COME ON IN
(US, 2020) After a failed attempt at “making it,” jaded artist Lei returns home to a dead end job and deepening depression. When one day he is contacted by a mysterious caller at work, a twisted journey ensues in which the lines between reality and fantasy, past and present, and dream and nightmare, blur into a maddening labyrinth that will lead Lei towards his ultimate destiny or destruction. d: Daniel Callahan: c: Daniel Callahan, Andrea Lyman.
DASH: Boston SciFi Shorts
In screening order:
Circadian, d: Dylan Lunt
Perfect Match, d: Carl Tempesta
The Bumbling Gentleman in The Bar At Tenjin Wan's, d: Bob White
33 Floors, d: Chris Austen
Spark, d: Mike Fisher
Mars Colony, d: Noel Fuzellier
SIERRA: Boston SciFi Shorts
In Screening order:
Uncario, d: Didier Konings
Face Your Fears, d: Neil Stevens
Stuck, d: Pablo Tobon Gallo
Older Posts, d: Bryan Firks
Rift, d: Justin Brown
Down To Earth, d: Nick Crowhurst
IDENTITY: LGBTQ Stories in Sci-Fi
SciFi likes to think of itself as a 'big tent' full of big ideas and where everyone is welcome. While that may be often true, sometimes it is not. Getting acceptance is a tough road full of pot holes and prejudice. Our panel explores it from the inside out.
Panelists:
Bears Rebecca Fonte (she/her/they/them), executive director, Other Worlds Film Festival, Auston TX
Shawn Cotter (he/him/they/them), executive director, Wicked Queer Film Festival, Boston
Moderator: Caro Murphy (they/them), executive director, Boston Festival of Indie Games
Live streamed w/chat on Facebook and Youtube:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/BostonSciFi/posts/10159437729503534
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCG1_eWYZKdcNQUWN-no-RDA
DEEP CUTS: The Art of Editing Horror
The art of suspense. The excitement of danger. The occasional comedic break. Blending these in a seamless story takes a deft hand in editing. Check in with our panel as they talk about what they have learned, and of course, some of those times when it didn't work so well.
Panelists:
Neil Stevens, director, Face Your Fears
Mike Pecci, cinematographer, Love of the Process
Matt Smith, director, The Altruist
Moderator: Tishna Lodi
Boston SciFi's THE MARATHON: The Original Binge View
The Marathon isThe Original Binge View. It is a 24-hour orgiastic motion picture endurance test. 12 films, cartoons, games & specials, all packed into 24 plus hours. Films to play (in alphabetical order) 12 Monkeys, Attack the Block, Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Flight of the Navigator, Slither, Species, Tenet, The Quatermass Experiment (The Creeping Unknown), The Road Warrior (Mad Max II) The Thing from Another World, The Thing, Tron (original)
Buy a ticket and get a complimentary FLIGHT KIT sent to your house. It comes with a Ray Gun, an Official SF46 Button, a Boston SciFi tote bag, the obligatory Atomic Fireball, popcorn and more.
Look for our new BostonSciFi APP in the Apple Store & Google Play.
THE CURSE OF THE WILLOW SONG
(Canada, 2020) US PREMIERE. Willow is on probation, struggling with sobriety, facing unreliable work, and casual racism, when old friend emerges and offers her a bit of stability. While she is holed up in an abandoned warehouse in downtown Vancouver, Willow starts to unlock latent psychokinetic abilities, and a powerful transformation begins to take place. d: Karen Lam
c: Valerie Tiam, Elfina Luk, Ingrid Wilson
FISH LOVE
"Genuinely surprising" - CineEuropa
(France, 2020) US PREMIERE. The world is in bad shape. The oceans are nearly dead. The last whale is obsessively being tracked. French Biologist, Daniel Luxet is trying to revitalize the oceans. Ironically his own life is in need of a jump start. Then one day two things happen. He finds a fish. He meets a girl. An eco-friendly RomCom that offers no easy answers, but gives us hope.
d: Oliver babinet
cast: Gustave Kervern, India Hair, Ellen Dorrit Petersen
TUNE INTO THE FUTURE
(Luxembourg, 2020) US PREMIERE. One hundred years before the internet, a self-declared tech guru foresaw Skype, jetpacks, space mining and drones. Even though he would accumulate over 80 patents throughout his life and befriend the likes of Edison and Tesla, his most influential invention remains Science Fiction. Gernsback planted the seeds for pop-culture phenomena such as Superman, Star Wars and a whole nation’s obsession with UFOs.
d: Eric Schockmel: c: Michio Kaku, Joe Haldeman, Guy Consolmagno
MERMAID IN PARIS
"Effervescently enchanting, (It) will lift your spirits and make your heart sing."- Kat Hughes
(France, 2020) US PREMIERE. A whimicsical & charming romcom. A man has no more love to give. Too many break-ups. Too many heart aches. Then he bumps into an enchantress. He takes her home, He puts her in the bath tub. She is an injured mermaid, and to make things even more complciated, any man who falls in love with her dies. Gaspard is smitten.
d: Mathias Malzieu; c: Tchéky Karyo, Rossy de Palma, Romane Bohringer
TRAILER. TICKETS
TALES OF TOMORROW
(Brazil, 2020) East Coast Premiere. In 2165, Michele's kidnapping pushes the city-state of Porto 01, the last stronghold of human civilization, into war. To save the city, they count on the help of Jefferson, a high school student who lives in 1999. Other World’s Film Fest Award winner. (Production Design)
d: Pedro de Lima Marques; c: Bruno Barcelos, Duda Andreazza, Bruno Krieger
TANGO: Boston SciFi Shorts
In screening order:
“It takes two to Tango”
Plant, d: Carlos Milite
After_Life, d: Perry Lam
Galileo, d: Austin Quarles
In Suspension, d: Amara Mesnik
A Better You, d: Eamonn Murphy
ROMEO: Boston SciFi Shorts
In screening order:
“Love in the Time of Covid”
It's Okay, d: Justin Giddings, Ryan Welsh
Bootstrapped, d: Katy Erin
Sentris, d: Ian Harrington
Speak Only Good of the Dead, d: Arminio Rivero
Ungbi and non-human friends, d: Damin Kim
A Grievance With Gravity, d: Kelli Horan
SET FRETS: Pandemic Filmmaking
The prospect of coordinating the logistics of filmmaking is tough enough. Then there are those tight budgetary constraints of an indie film. Now another major problem - protocols for shooting in a deadly pandemic. This panel has various views - director, actor, producer moderated by an experienced Covid-19 set officer.
Panelists:
Matthew Butler-Hart, director, Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Tori Butler-Hart, actor, Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Andrew Jaksch , director, Today
Clare Cahill, producer, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Moderator: Tishna Lodi
ACCELERATED LANDSCAPE: Post-Pandemic Distribution
Covid-19 has hastened the decline of cinemas. It has bolstered the SVOD world, and it has challenged everyone in ways not anticipated. This is also true in how films will be distributed. Drop in, as cutting edge distributors talk challenges and the future.
Panelists:
Aijah Keith, director of acquisitions and production, IFC Midnight
Eric Bromberg, head, DUST Studios)
Andrew T. Hunt, founding partner, Raven Banner
Moderator: Joshua Handler, founder/programmer, Corona Classics
CYST - plus Memory Loop
"A gross, ridiculous comedy with inventive gags" - FrightFest
"There’s more to Cyst than meets the stye." - Horror DNA
"Loving tribute to the…creature feature classics & clas-sicks of the 50s & 60s" - Horror Fuel
This is the world premiere of the extended version of Cyst, with that much more blood, guts and puss!
(US, 2020) East Coast Premiere. In the 1960s, a nurses last day at work is disrupted by a medical experiment gone wrong. A mad doctor, fixated on making a fortune by zapping away pimples with his new laser, has inadvertently created a cyst monster that proceeds to wreck havoc on his clinic. If you like being grossed out, this movie is for you. d: Tyler Russell; c: Greg Sestero, Eva Habermann, Jason Douglas
Opening Film: Memory Loop, d: Qi Cui
THE UNHEALER
(US, 2020) East Coast Premiere. A botched faith healing on a bullied teenager bestows powers that “reflect” any attempted physical harm back on his aggressor. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score. d: Martin Guigui
c: Natasha Henstridge, Lance Henrikson, Adam Beach, Elijah Nelson
Deep In
(China, 2020) Over the next thousand years, one by one starships set off to deep space to find a new planet for the migration of the human race. This is known as the "human colonization program," and has become the new hope for human survival and development. d: Renchao Wang, c: Gao Ming, Xiao Zimo, Liang Siwen
THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN
Special Jury Prize - Berlin Film Festival
"Lacerating intelligence & riveting craft" - Variety
"Perhaps (we) will dream of the electric sheep that Dick prophesied, wandering aimlessly like Elli." - Lost in Cinema
(France, 2020) East Coast Premiere. Set in the near-futre, where androids are commonplace, Elli is an android programmed with memories that mean everything to her owner but nothing to her. In a sexual relationship with the man she calls "Papa", then reprogrammed as a replica of a lost relative, Elli's relationships ask the question, is behavior just a string of code? The story of a machine and the ghosts we all carry within us. d: Sandra Wollner
c: Ingrid Burkhard, Susanne Gschwendtner, Simon Hatzl
TRAILER TICKETS
RED HEAVEN
"A documentary that's bigger than all of us" - Film Threat
"Brings space travel down to earth" - Hollywood Reporter
To help humanity get to Mars, four scientists, an engineer and an architect agree to embark on the longest space simulation in US history: 366 days in isolation and confinement on an active volcano in Hawai'i. d: Lauren DeFilippo, Katherine Gorringe
TRAILER
MONSTER SEAFOOD WARS
"Ridiculious & delicious" - Austin Chronicle
"Pretty damn silly" - Boston Hassle
"B-movie discovery that is purely delightful" - Sonic Cinema
(Japan, 2020) US Premiere. Food is accidentally dropped into the Simida River, creating a huge mutated squid. As the squid attacks Tokyo, the SMAT (Seafood Monster Attack Team) is formed, in a last ditch effort to save the terrified populace. Just when it looks like the danger is past, a colossal crab emerges from the depths. Uh oh, sushi has an insatiable taste for raw humans.
d: Minoru Kawasaki
TRAILER TICKETS
INFINITUM: Subject Unknown
(UK, 2021) US Premiere. Ian Mckellan adds the gravitas but this is Tori Butler-Hart’s movie. Jane is trapped in a world of endless multiverses. It's a maze of possibilities. Discovering what is real and changing the outcome consumes her. If she doesn't figure it out, she'll be trapped into repeating it all over, over, and over again, ad infinitum. d: Matthew Butler-Hart
c: Tori Butler-Hart, Ian McKellen, Conleth Hill, Graham Butler
OSCAR: Boston SciFi Shorts
In order of screening:
Uprising!, d: Ben Hansford
Bequeathed, d: Michael McCallum
The Black Baptism, d: Stephanie Diane Ford
Aeon, d: James Graham
INDIA: Boston SciFi Shorts
In order of screening:
Roam, d: David Jung
Glitch, d: Danielle Argyros
Today, d: Andrew Jaksch
3:14 PM, d: I Fu Chen
A Better You, d: Eamonn Murphy
DIRECTORS ROUNDTABLE: Generations
There is something to be said about age & experience. There is something to be said about youth and innovation. At this time, the chasm couldn't be larger. At this moment the bond coundn't be tighter., especially in the world of independent cinema.
Panelists:
Lloyd Kaufman, director, Shakespeare's Sh•storm
Matthew Butler-Hart, director, Infinitum: Subject Unknown
Caleb Spilios, director, Blood Moon
Eric Schockmel, director, Tune Into the Future
Moderator: Gerald Peary, author, director, The Rabbi Goes West
DIRECTOR'S ROUNDTABLE: Our Films, Ourselves
Accomplished female directors talking amongst themselves. Sharing stories. Revealing insights. Acknowledging influences. Encouraging everyone. Join us.
Panelists:
Karen Lam, director, Curse of Willow Song
Gina Rose, director, I Can't Sleep
Virginia Abramovich, director, Between The Waves
Moderator: Alecia Orsini, president, WIFVNE
BRUJA (Witch)
(Argentina, 2019) US Premiere. A teenaged girl is abducted for illegal human trafficking. Her single mom, sets out to find her, rescue her and punish the abductors. This revenge road film has a twist, the mom is a Bruja, a powerful witch practiced in the black arts. Played by the emotive, and award winning, Erica Rivas.
d: Marcelo Paez Cubells. c: Erica Rivas, Leticia Brédicede
BEAUTY WATER
"A disturbing yet visually stimulating descent into hell." - Movie Beat
"Attractive as it is disturbing" - Cinemagavia
(S Koreas, 2020) US Premiere. Ye-ji comes across mysterious water that enables her to shed her imperfections and become beautiful. As she navigates the world in a new body, Ye-ji discovers outward beauty does not equal inward beauty, and soon finds herself in serious danger.
d: Kyung Hun Cho
I CAN'T SLEEP with Plaything
(Canada, 2020) Leonore is a struggling Sci-Fi writer with a couple of problems. She's suffereing from writer's block and then there are those supernatural forces butting into her life. First time director Gina Rose captures the careening imagination of an artist under the gun.
d Gina Rose
c: Emily Chau, Josephine Chiang, Mean Dave
Opening Film: Plaything, d. Nima Rahimpour
TRAILER
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
"Winner"- Santa Fe Independent Film Festival
“A truly remarkable film about human fragility, imagination and time” - Sheffield DocFest
(US, 2020) Humans are leaving a dying Earth for other planets. Truth or Consequences focuses on five residents, left behind by choice or by circumstance. Director Hannah Jayanti keenly speculates a new space (both literally and figuratively).
d: Hannah Jayanti