Film Archive
2018
Feature Film Archive
2050
Princeton Holt | US
Writer: Brian Ackley
In the near future, a married father of two stuck in a rut is shown a warehouse that makes custom androids for “human companionship.” It isn’t weird at all.
Artist Depiction
Brett Ryan Bonowicz | US
*WORLD PREMIERE!
Conceptual artists Don Davis, Charles Lindsay, and Rick Guidice have helped bring NASA projects to life. Their incredible pioneering artwork, which helped define the aesthetics of futurism and space travel, is ubiquitous; and yet these artists have always been hidden behind the scenes. Until now.
Ascension
Ross Wachsman | US
Writers: Gregg Meller, Steven A. Mourning, Ross Wachsman
A troubled teenage girl’s life begins to unravel as she discovers the dark power that drove her mother to suicide has infected her older sister, driving her to do horrible and terrifying things.
THE AXIOM
Nicholas Woods | US
Writer: Nicholas Woods
*NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE!
A young woman and her friends travel into a National Forest in search of her missing sister. As the search progresses, they realize the trees may serve as a doorway to another dimension, and what has come through is not friendly.
CYGNUS
Hugo Félix Mercado | Mexico
Writer: Carlos Alvahuante Contreras
An astronomer discovers a strange signal emanating from Cygnus. Things begin to get strange at the observatory, and he has to find out just what exactly it is that he has found.
The DEAD CENTER
(CENTERPIECE FILM)
Billy Senese | US
Writer: Billy Senese
A good-hearted hospital psychiatrist risks his job by treating an amnesiac patient who just wandered into the psych ward after waking up in the morgue. The doctor must decide if the evil that lives inside the man’s head is a threat to himself or other people. A suspenseful, eerily vague, and terrifyingly original twist on the psychological trauma trope, the film stars producer/Texas son/indie SciFi auteur Shane Carruth.
DeadTECTIVES
Tony West | US
Writer: Tony West
A phony group of paranormal investigators travel to a haunted house in Mexico to attempt to save their television show. Once the house reveals that it is truly haunted, the group must come together to figure out what the house wants and how to actually send evil spirits back to hell.
DIMINUENDO
Adrian Stewart | US
Writers: Sarah Goldberger, Bryn Pryor
A director’s life crumbled after his Hollywood starlet girlfriend Cello killed herself. He becomes obsessed with a robot designed to replicate his lost love after he’s offered an opportunity to direct the film of Cello’s life.
ELIJAH & THE ROCK CREATURE
Jennifer Walden | Canada
Writer: Jennifer Walden
*US PREMIERE!
A young boy gets lost on a camping trip, but befriends an extraordinary creature from the stars who tries to help Elijah find his way home.
ENCOUNTER
Paul J. Salamoff | US
Writer: Paul J. Salamoff
*US PREMIERE!
A group of friends uncover an otherworldly object in a rural field, which they soon discover holds greater secrets than they could imagine. A nod back to classic B-movies of the 60s and 70s, this simple setup allows for a much deeper emotional story than would be expected, exploring the human will in the face of grief and loss.
THE FARE
D.C. Hamilton | US
Writer: Brinna Kelly
*WORLD PREMIERE!
A cabbie picks up a young woman, only to have her completely disappear from his back seat. In a panic, he resets his meter and is brought back to the moment she climbs into his cab. The two are stuck together in a seemingly endless cab ride that will change their lives forever.
I’ll Take Your Dead
Chad Archibald | Canada
Writers: Chad Archibald, Jayme LaForest
A father provides for himself and his young daughter by disposing of dead bodies for criminals from the city. Just as he nearly has enough money to get his daughter away from this morbid lifestyle, one of the recently delivered bodies wakes up.
PRECOGNITION
Luke Tedder | UK
Writer: Luke Tedder
*NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE!
In a post-apocalyptic future, the only thing holding society together is a shadowy agency that manipulates memories. James begins to have memories of events he has never experienced, and his attempts to unravel those mysteries lead him to some shocking revelations.
PULSE
Stevie Cruz-Martin | Australia
Writers: Daniel Monks
A gay disabled teenage boy changes into the body of a beautiful woman, so that he can be loved.
SOUL TO KEEP
David Allensworth, Moniere | US
Writers: David Allensworth, Eric Bram
A group of friends travel to an old country house to party. After exploring the old house, they find a room in the basement and decide to host a séance. Enter Beelzebub and his hunger for human souls.
White Chamber
Paul Raschid | UK
Writer: Paul Raschid
The United Kingdom. Soon. Civil war rages. A woman wakes up in a blindingly white cuboid cell. Using its sophisticated functionality, her captor tortures her for information; information she claims not to have - or does she?
THE WRONG TODD
Rob Schulbaum | US
Writer: Rob Schulbaum
Todd is having some issues with his girlfriend. After a thorny disagreement, he finds himself in a parallel universe, replaced in his own by his other self. Now Todd has to stop Todd from stealing his own girlfriend. Can he outsmart himself?
2018 short Film Archive
The Adventures of Penny Patterson
Stephanie Donnelly | US | 19 min
Writer: Stephanie Donnelly
Penny’s boyfriend has been acting weird ever since he took a tour of the mysterious science lab in town. But she doesn’t have time for his changes or rumors of the “mysterious” new superhero in town – she has a science fair to win.
*2018 Mary Shelley Award Winner!
ANDROMEDA
Emily Limyun Dean | US | 15 min
Writer: Emily Limyun Dean
Amidst a changing world and growing tensions between humans and robot domestic workers, A.I. Andromeda discovers how far she’ll go to retain her hard-won humanity.
BIOMASS
Larry McKee | US | 6 min
Writer: Robert Jauregui
Five minutes in the life of two salvage yard workers who provide a disturbing energy source to clients.
THE BODY CLIENT
Alexander Frank | Germany | 21 min
Writer: Alexander Frank
Norman is in a lot of debt from student loans. He can pay it off by letting a client inhabit his body for 10 years. Alas, the transfer doesn’t go quite as planned.
CARONTE
Luis Tinoco Pineda | Spain | 15 min
Writer: Luis Tinoco Pineda
The timelines of a space fighter pilot and the teenage sole survivor of a car crash converge in this meditation on grief and loss.
THE DAUGHTERS OF VIRTUE
Michael Escobedo | US | 13 min
Writer: Michael Escobedo
Alice has made some mistakes, but is she really the “demon” that her ultra-Christian girlfriends say she is?
DOCTOR OF MONSTER
Gustavo Teixeira | Brazil | 11 min
Writers: Gustavo Teixeira & Rodrigo Estravini
Dudu knows exactly what he wants to be when he grows up. The problem is, he’s still a little afraid of his future patients...
EARTHRISE
Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee | US | 31 min
50 years after capturing the first image of the Earth from space, the Apollo 8 astronauts look back on that fateful voyage and the impact it’s had on the world since.
ECHOES
Mark Kerins & Elliot Mayen | US | 12 min
Writer: Elliot Mayen
A young woman can’t escape a recurring nightmare of losing her children. Why is it happening, and when will it stop?
ExO
Hiroki Yokoyama | UK | 10 min
Writer: Hiroki Yokoyama
In this not-too-far-from-present-day social commentary, ex-cons are having a hard time getting a fair shake.
HEALTH, WEALTH, & HAPPINESS
Nic Alderton | UK | 11 min
Writer: Nic Alderton
Our hero should know better than to sell his soul to the devil. And he really shouldn’t be so surprised when things take an unexpected turn for the worse.
HEARTLESS
Kevin Sluder | US | 13 min
Writer: Kevin Sluder
Edgar Allan Poe meets 9-TO-5 in this tale about Shelby, who’s ready to nail her work presentation if only she can stop thinking about the horrific crime she committed the night before.
HERE & BEYOND
Colin West | US | 18 min
Writers: Colin West & Corey Aumiller
Mac has been having a tough go of it after his wife (and co-host of their children’s science show) dies. With the help of his lonely teenage neighbor, he considers building a time machine to reunite with his lost love.
Alumni: WE WERE NOT MADE FOR THIS WORLD (2016).
HINDSIGHT
Kelli Horan | Texas | 8 min
Writer: Kelli Horan
A young woman just wants everyone to have the perfect New Year’s kiss at midnight, with some help from time manipulation. But who’s looking out for her?
LET’S BE FRIENDS
Ryan Glista | US | 9 min
Writers: Ryan Glista & Matt Bilmes
Connor’s beloved stuffed toy Beadie really wants to be pals. Bullies beware.
THE MAILBOX
Louis Yin | China | 18 min
Writers: Aditya Rawal & Louis Yin
Sam and his Chinese immigrant grandfather Bo meet in an odd space-time meld between present day and 1943. Things get messy, and soon they need to save each other’s lives; in fact, Sam’s existence depends on it.
MALACOSTRACA
Charles A. Pieper | US | 16 min
Writer: Charles A. Pieper
Chris is really not dealing well with the birth of his first child. But how can his wife, Sophie, ignore the fact that their child is alien and, frankly, pretty scary-looking? Something’s not right here.
NADINE
Phil Bucci | US | 3 min
Writer: Phil Bucci
The time has come for a young woman to escape the violence of her home life. But doing so is a little complicated.
Alumni: PAUL’S BAD DAY (2017); SPECIAL FORCES (2016).
OVUM
Cidney Hue | US | 8 min
Writer: Cidney Hue
A woman is subjected to a horrifying virtual reality experience before making a difficult decision.
Alumni: ODESSA (2014).
OXFORD COMA
Jake Jarvi | US | 1 min
Writer: Jake Jarvi
It’s less confusing this way.
*2019 Short Film Audience Award Winner!
Watch the full film HERE!
THE PASTMAN
Charlie Ainsworth | US | 18 min
Writer: Charlie Ainsworth
An examination of time travel from a vantage point rarely explored: those who will cease to exist because of changes made to the past by others.
PROGRAM
Gabriel de Urioste | US | 8 min
Writer: Gabriel de Urioste
If she could just change the course of their last interaction, she could save their relationship.
THE SILVER
David Michael Yohe | US | 7 min
Writers: Christopher Stein & David Michael Yohe
A young woman is faced with a nightmarish reality when aliens begin to take over everything (and everyone) she holds dear.
STARLETS
Marten Carlson | Texas | 12 min
Writer: Marten Carlson
It’s time to renegotiate the contract of the Lentz Triplets, the biggest stars in the world, but first one has to get past their mom.
We Summoned A Demon
Chris McInroy | US | 6 min
Writer: Chris McInroy
Just be cool, man.
The World Over
Heath C Michaels | US | 17 min
Writer: Heath C Michaels
Cass and Jules’s life becomes a literal hell after they discover a portal to their house – and themselves - in countless other dimensions.