The inaugural Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival is happening from December 19-21 at the Actors Centre Australia in Leichhardt and it’s going to be an absolute banger of a good time. I know because I’m on the board, having been corralled by old mate Simon Foster of Screen Space to serve for the duration.
Hit up the link for the full deets or, if you’re in a rush on this gloriously lazy Sunday morning, head to Blunt Magazine for some hot recs. I will say that the program is hellaciously good: provocative, transgressive, inclusive, transnational, intersectional, bold, and brilliant. But I’m not here to rabbit on about that; I’m here to tell you about my contribution to the festival: Cyberpunk Cinema: An Online Panel.
Gonna save myself some typing and and just Ctrl-V the Facebook event description:
The History, Artistry and Future of Cyberpunk CinemaBlade Runner, Alita: Battle Angel, Strange Days, The Matrix, Ghost in the Shell… cyberpunk cinema has brought a noirish aesthetic to once brightly-imagined future dreams. As our world catches up with the genre’s grim dystopian visions, what place does cyberpunk have in speculative storytelling?
Film critic Travis Johnson hosts an online discussion (with limited physical seats available!) with filmmakers Seth Larney (2067), Grant Sputore (I Am Mother), Ben C Lucas (OtherLife), Ben Young (Extinction), and Sara Rael (Machete Girl) exploring the visionary breadth of Cyberpunk Cinema.
This will be held on Zoom, with links emailed out the morning of the panel. Entry is free, but booking is essential.
Paris, France: Sat, 21 Nov, 3:00 am CET
Los Angeles, USA: Fri, 20 Nov, 6:00 pm PST
New York, USA: Fri, 20 Nov, 9:00 pm EST
London, U.K.: Sat, 21 Nov, 2:00 am GMT
Berlin, Germany: Sat, 21 Nov, 3:00 am CET
Moscow, Russia: Sat, 21 Nov, 5:00 am MSK
Auckland, New Zealand; Sat, 21 Nov, 3:00 pm NZDT
Tokyo, Japan: Sat, 21 Nov, 11:00 am JST
New Delhi, India: Sat, 21 Nov, 7:30 am IST
Johannesburg, South Africa; Sat, 21 Nov, 4:00 am SAST
Amsterdam, Netherlands: Sat, 21 Nov, 3:00 am CET
How about that, hey? It’s no secret that I love science fiction in general and cyberpunk in particular, so this is a dream gig for me. The roster of panelists is absolutely fantastic, and I think we’re going to get some strong opinions on cyberpunk literature and cinema. Interestingly, four of these film-slinging futurologists (including me) hail from Perth, Western Australia; I guess if ever there was a town to make you pessimistic about the future, it’s that one.
The whole thing is free but you need to register, so click through here and join me!
UPDATE!
Well, that went very well. If you weren’t able to make it here’s the whole thing on YouTube, including a horrible holding still of my freshly depilated mug.
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