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Editor’s note: Author’s father, Director Louis Granet’s short film “Nowhere Stream” was included in the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival’s 2024 lineup.
With just one year to go until its 50th anniversary, America’s longest-running genre fest showcased aliens, artistry and entertainment. The 49th Boston Science Fiction Film Festival was held from February 14th to 25th at the Somerville Theater and featured a hybrid of in-person and online events, including screenings, panels, and parties. In its first incarnation several decades ago, the event was exclusively a movie marathon. But Boston Sci-Fi is now a traditional multi-day festival of film screenings. The festival’s robust and engaging diversity has earned it a spot on FilmFreeway’s list of the top 100 best-reviewed festivals and a 24-hour film marathon that will earn him his 2023 Program of the Year award from Filmocracy. and received several awards.
The highlight of the festival is the 24-hour non-stop movie screening known as the “marathon.” said former festival assistant director Violet Acevedo. in 2023, this event is Boston Science Fiction’s most famous feature. The 49th annual marathon attracted about 400 participants between noon on February 18th and noon on February 19th..
While dozens of people flocked to the day-long event, equipped with sleeping bags and Red Bulls, a completely different kind of program was underway in a small theater downstairs. The festival screened 70 short films over eight days. As someone with a short attention span, I appreciate the low concentration required of short films. Short films tend to run between 3 and 40 minutes, and some short films take on the challenge of developing the same setting, characters, and description as a feature film in a fraction of the time frame. . Others, such as experimental videos, take a more abstract approach, offering viewers a unique visual and auditory experience that is open to personal interpretation. Regardless of the specific endeavor, short filmmaking has unique values that are worth celebrating.
“It’s really amazing to watch a short film that’s a 20- or 15-minute work of art and it’s just as impactful to you as sitting in a theater and watching something for two hours,” said Chief Curator. says Susanne Cromwell. She presented a short film at Boston SF, she said..
This year, Cromwell has curated an 11-block short film program that offers a short but immersive experience into the world of science fiction cinema. According to the festival’s program, each short film program is named “a ‘star’ or a star-inspired phrase in Hawaiian, Arabic, Welsh, Gaelic and other beautiful languages.” . His first seven programs were performed in person at the Somerville Theater, and his last four blocks were screened online at his Filmocracy.com..
I attended four of the seven in-person screenings: CSILLA, ITRI, HOKU, and SUTARA.
Sirilla
On February 15th, after a long day of classes, I headed to the Somerville Theater, a locally owned and independent movie theater in Davis Square. He entered Theater 3 15 minutes before the screening started, and the room was filled with the excited energy of a small but strong group of older people with partners, hoodies, and popcorn. To my surprise, I noticed that quite a few young people were participating. The six films included a wide range of science fiction subgenres, with a focus on comedy, fantasy, and dystopia.Adolfo Lewis’s “Meditations” stood out for its use of stunningly vibrant backgrounds to bring a dystopian world to life in just 10 minutes. Overall, it was a pleasant enough experience that I felt like coming back for more.
ITRI
Bright and early on February 17th (1pm), I returned for round two. Since it was a weekend and a time when working adults and school-age children could participate, the program attracted several families. The theater, which seats 109 people, seemed to be quite full and buzzing with energy. The first short film of the day, Larissa Fernando’s “A Capsule for Robin,” could easily have been an episode of “Black Mirror.” The screening at Boston SF marked the film’s U.S. premiere. I sincerely hope that this short gets a wide spread, as everything from the production quality to the script to the acting was of excellent quality. In the second half of the program, Aaron Zia’s “Alienation” was played for the second time after CSILLA kicked off on February 15th. Although the script wasn’t my personal favorite, the movie had a humor that understood the audience. Every joke seemed to hit home perfectly with the alien lover in me. Similarly, Joe Bowers’ “Speedman” elicited a chuckle from even a reluctant entertainer like me. This animated short film about a god-like platypus set in space had all the important sci-fi elements: aliens, superpowers, and intergalactic conflict.
Kita Ward
Just four hours after ITRI ended, I returned to the Somerville Theater. This screening took place in a much smaller micro theater adjacent to Theaters 2 and 3. Unfortunately, the screens were smaller, but the enclosed space created a closer sense of community among festival goers. HOKU included both Ryan Serrano’s Jump, the longest film I’ve seen consecutively at the festival, and Riley Arenson’s Space Case Cadets, the shortest. “Jump” was noticeably slower-paced, with a running time of just 45 minutes, allowing the main characters, father and son, to develop more deeply. Conversely, “Space Case Cadets” was only four minutes long and featured several nameless characters, but it told an equally beautiful and interesting story. By the end of the afternoon, I began to understand the true breadth of his sci-fi genre. Many movies have featured aliens, but the flexibility of the word “science” means that directors can bring their personal fantasies to life in incredibly unique ways.
Sutara
As the saying goes, the festival saved the best for last. The final in-person short film program featured six of his incredible films representing animation and experimental video from four different countries of origin. The first and shortest film on the program is Louis Granet’s “Nowhere Stream,” an experimental video that leaves much to the imagination. With no overt references, the film aptly touches on themes of technology, relationships, and the environment through a dystopian lens. Similarly, Neeraj Bhattacharjee’s “Record. Stop. ” Without any characters or dialogue, it transports you into a stunning world of mesmerizing visuals and music. The last two films on the program, produced in France and England respectively, are truly laugh-out-loud films. Jean-Michel Talli’s The Dark Cell is a full-length story with character development and twists and turns, told entirely in French in just 25 minutes. George Atkinson and Alan Czechalsky’s From Here to There! certainly featured corny humor, but it still properly showcased the niche intersection of romantic comedy and science fiction.
At the end of the in-person portion of the festival, I was left with the impression that the festival was very well planned. Each film seemed to fit well into the program and his science fiction themes. I commend the organizers for their intentional focus on promoting historically marginalized voices through their film selections. The majority of the movies I’ve seen have had protagonists who are people of color, and five of his movies I’ve seen were made outside the United States. Cromwell commented: ” Clearly, this festival values and features underrepresented voices in a fresh and unexpected way for a genre I once thought lacked diversity.
The annual festival is run entirely by volunteers, and festival organizers welcome community members interested in participating as film critics, social media liaisons, or operational assistants. Cromwell encouraged interested Tufts University students to attend the festival.
“People who have a passion for all kinds of movies, especially science fiction, people who have a passion for storytelling, people who love people and love to share their knowledge and their own desire to know more.” Please join us.” Along with the festival.” said Cromwell.
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