Poison Peach Film Festival returns to the Imperial Theatre Jan. 3-4, 2026 with a couple of plot twists.
The long-running festival, which began around 2007, includes an unusual line-up for Saturday night. It features an unfinished film, one that was started in 2011 and a fan film.
Joanne Greene’s “Perchance to Dream” is a Civil Rights era drama and murder mystery that hasn’t been completed. It kicks off the first night of the festival beginning at 7 p.m.
Filmmaker Christopher Forbes, who started Poison Peach and brings several of his own films to it each year, said they need people to finish Greene’s film and hope by piquing people’s interest at the festival they can complete it.
“It’s not as easy to get people involved as it was 20 years ago,” he said.
But anyone interested in being part of it may be more than a background actor.
“There are still some major roles available,” he said.
The film is hard-hitting with adult themes.
Forbes said he and Greene would be happy to talk to people interested in being part of it. For more information, email him at christopherforbes@comcast.net.
Another film for Saturday is “A Nightmare on Elm Street Far From Dream House” by Robert Seawell, who has made several movies and works with Augusta’s Misfit Theatre. It’s based on Freddy Krueger and the “Nightmare on Elm Street” films.
“You really can’t do much with fan films beyond theater circuits and festivals,” Forbes said.
But Freddy fans should enjoy the picture.
“It’s a lot of fun,” he said.
And the final movie on Saturday is a rock opera. It’s a full-length film called “Miss Strangelove.”
Forbes called it a pet project and after more than a decade of working on it, tweaking it and refining it, he said it’s finally to the point where he deemed it done.
Sunday’s films feature more historical takes on subject matter, but they aren’t documentaries.
Forbes, who has made 54 films thus far in his career, has produced many films highlighting the Civil War and World War II eras. The distributor plays a huge role in which ones are made, he said.
One popular film was “Hampton’s Legion” produced in 2021; “Hampton’s Iron Scouts” is in that same vein and will be shown at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The festival will end with a World War II film called “Hitler’s Last Stand” and will feature Jezibell Anat in the role of the Norse goddess Hel.
“Hitler’s Last Stand” is the final film in a World War II aviation series with hammer horror elements, and Anat has created a character arc of a woman who started out as a propagandist radio personality in an earlier movie. She gets injured and winds up in the underworld, becoming a portal for the goddess.
“Hel is not happy with the Third Reich,” said Anat.
“This is not a Hitler worship picture,” said Forbes. “He doesn’t come across as a man who has his faculties.”
For tickets, go here.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
