4th Annual Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival

EMP|SFM in partnership with SIFF present the fourth annual Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival Saturday, February 7, 2009 at the Seattle Cinerama Theater. The festival brings together industry professionals in filmmaking and the genres of science fiction and fantasy to encourage and support new, creative additions to science fiction and fantasy cinema arts.

Tickets available at the SIFF website.

MISSION & OBJECTIVE: The Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival promotes and encourages an awareness, appreciation and understanding of the art of science fiction and fantasy cinema. Its mandate is to create a forum for creative artistry in science fiction and fantasy film and recognize the most outstanding short films produced.

JURY: A nationally recognized panel of distinguished film, television, literature, and science fiction industry professionals, peers and film critics will view and rate the twenty selected films to determine the festival winners.

SFFSFF 2009 Jury:
Erik Courtney
Jesse Harris
Daniel Myrick
Marc Scott Zicree
Daniel Thornton
Aristomenis Tsirbas
Chris Weitz

FESTIVAL AWARDS
Grand Prize
Second Place
Third Place
Douglas Trumbull Award for Best Special Effects
Audience Favorite

FESTIVAL FORMAT: 10 short films will screen in the first session 4:00pm – 6:00pm; 10 short films will screen in the second session 7:00pm – 9:00pm. An awards ceremony follows the second session.

This trailer is of “Collector”, by Dempsey Tillman, which will be shown in the second session.

Here are the films that will be shown, with descriptions:

FIRST SESSION

BAIT
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 2006
Running Time: 14 minutes
Director: Alex Pearson

Bait tells the story of two mens’ regular fishing trip which descends into chaos, when one man decides to use the other as bait to catch sirens that live in the lake below them.

Bugbear
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 9 minutes
Director: Tim Thompson

Bug, the subject of an experiment, is given the key to the locked door in his cell. The only problem is a ferocious creature lives on the other side of that door. When Bug gets a new bunkmate he discovers that there isn’t enough space for both of them. Bug must make the decision he dreads, find out what lies beyond the door.

The Communicators
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 10 minutes
Director: Justin Boyes

Cadet Sally of the Alien Contact Research Organization receives a transmission from an alien planet and the fate of the world depends on her decoding it in time!

Hose
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 13 minutes
Director: Kevin Watkins

An inquisitive garden hose in search of adventure discovers that the grass isn’t greener on the other side – in fact there isn’t even any grass…

Notes from the Acrid Plain with Burton Hoary, Vol. 7
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 14 minutes
Director: Jonathan Ashley

Naturalist Burton Hoary hosts a survey of the toxic landscape known as the ‘Acrid Plain,’ peopled by the masked descendants of the human race. This chapter focuses on the Harvesters, their obscure practices and the perils they face.

Outsource
Country: USA
Year: 2007
Running Time: 12 minutes
Director: Daniel Trezise

Max is about to awaken his long dormant desire for human contact. In his tiny cell of pure function and wall-to-wall screens, he performs menial tasks for the bourgeoisie through a robotic pod. When he discovers a way to communicate with Alice in the neighboring cell, he’ll stop at nothing to reach her.

Scion
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 12 minutes
Director: Michael Rossetti

Deep in an abandoned factory lives Scion; lonely and crippled, he hobbles along, trying to create a companion. When a mysterious man stumbles into the factory Scion eagerly follows him and the two develop an odd relationship, ultimately changing Scion’s insulated existence forever.

The Whistler
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 11 minutes
Director: Avram Dodson

Who was that masked man? He’s The Whistler, and he whistles a carefree tune. Or he did. Now his mask is slipping. His whistle, dry. But Professor Crime doesn’t stop for existential angst. Looks like our hero picked the wrong day for an identity crisis.

Wishing Well
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 9 minutes
Director: Ryan Kirk

A lonely, curious girl discovers a wishing well hidden deep in the woods and tries to make contact with the creature that lives on the other side. Although the creature’s world is controlled by a great council, who will not allow him to speak to the girl, the two fight to form a friendship.

Wormhole Chasers
Country: USA
Year: 2007
Running Time: 4 minutes
Director: Gregory Zymet

According to the logarithmic map of the universe, the poles are aligned, which can only mean one thing: a wormhole is about to open in the corner of Marjorie Adam’s apartment.

SECOND SESSION

Abigail
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 12 minutes
Director: Emily Yoshida

A teenage girl disappears under mysterious circumstances only to become an international icon overnight. When her best friend goes looking for her, she must navigate environments both real and virtual to find out what her disappearance means not only to their friendship, but to all of society.

Beatgirl – A Piece of Action!
Country: USA
Year: 2006
Running Time:
Director: Martin Leeper

A brief excursion by a hero who likes the dance as much as the fight, hitting the beats of the music and beating the hits of the bad guys!

Collector
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 15 minutes
Director: Dempsey Tillman

Justin Sayer (Brad Renfro) suffers from a mental illness which causes vivid hallucinations. The voices in his head have caused him to isolate himself from the world and from his two year old son. After several unsuccessful attempts by visiting therapists to cure him, Justin attempts to hide his illness from a new therapist. This therapist is unlike the others.

Eel Girl
Country: New Zealand, United Kingdom
Year: 2007
Running Time: 5 minutes
Director: Paul Campion

In a secure military laboratory, a scientist has become obsessed with the half-human half eel creature he’s studying. When she beckons him to her, it’s the call of a siren…

F A D E
Country: Australia
Year: 2008
Running Time: 15 minutes
Director: Vincent Taylor

Ryan and Anna’s marriage is in ruins but they have decided to fulfill one last obligation to visit Ryan’s dying father. Driving through a cold and isolated landscape they are confronted by a bizarre phenomenon, which will change their lives forever.

The Heist
Country: Canada
Year: 2007
Running Time: 4 minutes
Director: Ben Peters

Has a determined inventor finally found a means to possess the object of his desire? Sitting in a bathrobe, surrounded by his previous experiments, an inventor toils away on his latest, greatest project.

Hirsute
Country: Canada
Year: 2007
Running Time: 14 minutes
Director: A.J. Bond

Kyle, a young scientist, is struggling to build a time machine when he is confronted by an arrogant future version of himself. Shocked to discover that his future holds a preoccupation with body-hair removal and boiled eggs, Kyle vows to change the course of his life.

Six Impossible Things
Country: USA
Year: 2008
Running Time: 13 minutes
Director: Patrick VandenBussche

A child prodigy, left to be raised by her clueless father, builds an emotionally unstable robot to help fill the void left by her departed mother.

Things Last
Country: Netherlands
Year: 2007
Running Time: 8 minutes
Director: Constant van Hoeven

What if the human soul can be used as an infinite powersource? What if you are the last person alive?

The Tiny Spaceship
Country: USA
Year: 2006
Running Time: 17 minutes
Director: Thomas O’Connor

Two Men. One (tiny) Spaceship. No Destination.

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