JOKER HAS LAST LAUGH WITH ELEVEN 2020 OSCAR NOMINATIONS

Who’s laughing now?

2019’s most talked-about anti-hero odyssey Joker emerged as the unlikely front-runner from this morning’s Academy Awards nominations announcement. A film that many analysts called dangerously subversive, split the critical community and caused a social media storm upon its release was welcomed with open arms by AMPAS voters, scoring 11 nominations including Best Picture, Best Lead Actor for Joaquin Phoenix and Best Director for Todd Phillips. Add the accolades to a $1billion global box office haul and there is a lot to smile about over at Warner Bros.

Also grinning from ear to ear are the team at Netflix, with the streaming platform leading the nomination tally with 24 Oscar mentions. Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman (pictured, right) with 10 nominations, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story with six and Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes with three are flying the flag for Hollywood’s new kid on the block – a kid that is redefining the ‘mini/major’ studio system of old.

In the mix with 10 nominations apiece are Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist LA buddy pic Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and Sam Mendes’ WW1 epic 1917. Alongside Marriage Story with 6 nominations each are Taiki Waititi’s anti-hate charmer Jojo Rabbit, Greta Gerwig’s literary adaptation Little Women and, continuing its extraordinary surge towards Oscar glory, South Korean superstar director Bong Joon-ho’s foreign film ‘blockbuster’ Parasite. The blackly funny home invasion romp will vie for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Oscars.

Those hoping to wrestle the trophy from Phillips for Best Director are Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time…in Holywood), Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) and Sam Mendes (1917).

Vying for Lead Actor honours with Phoenix are Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory; pictured, right), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story) and this year’s bolter, Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes). Those that missed out in a wildly competitive year include Golden Globe winner Taron Edgerton (Rocketman), Adam Sandler (Uncut Gems), Eddie Murphy (Dolemite is my Name) and Christian Bale (Ford vs Ferrari, which otherwise did well with four nominations, including Best Picture).

Lead Actress contenders stuck closely to recent award season form, with Renee Zellweger’s transformative turn as showbiz icon Judy Garland in Rupert Goold’s Judy considered the favourite. Also in the mix are Saorsie Ronan (Little Women), Charlize Theron (Bombshell), Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) and Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story). Johansson is the ‘Golden Girl’ of this year’s Oscar season, earning a second nomination in the Supporting Actress category for Jojo Rabbit.

Those snubbed in this category point to a noticeable lack of diversity in this year’s nominations, with Golden Globe-winning Asian-American actress Awkwafina (The Farewell) and African-American star Lupita Nyong’o (Us) cast aside for their lead roles. Despite his film’s six nominations, Parasite leading man Kang-ho Song was left out, as was Latino superstar Jennifer Lopez for her supporting role in Lorene Scafaria’s Hustlers; across the four main acting categories, Cynthia Erivo (pictured, right) and Antonio Banderas are the only torchbearers for ethnicity. Little Women director Greta Gerwig was bumped from the Best Director race, despite her film earning six noms in total (she was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay).

Other notable omissions from the nomination roster are Disney/Pixar’s animated blockbuster, Frozen 2, which lost its place in the cartoon category to Netflix’s surprise hit Klaus; Beyonce, who’ll be home in her jammies on Oscar night due to her original song ‘Spirit’ from The Lion King missing out; Robert De Niro, the once perennial Oscar nominee, for The Irishman (despite co-stars Al Pacino and Joe Pesci earning Supporting Actor shots); writers Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman, who penned the smartest teen film since Clueless, Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart; and, everyone but Supporting Actor nominee Tom Hanks for Marielle Heller’s brilliant but underseen gem, A Beautiful Day in Your Neighbourhood (pictured, above; Heller).

The complete list of 2020 Oscar nominations is listed below. The 92nd Academy Awards will be held Sunday, February 9:

Best Picture: “Ford v Ferrari” (Disney/Fox); “The Irishman” (Netflix); “Jojo Rabbit” (Fox Searchlight); “Joker” (Warner Bros.); “Little Women” (Sony); “Marriage Story” (Netflix); “1917” (Universal); “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” (Sony); “Parasite” (Neon)

Best Director: Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”); Todd Phillips (“Joker”); Sam Mendes (“1917”); Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”); Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”)

Best Actor: Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”); Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”); Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”); Joaquin Phoenix (“Joker”); Jonathan Pryce (“The Two Popes”)

Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”); Scarlett Johansson (“Marriage Story”); Saoirse Ronan (“Little Women”; pictured, right); Charlize Theron (“Bombshell”); Renee Zellweger (“Judy”)

Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”); Anthony Hopkins (“The Two Popes”); Al Pacino (“The Irishman”); Joe Pesci (“The Irishman”); Brad Pitt (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”)

Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates (“Richard Jewell”); Laura Dern (“Marriage Story”); Scarlett Johansson (“Jojo Rabbit”); Florence Pugh (“Little Women”); Margot Robbie (“Bombshell”)

Adapted Screenplay: Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit”); Steve Zaillian (“The Irishman”); Anthony McCarten (“The Two Popes”); Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”); Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (“Joker”)

Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson (“Knives Out”); Noah Baumbach (“Marriage Story”); Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns (“1917”); Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”); Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won (“Parasite”)

Animated Feature: “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”; “I Lost My Body”; “Klaus” (pictured, right); “Missing Link”; “Toy Story 4”

International Feature Film: “Corpus Christi”; “Honeyland”; “Les Miserables”; “Pain and Glory”; “Parasite”

Best Documentary: “American Factory”; “The Cave”; “Edge of Democracy”; “For Sama”; “Honeyland”

Best Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, “The Irishman”; Lawrence Sher, “Joker”; Jarin Blaschke, “The Lighthouse”; Roger Deakins, “1917”; Robert Richardson, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell and Christopher Peterson, “The Irishman”; Mayes C. Rubeo, “Jojo Rabbit”; Mark Bridges, “Joker”; Jacqueline Durran, “Little Women”; Arianne Phillip, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Film Editing: Michael McCusker and Andrew Buckland, “Ford vs. Ferrari”; Thelma Schoonmaker, “The Irishman”; Tom Eagles, “Jojo Rabbit”; Jeff Groth, “Joker”; Yang Jinmo, “Parasite”

Makeup and Hairstyling: “Bombshell” (Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan and Vivian Baker); “Joker” (Nicki Ledermann and Kay Georgiou); “Judy” (Jeremy Woodhead); “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” (Paul Gooch, Arjen Tuiten and David White); “1917” (Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis and Rebecca Cole)

Original Score: Hildur Guðnadóttir, “Joker”; Alexandre Desplat, “Little Women”; Randy Newman, “Marriage Story”; Thomas Newman, “1917”; John Williams, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”

Original Song: I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away, “Toy Story 4”; I’m Gonna Love Me Again, “Rocketman”; I’m Standing With You, “Breakthrough”; Into the Unknown, “Frozen 2”; Stand Up, “Harriet”

Production Design: “The Irishman” - Production Design: Bob Shaw, Set Decoration: Regina Graves; “Jojo Rabbit” - Production Design: Ra Vincent, Set Decoration: Nora Sopková; “1917” - Production Design: Dennis Gassner, Set Decoration: Lee Sandales; “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” - Production Design: Barbara Ling, Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh; “Parasite” - Production Design: Lee Ha Jun, Set Decoration: Cho Won Woo

Sound Editing: “Ford v Ferrari” (Donald Sylvester); “Joker” (Alan Robert Murray); “1917” (Oliver Tarney and Rachael Tate); “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Wylie Stateman); “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Matthew Wood and David Acord)

Sound Mixing: “Ad Astra” (Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson and Mark Ulano); “Ford vs. Ferrari” (Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Steven A. Morrow); “Joker” (Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic and Tod Maitland); “1917” (Mark Taylor and Stuart Wilson); “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler and Mark Ulano)

Visual Effects: “Avengers: Endgame” (Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Matt Aitken and Dan Sudick); “The Irishman” (Pablo Helman, Leandro Estebecorena, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser and Stephane Grabli); “The Lion King” (Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Elliot Newman); “1917” (Guillaume Rocheron, Greg Butler and Dominic Tuohy); “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (Roger Guyett, Neal Scanlan, Patrick Tubach and Dominic Tuohy)

Documentary (Short Subject): “In the Absence”; “Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone If You’re a Girl” (pictured, above); “Life Overtakes Me”; “St. Louis Superman”; “Walk Run Cha-Cha”

Short Film (Animated): “Daughter”; “Hair Love”; “Kitbull”; “Memorable”; “Sister”

Short Film (Live Action): “Brotherhood”; “Nefta Football Club”; “The Neighbor’s Window”; “Saria”; “A Sister”

PREVIEW: 2019 VETERANS FILM FESTIVAL

The experience of those who defend the shores and principles of their homelands will be honoured when the 6^th annual Veterans Film Festival unfurls in Canberra on November 6. The frontline realities lived by soldiers, survivors and first responders from 11 countries will comprise the 2019 program, with 18 short films and seven features to screen at such iconic venues as the Australian War Memorial and the National Film and Sound Archive.

In a major coup for the event, the Governor General of Australia, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC, DSC (Ret’d) and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley have been announced as patrons of the Veterans Film Festival. This alliance continues a strong history of support between the festival and individuals and organisations representing the returned servicemen and women of Australia and their loved ones. On board in 2019 as Presenting Partner is The Australian Defence Force, with mental health advocacy groups Beyond Blue and The Road Home also providing support.

Opening night will see the Australian Premiere of Vladimir Potapov’s The Cry of Silence, an adaption of Tamara Zinberg’s bestselling story of survival set against the Leningrad Blockade of February, 1942. Shot for Russian television but exhibiting a scale and sense of time and place on par with the grandest theatrical features, it stars Alina Sarghina (pictured, above) as Katya, a teenage girl living alone in the war torn city, whose will to survive is rejuvenated when she finds an abandoned infant boy.

Direct from its Australian Premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival will be the French animated drama, The Swallows of Kabul. Co-directed by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec, this stunning, deeply involving film recounts the romance between Mohsen and Zunaira in Kabul in the summer of 1998, when life was ruled over by the Taliban militia. The Closing Night feature will be the U.S. documentary The Interpreters (pictured, above) from directors Sofian Khan and Andres Caballero, an insider’s perspective on the Iraqi and Afghan nationals who work as ‘the voice’ of American forces in foreign combat positions.

Australian films will be represented by encore screenings of Kriv Stenders’ recent box office success Danger Close, the powerfully immersive re-enactment of The Battle of Long Tan; the A.C.T. Premiere of Storm Ashwood’s PTSD drama Escape and Evasion, starring Hugh Sheridan, Firass Dirani and Rena Owen; and, Tom Jeffery’s classic 1979 story of military mateship, The Odd Angry Shot, which has been lovingly restored by NFSA staff to coincide with its 40^th anniversary. Also screening will be a selection of episodes of the online documentary series Voodoo Medics, from director Kristin Shorten.

Four Australian shorts will screen, including Jason Trembath’s scifi-tinged drama Carcerem and Joseph Chebatte and Julian Maroun’s intense Afghan-set morality tale, Entrenched. Also screening will be four films from the U.S., amongst them the breathtaking animated work Minor Accident of War (pictured, right), based upon the true story of B-17 navigator Edward Field, and Brooke Mailhiot’s ode to the military canine, Surviving with Grief.

Indicating the truly global perspective that the Veterans Film Festival encompasses, other countries represented in the short film line-up include Iraq (Ali Mohammed Saeed’s Mosul 980; pictured, below); New Zealand (Pennie Hunt’s Milk); Russia (Irina Kholkina’s Carpe Diem; Sergey Bataev’s Old Warrior); U.K. (Max Mason’s Their War); Iran (Amir Gholami’s The Sea Swells); France (Raphaël Treiner’s Sursis); The Czech Republic (Tereza Hirsch’s Beyond Her Lens); India (Ashish Pandey’s Nooreh); and, Bulgaria (Iva Dimanova’s War Machine).

All films submitted are eligible for the Red Poppy Awards, which will be presented ahead of the Closing Night Film on November 9 at the Australian War Memorial. The award derives its name from a passage in the wartime poem ‘In Flanders Field’ which describes the flowers that grow quickly over the graves of the fallen. The lauded passage was written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae after presiding over the funeral of friend Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres.

Inspired by 'In Flanders Fields', American professor Moina Michael resolved at the war's conclusion in 1918 to wear a red poppy year-round to honour the soldiers who had died in the war, a act of respect that has grown into a global movement today. Past winners of the Best Film Red Poppy include Joe Wright’s Darkest Hour (featuring Gary Oldmans’ Oscar-winning performance as Winston Churchill) and the LGTBIQ-themed documentary Transmilitary, from directors Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson.

The VETERANS FILM FESTIVAL runs November 6-9 in Canberra. Full session and ticket iformation can be found at the official website.

SCIFI FILM FEST HONOUREES REFLECT A PLANET OF FUTURISTIC FILM VISIONARIES

The 6^th annual SciFi Film Festival wrapped in Sydney tonight with an informal award ceremony that honoured ambitious future visions from global independent cinema. Bestowing equal worth upon both feature- and short-film qualifiers, fifteen films from nine countries earned laurels in seven categories.

The German production Das letzte Land (The Final Land), a crowdfunded project written and directed by Marcel Barion, won Best Feature Film. The honour continues a successful festival roll-out for the gritty, thrilling deep-space two-hander, starring Milan Pešl and Torben Föllmer (pictured, above) as disparate personalities in a desperate situation; to date, the film has earned kudos at the Berlin Independent Film Festival and Italy’s Oltre Lo Specchio Film Festival.

The Best Short Film award went to Yohan Faure’s French-Canadian mini-feature Orage par ciel clair (Thunder From a Clear Sky), a riveting examination of the global existential crisis that one advanced civilization must consider when faced with an alien world similar to its own. Starring Fayolle Jean, Mathieu Lepage and Édith Côté-Demers (pictured, right), Faure’s richly cinematic, remarkably accomplished work is a thrilling commentary on media, morality and modern society.

Best Actress honourees went to two of the youngest leads in the 2019 festival lineup. As ‘Una’, the pre-teen adventurer determined to bring her family back together in the Croatian feature Moj dida je pao s Marsa (My Grandpa is an Alien), Lana Hranjec won for a warm, emotional portrayal that called upon her to appear in almost every scene of co-directors Marina Andree Skop and Drazen Zarkovic’s crowdpleaser. Australian actress Emma Wright earned top actress honours for Chris Elena’s short Audio Guide, her performance a largely silent one that captured bouts of wonder, glee, panic and dread with acute insight.

U.S. indie effort Norman, a time travel drama rich in complex narrative beats and DIY filmmaking bravado, was the night’s only double honouree. In his first motion picture lead performance, Stephen Birge took the Best Actor trophy as the title character, a desperate loner consumed with righting a multi-dimensional wrong

all his own doing. Fellow feature debutant Joel Guelzo, who spent more than seven years shepherding his passion project to the screen, earned Best Director, the filmmaker on hand to accept his bevy of local culinary delights in lieu of an actual gong.

Best Actor in a short film went to Yang Jin for his role as social agitator ‘Joe’ in Bo Wei bleak dystopic A.I. vision Ideal Homeland. Australian director Adrian Powers was named Best Director (Short Film) for the Indigenous-themed near-future thriller Brolga, which had its World Premiere on the Opening Night of the festival.

The hotly contested Best Animation category went to two diverse, left-field but richly deserving visions. Feature honours went to Eric Power’s paper-cut masterpiece Attack of the Demons, a giggly, gruesome reworking of the kind of 50s smalltown sci-fi tropes made famous by such B-classics as The Blob and Invasion of The Body Snatchers. Recognised in the Best Animated Short category was Spanish artist Diego Porral, whose caustic social commentary works Monsters Walking and A Day in The Park were highlights of Saturday evening’s Animation Showcase.

The technical categories rewarded works breaking new ground in their chosen field. Best Visual Effects (Feature) went to German auteur Daniel Raboldt’s exciting War of The Worlds-meets-A Quiet Place survival adventure A Living Dog. The VFX short film place-getter was too tight to call, with Luka Hrgović and Dino Julius’ Blade Runner-inspired practical effects spectacle Slice of Life splitting the honour with Alejandro Damiani’s Trump-takedown, M.A.M.O.N.

The mega-budgeted Japanese anime blockbuster Human Lost, from director Fuminori Kizaki, and Gonçalo Almeida’s mystical night-time canine odyssey short Thursday Night won feature and short-film honours respectively in the Best Sound/Music category.

The 2019 SciFi Film Festival was held September 6-8 at the Event Cinemas George Street complex in Sydney.

THANK YOU, BOYS: DEAD POETS SOCIETY AT 30

Heading into the summer of 1989, there was no certainty that Dead Poets Society, the latest film from Disney’s adult-oriented mini-studio Touchstone Pictures, was going to be a hit. Australian director Peter Weir had scored big with his first Hollywood feature, the Oscar-nominated Witness (1985), but stumbled with his follow-up, the critically divisive box-office disappointment Mosquito Coast (1986). It had been two long years since Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), so Robin William's commercial clout as a dramatic leading man was in the balance. And would the rarefied tone of the upscale drama, about the inner struggles of wealthy white kids afforded private school educations, play at all with middle-America’s working-class movie-going masses…?

But Touchstone were confident enough to open it on June 9, an early summer slot that indicated they believed word-of-mouth would give it commercial legs. Test screenings had scored huge approval ratings; the trailer was playing ahead of the feel-good sleeper hit of early ’89, Field of Dreams; and, Williams was boisterously spruiking the life-changing journey he undertook with the young cast and his enigmatic director.

The 30th anniversary of the beloved film allows us to reflect on the journey of Dead Poets Society from page to screen...: 

THE REAL LIFE ‘JOHN KEATING’: Screenwriter Tom Schulman (pictured, right) pinned his inspiration for Williams’ Mr Keating on Professor Samuel F. Pickering Jr, an English professor from the University of Connecticut. The then 15 year-old Schulman was attending Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy when Pickering taught a short course in classic literature. Pickering is on the record as being humbled but a little doubtful of the honour, stating, “Whatever of me is in that character has got to be small. I was a kid and (Schulman) was a child, 23 years go. How much of me could there be in the movie?"

THE REEL LIFE ‘JOHN KEATING’: Of the period’s biggest stars, Mel Gibson was the most sought-after by Disney, though he turned it down. Director Jeff Kanew (Revenge of the Nerds, 1984; Gotcha!, 1985; Troop Beverly Hills, 1991) was attached throughout pre-production, and fought hard to cast a buzzed-about young actor named Liam Neeson. Williams was eyeing the project at this point, but didn’t gel with Kanew. Both were sent packing when Dustin Hoffman began developing it as actor/director. Williams would finally sign on when Weir became attached. Other name actors that auditioned were a young Sam Rockwell and actress Lara Flynn Boyle, who scored a small role as one of the student’s young sister, but was all but cut from the final film.

THE AUSSIE AUTEUR: At the end of a long meeting, Weir was almost out the door when Disney boss Jeffery Katzenberg said, “I’ve got the film for you.” Weir told Premiere magazine, “It's the finest piece of writing I've worked with." Weir was thrilled to work with Williams, but had to set guidelines for the actor. "Robin and I agreed at the start that (the character) was not going to be an entertainer in the classroom,” Weir has said. “That would have been wrong for the film as a whole, so he had to put the brakes on at times." Robert Sean Leonard, cast as ‘Neil’, has said, “Robin would be the first to admit that he is not the star of the film. Peter is the star."

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Young actors Josh Charles and Ethan Hawke (pictured, right) had both been cast under Kanew’s tenure, but were kept waiting a year when director’s changed and ‘Keating’ was re-cast. It was only Charles’ second on-screen role, but said Weir of the young man, “Josh was the one to beat in auditions. No one came close to him in terms of charm and acting ability.” Hawke had starred opposite River Phoenix in Joe Dante’s Explorers four years prior, but bailed on acting to concentrate on study; Dead Poets Society was his return to filmmaking. “I thought getting this part would change my life, I had instilled it with that kind of importance," he has said.

THE WILLIAMS MAGIC: Schulman has admitted that 15percent of Keating’s dialogue is thanks to Williams’ improvisational skill, a force of nature that Weir used with precision and restraint. "When he's inspired, it would be a terrible thing to interrupt him," said the director (pictured, right; Weir, r, on-set with Williams). Some on the set recognized that behind the comedic bluster, there was sadness in Williams, made more pronounced due to his marriage breaking apart during the shoot. Actor Norman Lloyd, who locked horns with Keating in the role of ‘Mr Nolan’, told The Hollywood Reporter, “He masked the whole thing very carefully. It was never evident in the work. It was all kept under control." Ethan Hawke offers a different view, stating, “Even (to me) at 18, it was obvious he was in a tremendous amount of pain. Anybody who was watching knew."

CARPE DIEM: By the end of the summer of 1989, Touchstone’s faith in the film had been rewarded. On a tightly monitored budget of US$16.4million, Dead Poets Society faced off against the summer of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Batman, Ghostbusters II, When Harry Met Sally and Licence to Kill to earn US$95.9million domestically – the 10^th top grossing film of the year. Internationally, it was a blockbuster, adding US$140million. Oscar noticed, giving Tom Schulman the Best Original Screenplay trophy and nominating the film for Best Picture, Director and Actor. So resonant were the experiences of the young men under Keating’s charge, the battle cry of the film, “Oh captain, my captain!” became a global hashtag in the wake of Robin William’s passing in 2014.

EVENT Cinemas are celebrating the 30^th anniversary of Dead Poets Society with rare big-screen sessions nationwide on August 7. Full venue and ticket information is available at their official website.

Acknowledged sources: E! News Online, Box Office Mojo, Robin Williams Fansite, The Hollywood Reporter, People.

2019 SCIFI FILM FESTIVAL FIRST WAVE A FEAST OF GLOBAL FUTURISM

The SciFi Film Festival has announced a selection of its 2019 program that highlights its burgeoning international reputation as Australia’s predominant science fiction and fantasy film celebration. An unprecedented 17 countries will have visionary works play the 6^th annual event, which unspools from September 6-8 at the Event Cinemas George Street complex in Sydney.

Comprised of 9 features and a record 31 short films, the program boasts three World Premieres, four International Premieres and 27 Australian premieres. While the bulk of the program is locked in place, Opening Night honours and the prime Saturday evening session are still being negotiated; both will be announced in the days ahead. (Pictured, above; Gigi Edgley in Ben Alpi's Hashtag)

“The degree of innovation and imagination in this year’s submissions was truly remarkable,” says Program Director Simon Foster, who notes that genre filmmakers are addressing contemporary social and political issues at a time when smart commentary is needed more than ever. “We have a works that explore such themes as gender and sexual identity, family structure, the influence of technology, population control and social media reliance. One of the most challenging films in the festival is a Mexican short featuring a mega-robot P.O.T.U.S. enforcing border wall policy,” says Foster. “Of course, we also have spaceships, ray guns and alien visitors, both good and bad, too.” (Pictured, above: Coco Gillies in Dana-Lee Mierowsky Bennett's Sammy) 

Session by session, here is what audiences can expect from the 2019 SciFi Film Festival:

Session 1: OPENING NIGHT, Friday September 6 at 6.30pm
Short: BROLGA (Dir: Adrian Powers; 15.37 mins, Australia): In a ravaged future-Australia, a solitary hermit guarding a priceless treasure is forced to offer sanctuary to a young girl who is fleeing murderous scavengers. With danger around every corner, can they learn to survive together?
Feature: TBA

Session 2: Friday September 6 at 8.30pm
Short: SOMNIUM (Dir: Mayed Al Qasimi; 14.21 mins, U.K.): An intergalactic postal worker on her final job with her laconic yet trusted ship must face unexpected challenges in the vast endless space.
Feature: THE FINAL LAND (Dir: Marcel Barion; 113 mins, Germany): Two dissimilar men in a small, old spaceship set off in search of a new home. Says Barion, “We made a film about two guys dealing with escape, search, freedom and home, just by designing their world from our very own point of view.” (Pictured, above; Torben Föllmer and Milan Pesl in The Final Land)

Session 3: Saturday September 7 at 10.30am
Short: SPICE FRONTIER (Dirs: Jalil Sadool, Adam Meyer; 8.10 mins, U.S.A.): Centuries after the destruction of Earth, Kent and his cyborg companion, C-LA, embark on a flavor-driven adventure across the dangerous intergalactic trade route known as the 'Spice Road.' (Pictured, below; a scene from the film Spice Frontier)
Feature: ERRATUM 2037 (Dirs: The Benoit Brothers; 77 mins, France): When two teens receive a message from the future, they become wide-eyed heroes in a world at the mercy of space-time paradoxes. By using old school visual effects, The Benoit Brothers adventure pays homage to the great sci-fi productions of the 80's that inspired them.

Session 4: SHORT FILM SHOWCASE, Saturday September 7 at 1.00pm
SPIRAL (Dir: Steven Kerr; 10.53 mins, Australia): Following WW3, a young woman working in an Australian outpost confronts prejudice as she attempts to save a Soviet cosmonaut marooned in space.
HASHTAG (Dir: Ben Alpi; 14.58 mins, U.S.A.): In a looming future where social media celebrities dominate our culture, X is the world’s supreme online icon— but how far must she go to hold on to her popularity?
PERFECT WORLD (Dir: Yuske Fukada; 11.17 mins, Japan): In 2121, citizens in the ‘City’ are judged based on a score of one's efficiency, called a SPEC. Doctor K faces a question between the law and morality when visited by his pregnant ex-lover.
CARCEREM (Dir: Jason Trembath; 6.40 mins, Australia): The lives of career combat officers who choose to remain on the remote desert planet of Carcerem.
IDEAL HOMELAND (Dir: Bo Wei; 15.26 mins, China): In the near future, A.I. controls the population of Earth. Joe, the carrier of AI's sexual experience, does the most mechanical task every day to obtain survival credits but yearns for the freedom of independence.
TRUTH.exe (Dir: Ricky Townsend; 18.30 mins, New Zealand): A young hacktivist is given a USB drive which contains an extraordinary truth; his mission is to upload it to the internet.
THUNDER FROM A CLEAR SKY (Dir: Yohan Faure; 21 mins, Canada): Ten years after the discovery of a remote planetary system likely to sustain the early stages of a civilization. the whole world answers the question: "Should we meet this civilization?"

Session 5: Saturday September 7 at 3.30pm
Short: THURSDAY NIGHT (Dir: Gonçalo Almeida; 7.36 mins, Portugal): An elusive stranger pays Bimbo a visit in the middle of the night to deliver a vital message.
Feature: A LIVING DOG (Dir: Daniel Raboldt; 94 mins, Germany): The war between mankind and intelligent machines has begun. In the vast emptiness of northern Scandinavia, deserter Tomasz meets Lilja, the last survivor of a resistance group, who is determined to fight the superior machines. With every minute that passes the machines get closer, their sensors programmed to detect human voice patterns. If you speak, even whisper - you die.

Session 6: Saturday September 7 at 6.00pm
Short: SLICE OF LIFE (Dirs: Luka Hrgović, Dino Julius; 14 mins, Croatia): Forced to live on the edge of humanity and morality, one lonesome, low-life drug dealer will try to change his life against all odds.
Feature: TBA

Session 7: AN EVENING OF ANIMATION, Saturday September 7 at 8.30pm
MONSTERS WALKING (Dir: Diego Porral; 1.05 mins, Spain): 'Monsters Walking' is a short film about monsters that walk.
TACIT BLUE (Dir: Wenkai Duan; 9.14 mins, China): Carl must rescue his daughter Alice, who has been kidnapped and turned into a killing machine.
GUSTAAKH (THE ARROGANT) (Dir: Vijesh Rajan; 3.49 mins, India): In a future cyberpunk city, a concerned citizen rises up to the occasion when an publicity hungry dictator fails to protect his people.
A DAY IN THE PARK (Dir: Diego Porral; 2.55 mins, Spain): A grandfather explains to his grandkid how things used to be... or maybe how they are now.
ODDS AND EVENS (Dir: Michał Czyż, 3.36 mins, Poland): A nameless astronaut’s journey through the universe and beyond human comprehension.
AVARYA (Dir: Gökalp Gönen; 19.58 mins, Turkey): Hoping to find a habitable planet, a human becomes trapped in his own ship after his robot overseer finds every single candidate planet unsuitable.
M.A.M.O.N. (Dir: Alejandro Damiani; 5.00 mins, Mexico): A war breaks out between a Trump-like mecha-robot and several stereotypical Mexican Latinos.
ATTACK OF THE DEMONS (Dir: Eric Power; 72 mins, U.S.A): For centuries, a demonic cult has been plotting the destruction of mankind. When a small Colorado town is overrun by a legion of mutating demons, three non-demon hunter friends must use every skill their minds can fathom to stave off the demon apocalypse.

Session 8: Sunday September 8 at 10.30am
Short: CURIOSITY (Dir: Lukas Pace; 10.20 mins, U.K.): A lonely 10 year old girl named Katie one day stumbles upon a forgotten robot of days gone by and mistakenly activates it.
Feature: MY GRANDPA IS AN ALIEN (Dir: Marina Andree Skop, Drazen Zarkovic; 79 mins, Croatia): Una and her new robot friend have 24 hours to find her Grandpa, who was kidnapped by aliens. (Pictured, right; Lana Hranjec in My Grandpa is An Alien)

Session 9: WOMEN IN SCIFI, Sunday September 8 at 1.00pm
PARIS YOU GOT ME (Dir: Julie Boehm; 9.15 mins, Germany): The street artist George lures Ksenia into his magic world of art illusions.
I-RIS (Dir: Leila Garrison; 12.11 mins, U.S.A.): In a world where people can get eye implants to adjust what they see, complications with one girl’s operation cause her traumas to manifest visually.
DEER BOY (Dir: Katarzyna Gondek; 15.00 mins, Poland): A hunter's son, born with antlers, learns that each man kills the thing he loves.
TRANSMISSION (Dir: Rebecca Gardiner; 14.45 mins, Australia): Desperate to find a missing research team, Commander Sterling and her crew venture deep into an unknown planet.
SAMMY (Dir: Dana-Lee Mierowsky Bennett; 14.00 mins, Australia): In a war torn Australia, 10-year-old Sammy must build a hot air balloon so she and her little brother can find their parents.
UNREGISTERED (Dir: Sophia Banks; 15 mins, U.S.A.): Los Angeles, the not too distant future: the government limits one child per home as a solution to overpopulation. The love between Rekker and Ata force them to question the state of society - as well as confront a secret of her own.
MOBIUS BOND (Dir: Emilija Riviere; 15 mins, Lithuania): A girl experiences strange body symptoms, which become an evidence of a Mobius-like topology of the Universe.
EINSTEIN-ROSEN (Dir: Olga Osorio; 9 mins, Spain): Teo claims he has found a wormhole. His brother Óscar does not believe him... at least not for now.
LAB RAT (Dir: Nour Wazzi; 15.28 mins, U.K.): A group of scientists trapped in a lab learn that one of them is an A.I..... and it has been deceiving them.

Session 10: Sunday September 8 at 3.30pm
Short: AUDIO GUIDE (Dir: Chris Elena; 9 mins, Australia): Says Elena, “It's about a woman in an art gallery listening to an Audio Guide that then tells her how everyone is going to die, revealing the real history of the world and the artworks.”
Feature: NORMAN (Dir Joel Guelzo; 105 mins, U.S.A.): Norman becomes trapped and isolated in the past, jeopardizing life in both realities. He must invent a way back to the future before the world collapses.

Session 11: CLOSING NIGHT, Sunday September 8 at 6.00pm
Short: FACE SWAP (Dirs: David Gidali, Einat Tubi, 5.01 mins, U.S.A.): Convincing his wife to try out a new A.I. technology to spice up their sex life, a husband ends up getting a bit more spice than he bargained for.
Feature: SPECIAL PRESENTATION - STAY TUNED (Dir: Peter Hyams, 88 mins, U.S.A.): A husband and wife are sucked into a hellish television reality and have to survive a gauntlet of twisted versions of popular shows. Criminally underseen when first released in 1992, this thrilling, hilarious satire explores media saturation and society’s obsession with ‘The Tube’. (Pictured, right; John Ritter and friends in Peter Hyams' Stay Tuned).

SCREEN-SPACE is a media partner of the SciFi Film Festival. Managing Editor Simon Foster is the Program Director of the festival.