It’s a film festival! It’s a sideshow! It’s both! It’s the 12th annual Coney Island Film Festival, which will be taking over the world famous Sideshows by the Seashore and other venues on Sept. 21-23 at one of the most wonderful places on Earth: Coney Island!

This year’s fun begins on the 21st with the knock-’em-dead (literally) Opening Night film Play Dead, co-directed by underground journalist Shade Rupe and the world’s greatest silent magician, Teller. The film is a documentary performance of Teller and Coney Island’s own Todd Robbins hit live off-Broadway gore-a-thon.

Play Dead will then be followed by a wild Opening Night Party featuring a performance by Mr. Robbins, plus lots of burlesque performances, Go Go dancers and other crazy surprises.

Some of the other highlights of this year’s CIFF include the Mark Mori’s documentary Bettie Page Reveals All in which the reclusive former pin-up model comes out of her self-imposed exile to narrate the very true story of her life; Red Tremmel’s documentary Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival about a beleaguered erotica museum in the Mojave Desert; David Spaltro’s tale about near-death experiences, Things I Don’t Understand; and the “gay marriage tour” documentary Married and Counting, directed by Allan Piper.

Also, like every year, CIFF is packed to its mermaid gills with killer short films, including ones by CIFF alumni Brian Lonano (The Transmission) and Greg Hanson (Meat Me in Plainville & Dumb Dumbs); plus shorts by Kevin Lonano (Blue Sheep Suit) and underground film legend Carey Burtt (Helping: With Travis).

Plus, don’t forget there’s the annual interactive screening of Walter Hill’s classic thriller The Warriors and lots more.

The full film lineup is below, but please visit the official Coney Island Film Festival website for more info and to buy tickets.

September 21

7:30 p.m.: Play Dead, dir. Shade Rupe & Teller. Famous magician Teller and Coney Island showman Todd Robbins perform all kinds of gory and grotesque acts on stage in front of a terrified — and highly entertained — audience. This documentary captures one of Teller and Robbins’ notorious live off-Broadway shows.

9:30 p.m.: “Opening Night Party”
Featuring a live sideshow performance and a burlesque show! Hosted by Adam The First Real Man. Performances by Todd Robbins & Ray Valenz; burlesque performances by Lefty Lucy, Tamerlane Tyrant, Bunny Buxom & LaMaia; stage kitten Dottie Dynamo and Go Go Dancers Ginger Twist, Dottie Dynamo & Cheetah Dolce Vita.

September 22

1:00 p.m.: Coney Island: Dreams for Sale, dir. Alessandra Giordano. A work in progress! Local residents fight to protect Coney Island from a greedy real estate developer and politicians who are intent on demolishing this national landmark!

2:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
Double or Nothing, dir. Nathaniel Krause
Life Is What Happens…, dir. Shadd Sutton
Staten Island Siren, dir. Judah-Lev Dickstein
Life Etude, dir. Nami Sugiuchi
While Henry Sleeps, dir. Craig Butta
Blue Sheep Suit, dir. Kevin Lonano

3:00 p.m.: Bettie Page Reveals All, dir. Mark Mori. For this documentary, the iconic pin-up girl comes out of seculsion to personally narrate this intimate story of her life.

4:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
7 minutes in Coney, dir. Melinda Maclean
Fins of Fury: Tails of Glory in Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade, dir. Laura deNey
Young and High Music Video, dir. Cesar Hondares
Forgotten New York: Yellow Submarine, dir. Uladzimir Taukachou
Dame Lo, dir. Brian Korlofsky
Lost in Coney Island, dir. Eric Rivas

5:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
Robot Man, dir. Mark Scalese
Hanging Downtown, dir. Ted Fisher
And: A Fragmented Biography, dir. Amos Posner
Warm Beer Lousy Food, dir. Dena Greenbaum

6:00 p.m.: The Rise and Fall of The Clash, dir. Danny Garcia. This documentary takes a look at the enormous impact The Clash had on the world of music and how quickly they completely self-destructed. Featuring never before seen footage of the band!

7:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
There’s a Dead Crow Outside, dir. Morgan Miller
AmLeftCrap, dir. Mike Stuttman
Old Man, dir. Leah Shore
Threadbare, dir. Brett Underhill
Alligator Man, dir. Jamie Skidmore
The Longshoreman’s Doctor, dir. Matthew Silver
Bang Bang Love, dir. Joseph Eisenstein
Animal, dir. Victor Lazaro
Speed of Fencing, dir. Holly Buechel
This Is Only a Test, dir. Bill Sorice
The Ridiculous Romantic, dir. Jim R. Moore
Derelict, dir. Anthony Violante

8:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
The God Damn Hustle: “Dirty Little Pet Names”, dir. BJ Golnick
The Transmission, dir. Brian Lonano (Watch Online)
Odokuro, dir. Voltaire
Danse Macumba, dir. Amy Grumbling, Scott Baker
Birthday Boys, dir. Rafael De Leon Jr.
Just Like You…, dir. Thomas Norman
Last Seen on Dolores Street, dir. Devi Snively
Love Bug, dir. Benjamin Kent
Bad Moon Rising, dir. Scott Hamilton
Meat Me in Plainville, dir. Greg Hanson

9:00 p.m.: Miami or BUST – A Hoboken Bet, dir. Chris DePierro. In order to win a bet three New Jersey guys must drive to Miami in just 24 hours.
Screening with:
Helping: With Travis, dir. Carey Burtt

10:30 p.m.: The Warriors, dir. Walter Hill. The Coney Island Film Festival presents its annual, interactive screening of the classic NYC action film.

September 23

1:00 p.m.: Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival, dir. Red Tremmel. This documentary covers the struggles the Exotic World Museum in the Mojave Desert run by the eighty-year-old Dixie Evans faces to stay open, including county regulators who want to shut the place down.

2:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
Dreams of a Reefer Fiend, dir. Jason Dubin
Eine Million, dir. Joe Origlieri
The Elevator, dir. Kantarama Gahigiri
Everything you’ve always wanted to know about bagels, but were afraid to ask, dir. Mark Cabaroy
Gros, dir. Adam Taylor
The Pilgrim & The Private Eye, dir. Joel Johnstone
Sharp Love, Sharp Kittens, dir. Jon Sajetowski
Logan’s Power, dir. Michael Lamarra
Dumb Dumbs, dir. Greg Hanson

3:00 p.m.: Married and Counting, dir. Allan Piper. This documentary follows Pat and Stephen, a gay couple who travel to every state in the union that will allow them to marry each other.
Screening with:
Us. A Family Album, dir. Natalia Babinski

4:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
Elko, dir. Alexander Yan
Faith, dir. Erik Pagan
Blood Country, dir. Jason Fournet
Manipulation, dir. Mario Corry
528 New York, dir. Julia Suo
Caterpillar, dir. David Field

5:00 p.m.: Things I Don’t Understand, dir. David Spaltro. A female grad student studying near-death experiences becomes extremely close to a terminally ill girl she’s interviewing for her thesis.

6:00 p.m.: “Short Films”
I Dream of Genie II: The Nightmare, dir. Jeremy Rocklin
The Left Hook, dir. Thomas Bond
The Wheels, dir. Jack Kyser
The Longest Saturday of the Year, dir. Jim McDonnell
Jimmy’s Rant, dir. Lou Dembrow
The Wonder Wheel, dir. Lou Dembrow
Gotta Love Coney Island, dir. Jay Singer
Mission of Mermaids, dir. Susan Cohn Rockefeller
Out to Sea, dir. Jodie Rae Plaut

8:00 p.m.: “Awards Ceremony”