rock cautionary tale about fame and rebellion. So, we totally recommend hitting that up right off the bat.

Also playing that we’re very excited about is the new documentary by Georg Koszulinski, Immokalee, USA. We currently have a copy of the film in our possession — thanks to producer Dan Gloekner — and hope to have it reviewed before its AUFF screening. As fans of Georg’s previous films, we’re very excited.

Lastly, there are two extremely strong short films to be on the lookout for. One is Brian Lonano‘s groovy Attackazoids! will be playing as a part of the Horror/Sci-Fi Shorts and the Comedy programs, which is perfect since the film works perfectly as both a horror, a sci-fi and a comedy flick. Seeing an actual Attackazoid on the big screen sounds irresistible to us. Then, there’s Vivian Wong’s poignant Dear Lori, which we just recently fell in love with. It’s a dramatized letter from war “hero” Jessica Lynch to her deceased friend Lori Piestewa and it’s very moving and effective.

For these four great films and all the rest, the full lineup is below. AUFF is taking place at several different locations around town, too, so check out their official site to plan accordingly. For now, here’s the films:

August 20

9:00 p.m.: Cuba-libre, dir. Rai García
Squatters exhibit exquisite timing when they occupy the Cuban Embassy in Madrid at the exact same moment Fidel Castro finally announces his country’s first totally free elections.

10:30 p.m.: Altamont Now, dir. Joshua von Brown
Mark Clark is an investigative journalist who penetrates the underground world of rock revolutionaries who literally live under the ground of the California desert and the site of the notorious ’60s Rolling Stones concert. This is what happens when the youth really stage a revolution. (Read the underground movie review) (Watch this underground movie streaming online)

August 21

7:00 p.m.: Tokyo Cowboys, dirs. Daneeta Loretta Saft & Patrick Jackson
This documentary profiles the life of the upwardly mobile male youth of Tokyo who come to the city to take low paying jobs, but quickly rise up the corporate ladder.

9:00 p.m.: “Horror & Sci-Fi Shorts”
A Break in the Monotony, dir. Damien Slevin
Attackazoids!, dir. Brian Lonano (Watch this underground movie streaming online)
Eel Girl, dir. Paul Campion
Mr. Video, dir. Alex Masterton
Pactum, dir. J.F. Padron
Panels for the Walls of Hell, dir. Blake Myers
The Prosperous, dir. Anna Cooley
Voigtkampff, dir. Tobias Suhm

10:30 p.m.: Blood on the Highway, dirs. Barak Epstein & Blair Rowan. Feature film. Three weary travelers stop off in Fate, TX, which isn’t such a great place to stop since it’s filled with vampires.

8:00 p.m.: Twelve, dirs. Scott Masterson, Sean Baker Carter, Andy McCarthy, Garth Donovan, Luke Poling, Noah Lydiard, Megan Summers, Brynmore Williams, Joan Meister, Marc Colucci, Jared Goodman & Vladimir Minuty. Feature film. Twelve directors all made one short film each during a different assigned month of the year. All the films were then edited together for this feature.

8:30 p.m.: Nerdcore for Life, dir. Dan Lamoureux
A documentary on the world of nerdcore hip-hop, also known as “geek rap,” which seeks to help eliminate anti-nerd stereotypes.

10:00 p.m.: Loaded Guns: The Movie, dirs. Eli Banks, Julian Modugno, Jamie Gaar
A collection of short films and comedy sketches in the vein of Kentucky Fried Movie from the Atlanta-based Twinhead Theatre.

10:00 p.m.: Wiener Takes All, dir. Shane MacDougall
Did you know there’s a professional dachshund circuit in the U.S.? After watching this documentary, you’ll learn everything you need to know about it.

11:30 p.m.: John’s Arm: Armageddon, dir. Matty Boy Anderson
A morgue security guard’s arm becomes its own superhero after getting stuck in a radiation-filled vending machine.

August 22

5:00 p.m.: “Documentary Shorts”
Heroes, No Hacen Falta Alas Para Volar (Hero, Wings Are Not Necessary to Fly), dir. Angel Loza
Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal’s Maoist Army, dir. Robert Koenig
Summer of Youth, dir. Will O’Loughlen

6:30 p.m.: “Shorts of Spain (#1)
Cambio de Turno (Changing Shifts), dir. David Canovas
Nasija, dir. Guillermo Rios
Por Dinero Negro (For Black Money), dir. Jaime Fatero
Union Europea (European Union), dir. Andres Koppel

6:30 p.m.: “Shorts By Women”
au•to•ma•tic, dir. Sharon A. Mooney
Dear Lori, dir. Vivian Wong (Read the underground movie review)
Stars and Suns, dir. Sarah Soquel Morhaim
The Sunflower, dir. Jessica Ramirez

8:00 p.m.: Going on 13, dirs. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan & Dawn Valadez
This documentary tracks a quartet of pre-teen girls as they arrive into adolescence by breaking the stereotypes our society usually makes about this segment of our society.

8:00 p.m.: “Local Shorts”
The Adventure, dir. Mike Brune
Day Labor, dir. David Lindabury
Letter to Uncle Lina, dir. Thomas Barnwell
Panels for the Walls of Hell, dir. Blake Myers
Sexual Control, dir. The Woodcreek Faction
Shamus the Myth, dir. Raymond Carr
Sucker Punch, dir. Tracy Martin
Tibbets’ Trust, dir. Scott Balzer
Zombie Free, dir. Steven K. Greer

9:30 p.m.: “Animation Attack! (#1)”
A Break in the Monotony, dir. Damien Slevin
Captain Old’s Adventures in Mumbleland, dir. Fran Krause
El Viaje de Said (Said’s Journey), dir. Coke Rioboo
Golden Age, dir. Aaron Augenblick
Karaoke Show, dir. Karl Tebbe
Kings of Power 4 Billion %, dir. Paul Robertson
Moonraker, dir. Fran Krause
Red Princess Blues Animated, dir. Dan Cregan
Transrexia, dir. Aurelio Voltaire

9:30 p.m.: 1000 Journals, dir. Andrea Kreuzhage
Back in 2000, a San Francisco artist known only as Someguy released 1,000 blank journals into the world. Only one, ever returned to Someguy’s possession. This film tells what happens to the other 999.

11:00 p.m.: “Freak Show Shorts”
Carnival Picaresque, dir. D. Bradford Greber
Dog Eat Dog, dir. Charles Lum
Karaoke Show, dir. Karl Tebbe
Shwarma – Spawn from Hell, dir. DeWayne Austin
Vampyros Lesbos, dir. Matthew Saliba

12:00 a.m.: Sex Galaxy, dir. Mike Davis
Using just public domain and stock footage, this lusty sci-fi adventure flings a crew of lonely astronauts towards a planet of insatiable women. (Read the underground movie review)

August 23

1:00 p.m.: “Narrative Shorts”
The Adventure, dir. Mike Brune
Keys, dir. Christopher Babers
‘SICK’, dir. Mike Rymer
Winter’s Tale, dir. Nick Hiltgen

2:30 p.m.: “Experimental Shorts”
An Indefinite Meandering of Words Left Unsaid, dir. Lexi Lefkowitz
I Don’t Know When and I Don’t Know Where – Sarajevo, dir. Berin Tuzlic
Java – Appetite, dir. Berin Tuzlic
Sponsors, dir. Marco Checa
Strife of Tongues, dir. Michael David Perkins
Temporary Things: Sighting, You Will Eventually & Displacement, dir. Chelsea Raflo
Teslamania, dir. Joel Schlemowitz
We Hear Sirens, dir. Alex Harder
Zacarias y el Dragon de Lluvia Gris (Zacarias and the Dragon of Grey Rain), dir. Jose Victor Fuentes

4:00 p.m.: “Shorts of Spain (#2)”
El Viaje de Said (Said’s Journey), dir. Coke Rioboo
M-16, dirs. Daniel Rebner & Alfonso Diaz Salvago
Made in Japan, dir. Ciro Altabas
Mofetas (Skunks), dir. Ines Enciso
Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, dir. Jose Angel Lazaro
Porque Hay Cosas Que Nunca Se Olvidan (Because There Are Things You Never Forget), dir. Lucas Figueroa

5:30 p.m.: “Foreign Shorts”
Alicja Wonderland, dir. Martin Gauvreau
Eel Girl, dir. Paul Campion
The Girl in the Red Dress, dirs. Chris and Robert Smellin
Mr. Video, dir. Alex Masterton
Subterfuge(s), dir. Yves Brodsky
Voigtkampff, dir. Tobias Suhm
Voor een paar knikkers meer (For a Few Marbles More), dir. Jelmar Hufen

7:00 p.m.: Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad (A Little Bit of So Much Truth), dir. Jill Freidburg
In 2006, a popular uprising surged in Oaxaca, Mexico. This is their story, as they told it directly to the media they took full control of.

7:00 p.m.: “Comedy Shorts”
Attackazoids!, dir. Brian Lonano (Watch this underground movie streaming online)
Honey, I’m Home, dir. David Branin
Identity Theft, dir. Neil Ira Needleman
Letter to Uncle Lina, dir. Thomas Barnwell
Merry Lonely Christmas, dir. Erik Hecht
The Outhouse, dir. Jack Truman
Panels For the Walls of Hell, dir. Blake Myers
The Prosperous, dir. Anna Cooley
Reeling, dir. Jeremy Stevermer
Shwarma – Spawn from Hell, dir. DeWayne Austin
Tibbets’ Trust, dir. Scott Balzer
Voor een paar knikkers meer (For a Few Marbles More), dir. Jelmar Hufen

8:30 p.m.: Immokalee, USA, dir. Georg Koszulinski. Florida filmmaker Koszulinski chronicles the lives of six migrant farm workers in Immokalee, FL. (Read the underground movie review)

8:30 p.m.: “Animation Attack! (#2)”
Curtains, dir. Amanda Goodbread
Frog, dir. Chris Conforti
Germans in the Woods, dir. Tim Rauch
God of Tears, dirs. Max Margulies, Naoko Masuda
Malice in Wonderland, dir. Vince Collins
Maniacal, dir. Em Kempf
Marvelous, Keen, Loony Bin, dir. Lizzi Akana
MUTO, dir. BLU
Orgesticulanismus, dir. Mathieu Labaye
Princess, dir. Ethan Clarke
Soccer Time, dir. Edmond Hawkins

10:00 p.m: “Best of AUFF Shorts”
Lineup TBA.

10:00 p.m: Calavera Highway, dirs. Renee Tajima-Pena & Evangeline Griego
Two brothers carry their mother’s ashes to the Texas borderlands and try to figure out their family’s tragic history, such as why their mom became an outcast and what happened to their dad when he disappeared in 1954 during “Operation Wetback.”

August 24

7:30 p.m.: Opposite Land, dir. J. Michael Seyfert
Want a real peek at what the current state of Latin America is? This documentary travels from Tijuana to Bolivia to take a real hard look at the region.

8:30 p.m.: More Shoe, dir. Lee Kazmir
Taking a cue from Werner Herzog, Kazmir travels across Europe on foot from Madrid to Kiev.

10:00 p.m.: What Are We Doing Here?, dirs. Brandon, Nicholas, Daniel and Tim Klein
The Klein family travels across Africa to figure out why years of supplying charity to the continent has actually had a deleterious effect on society there.