BREAKING NEWS!! NATIONAL ROADSHOW TO TAKE BEST OF SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL INTERSTATE; LOCAL TALENT TO FEATURE ALONGSIDE WORLD’S FINEST SCI-FI.
The 2022 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival will hit the road in September, ensuring some of the best speculative cinema from Australia and around the world will find the widest audience possible.
Upon completion of the hometown leg of the festival at Event Cinemas George St from August 25-28, a ‘Best Of..’ collection will screen at six other Event Cinemas on Sept 2-3.
The multiplex locations that will carry the roadshow event are Brisbane City MC, Qld.; Palmerston, N.T.; Marion, S.A.; Whitford, W.A.; and, two regional New South Wales sites, Tuggerah on the Central Coast and Shellharbour in the state’s south. A Victorian venue is also currently being negotiated.
“Our first national screening program is happening entirely because of the feedback we have received from interstate fans, pleading for fresh, big-screen science fiction in their part of Australia” says Festival Director Simon Foster. “Every year, our social pages, all the DM avenues, even my email address - they are filled with comments like, ‘When are you coming to Brissy?’ or ‘How do I see this in Perth?’ So we listened and now hope that audiences will turn out for the challenging, beautiful, thrilling films we program.”
In addition to a fresh treat for national cinema-goers, the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival roadshow will highlight works from the respective regions. Foster encourages directors to submit scifi/fantasy genre works of any length, with the festival giving a commitment to program at least one session of local talent.
“Rarely do the current generation of filmmakers get to see their films in a traditional auditorium space, enjoying that unique audience experience, hearing the applause,” says the founder of Australia’s largest celebration of speculative cinema. “Our roadshow festival seasons offer that very opportunity, to filmmakers of all ages from coast-to-coast.”
KEY SUBMISSION DATES OF THE 2022 SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL:
EARLY BIRD SUBMISSION PERIOD: January 3 - March 28
FIRST WAVE SUBMISSION PERIOD: March 29 - May 23
SECOND WAVE SUBMISSION PERIOD: May 24 - June 27
OFFICIAL DEADLINE: June 28
DEEP SPACE DEADLINE: July 22
NOTIFICATION DATE: July 25
The Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival patron and the organisation's Board Members will preside over the following three honours:
THE RON COBB BEST FEATURE FILM: The feature (over 40 mins) that best exemplifies the vision, values and ambitions of the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival. Named in honour of the late Ron Cobb, an adopted son of Sydney and iconic conceptual artist on such films as Dark Star, Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Conan the Barbarian and The Abyss.
THE ADAM LEE MEMORIAL AWARD: Awarded to a figure in the science fiction/fantasy community who has exhibited a dedication to their life’s work and served the genre and its fanbase with the enthusiasm and passion. Adam Lee was a Melbourne film archivist and genre fan who passed away in July 2021.
BEST SHORT FILM: The short (under 40 mins) that best exemplifies the vision, values and ambitions of the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival.
BEST ACTOR (Feature Film) and BEST ACTOR (Short Film)
BEST ACTRESS (Feature Film) and BEST ACTRESS (Short Film)
BEST DIRECTOR (Feature Film) and BEST DIRECTOR (Short Film)
SSFFF AUDIENCE AWARD: The most popular feature film as voted upon by Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival audiences.