Sci-Fi-London Film Festival
England's Premier Science Fiction Gala Runs From 30 April to 8 May
The final programme for the 7th Annual London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film promises some excellent movie moments for sci fi fans.
The full programme for Sci-Fi-London 7 is now available, with this year’s festival looking likely to be bigger and better than any that have (boldly?) gone before. With an excellent range of films covering the whole spectrum of science fiction, from zombies to superheroes to aliens, from animation to spoof, there should be something to please everyone.
Opening and Closing Night Galas
The festival kicks off with the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the most prestigious award for science fiction writing in the UK. Now in its 22nd year, there are six novels in the running for the grand prize of £2008 and a commemorative engraved bookend.
Opening night will also mark the UK Premier of Dante 01, the eagerly anticipated solo directorial debut of Marc Caro, co-creator of The City of Lost Children and Delicatessen. Dante 01 is a prison ship and psychiatric unit in orbit around the distant planet Dante and it is here that Saint Georges (Lambert Wilson) is brought after a terrifying alien attack that left everyone else aboard his ship dead. Saint Georges was changed by the attack and must now battle the tremendous power inside him, a power that will drive the other inhabitants of Dante 01, both gaolers and prisoners alike, to the very brink of despair.
The festival will close with the World Premier of Chemical Wedding by Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden fame and Julian Doyle. Chemical Wedding follows a groundbreaking experiment that transforms shy academic Professor Haddo (Simon Callow) into the reincarnation of the depraved occult leader Aleister Crowley.
Film Highlights
There are over twenty films, shorts, animations and documentaries being screened at this year’s Festival with several having already achieved “must see” status with sci fi fans.
- Your Friendly Neighbourhood Superhero is a documentary about the lives of four Americans following their dreams of becoming real superheroes. Superhero is a former wrestler who drives the streets of Tampa helping stranded motorists, Master Legend is a Hurricane Katrina survivor who claims to fight crime with psychic powers, Mr. Silent is the anonymous masked leader of the Justice Society of Justice while Hardwire is a teenager trying to find a supersuit that fits comfortably.
- Wasting Away is a screwball comedy about four twenty somethings who turn into zombies after eating icecream that has been contaminated with toxic goo designed to create the ultimate super soldier. A charming tale about life only beginning after death.
All-Nighters
The all-nighters are a trademark of Sci-Fi-London and this year there are three different screenings to choose from.
For the Dead Space all-nighter, four films have been chosen (Alien – Director’s Cut, Solaris, Pitch Black and The Thing) to illustrate the theory that space can be a truly terrifying place.
The traditional Anime all-nighter will feature some of the best Japanese feature length animation of the last couple of years: Appleseed Ex Machina, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Tekkon Kinkreet and Vexille.
Perhaps the most anticipated of the all-nighters is MST3K, a collection of four of the worst sci fi films ever made but now featuring new commentaries in the style of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. The films chosen to be named and shamed are Battlefield Earth, Merlin’s Mystical Shop of Wonders, The Creeping Terror and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.
Tickets for Sci-Fi-London are available now and the full programme can be found online here.
