Category Archives: Solar Sci-Fi

Winners announced for Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival

 

The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival
Announces Award Winners for First International Event
Numerous Films Take Home Coveted Honors In Groundbreaking Three-Day France Gathering

Brooklyn, N.Y. November 5, 2013 – The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners from its first international event which honored one of the most respected writers within the literary world. The three-day experience was one of the most popular weekend events and marked  the first of many worldwide gatherings in the beautiful and historic Lille, France. Huge crowds attended the famous L’Hybride Cinema to view 20 revolutionary films and shorts which were adapted or inspired from the works of Philip K. Dick and entertained and enthralled the innumerable fans who have continued to honor his enduring legacy within the genre of science fiction.
The honorable list of award winners from the event:

Best Horror Feature Film
THANATOMORPHOSE
by ÉRIC FALARDEAU

Best Philip K. Dick Short Film
UN MONDE MEILLEUR
by SACHA FEINER

Best Science Fiction Short Film
EXIT
by MICHEL GOOSSENS

Best Horror Short Film
HAMBRE
by MARIO DE LA CORTE

Best Documentary
NO RELATION
by KIERAN DICK

Best Trailer
NACH EINEM TRAUM
by TOBIAS SCHMUEKING

The inaugural international festival in Lille, France launched with the highly anticipated screening of Radio Free Albemuth (2010) on Friday, October 25. Written and directed by John Alan Simon the award-winning film adaptation of Dick’s final novel stars Jonathan Scarfe (“Perception”), Shea Whigham (“Boardwalk Empire”), Katheryn Winnick (“Bones”) and Grammy Award-winning singer Alanis Morissette. The evening featured a science fiction theme with shorts including Evander Reeves’ L’Esplanade (2012, France/USA), Jonathan Rio’s Meddlers (2011, France), Rafael Mathé’s Hello World (2013, France), Kieran Dick’s No Relation (2011, Canada) and Greg Tosolini’s Singularity (2013, France). The following night on Saturday, October 26 took on a horror supernatural theme with Thanatomorphose (2012, Canada). Written and directed by Éric Falardeau the film stars Émile Beaudry, Eryka Cantieri and Roch-Denis Gagnon. The evening also featured Mario de la Corte’s Hambre (2012, Spain), Tobias Schmuecking’s Nach Einem Traum (2013, Germany), Migdia Chinea’s Anonymous (Street Meat) (2010, USA) and Tiyam Yabandeh Jahroumi’s Impression-xps160 (2013, Iran). On Sunday, October 27 the event concluded with Sacha Feiner’s Un Monde Meilleur (2013, Belgium), Jose Manuel Meneses’ Defeated (2012, Spain), Natalie Berning’s Breathe (2012, France/USA), Olivier Perrier’s L’échappée (2013, France), Fabien Montagner’s Le Passage (2011, France), Michel Goossens’ Exit (2013, Spain/Netherlands), Helmut Dosantos’ Dissent (2011, France/Italy/Mexico/USA), Keaton Smith’s Years In Bardo (2012, USA) and Yann Sinic’s La Cité du Soleil (2013, France).

As festival ventured and succeeded in its first global outing the first New York City gathering in 2012 saw record crowds of over 1,000 participants for the exclusive screening of Radio Free Albemuth which was based on Dick’s 1985 novel posthumously published three years after his death. The weekend-long festival also held numerous film screenings and panels with Simon, esteemed professors Ronald Mallet and Enrique Ricardo Miranda, distinguished writers Angela Posada-Swafford, Walter Mosley and Dennis Paoli and science fiction experts Richard Dolan and Peter Robbins. The team behind the annual festivities will also pioneer its second annual Brooklyn event in December 2013 for a record five-day gathering and a Spring 2014 cyberpunk festival in Tokyo.

The Philip K. Dick European Festival of Science Fiction, Science, The Fantastic, Horror and The Supernatural will delight its attendees with its entertaining and visually captivating themes which have made the event a favorable and continued success. The event took place at L’Hybride Cinema at 18 Rue Gosselet 59000 in Lille, France from October 25-27, 2013. Contact the venue at www.lhybride.org. For more information please visit www.philipkdickfilmfestival-europe.com and always be sure to stay informed of all ongoing announcements on the festival’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ThePhilipKDickFilmFestival and Twitter page at www.twitter.com/PhilipKDickFest.

“Gravity” film: Getting the biology right + Commercial option missed + Google Hangout with astronauts et al

The very popular movie Gravity doesn’t get the orbital mechanics right but Joel Achenbach thinks they did fine with the human part of the story : “Gravity” better on biology than orbital dynamics [spoilers] – Washington Post.

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With the Space Shuttles now retired, the movie could have shown the astronauts flying in a private spacecraft like the Dragon, which SpaceX hopes to fly people on as early as 2015 : The Gravitas of Commercial Spacecraft – Greg Autry.

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Here’s a video of an interesting Google Hangout held on Thursday night and organized by Ryan Kobrick of Yuri’s Night and with a focus on the movie Gravity.

From the Caption:

The first in a series of one-of-a-kind hangouts hosted by Yuri’s Night. We’ll be talking with some amazing experts in zero-gravity about the movie “Gravity” that came out a few weeks ago. Joining us will be Astronaut Ron Garan, Astronaut Cady Coleman, Italian Astronaut Paolo Nespoli, JSC Physiologist Liz Warren, Founder and Editor of collectSPACE Robert Pearlman, Zero G Flight Director Tim Bailey, and Yuri’s Night event host and Executive Director Dr. Ryan Kobrick!

Watch our Google+ account and +1 us to learn about more  Hangin’ with Yuri Hangout events in the coming months leading up to Yuri’s Night on April 12, 2014.

“Gravity” doing phenomenally well

The movie Gravity has moved from just a successful film to the category of “phenomena”:  Why the World is Watching ‘Gravity’ – WSJ.com

Now heading into its third weekend, “Gravity” is an increasingly rare phenomenon: a movie that draws audiences in droves, yet also wins joyous praise from critics. Exhibitors are thrilled that word is out the film should be seen not at home but in theaters, on a big screen, with high-quality sound. Comedian Albert Brooks slyly underscored the rewards of the immersive big-screen experience, tweeting “Just watched Gravity on an iPhone. Not that impressed.”

[…]

If current trends continue, “Gravity” is likely to end up grossing more than $500 million world-wide, territory rarely seen by movies that aren’t based on a comic book or toy and released in summertime or holiday season. It is unlikely to approach the world-wide grosses of movies like this year’s No. 1 hit, “Iron Man 3,” which sold more than $1.2 billion in tickets around the world.

See also:

Finalists in the Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival

An announcement from the upcoming Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival:

The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival
Announces Finalists For First International Event

The Highly Anticipated Gathering Is Just Days Away And Will Showcase Numerous
Groundbreaking Films And Shorts

John Alan Simon’s Award-Winning Radio Free Albemuth To Headline Opening Night

Brooklyn, N.Y. October 16, 2013 – The Philip K. Dick European Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the final films to be screened at its first international event which will honor one of the most respected writers within the literary world. The three-day experience will mark the first of many worldwide gatherings in the beautiful and historic Lille, France from October 25-27, 2013 at the famous L’Hybride Cinema venue. The films which are adapted or inspired from the works of Philip K. Dick will entertain and enthrall the innumerable fans who have continued to honor his enduring legacy within the genre of science fiction.

The finalists to complete the festival’s schedule are thrilling stories from filmmakers all over the world including Migdia Chinea’s Anonymous (Street Meat) (2010, USA), Natalie Berning’s Breathe (2012, France/USA), Jose Manuel Meneses’ Defeated (2012, Spain), Mario de la Corte’s Hambre (2012, Spain), Rafael Mathé’s Hello World (2013, France), Tiyam Yabandeh Jahroumi’s Impression-xps160 (2013, Iran), Yann Sinic’s La Cité du Soleil (2013, France), Olivier Perrier’s L’échappée (2013, France), Fabien Montagner’s Le Passage (2011, France), Tobias Schmuecking’s Nach Einem Traum (2013, Germany) and Kieran Dick’s No Relation (2011, Canada).

The festival will launch with the previously announced and highly anticipated screening of Radio Free Albemuth (2010) on Friday, October 25. Written and directed by John Alan Simon the award-winning film adaptation of Dick’s final novel stars Jonathan Scarfe (“Perception”), Shea Whigham (“Boardwalk Empire”), Katheryn Winnick (“Bones”) and Grammy Award-winning singer Alanis Morissette. A Q&A session with Simon is also scheduled to follow. The evening will continue its science fiction theme with shorts including Michel Goossens’ Exit (2013, Spain/Netherlands), Evander Reeves’ L’Esplanade (2012, France/USA), Greg Tosolini’s Singularity (2013, France) and Jonathan Rio’s Meddlers (2011, France) which was adapted from Dick’s short story. The following night on Saturday, October 26 takes on a horror supernatural theme with Thanatomorphose (2012, Canada). Written and directed by Éric Falardeau the film stars Émile Beaudry, Eryka Cantieri and Roch-Denis Gagnon. On Sunday, October 27 the event concludes with sci-fi shorts including Helmut Dosantos’ Dissent (2011, France/Italy/Mexico/USA), Sacha Feiner’s Un Monde Meilleur (2013, Belgium) and Keaton Smith’s Years In Bardo (2012, USA).

The festival will screen all films with French subtitles and is currently accepting submissions into late September in science fiction and horror features and shorts. Admission at L’Hybride Cinema is currently by membership only and by purchasing tickets with five euros for one month or 30 euros for one year of the program. If not part of membership visitors can pay five euros on the first day of the festival to attend the three-day event and receive a pass for the next 30 days of subsequent venue events. Doors open at 7pm on Friday and Saturday and 6pm on Sunday.

As further details become available including further scheduling times the festival anticipates a successful event in its first global outing. The first New York City festival saw record crowds of over 1,000 participants for the exclusive screening of Radio Free Albemuth which was based on Dick’s 1985 novel posthumously published three years after his death. The weekend-long festival also held numerous film screenings and panels with Simon, esteemed professors Ronald Mallet and Enrique Ricardo Miranda, distinguished writers Angela Posada-Swafford, Walter Mosley and Dennis Paoli and science fiction experts Richard Dolan and Peter Robbins. The team behind the annual festivities will also pioneer its second annual Brooklyn event in December 2013 for a record five-day gathering and a Spring 2014 cyberpunk festival in Tokyo.

The Philip K. Dick European Festival of Science Fiction, Science, The Fantastic, Horror and The Supernatural will delight its attendees with its entertaining and visually captivating themes which have made the event a favorable and continued success. The event will take place at L’Hybride Cinema at 18 Rue Gosselet 59000 in Lille, France from October 25-27, 2013. Contact the venue at www.lhybride.org. For film submissions, deadlines and contacts please visit www.philipkdickfilmfestival-europe.com and www.withoutabox.com/login/12654 and always be sure to stay informed of all ongoing announcements on the festival’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ThePhilipKDickFilmFestival and Twitter page at www.twitter.com/ PhilipKDickFest.

About The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
The Philip K. Dick International Film Festival of Science, Science Fiction, Fantastic Film and the Supernatural and the first of its kind to grace the screens of New York City is organized by filmmakers who understand the difficulties and challenges of telling a unique story in a corporate environment. The year 2013 marks the second year of the festival which will expand it’s genres of films, panels and venues throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan and its first international event in Lille, France. Guest speakers and writers that best represent the goals of the festival will attend the opening ceremonies. We look for original voices and visions in works submitted. Lastly, this is a festival by filmmakers for filmmakers.

About Philip K. Dick:
“Reality is whatever refuses to go away when I stop believing in it.” – Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) was one of the 20th century’s most profound novelists and writers within the science fiction community. His exploration, analysis and beliefs led to the publishings of 44 novels and 121 short stories. Dick’s enormous library of works led to several film developments including Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003) and most recently Radio Free Albemuth (2010), The Adjustment Bureau (2011) and the successful remake of Total Recall (2012). The film industry is also awaiting the release of King of the Elves in 2014, which will surely be yet another prosperous depiction of Dick’s literary contribution to science fiction. Dick’s enormously effective views comprised of fictional universes, virtual realities and human mutation foresaw an exaggerated version of the current state of government and contemporary life. Though he is gone in the physical

Video: Trailer for “The Last Days on Mars”

The film The Last Days on Mars has been released in the UK and is being released in the US today on Video on Demand and on Dec. 6 to theaters: