Science fiction/fantasy

Shooting Footage as a Way to Develop a Concept

The protagonist of “Invasion” recounts a visit by a mysterious entity. The film, which is visually stunning, won the Best  Fiction Film Award at the Dublin Smartphone Film Festival and the Cinematography Award at Smartfone Flick Fest 2020. In the interview following the movie, Australian Peter Majarich shares the unusual journey on the way to…

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Retrofusion Sci-fi Flick “Unlockdown” Wins Corman Quarantine Prize

There is a rare bright spot amidst the unrelentingly horrible Covid-19 news: the flowering of limited- location, short movies. Filmmakers around the world, working in many genres, have beendocumenting life during this pandemic. A memorable example is Sebastien Liebus’s “Unlockdown,” which took the top prize at the Corman Quarantine Film Festival. Liebus lives in a…

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One Minute Sci Fi Flick Previews Climate Catastrophe

Apocalyptic movies—such as “Blade Runner,” “Mad Max,” and “I am Legend”—typically take a couple of hours to deliver the bad news of our future. If you’re in a hurry, you might prefer the pacing of “Flora,” directed by Baptiste Jung & Oscar Gentin, who—in just 60 seconds—transport us to their dark vision of a coming…

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Production Secrets of a Prize-winning 48-hour Movie

At Boston’s 48 Hour. Film Project (2019), Kevin Issa’s “The Other Side” won the Best Film Award. But that was just the beginning. It also took the top prizes for directing, cinematography, actor, supporting actress, sound, editing, special effects, and screenplay.When a movie sweeps all the top prizes, it’s worth more than a look. This…

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Fantasy Movie Explores “Lifestyle Apps”

Apple’s App Store offers more than four million apps. Most of them fit in the “lifestyle apps” category, promising to make our lives better, easier, smarter, or just more fun. In the Socratic tradition of posing obvious but profound questions, Oliver Richard’s “Thirsty?” invites us to step back and ask: “Are we better off for…

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Action Thriller Features Nifty VFX & Two Talented Young Actors

In 2018, the editors of this magazine chose “Robot Attack” as the Mobile Movie of the Year. Now, that film’s director Brian Vowles is back with “Run.” A Canadian-based 3D Artist by day, Vowles explained: “I made this short as an entry to the Collective/ Film Riot monthly film competition. It’s a 60 second Action Scene…

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