Over the last few years, one of the brightest new stars in the constellation of Australian films festivals has been the SciFi Film Festival. Back again for another year, this year the digital program will bring science fiction and fantasy flicks to audiences across Australia from 15 — 31 October.
One of the massive coups this year is the world premiere of Taiwanese film SAY YES AGAIN (再說一次), Harry Shui’s time loop rom-com in which a marriage proposal gets shot down — repeatedly. If there’s one thing we love, it’s a twist on the Groundhog Day model.
It joins a collection of 13 features and 67 shorts curated from 28 countries including Japan, China, Canada, America, Russia, Sweden, Spain and Brazil. Tickets are $8.00 a pop in most cases or you can get a 20-film all-you-can-eat subscription package for $29.99. Details and tickets are on the festival website.
Asia in Focus
For fans of East Asian cinema — which describes us perfectly — there’s stacks of offerings this year. In addition to Say Yes Again, you’ll find TRANS from South Korean director Naeri Do. It follows a woman who dreams of becoming a electrified transhuman while seeking revenge following a serious assault. Still in Korea, Choi Yang Hyun’s THE BASEMENT (지하철) is a kind of post-‘apocalyptic’ story in which a group must hide in a Pan-Gyo basement following a nuclear attack
The Australian premiere of Mutsumi Kameyama’s ECHOES is a Japanese film that sees two people arrive at an island they may never leave. Kameyama also has 12 MONTHS OF KAI (12ヶ月のカイ) at the festival, a narrative that delves into the “impossible thing” was born between a personal care humanoid (PCH) and humans.
Over in the Philippines, there’s Victor Villanueva’s LUCID, where two lucid dreamers meet and challenge each other to more adventurous dreams.
Features
Another of the festival highlights is Brazil’s TALES OF TOMORROW from Pedro de Lima Marques. Set in 2165, the kidnapping of a young girl puts the last stronghold of human civilization at war and only the help of a teenage boy from 1999 can help save humanity.
Filmed and set in a small town in Canada, THE CORRUPTION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE delves into the dogma of Catholicism and First Nations communities when a sixteen-year-old Stigmatic Metis girl is kidnapped and three different religious factions vie for control over her upon her eventual return.
The only documentary feature in the Festival’s lineup is another film from Canada. STEAMPUNK CONNECTION follows the creative and philosophical journey of three steamers who are inspired by science fiction and the Industrial Revolution.
Short films
In addition to the features, there’s a whopping 67 shorts available at the SciFi Film Festival. Almost all of the features are accompanied by a short, but there’s also five dedicated programs
The short film program is spread across seven themed sessions including: To infinity and beyond! Animated Sci-Fi Shorts, Dystopian Dreamscapes, Humanity VS Technology, The Future of Us and The Dark Side of Humanity.
