Tag Archives: Philip K. Dick European Film Festival

2023 Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival Winners

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The 2023 Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners for its gathering that took place at the L’Hybride Theater in Lille, France from October 27-28. The event saluted the work and legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick with a slate of independent science fiction, horror, and fantasy films.

BEST PHILIP K. DICK SHORT

  • NIGHT
  • Director: Frank Sun, US, 20 min

A man arrives at a friend’s apartment and hears sounds from outside his window… but is it real?

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT

  • A MIND CANNOT TOUCH
  • Director: Geoffrey Prather, US, 15 min

A Mind Cannot Touch is a short film about loss and how one grieving mother will go to any lengths to bring her daughter back from the dead. The film asks, “What if you could bring a loved one back after their physical body has died?” and explores the moral implications of this hypothetical.

BEST NEW MEDIA

  • EMILY’S MOUNTAIN
  • Director: Tal Somech, Israel, 22 min

Emily celebrates her 6th birthday on a magical trip with her family and is slowly exposed to the horrifying reality that her parents are trying to conceal from her using modern technology and entertainment systems.

BEST HORROR SHORT

  • ESCALATION
  • Director: Christian Bachini, Italy, 15 min

Chris, a paranoid and self-centered man, is happily avoiding all human contact, preferring to escape from reality in whatever’s on TV. When a friend reaches out to him to confront him about his past promises, Chris must decide what kind of person he is inside, or it may just eat him…alive.

The 2023 Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival Returns To Lille, France

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[From a press release.] The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its upcoming season celebrating the legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick. The two-day event held from October 27-28 at the L’Hybride theater in Lille, France will showcase films with themes of scientific and technological advancements, extraordinary events, and dystopian worlds.

This year’s event continues the festival’s longstanding tradition of showcasing films throughout Europe. “France is an integral location for the science fiction genre,” said DanielAbella, the founder and director of the festival. “The rich cultural life of Lille is a popular area for learning, and appreciating all things sci-fi.” The festival will also commemorate its namesake by attributing his work as a reflection of modern society. “Philip K. Dick foresaw the aspects of technology to free and liberate us,” said Abella. “If you look around at the technological advancements of our world, many of his stories have come to pass and the festival recognizes his vision. He understood that the fluid nature of reality and the lure of transhumanism is becoming a real phenomenon.”

The film program follows the jump.

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2020 Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival

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[From a press release.] The seventh annual Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the full lineup for its seventh annual season celebrating the legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick. The two-day live event held at the L’Hybride theater in Lille, France from October 30-31 will showcase films with a variety of themes including scientific and technological advancements, extraordinary events, and dystopian worlds

Screenings begin on Friday, October 30th with a block of shorts that examine what it means to be human. The opening film is Erik Lee’s time-bending romance Wide Awake in Bridgewater about a man who rediscovers the love of his life fifty years after her disappearance. Following are the European Premieres of Adam Hayes’ 4D about a widow in Japan who attends a ceremony in an attempt to reunite with her deceased husband, and Jesca Prudencio’s American Quartet where a small town is bitterly divided over a young Muslim-American woman’s private digitized memories. A second block of shorts investigates the nature of consciousness beginning with Identity directed by Panos Pappas and Despina Charalampous about a woman at an airport who deals with the horrific revelation that her face has changed. Other titles include the Continental European Premiere of Ben Alpi’s Hashtag which follows a popular social media star who goes to great lengths to keep her fame, Diego Mellogno’s Craneoplastia about a debt enforcer who questions his existence following an unexpected event with a mysterious stranger, and the European Premiere of Eamonn Murphy’s A Better You which delves into the dystopian neo-steampunk world of customizable carbon clones.

A lineup of films depicting unexplained encounters on Saturday, October 31st includes Heretic directed by Veselin Efremov about a future where humans merge with technology, and Best Game Ever directed by Kristóf Deák which follows two CCTV technicians whose jobs are threatened by an AI machine. The block will also screen the French Premiere of Tobias Bieseke’s Nucleus where a researcher has succeeded in using bacteria to synthesize a fluid that reveals a form of communication in carbon atoms, and the European Premiere of Hekla Egilsdottir’s adaptation of the Philip K. Dick story Beyond the Door about the influence of a peculiar cuckoo clock. The night continues with several exclusive screenings that delve into the co-existence of man and machine. Opening the block is the World Premiere of Mario Brem’s The Plan that follows a wanderer and his zombie-like puppet. Further titles include the European Premieres of Michele Gurrieri’s Circular about a hermit who intends to create a man by the force of his dreams, and Carl Timms’ Off Grid where a man protects himself and his ill wife against supernatural forces. The festival will also present the French Premieres of Jonathan Degrelle’s Transfert about a man sent to recover a strange mechanism in an alternative reality where the Germans won WWII, Erin Coates and Anna Nazzari’s Dark Water that explores family trauma in the tale of a woman who discovers an ocean within her house, and Charles de Lauzirika’s Love Bite which shows the ramifications of a couple’s deadly bet during a zombie apocalypse.

Through its lineup of innovative and thought-provoking films, Abella hopes that attendees relate to the significance of Philip K. Dick’s crucial body of work as society confronts the effects of a changing world. “PKD offers a way for people to retain their dignity and humanity because his one central message is critical thinking,” he said. “We must always remain open to a different point of view and not let fixed ideological positions rob us of our capacity to empathize with the suffering of others.”

The film program follows the jump.

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2019 Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival Award Winners

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The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners for its sixth annual event. The gathering saluted the legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick with a slate of independent science fiction films, six of which were honored for their cinematic excellence. The festival was held October 25-26 in Lille, France and October 31-November 1 in Cologne, Germany.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT

Tomorrow Might Be the Day (2018)

  • Director: Joséfa Celestin
  • Run Time/Country: 20 min, France

Synopsis: A fanatic subjects his niece, whose faith wavers, to a baptism in order to restore her faith and ultimately save her from an impending doomsday flood.

BEST HORROR SHORT

Chromophobia (2019)

  • Director: Keith Adams
  • Run Time/Country: 13 min, USA

Synopsis: A clinical psychiatrist becomes obsessed with her mysterious new patient’s artwork and realizes he possesses a curious gift.

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

Hunting For Huxley (2019)

  • Director: Claire Fleming
  • Run Time/Country: 5 min, UK

Synopsis: This documentary follows philosopher Aldous Huxley when he visited the recently built and technologically advanced Billingham Manufacturing Plant in 1929. He left inspired and his novel “Brave New World” was born from what he saw combined with his visioned future.

BEST PHILIP K. DICK SHORT

The Great 60 Days (2018)

  • Director: Tae-Woo Kim
  • Run Time/Country: 9 min, South Korea

Synopsis: A doctor experimenting on fruit flies is developing a substance that can dramatically increase activity in brain cells. After a series of failures, one fruit fly finally has a huge reaction. Its intellect has become mutated.

BEST AUDIENCE AWARD

The Nine Billion Names of God (2018)

  • Director: Dominique Filhol
  • Run Time/Country: 15 min, France/Switzerland

Synopsis: In New York 1957, a Tibetan monk rents an automatic sequence computer. The monks seek to list all of the names of God. They hire two Westerners to install and program the machine in Tibet. A short film is based on the book by Arthur C. Clarke.

BEST NEW MEDIA

I Can (2019)

  • Director: Diana Elizabeth Jordan
  • Run Time/Country: 5 min, USA

Synopsis: A young woman faces a supernatural existential crisis and must overcome her fears to unlock her power within.

The 2019 Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival

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The sixth annual Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival celebrates the talent of independent filmmakers and honors Philip K. Dick’s worldwide legacy. With an emphasis on technological advancements and existence of alternative worlds and cultures, the festival convenes at venues in Cologne, Germany from October 25-26 and Lille, France from October 31-November 1.

Attendees to this year’s event will view themes reminiscent of today’s society, and according to Daniel Abella, the founder and director of the festival, each official selection represents the fragmentation of consensus reality. “Many will argue that we already live in a sci-fi universe with serious talks given to UFO’s, artificial intelligence, the universe as a computer simulation, and time travel,” he said. “PKD’s work followed the growing blurriness between man and machine and humanity’s surrender to the seduction of technology. We cover these topics and more because more than any other writer, PKD had his finger on the pulse of what is happening today.”

The film titles and showing schedules follow the jump.

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Fifth Annual Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival Winners

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The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners of its fifth annual event. The gathering saluted the legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick with a slate of independent science fiction films, nine of which were honored for their cinematic excellence. The festival was held in Lille, France from October 25-26 and in Cologne, Germany from November 1-2.

It’s A Clear Day

BEST PHILIP K. DICK SHORT

  • It’s a Clear Day (2017)

Director: María Vázquez

Run Time/Country: 14 min, Spain

Synopsis: A woman is planning on giving a lecture on the famous science fiction writer Philip K. Dick. Everything seems like her everyday routine, except for a little excitement because of the event. But as time passes she will discover nothing is what it seems.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT

  • Metta Via (2017)

Director: Warren Flanagan

Run Time/Country: 10 min, Canada

Synopsis: Set in the future, a young woman wakes up in a mysterious temple-like room and must figure out her purpose.

BEST HORROR SHORT

  • The Ash: Safe Haven (2017)

Director: Marty Stalker

Run Time/Country: 17 min, UK

Synopsis: A deadly volcanic ash cloud. A 12-year-old boy besieged by the bloodthirsty infected. When the ash falls, terror rises.

BEST HORROR FEATURETTE

  • Sound From the Deep (2017)

Director: Antti Laakso, Joonas Allonen

Run Time/Country: 29 min, Finland

Synopsis: An international research group is searching natural resources from the Arctic Ocean. They pick up a strange underwater sound from far north, and start to follow it to the uncharted waters. Inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

  • Nazi VR (2017)

Director: David Freid

Run Time/Country: 17 min, Germany

Synopsis: The High Tech Prosecution of a WWII Nazi Guard with virtual reality.

BEST VIRTUAL REALITY

  • Eclipse (2018)

Director: Aymeric Favre

Run Time/Country: 40 min, France

Synopsis: An immersive “hyper-reality” experience and a glimpse into tomorrow’s cinema. Contrary to most VR experiences dedicated to entertainment, this exhibition is a four-player interactive science fiction short film enhanced by physical effects, full body awareness and a total freedom of movements.

BEST TRAILER, TEASER OR NEW MEDIA

  • APEX (2018)

Director: Stuart T. Birchall

Run Time/Country: 4 min, UK

Synopsis: Emergence of a hybrid human-alien consciousness from the void.

FRIDAY AUDIENCE AWARD

  • December 17 (2016)

Director: Yuji Hariu

Run Time/Country: 15 min, Japan

Synopsis: In the near future, a family comes face to face with a dangerous secret about their sons.

SATURDAY AUDIENCE AWARD

  • Tous les jours (2017)

Director: Philippe Orreindy

Run Time/Country: 14 min, France

Synopsis: A company director is under the perverse psychological influence of her superior. But is it real or is it an hallucination caused by her anguish?

 

4th Annual Philip K. Dick European Sci-Fi Film Festival Awards

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Award winners have been announced by The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival, held in Cologne, Germany at Filmclub 813 e.V. from October 27-28, and in Lille, France at L’Hybride from November 2-3. It was the fourth annual gathering to honor the legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick, and there were over 40 independent science fiction films presented, seven of which were commended for their cinematic excellence.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT

Adam (2016, Denmark)

Director: Veselin Efremov

Synopsis: In a dystopian future, an organic body is a privilege easy to lose and a convict awakens to the grim reality of having been transferred into a mechanical shell.

Screened: Cologne, Germany on October 27th

BEST SUPERNATURAL FEATURE

AYLA (2017, USA)

Director: Elias

Synopsis: A man haunted by the mysterious death of his four-year-old sister brings her back to life thirty years later as an adult woman, with dire consequences. Starring Dee Wallace (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial) and Tristan Risk (American Mary).

Screened: Cologne, Germany on October 28th

BEST HORROR SHORT

Abrakadabra (2017, UK)

Director: Benedykt Zasadzki

Synopsis: A woman arrives in London from Eastern Europe and wanders the city alone. In a museum, she acquires telepathic contact with an ancient Egyptian spiritual entity and after a horrific assault descends into madness.

Screened: Cologne, Germany on October 28th

BEST MINI DOCUMENTARY

The Dollhouse (2017, USA)

Director: Kyra Elise Gardner

Synopsis: A loving tribute to growing up in the world of the psycho killer doll, Chucky.

Screened: Cologne, Germany on October 28th

BEST NEW MEDIA/ANIMATION


Flutter (2016, USA)

Director: Vladimir Todorov

Synopsis: In this animated film about despair, hope and the power of love, a man is trapped in a body that keeps him pinned to the ground. While others can defy the laws of gravity and fly freely above his head, he can only watch from a distance. He is an outcast, destined to trudge through life.

Screened: Lille, France on November 2nd

BEST PHILIP K. DICK SHORT

Synchronous (2016, Colombia)

Director: Ricardo Fernández Jiménez

Synopsis: A man whose consciousness has the ability to live in two parallel worlds simultaneously must help a dangerous gangster to win a bet. But everything changes when he meets a woman.

Screened: Lille, France on November 2nd

BEST PHILIP K. DICK AUDIENCE AWARD:


Juliet (2015, France)

Director: Marc-Henri Boulier

Synopsis: In a near future, the SEED Company launches with great fanfare JULIET1, the first generation of synthetic pleasure beings. But as technology evolves and new styles come and go it becomes more difficult for mankind to find their own place.

Screened: Lille, France on November 3rd

The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival launched in October 2013 and has screened events in Lille, France, Cologne, Germany and ?ód?, Poland. “The festival represents the deep analyses and philosophical views of internationally renowned novelist Philip K. Dick, whose work has inspired generations of writers and filmmakers all around the world. In spotlighting such genius, this is a festival created for filmmakers by filmmakers.”