Kristina Buozyte's festival award winning Vanishing Waves has released a new international trailer showing off the films intelligent, artistic approach to science fiction genre. It's good to be different is a moto I like to use a lot and it's a moto that Cinehouse & The People's Movies is based around, Vanishing Waves is certainly different. The film does seem to have a big 1970's feel to it especially Russian film and Solaris been the first name that comes to mind and when it's done well be it arthouse or mainstream, it's always worth a look especially one that's bagged Melies d'Or as the best European genre film of the year at Sitges and best feature, script, director and actress nods at Fantastic Fest.
No word on a possible UK release but the film will be heading to USA sometime in 2013. This is thw Lithuanian trailer the homeland of the director and where the films theatrical run starts.
Have you ever dreamed of being inside the head of another person - a beloved one or your rival ? Have you ever wished to experience the ideal relationship, where two minds come into total fusion? "Vanishing waves" - a sci-fi melodrama. Following solid scientific experiment, based on the neural transfer, a young inhibited man will live an astonishing journey in the comatose woman anonymous mind. This contemporary tale is exploring the nature of desire by exposing links and contradictions between the human body and the mind.
Whilst we may not always give the credit CGI deserves, Jimmy Eriksson and Eric Ramberg's action packed sci-fi short Memorize proves the technology has a few beneficial tricks up it's sleeve. If your opposed Identity cards with chips in them containing everything you need to know about yourself (good & bad) , in Memorize 15 years from now we'll all have chips embedded into our necks!
In 2027 The SSU - Special Surveillance Unit track all our moves to make sure no crime is committed, Earth is simply a Police state. When a SSU agent attempts track down an suspected killer that perfect system to prevent crime show the agent it has 'problems'. As we slowly move towards becoming a 'Police State' I'm sure the Police force of today would love to get their hands on some of those gadgets and control those among us who love to be on the wrong side of the law. Memorize is a very slick looking film with nice CGI touches and with a big doze of Minority Report thrown in, just remember don't think about things that could be construed as 'criminal' or you'll have The SSU breathing down your back!
Who says Science Fiction has to be UFO's and Aliens? Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell's short film In The Pines is a fine example of that theory, maybe even a debate to weather it should be called a sci-fi. What this film is atmospheric in the minimalistic way, compelling and very haunting visually I do get a Martha Marcy, May Marlene feel to it, minus the religious cult part.
Check it out for yourself below...
A young woman, convinced she has experienced an encounter with the extraterrestrial, becomes fixated on re-establishing contact in this striking study of the paranormal and the human psyche
This is why I love short films sometimes more than feature films as final result compared to some of the crap that's plagued our cinemas recently these films are a breath of fresh air. Some the ideas may not be 100% original but script wise, visually, structurally superior asks the question maybe some of those feature films maybe should be short films or simply should have stayed short film. We're a little disappointed we haven't covered short films as much as we should have this year but things are changing starting tonight with Tyson Wade Johnston's Seed.
Seed is set in the year 2071, where technology has brought mankind to the brink of colonization on a planet named Gaia, one astronaut takes on an isolated mission and discovers unearthly horrors that could bring an end to human life on this planet. This is a tale of colonization gone wrong , a film that feels like a modern war film too, its a visual treat plenty of atmosphere most of all this looks a professionally polished CGI film worthy of 14 minutes of your time.
Who said short film makers don't have talent? I've heard a few people say that in the past however quite a few feature films of the past 20 plus years have stemmed from an short film idea and Stephan Zlotescu's True Skin could be the next short film to get the feature length treatment. The film has sparked a bidding war from the studios for the rights the full 6 minute short has been released online for your full enjoyment before one of the big studios destroy thr film integrity with a mediocrity version.
True Skin is set in a future where augmented humans and robots co-exist together with humans. Kaye buys a prototype robot that not only sees him fighting his own humanity but also something much larger. Incredible looking stuff a big Blade Runner feels to the film which was shot in Bangkok Thailand.
Written and directed by the Manetti Bros., The Arrival of Wang follows
Chinese-language interpreter Gaia who is called out of the blue by a
former client with an offer from a mysterious person or persons who will
pay Gaia handsomely is she would she carry out an extremely urgent and
confidential translation assignment? Intrigued by the urgency and the
money on offer Gaia accepts the job only to find herself whisked away to
a secret location in Rome where she meets is ushered into a pitch-black
room where she is asked to interpret the harsh interrogation of the
eponymous “Mr Wang”. Disturbed by the way the interrogation is going and
intrigued to find out more about Mr. Wang, Gaia demands that the lights
are switched on, lest she continue with her translations. However when
the lights come on Gaia realises why the job has come with so much
mystery and subterfuge. And that she may be in way over her head…
The Arrival of Wang is that rare beast in
modern genre cinema – a film which works on multiple levels and is more
than just the sum of its parts. On the surface the film is a science
fiction fantasy about the discovery of alien life on earth. However
scratch beneath that surface and you have a superbly made psychological
drama that speaks to the war on terror, the use of torture in times of
war, the role of government in protecting its citizens and most of all
prejudice.
The success of The Arrival of Wang comes
down to three key things: a cracking script from Antonio Manetti and
Marco Manetti, a fantastic cast – especially legendary Italian actor
Ennio Fantastichini as the stern government agent in charge of the
interrogation, and superb direction from Antonio Manetti and Marco
Manetti, who imbue the film with a real sense of urgency and
claustrophobia that only heightens the tension of the interrogation
scenes and the film as a whole.
Feeling very much like a modern interpretation of Rod Serling’s classic The Twilight Zone, The Arrival of Wang
twists and turns it’s way through the story, never revealing who is
right or who is wrong or what the real story is behind the motivations
of both the government agents AND the mysterious Mr. Wang. Plus, unlike a
lot of Hollywood’s jingoistic sci-fi output, the Manetti Bros. don’t
spoon-feed the audience with massive amounts of exposition that tells
you how and what you should feel, instead the film asks a lot of
questions of the audience – how they feel about the use of torture in
times of “war”, the treatment of prisoners etc. It’s powerful stuff.
I had the distinct honour and pleasure of chatting with the Manetti Bros. the day before the screening of The Arrival of Wang
at the Glasgow Frightfest back in February and it was great to find
that the duo are fellow film geeks who are working towards keeping the
Italian genre movie flag flying. And judging by this, their latest genre
effort, Italian cinema couldn’t be in more safer and worthy hands. In
fact between the brothers Manetti and singer-come-director Federico
Zampaglioni, Italian cinema could finally see the resurgence that fans
have been clamouring for.
If you like your fantasy and sci-fi to come with a social and political edge then The Arrival of Wang (aka L’Arrivo di Wang) is essential viewing.
Indie specialists Other Side Films have released the trailer for their short film Fahrenheit 451, based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Ray Bradbury.
In a world where the written word is rendered obsolete by the sheer onslaught of technological advancement, ‘anti-social’ and ‘offensive’ material is tracked down and destroyed by fire.
The timing and nature of the film couldn’t be more prescient given the debate that Kindle and other e-readers have sparked. Bradbury himself died only weeks ago and his dystopian novel is often upheld as a bleak possibility of the future by those that fear the disappearance of the written word and the population’s hunger for new media.
The film itself is a short snapshot of the life of Guy Montag, a fireman possessed by his need to hunt down and destroy books that are offensive to society.
Directed by Albert Art, the film has been in the works for a year and a half, with artists from Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and the UK coming together to create Farenheit 451.
The digital premiere for Fahrenheit 451 takes place in July.
The Giorgio Moroder cut of Metropolis was made in 1984 and for a long time was the most complete version of Metropolis known. It features pop music by the likes of Freddie Mercury and Adam Ant and a synthesizer score by Moroder. I’m somebody who considers the recently unearthed 2 and half hour cut one of the 5 or 10 greatest films ever made so I have a lot of problems with this much-abridged version.
This version is missing over an hour of footage and that footage makes the film’s plot make a lot more sense and it includes entire subplots and characters not included in this version. This version could be compared to the “Love Conquers All” version of Brazil, which the studio made, but unlike that film, the very basic message of the film is in tune with the original version. It’s the rather native message of workers and the elite must work together and a mediator is necessary for communication between the classes.
I respect Moroder for trying to find the most complete version of Metropolis; he started his work in the late 70s. However the soundtrack dates the film to the mid 80s whilst the film itself is utterly timeless. It also does the grave sin of colourizing some scenes and adding cheesy special effects to some scenes as well. It also uses subtitles instead of the standard inter titles which makes the film make a lot less sense. The subtitles are inserted so randomly and really ruin the flow of the scenes. It also includes some mechanical sound effects, which are effective, which works ok with synthesizer score and the se are only additions to the film that is not truly awful. I wouldn’t mind if somebody did a full electronic score for the complete version, which could work quite well.
It’s an interesting cult curiosity and was a stepping-stone for the eventually full restoration of Metropolis even though that took a further 20 + years. However it is sorta turned into an 84 minute 80s music video and really taints the film’s reputation. Despite all these flaws you can tell Moroder clearly loves the film and was trying to reedit the film for a more modern audience, which in reality was needed. So if your gonna see Metropolis which you of course should go get the stunning restoration that is a part of Eureka’s (who also released this version) “Masters of Cinema” range.
Here at cinehouse (and at times The Peoples Movies) we do get alot Kickstarter film projects, we try our best to cover most if not all them. Today's project was spotted by our Canadian friends at Twitch and one type of short film we adore is horror, sci-fi (we love genres though) especially and Mischa Rozema's SUNDAYS does seem to fill our fix. The Amsterdam based commercial director hopes her Sci-fi short will soon become a full feature a story built around the idea that one day a computer based intelligence will exceed a human one arriving via a technological singularity.
Visually this looks great, storyline decent my only concern like many people with great short films can the story be easily adapted or will it be overstretched? Whatever you think you can check out the film below and below that read the kickster information. You can support the film here.
Sundays (working title) is a feature film idea created and written by
Dutch commercials director Mischa Rozema. It is a project he has been
living and sleeping with for the past years. It is the result of stories
inhabiting his head, images that need to be visualised and the the
desire to create a film completely different to anything we’ve seen
before. The story is there, so is the research. What we are asking your
help with is the opportunity to create a short film - the first step on
the path to realising a feature film - using the skills and passion of
Mischa and his team at PostPanic and Savage.
We're raising money through Kickstarter to make this short film. We
want to show what is visually possible when creative integrity is
closely guarded from the beginning. We don’t want to risk diluting
Mischa’s vision by 3rd parties forcing him to become more mainstream and
commercial. We want to show what he is capable of as a storyteller when
he has complete control over the direction.
What is 'Sundays' about?
We are fast approaching an event, unparalleled in our history. A
tipping point known as a technological singularity. It's the moment when
computer power surpasses human intelligence. This moment is inevitable.
Our world will change forever.
We are on the verge of having to decide the future of humanity. In
order to maintain we might have to change the very definition of what it
means to be human. So what exactly is 'human'? Where does it begin and
where does it stop. Are we willing to stretch its definition and our
ethics to corners we never could have imagined. Is there an infinite
deadline on our existence?
This is the story of what it means to be human and how the
characteristics of what makes us special stand the test of time. It's
evident that technologies are now tied to our evolution as a species.
Does our biology define us as human beings or is it the ideals for which
humanity stands for?
