A WORLD OF SPECULATIVE STORYTELLING
COMES TO MELBOURNE’S CINEMA NOVA
FEBRUARY 23-25, 2024

Now an established annual event, The Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival returns to Cinema Nova from February 23-25 with 10 sessions of the best sci-fi/fantasy films from across the planet. It is the latest season of screenings to be brought to Melbourne by the organisers of the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival, which will hold its 5th annual festival in late 2024.

This year’s Melbourne line-up will include 16 Australian Premieres from independent visionaries whose features hail from France, Canada, Macedonia, Sweden, The United States and The United Kingdom. The short-film roster of 11 titles includes groundbreaking works from the Chinese visual effects sector, cutting-edge Polish animation and three stunningly original works from Australian directors. In the weeks ahead, a retrospective title and the Closing Night film will also be announced.

Opening Night honours go to French director Damien Faure’s PYRAMIDEN (pictured, below), a stark, visually stunning odyssey starring David D'Ingéo (pictured, above) as the lone survivor of a mass extinction event, who settles in an abandoned city only to experience new and strange phenomena. The feature will screen with the Australian short EARTHRISE, from director Shane Joseph Willis.

Other must-see short films include LIMIT (边界), a dazzling deep-space adventure from Chinese effects house, Helium Flash; a heartwarming animation journey called LIGHTS (Svetla) from Polish director Jitka Nemikinsová; the hilariously monstrous romance, A KAIJU LOVE STORY, from AFTRS graduate Leo O’Donoghue; and, local filmmaker Harrison Ewart-Dart’s moving fantasy, 10 SECONDS TIL MIDNIGHT.

FOR INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES WITH ALL FILMMAKERS, PLEASE CONTACT:
SIMON FOSTER, FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
Mob: (+61 0) 431 948 522
Eml: sydscififilmfest@gmail.com

Having its International Premiere at the festival will be SHADOWS IN THE DESERT: HIGH STRANGENESS IN THE BORREGO TRIANGLE, the acclaimed documentary from paranormal podcast duo Derek Hayes of Monsters Among Us, and David Flores of Blurry Photos. The pair explore unique stories of weird phenomena in California’s Anza-Borrego State Park, including sightings of legendary cryptids, ghostly apparitions and some of America’s most compelling UFO encounters.

Other feature films to make their first sojourn to Australian shores are the dystopian action/thriller CORA, from Swedish directing duo Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund; the scifi/horror romp HOW TO KILL MONSTERS (pictured, above), from English filmmaker Stewart Sparke, a gory thrill-ride best describe as ‘Evil Dead 2-meets-Hot Fuzz’; the alien invasion drama THE BEEHIVE, from Canadian indie auteur Alexander Lasheras; and, Vardan Tozija’s coming-of-age survival drama M, a striking work that was Macedonia’s Official Entry in the 2023 Foreign Film Oscar category.

In recognition of the remarkable work being done by founder Ryan Ward and his production entity Memory Pill Films, the festival will screen two films from the Manitoba-based filmmakers - DAUGHTER OF THE SUN, an evocative road-movie/supernatural drama featuring a star-making turn from teen actress Nyah Perkin (pictured, below), and their latest, the La Jetée-inspired short film TIME TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME.

The Australian Premiere of LYD headlines a special Palestinian Sci-fi Film Showcase. LYD - A SCI-FI DOCUMENTARY shares multiple pasts, presents, and futures of the city of Lyd in Palestine/Israel, from the perspective of the city herself (voiced by Palestinian actress Maisa Abd Elhadi). For Palestinians, Lyd’s story is a painful and tragic fall from grace. This moving, visually captivating film dares to ask the question: what would the city be like had the Israeli occupation of Lyd never happened?