PREVIEW: 2020 BERLIN SCI-FI FILMFEST

The COVID curse has forced the festival out of theatres and into living rooms, but the quality and quantity of science-fiction films coming out of the 2020 Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest remains unrivalled on the genre film circuit.

A mammoth 110 films from 28 countries will bulk up the 4th edition, held once again under the stewardship of co-directors Alexander Pfander, Isabella Hermann and Anthony Straeger. The festival has had to abandon its long-held alliance with the Babylon Theatre in Mitte, instead screening this year’s films via the XERB Virtual Cinema platform. However, The Babylon Kino is not forgotten; it will be represented in the line-up by Martin Reinhart and Virgil Widrich’s experimental short, tx-reverse 360°, a mesmerising work shot at 10K resolution with an OmniCam-360° rig inside the iconic venue.

Seven features will screen at the Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest, each one exemplifying the vastness of vision the genre offers. Brett Ryan Bonowicz premieres the second part of his Artist Depiction documentary series, with profiles of speculative visualists William K. Hartmann, Pamela Lee and Pat Rawlings; indie sector giggles are assured in Ryan Barton-Grimley’s buddy comedy/horror romp, Hawk and Rev Vampire Slayers and Justin Timpane’s A Christmas Cancellation, a ‘Purple Rose of Cairo’-style TV-world-meets-real-world charmer; the ‘post-apocalyptic dystopia’ slot is filled this year by A Feral World, David Liban’s stunningly-designed mother’s journey drama; and, Neil Rowe’s lo-fi/hi-energy invasion thriller, Alien Outbreak (pictured, above).

For the more adventurous viewer, there is Mark Christensen’s underground experimental 'lost film', Box Head Revolution (pictured, below), a cinematic journey which began two decades ago with early digital-video cameras and no budget and which has been recovered and reinstated to its intended ultra-bizarre status; and, Søren Peter Langkjær Bojsen’s Danish oddity, A Report on the Party and Guests, in which a humanlike creature slowly reveals his mission reporting on the dwindling human activity in an increasingly automated world.

The remainder of the 2020 Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest is the kind of short film showcase for which the event has become famous worldwide. Arguably, the centrepiece will be The Dach Shorts Session, a cross-section of the finest works from Germany, Austria and Switzerland; amongst the roster are Marcus Hanisch’s Q; ghostly remote effect, Franz Ufer’s existential drama, The Ticket; and, the European Premiere of directors Evgeny Kalachikhin and Ruben Dauenhauer’s post-apocalyptic mini-feature, CYCLE 2217.

Symbolising the Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest’s standing internationally is the collaboration they share with China’s Blue Planet Science Fiction Film Festival. This year, seven Chinese short productions will screen to German sci-fi fans ahead of their homeland premieres in Nanjing; they are Cupcake (Dir: Zhang Dawei); Recluse (Dir: Ou Dingding); Basement Millionaire (Dir: Zha Shan); 16 (Dir:Xin Chengjiang); Isabella (Director: Wei Qihong); and, The Chef (Dir: Yuan Gen). A special highlight will be the premiere of Through the Fog, a co-production between the Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest and the Chinese festival, from directors Peng Xiangjun and Luan Luyang.

The 2020 BERLIN SCI-FI FILMFEST is available to watch via XERB Virtual Cinema from November 27 to December 7. Numbers are limited, so be quick. Session passes and ticket packages can be purchased here.

MEET THE FILMMAKERS: MARK TOIA

Part 11 of The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival IN CONVERSATION Series, hosted by Festival Director and Screen-Space Managing Editor, Simon Foster.

MONSTERS OF MAN (Australia, 130 mins) WORLD PREMIERE A robotics company and a corrupt CIA agent position themselves to win a lucrative military contract, illegally dropping four prototype androids into the infamous Golden Triangle to perform a live field test on unsuspecting drug lords . But volunteer doctors providing aid to locals witness the murder of a village and become the targets.

Screening as the OPENING NIGHT film of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL.

Full ticketing information and session details available here. 

SSFFF: What have been the science-fiction works – books, films, art of any kind – that have inspired your work and forged your love for the genre?

MARK: I don't really read science fiction books but I do watch a lot of science fiction movies. I’m a big fan of the way Ridley Scott does sci-fi. His production values, world building and epic storytelling is always inspirational. A really well done sci-fi film is when a director goes for current day realism, rather than over the top Hollywood gloss. The more real the movie is, the more believable it is and the more immersed in it I become. Films like Sunshine, Ex Machina, Arrival, The Martian and District 9 really caught my attention. With Monsters Of Man I wanted to try and establish a reality; if this did happen, how would our heroes react in this situation?  It's something I asked each of the actors, and all of them said they would just run and scream or freeze and be killed. So that's sort of what we did, because it's a real life human reaction. Also, if a human is thrown across the jungle and they are wrapped around a rock, 99.9% of the time that person in real life would be dead or terribly injured. In a lot of movies they get up, dust themselves off and keep on swinging. So that's something I didn't really want to get into. I didn't want to get into this fake world where everyone was very tough and ‘Hollywood invincible’.

SSFFF: How did the original concept for your film take shape? What aspects of your film’s narrative and your protagonist’s journey were most important to you? 

MARK: The original concept took shape in the back of a van in the middle of Vietnam. I was just playing around with a friend, thinking of movie ideas, and I decided to head down the robot route because I like sci-fi. I enjoyed movies like Predator and Terminator as a kid and even though they were big giant Hollywood blockbusters, I always thought it would be nice to do a bit of a real-world version of those. Our story is completely different [but] the genre is the same - an alien or a monster chasing a whole bunch of people around trying to kill them.  People in a panic trying to survive through a merit of different scenarios; that always makes for great edge-of-the-seat storytelling.

SSFFF: Were the resources, facilities and talent pool required to bring your film to life easily sourced?

MARK: It was easy to cast our film. Obviously there are thousands of aspiring actors out there, ready to throw their life on the line to get a great role in a movie to build their body work up to prove to the world how awesome they are (laughs) I was pretty much doing the same thing. I didn't want to just cast in Australia, so I spread our casting net out into America as well. I wanted to dig deep into the talent pool around the world because our movie was technically full of international doctors and I so I wanted to have a more international cast, French, German, American, Aussie, etc. We had well over 2000 people self tape / cast for the film, and we broke it down to the group that put everything into their characters. I was so blessed, so lucky to have actors that were so talented, they made my life so easy. Everyone knew their  lines; there was no dicking around, no bullshit, no egos, everyone got on. I was very fortunate. (Pictured, below; Jessica Blackmore, in Monsters of Man)

SSFFF: Describe for us the very best day you had in the life cycle of your film…

MARK: We were quite fortunate because every day was like the best day. It was like a holiday for me. Wrapping the shoot was probably the most disappointing day because I didn't want it to end (laughs). Starting and finishing the edit, great day. Selling the film, [dealing with] sales agents and distribution companies, not so good days. Deciding to self distribute my own film was a good day. I think finally releasing the film will be a good day. When you fund your own film, you can dictate a lot of the rules, which makes life a whole tonne easier. I think if there are lots of fingers in the pie, a lot of producers telling you how to suck eggs, and a lot of executives telling you how to direct a movie…[that] would probably drive me nuts. But doing it the way we did it was a complete and utter holiday, very enjoyable, lots of fun. And I think that fun and excitement translates on the big screen. 

SSFFF: Having guided your film from idea to completion, what lessons and advice would you offer a young science-fiction filmmaker about to embark on a similar journey?

MARK: It's great to think big, to be ambitious. But my advice is when you haven't got much money, only attempt what you know you can execute well. The modern audience is very well versed and spoiled with amazing content with great production value. If you do a substandard job it will be pointed out very quickly and it will reflect in obviously bad sales and online chitchat.  Movies can be small and simple, but they still have to be well executed.  Making a sci-fi film is quite tough because there's lots of visual effects that need to be completed and if you can't do those well, then don't do it. That's my only advice. Funding the film, producing a film, executing a film and selling a film are all very tough and tedious things to do. So any person that is able to make a good solid film is a winner in my book.

MEET THE FILMMAKERS: ROBERT D'OTTAVI

Part 10 of The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival IN CONVERSATION Series, hosted by Festival Director and Screen-Space Managing Editor, Simon Foster.

THE TRAVELER (Australia, Dir: Robert D’Ottavi; 7 mins) In the near future, an isolated man is tortured by his precious memories.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: "During the COVID-19 era, I too found myself recollecting the days of old. As time went by, I felt that we as a civilisation stopped looking forward and only focused on behind. Like The Traveler’s lead character, I believe that we are stuck. The Traveler is about the necessity to move on. The past is a tide; it can suck you in, and if you are not careful, it will hold on to you forever, refusing to let go...”

Screening in The AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM SHOWCASE on Saturday November 21 from 10.30am at Actors Centre Australia.

 

SIMON: What have been the science-fiction works – books, films, art of any kind – that have inspired your work and forged your love for the genre?

ROBERT: The science-fiction genre has always been incredibly close to my heart. Growing up as a fan of comic books and such, the genre was a natural fit for me. I first really fell in love with the genre on the page when I read Orwell’s 1984 and Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man in high school. Both texts taught me how to use the science-fiction genre to tackle political and psychological ideas and themes in really metaphoric and unique ways. Following my exposure to those novels, I saw Christopher Nolan’s 2014 epic, Interstellar. I was absolutely floored by the way Nolan tied together such a massive story with the relatively simple thesis that love can transcend time and space. It was just incredible and has stuck with me ever since. Of course, as I got older, my palette grew. Sooner rather than later, I was watching Russian films like Solaris, foreign flicks like High-Life and low-budget American films such as Under The Skin and Moon, all influences on The Traveler.

SIMON: How did the original concept for your film take shape? What aspects of your film’s narrative and your protagonist’s journey were most important to you? 

ROBERT: Funnily enough, I conceived the idea at the height of the COVID-19 lockdown in South Australia. I was incredibly alone and felt unbearably isolated from all those I love. I longed for the days of old, the times in which I could get a beer with some friends or go to the beach. Simply put, I missed the normal days. These thoughts and beliefs 100% influenced the struggle of The Traveler’s title character. The protagonist’s journey was a cautionary one. I wanted the audience to instantly relate to the character, and being in lockdown, it only made sense to jump right into a memory of the past, with friends drinking, and having fun. The film never divulges into a time-travel story. I felt that we as a culture cannot just go back to a time before COVID. But we can move on. We have to.

SIMON: Does the ‘science-fiction’ genre have deep roots in the art and cultural history of your homeland? Were the resources, facilities and talent pool required to bring your film to life easily sourced?

ROBERT: Being an incredibly low-budget sci-fi flick (total budget was $200 including GST), everything in the film was easily sourced. The Traveler’s costume was beautifully designed and created by Matthew Bagnara, my second cousin. The character’s beat-up, blue Mazda ute was my Grandfather’s (the taped-up steering wheel was included). The lead actor was one of my best friends. Everything in the film was personally sourced, and that was really the only way to do it. Making the film, I knew there was very little to spend, and instead of fearing that budget restraint, I embraced it.

SIMON: Describe for us the very best day you had in the life cycle of your film…

ROBERT: In all honesty, and I don’t mean this to sound superficial, the literal best day in the life cycle of this film was hearing it had been selected for this very festival. Knowing that other people felt something whilst watching The Traveler was so reassuring and inspiring. It really gave me as a young filmmaker the confidence to keep pushing and try new things.

SIMON: Having guided your film from idea to completion, what lessons and advice would you offer a young science-fiction filmmaker about to embark on a similar journey?

ROBERT: I will keep this answer really simple. My Dad used to tell me that worrying or stressing about something is quite often the worst part. If I could say anything to a young sci-fi filmmaker, I would just say this: Stop worrying, and just do it.

MEET THE FILMMAKERS: HUGO DUVERGEY

Part 9 of The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival IN CONVERSATION Series, hosted by Festival Director and Screen-Space Managing Editor, Simon Foster.

THE OTHER SIDE (Australia, Dir: Hugo Duvergeyt; 10 mins) For years, Bea hid and bore this oddity inside her, the Forbidden Thing. But today, she might have compromised herself and has to escape if she wants to survive. Will her journey to the Other Side allow her to embrace her true inner nature or will she become another invisible casualty of the society she was raised in?

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: "I remember advice given by one of our script writing teachers: your idea has to come from the guts. You are gonna spend months working on that idea, so you better be passionate about it. I sat down, looked at all the random words written in my notebook in the past few days and dove into the deepest parts of my mind. The next day or so, I showed in front of the class a poorly designed, untitled and very short slide presentation and started to talk about that strange world and its main character. The Other Side was born...”

Screening in The AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM SHOWCASE on Saturday November 21 from 10.30am at Actors Centre Australia.

 

SIMON: What have been the science-fiction works – books, films, art of any kind – that have inspired your work and forged your love for the genre?

HUGO: Regarding my love for the genre, a lot of the classics: Blade Runner, Dune, Foundation, Gattaca, Star Wars. That said, I try to avoid getting in the “reference game” when I develop my own creative work. It has to feel personal so it can “click” in my brain.

SIMON: How did the original concept for your film take shape? What aspects of your film’s narrative and your protagonist’s journey were most important to you? 

HUGO: I thought about how people get polarized so fast on the Internet nowadays and how there is often barely room for discussion between different opinions. I started to imagine what would happen if that kind of environment was applied to a core aspect of humanity. What mattered to me the most was that the world should feel very close to ours. So close that the audience would only realize progressively the “difference”. The second most important element was that I wanted to avoid falling into convenient simplifications - the good ideology versus the evil ideology, the perfect promised land. Nothing should be easy and lazy.

SIMON: Does the ‘science-fiction’ genre have deep roots in the art and cultural history of your homeland? Were the resources, facilities and talent pool required to bring your film to life easily sourced?

HUGO: France has a long history with science-fiction, going back to Cyrano de Bergerac in the 17th century or, more notoriously, Jules Verne in the 19th century. The later half of the 20th century saw the emergence of numerous writers such as Pierre Boulle and René Barjavel or comic book artists such as Moebius. Despite this very rich history in literature and comics, there are very few French sci-fi movies. Up to today, there seems to be a big reluctance from most producers to invest in this genre for whatever reason (not as “noble” as real dramas, not as profitable as comedies, not worth competing with big American blockbusters). But it may change in the future, as genres such science-fiction and heroic-fantasy are more and more “mainstream” and openly appreciated by younger generations. My film was not done in France but in Australia, where I live for more than three years now. I think the most difficult thing to source for my film were the locations: I had quite a few for a short film, and a limited time to find them. Most of my crew - fellow school students and graduates - came quite late because my film was the last to shoot in my intake and we all had a pretty challenging year so far. Regarding the other resources, most of the gears were provided by the school and locking the main cast - via a standard audition process - was quite easy.

SIMON: Describe for us the very best day you had in the life cycle of your film…

HUGO: I think the best day would be the rehearsals between the two main female protagonists: I love this sensation of seeing a performance happen in front of your eyes, making the story you wrote come to life. There is no more past or future, only the very present. At this moment, I forgot all about the stress of unsolved issues, unplanned obstacles, deadlines and expectations. I was safe in a bubble of enjoyment.

SIMON: Having guided your film from idea to completion, what lessons and advice would you offer a young science-fiction filmmaker about to embark on a similar journey?

HUGO: Work hard, communicate as much and as well as you can with your cast and crew, be nice with them. Don’t be obsessed with (impossible) perfection but aim for greatness. The trip is never gonna happen on a sleeping ocean but keep the ship moving forward no matter what.

MEET THE FILMMAKERS: LUIS ARNET

Part 8 of The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival IN CONVERSATION Series, hosted by Festival Director and Screen-Space Managing Editor, Simon Foster.

EQUIVALENCE (Australia, Dir: Luis Arnet; 10 mins) Convinced that they are ‘the human’ and obsessed with being the only one of their genetic makeup in the universe, Hunters stalk their Equivalent. The only difference between human and equivalent is the slow oxygenation of the equivalent’s blood when a mortal wound is administered. Blue blood is the only key to the hunter’s chase. The key to equivalence...

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT: "I've always loved the sci-fi films of the 70's and 80's - for the stories they told, for the unique perspectives of the filmmakers, for the practical effects they employ, and for the tactility of the worlds they built. Equivalence is a story of singularity, a story of vanity and Envy, but it is also a story of humanity. It is set in some far off age, but i feel its relatability is not far off from the world and time we live in now. I hope you enjoy my trip to another universe.”

Screening in The AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM SHOWCASE on Saturday November 21 from 10.30am at Actors Centre Australia. 

SIMON: What have been the science-fiction works – books, films, art of any kind – that have inspired your work and forged your love for the genre?

 LUIS: I think it would be foolish for any sci-fi creator to say they haven’t been in some way influenced by Frank Herbert's classic novel DUNE. Herbert’s ideological, ecological, and theological ideas and thoughts inspire each of my sci-fi projects. EQUIVALENCE was specifically inspired by Herbert, with a story more thoughtful than it may initially appear. My other great inspirations are the fantastic sci-fi films of the ’70s and ’80s. I'm completely enamored by the miniature and practical effects of that period of science fiction filming, along with such fantastic narratives as Blade Runner, Star Wars, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Logans Run. EQUIVALENCE draws from all my inspirations. 

SIMON: How did the original concept for your film take shape? What aspects of your film’s narrative and your protagonist’s journey were most important to you? 

LUIS: I had a really strong need to tell a story based around concepts of duality, obsession, and vanity. I eventually came upon the lens for these concepts in a story of androids and replicants, or ‘Equivalents’. The main character is very flawed, obsessed with being the singular version of themself in the universe. Throughout the film, they learn the true vanity of their goal and what it is to have duality, or ‘Equivalence’. As the initial idea for the story progressed I found I needed a logical way into this universe, a background for why the technology exists, and why it malfunctions in the way it does. I found that entrance via a mix of technology-based with theology. What would push a future technological civilization to become completely controlled by religion? My answer: If the religion, through means of technology, could provide a devout with a physical and reachable ‘Second Life’. And, what mishap would occur for the original Devout and Second Life Body to exist simultaneously? A religious schism. A group believing humans should only live through one life cycle, and some sabotaging of the religion’s technology. These were the background details to the Equivalence universe, however to create tangible and engaging sci-fi, the creator must [provide] information on the world which your story inhabits. It deepens the believability and impact of its events. Within this story of duality, vanity, and obsession, the choice I made with the ending of the film is a risky one, but one that also really drives home my message.

 

SIMON: Does the ‘science-fiction’ genre have deep roots in the art and cultural history of your homeland? Were the resources, facilities and talent pool required to bring your film to life easily sourced?

LUIS: The science-fiction genre has deep roots within me, and I would feel at liberty saying that Australia shares many of those same roots. The landscapes of Australia are already otherworldly; just living in this country gives such a great deal of inspiration, and opportunity, for the filming of sci-fi stories. Finding talent and crew is always a hard part of any production, but I’m lucky enough to have a great group of friends who have a variety of talents. As a director, you need to know how to coordinate people and I've had a great variety of talents to pick from in this film. In terms of making sets and props, that's really up to chance, and up to how much random clutter you’ve collected over the months of pre-production to be able to nail it to your particleboard sets, or Eva foam props. It’s the only time where hoarding really does come in handy.

SIMON: Describe for us the very best day you had in the life cycle of your film…

LUIS: Funnily enough, the best day in production was also the day we had to entirely reshoot. I had decided to shoot at a beach, to thematically open up the characters in the finale of the film by placing them in a stark and expansive location. The first time we shot at this location, we slightly bumbled the tide times, had hardly any time to shoot, and nearly got stranded on a sandbank. This may seem like a horrible day in a low budget production, but it was also the day that brought the crew and I closer together. We still joke about the misfortunes of that day, and the extremely oily burgers we ate at a beach cafe afterward. That shoot truly exemplified to me, that within the production of a film, it isn’t how perfect the shoot went, or how great the shots you got, that you remember, it's the experiences you have with the people you’re working with. Relationships are the truly important things in this business.

SIMON: Having guided your film from idea to completion, what lessons and advice would you offer a young science-fiction filmmaker about to embark on a similar journey?

LUIS: Work within your means, but don’t let your means dictate the story you want to tell. If working in the sci-fi genre has taught me anything, it's that ‘anything’ can be accomplished. You may not have studio resources and budgets, but with a little ingenuity and a Cinematic-MacGyver outlook, you can do a lot. If embarking on your first sci-fi project, don’t get hung up on all that you can’t possibly do, get obsessed with what you can do, and then work out ways to do what you can't. Think about the characters and story foremost, and truly understand what your story means. And probably most important of all: don’t give up, finish what you start. Do all that, and who knows? Maybe you’ll become the next George Lucas.