A hopeful beginning to a great film festival backing the independent sci-fi genre.
I had high hopes for the Sci-Fi London Film Festival. In its sweet 16th year of running, it is incredibly heartwarming how the independent film industry is being supported in a big way. With sponsors like Canon, Audible and Adobe backing the projects of the festival, it’s refreshing to see how new and aspiring filmmakers are getting the recognition they need and deserve.
Created by the Festival Director, Louis Savy, “because there wasn’t one,” the festival brings together the best science fiction and fantasy film from around the world. The artistic programme includes international features, documentaries, short films, animation, filmmaking events and a host of related industry workshops and networking events. The festival typically lasts ten days, with a huge range of feature length films, short films and animations.
“The festival started primarily because there wasn’t anywhere for low-budget, interesting or foreign science fiction films. Its purpose was to show films that you’re not likely to see in the UK at all, or that are going to be difficult to get hold of,” says Louis. The festival has had to be very resourceful in lean times and has been funded entirely through ticket sales and sponsorship. Nevertheless, the capital’s film and media agency, Film London, recognises them as “a significant contributor to London’s film cultural life. The strong audiences achieved by its screenings are a testament both to the city’s appetite for science fiction film and to the work the festival does in bringing new audiences to the genre.”
I attended the opening night on Wednesday the 27th of April at Stratford Picture House, to which the festival were premièring a film named Capsule. When arriving, I was quite shocked at the amount of people who were there and the popularity of the event itself. The lobby was full of people who were taking pictures and celebrating another year of the festival and as it was my first time experiencing this event, it was a very elated, lively and happy atmosphere. The Sci-Fi London film festival website described the film they were opening with as “a perfect film to open our festival,” to which the cast and crew attended, and held a questions and answer session at the end of the film. This claustrophobic thriller stars Edmund Kingsley as Guy Taylor, in this breathtaking début feature from Andrew Martin.
Capsule started out as a thrilling exploration of outer space and when watching the first half of the film, I thought to myself that this is what Gravity should have been. The simple single set of the spacecraft was extremely detailed and incredibly impressive for an independent film. The fictional story is based on an experienced British fighter pilot in command of Britain’s first manned mission to space in the late 50’s. He has trained for this for years, but at the height of the Cold War he is alone in space, suffering from hypoxia, with a malfunctioning capsule. After limited contact with mission control in the UK, unusual communication with the US and unorthodox exchanges with Soviet Russia, the astronaut is challenged to make the right decisions and attempt to get home.
The acting is impeccable; especially with such a limited cast they are able to bring their characters to life and their relationships with each other feel so real and believable. The work and effort that must have went into the set and costume design most definitely paid off as they were able to grasp the look and composition of a control panel almost exactly.
As with a lot of independent films, there were a few flaws to the film which could have been caused due to the low budget. I think the film’s ending could have been better; however, credit given where credit is due because, despite these minor drawbacks, the film overall is no doubt impressive. I would urge everyone to at least see one film from the festival if they can, because it is a tough time in this day and age for small, aspiring filmmakers to gain recognition for their work. I know all too well the amount of time and effort it takes to make a short or feature length film you care so much about. There are still many more films showing at many different locations.
To find out more, visit sci-fi-london.com.
