SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL PARTNERS WITH U.S. STREAMER XERB TO LAUNCH 2021 VIRTUAL FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE
The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival (SSFFF) has confirmed that the inaugural SSFFF Virtual Festival Experience will launch on November 4, providing the opportunity for a national audience to see the best speculative feature and short film storytelling from all over the world.
Australia’s leading science fiction/fantasy film event has partnered with the U.S.-based streaming service XERB to provide a secure, state-of-the-art home-viewing experience. The SSFFF Virtual Festival Experience will run for three weeks, from November 4th to 25th, accessed online via the streaming service’s platform, custom built with the SSFFF team.
The virtual program will run in conjunction with the physical festival, still slated to unfold at the Actors Centre Australia in the inner-west suburb of Leichhardt. Due to pandemic uncertainty, the in-person festival dates have undergone a restructuring, with Opening Night now set to be Thursday November 11 and the celebrations wrapping the evening of Sunday 14th.
For Festival Director Simon Foster, it is another step towards making the festival one of truly global standing. “The online screening season brings the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival into the new era of festival going,” he says, citing major festivals such as Cannes, Toronto and Melbourne that have adapted to Covid conditions via web viewing tech. “By partnering with Xerb, we’ve not only countered pandemic pressures but also responded to sci-fi fans all over Australia who have reached out to us, encouraging us to bring our films interstate.”
The Sydney connection is another feather in the cap for Xerb, whose Australian launch will be in partnership with the A Night of Horror Virtual Film Festival in late October. "As a tech startup on the opposite side of planet Earth, we can't tell you how exciting it is to team with the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival,” says Eric Streeper, Founder and CEO of Xerb. “It's a privilege to work with them and help bring the best sci-fi filmmakers from around the world directly to Australians in an engaging, fun, and social online experience."
While the festival line-up will not be revealed for a few weeks, the online realm has afforded the SSFFF programming team leeway to increase the films on offer. “It’s certainly a case of making lemonade out of lemons, content wise” says Foster of the hand dealt by Delta, confirming that the program will feature Exclusive Virtual Premieres - feature films not screening at the physical event - and an expanded shorts selection. “This sort of development was certainly anticipated and, despite being thrust upon us sooner than expected, it means that 2021 will be remembered not as a speedbump in our growth, but rather a landmark year.”
Further details regarding the 2021 SSFFF Virtual Festival Experience include:
The event is geo-blocked to Australia states and territories (excluding New South Wales, ensuring tickets sales to the physical festival aren’t compromised);
Filmmakers have the opportunity to create a Xerb account, launch a profile page and upload your film yourself, maintaining complete control and transparency;
All content is protected by XERB’s state-of-the-art technology (https://landing.xerb.tv/security/ ).
Ticketing details and session information will be announced soon.