Screening of Clay Tatum's lo-fi ghost story 'The Civil Dead' within the Independent Visions film night, with introductions and a Q&A.
The Civil Dead screens at the Electric Palace cinema on Thursday 19 November, as part of the Independent Visions night. It's a 2023 US film directed by and starring Clay Tatum, who also co-wrote it with Whitmer Thomas, who stars alongside him. It's a lo-fi slacker take on the ghost story set in Los Angeles, and it runs 104 minutes.
The plot follows Clay, a creatively stagnant photographer who reconnects with his long-lost friend Whit. Whit is harbouring an unsettling secret that puts a strain on Clay's marriage and leaves him questioning his own sanity. It's the kind of story that sits somewhere between a buddy comedy and something a bit more unsettling, and the two leads carry it through.
It's had a fair bit of attention since it came out. It won the Audience Award and was nominated for Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival, and it had its UK premiere at the Glasgow Film Festival in 2023. The Daily Dead called it 'an uncomfortable, sometimes awkward, always funny buddy comedy', which gives you a decent sense of the tone it's aiming for.
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The screening is part of Independent Visions, a regular film night that champions modern independent North American filmmaking. It's curated by the Brighton-based distributor Bulldog Films, and the nights usually include an introduction and a Q&A with the filmmakers, either on stage or via Zoom, so you get to hear from the people behind the film rather than just watching it and heading home. The session runs from 19:30 to 21:15 at the Electric Palace, 39a High Street, Hastings TN34 3ER, and the film is rated 15.
