Friday 21 February, 6.00pm

Dir: Victor Danell / Sweden / 115 mins / VICTORIAN PREMIERE
Denise is a rebellious teenager from a foster family who suspects that her father is not dead but rather abducted by aliens. With the help of a group of enthusiasts who track and investigate UFO encounters, she decides to uncover the truth and embarks on a risky adventure that takes them into a world filled with conspiracy theories, unexplained phenomena, and... parallel dimensions. "'UFO Sweden' is a visually stunning piece of nostalgia full of heart and excitement." - Dread Central
WINNER - Best Feature Film; 2024 Sydney Science Fiction Film festival.

Session features an introduction by Festival Director Simon Foster and a selection of trailers from the 2025 program.

Friday 21 February, 9.00pm

Dir: Miguel Llanso / Estonia / 89 mins / VICTORIAN PREMIERE
On a summer break, Mia and her friends try a meditation app that delivers a mind-bending experience. When a police investigation reveals darker forces at play, and one of the girls ends up in a hospital, Mia grapples with the choice to save them or join them on their bewilderingly surreal journey. Watch trailer.

Screens with Screens with CHRYSANTHEMUM
Dir: Raúl Díez Rodríguez / Spain / 6 mins /
The crash of a young astronaut on a desolate planet Earth is only the beginning of an uncomfortable relationship of tension and seduction between her injured, dying body and a mysterious figure who may be Death himself.

Saturday February 22, 1.00pm

Dir: Katie Dellamaggiore; USA, 90 mins | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

An intimate portrait of life in Green Bank, West Virginia, home to the world's most sensitive radio telescope and the only U.S. town that bans Wi-Fi and cell phones. In this unplugged Appalachian community, scientists are on the hunt for signs of extraterrestrial life while residents experience everyday moments of joy and loss. But when government defunding threatens the telescope's future, the town must consider which connections matter most.

Screens with a pre-recorded QA with director Katie Dellamaggiore.

Saturday February 22, 3.30pm

Dir: Don Chaffey; USA, 89 mins
A young inventor bets it all on his latest idea – the Canine Home Protection System, or ‘C.H.O.M.P.S.’, a robot dog that has super strength, x-ray vision and can detect crimes being committed. But when the android mutt proves ground-breaking, a sleazy businessman will stop at nothing to secure it. Wesley Eure, the beautiful Valerie Bertinelli and an ensemble of great ‘70s comic actors bring to life this delightful romp.

Screens with COLESLAW CRISIS Dir: Cam Whipple; USA, 2.3 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
When a celestial star demands coleslaw, only one man is brave enough to serve this disgusting side dish.

Saturday February 22, 6.00pm

Dir: Fabio D'Orta / Italy / 75 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
There is an ancient villa where desperate people have the opportunity to revive their fortunes by selling their bodies to mysterious entities in exchange of money. When huge and age old creatures emerge from the deep woods surrounding the villa, a series of strange and sinister events prompt three unlikely guests to band together in a desperate escape.
JURY AWARD WINNER - Fantasporto, 2024; Slamdance 2024.
BEST DIRECTOR – 2024 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival

 Screens with THE RECLAIMERS Dir: Jason Sheedy; USA, 20 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
After her grandparents are killed by invisible creatures, a determined young woman seeks to avenge them with the help of her canine companion - the only one who can see the mysterious invaders.
WINNER – Best International Short Film, 2024 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival

Saturday February 22, 9.00pm

CONTENT WARNING: This session is R-rated. It contains graphic content and examines mature themes that may be distressing to some viewers.

Dir: Scooter McCrae; USA, 85 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
Desperate for work, Derek (Damian Maffei) accepts a job at a tech start-up, working on the company’s innovative new project – Susan (Yvonne Emilie Thälker, in a fearless debut performance), a cutting-edge sex doll that receives and responds to punishment as an integral part of her evolving A.I. Soon, Derek finds the limits of his own desires being challenged, as his relationship with Susan reveals the nature of man and woman, pleasure and pain, and life and death in a morally uncertain future world.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Fantasia 2024; Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival 2024

Screens with MUSINGS OF A MECHATRONIC MISTRESS
Dir: Jasmin Hagendorfer; Austria, 24 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
In a world where technology and humanity intertwine, Tiffany, a self-aware feminist "sex robot", embarks on an unparalleled journey of self-discovery. With every revelation, Tiffany's contemplative journey challenges our perceptions and compels us to question the boundaries of technology, desire, queerness and societal expectations.

Dir: Racheal Cain; USA, 92 mins | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
At experimental sleep clinic, Somnium, dreams are made real. Side effects may include: hallucinations, confusion, paranoia, sleep paralysis, detachment from reality, lost sense of self, permanent nightmares.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Fantasia 2024; Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival 2024

Screens with SOUL MATE | Dir: Richard Fenwick; UK, 15 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
A lonely computer coder has been nurturing an illegal romance with an AI in a computer simulation. When her company uncovers the affair, she’s forced into a desperate battle to save her relationship.
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2024; Sci-Fi London 2024

Sunday, February 23, 3.30pm

 Dir: William Hopp; US; 101 mins | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Having suffered from sleep paralysis for as long as he can remember, Andrew decides to take matters into his own hands to discover what's really happening to him in this frightening state. His sister, Laurie, becomes entwined in his belief that he's being abducted by aliens and when the evidence mounts, Laurie has to choose if she's going to cut ties and save herself, or get dragged down into Andrew's maddening world.

 Screens with ONE MINUTE IN HELL | Dir: Sam Sungmin Lee; Australia, 18.30 | THEATRICAL PREMIERE
A ten-year-old girl is beginning to doubt her dreams of what she wants her life to become. So her older brother takes her to "The Box", where technology allows you to meet your future self. But how will her future self turn out…?

Sunday February 23, 6.00pm.

Dir: Pete Ohs, USA, 73 mins | VICTORIAN PREMIERE
Diane and Fox love to work. Unfortunately, they live in a polarized world where having a job is illegal. From US indie director Pete Ohs (Jethika, 2022) comes this pitch-black, bittersweet masterpiece of speculative cinema satire. Film Threat cited its, “unique charm”, calling the script by stars Stephanie Hunt and Will Madden, “strange, inspiring” and the film, “an offbeat social commentary that will entertain [and] intrigue fans of Orwell and Vonnegut.”
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Slamdance 2024.

Screens with ROSE & ESTELLA GET ABDUCTED BY ALIENS | Dirs: Susan Earl, Alice Bishop, Lauren Bailey; Australia, 5.40 mins
Melbourne besties Rose & Estella face off against the probing unpleasantness of their intergalactic abductors; based (kind of) on a highly-publicised actual event.
WINNER: BEST TV/WEB SERIES (Single Episode) - 2024 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival