BERLIN SCIFI FILMFEST AND SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCE SCREENING PARTNERSHIP
From left: Berlin SciFi Filmfest co-directors Anthony Straeger, Dr Isabella Hermann and Alexander Pfander.
Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival and Berlin SciFi Filmfest are excited to announce a new partnership that will see films from Germany and Australia cross the globe to amaze science-fiction fans in both nations.
A selection of the most acclaimed works from both countries will be specially selected from each event and presented as part of a ‘cinematic cultural exchange’ undertaking, the aim of which is to promote exciting new talent to audiences and industry representatives in the respective nations.
"Recent films from the German sector have provided some of international cinema's most thrilling independent sci-fi visions," says Simon Foster, Festival Director of the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival, citing the artistry and invention in such works as The Final Land (2019), A Living Dog (2019), CYCLE 2217 (2020) and Peperit8 (2020) as some of the best contemporary speculative cinema. "Berlin Sci-Fi Filmfest has represented the genre with the kind of passion and professionalism we aim to emulate here in Sydney. I am honoured to be working with them on this initiative."
At the inaugural Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival, held at the Actors Centre Australia in mid-November, German works included the post-apocalyptic musical odyssey FONOTUNE: An Electronic Fairytale, the directorial debut of electronic-music star FINT; and, Marcus Hanisch’s A.I-themed survival drama, Q: ghostly remote effect.
The 2020 Berlin SciFi Filmfest, a COVID-dictated online festival that wraps up today, featured Australian works by directors Victoria Carwin (GOD: The Performance Review), Campbell J Smith (The Game) and Josh Mawer (Jump). Under the stewardship of festival co-directors Anthony Straeger, Alexander Pfander and Dr Isabella Hermann, the event has supported such acclaimed Australian films as Andrew Jaksch and Scott Robson’s Thalamos (2018) and the Australian/Croatian co-production Slice of Life (2019), co-directed be Luka Hrgovic and Dino Julius.
Further details regarding the launch dates and submission terms and conditions will be released soon.
From left: Travis Johnson, Fiona Williams, Simon Foster, Virat Nehru, Crystal Pettit.