I saw 10 films at this years festival and still managed to miss a few...
Osombie (well who wouldn’t want to see a film about Osama bin laden as a zombie)
Dimensions
Manborg
Radio Free Albemuth
The programme was excellent and seems to be attracting talent as well as cultivating genre in a very positive way. The full list is on their website: http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/films
Here's my quick reviews of some of the films that were on offer.
Extracted
Highly recommended my favourite from the festival, great idea, acting and editing. This is a really solid piece of work deserving of mainstream release. What would you do if you found yourself trapped in the memories of a drug addled criminal accused of murdering his girlfriend.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/extracted
Death
Also very well done and worth watching. An inventors family must pick up the pieces of his life to rescue his soul before the house is foreclosed. For some reason it felt a bit like a made for TV movie rather than a feature film and I still haven’t quite figured out what was missing.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/death
Cycle
This is the arthouse psychedelic film of the festival that will have you pondering reality and the future of high tech simulations. I really liked that it was difficult to tell what was live action and what was CGI. Only the Q&A revealed the truth of it’s production.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/cycle
The Last Push
Potentially very grim story that takes the audience on a literal and mental journey through the solar system with a satisfying conclusion. Surprisingly good for a film set almost exclusively in one room. I particularly liked that you get an impression of the arduousness of what real space travel might be like without labouring the point.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/last-push
Sol
The American style frat challenge (with a nod to ‘Lord of the Flies’) was probably my least favourite of the festival. It had potential but the acting was raw and the editing too loose for my liking leaving characters not as well formed as I felt they could've been. Interesting idea particularly in light of the recent release of the Hunger Games.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/sol
Hell
German eco-apocalypse where Earth is a burnt desert landscape, civilisation has collapsed and our protagonists must navigate a world inhabited by savage cannibal survivors in hopes of finding water. Very well done definitely worth watching, in my top five.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/hell
Robo G
Light hearted very Japanese film about three employees who failing to finish building a robot in time for a convention decide to employ a 73 year old retiree (keen to impress his family) to impersonate the robot at the convention.The resulting success of their robotic imposter is the start of an adventure where they navigate the challenges of hiding the truth from everyone while not losing face with their boss. Perhaps my favourite scene is the one where they get the student audience to suggest how they might’ve made such a convincing robot while hiding their ignorance of the subject.
http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/robo-g
The Captains
Shatner interviews the actors that played the various Star Trek captains. This Shatner driven project is typically quirky and self deprecating and worth watching if only for Avery Brooks’ odd musings. There are also some revealing and endearing commentaries on acting in a big budget TV series.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/captains
The Golden Age Of Science Fiction
A review of Campbell's editorship of Astounding magazine through the eyes of his authors, especially interesting for the diverse views on his legacy and personality.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/documentary/golden-age-science-fiction
Ghost With Shit Jobs
Humourous close to the bone near future docu-drama style film made about a group of white people (‘ghosts’ in Asian slang) working in a future depressed north American economy viewed from an east Asian perspective. The film ponders the future of east west relations and the potential outcome of a rise in the Asian region prosperity. Worth watching the ‘brand police’ virtual janitor is especially amusing given plans of the London Olympics this year.http://www.sci-fi-london.com/festival/2012/programme/feature/ghosts-shit-jobs
There were of course other worthy events as well as films around the festival that would’ve been worth going to but ahhh only so many hours in the day!
