The 40th annual Boston SciFi Film Festival, Boston’s longest running annual film festival event, runs from February 6-13 2015 at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville. The festival is most famous for it’s marathon film closing, a 24 hour masterpiece affectionately nicknamed “The ‘Thon”.
The full lineup for this years event has now been announced and tickets for each show and passes for the entire event are now available by going to http://bostonscifi.com/tickets/ for passes and http://bostonscifi.com/schedule/ for individual show tickets.
Each year, the festival offers up a quality science fiction, fantasy, and horror lineup, as well as a few classics, several “shorts” series, and a special guest. This year’s guest is legendary SFX artist Douglas Trumbull, who will appear for a talk and a Q&A to kick off “The ‘Thon” on Saturday, February 14th.
Here’s the day to day lineup of features for this year’s festival; descriptions taken from the festival website:
The Well
February 6th, 2015
5:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Thomas S. Hammock
Runtime: 95 min.
(US) East Coast Premiere. In an arid post-apocalyptic world, a young woman uses her wiles to protect her family’s only source of water. Break out performance by Haley Lu Richardson. Excellent acting with Jon Gries (Napolean Dynamite) adding heft. See clip below.
Robot Overlords
February 6th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Jon Wright
Runtime: 90 Minutes
(North American Premiere) From the director of the cult hit GRABBERS, Earth has been conquered by robots from another galaxy and the human survivors must stay in their homes, or risk incineration. Starring: Ben Kingsley, Gillian Anderson, and Callan McAuliffe (I Am Number Four, The Great Gatsby).
Alien Outpost
February 6th, 2015
9:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Jabbar Raisani (Game of Thrones)
Runtime: 90 Minutes
(Boston Premiere) A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion. Starring Adrian Paul (Highlander The Source).
Matt Mercury
February 7th, 2015
1:00pm
Somerville Theatre4
Director(s): Bill Hughes
Runtime: 65 Minutes
Matt Mercury is given the task of hunting a disgruntled super-genius named Professor Brainwave and recovering the stolen Earth before it becomes enslaved by a race of giant brains. If this isn’t enough of a chore, Matt must also chase after an old flame!
Painting the Way to the Moon
February 7th, 2015
3:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Jacob Akira Okada
Runtime: 54 Minutes
(US) World Premiere. Documentary on controversial math whiz Ed Belbruno who pioneered space travel. But it’s really how art and science share a common process. Creativity knows no bounds.
History of Time Travel
February 7th, 2015
5:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Ricky Kennedy
Runtime: 72 Minutes
(US, 2015) NE Premiere. A documentary about the creation of the world’s first time machine, the men who created it, and the unintended ramifications it has on world events. With experts discussing the the pros and cons of time travel.
Uncanny
February 7th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Matthew Leutwyler
Runtime: 91 Minutes
(World Premiere) The world’s first “perfect” Artificial Intelligence begins to exhibit startling and unnerving emergent behavior when a reporter begins a relationship with the scientist who created it. Talk about triangulation. Starring: Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim), Lucy Griffiths (Winter’s Tale, Robin Hood) and Rainn Wilson (The Office).
Suicide or Lulu and Me in a World Made for Two
February 7th, 2015
9:15pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Christian Carroll
Runtime: 105 Minutes
(East Coast Premiere) Set in Paris and New York, an inventor creates a camera capable of shooting different realities. Using it he attempts to capture and preserve a perfect moment , one of happiness between himself and his lover. So why is famous 20s vamp and silent star Louise Brooks mixed up this? And you know what they say about getting what your wish for?
Limbo
February 8th, 2015
1:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Ben Johnson
Runtime: 42 Minutes
(US) East Coast Premiere. A web series entry about a group of rescuers who attempt to rescue people trapped in different realities. Sometimes getting home takes a detour. Made in New Hampshire. d: Ben Johnson
Mythica: A Quest for Heroes
February 8th, 2015
3:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Anne K. Black
Runtime: 90 Minutes
(US) East Coast Premiere. A slave girl dreams of being a wizard. Escaping bondage, she embarks on an epic quest with the help of a drunk and a thief. Starring: Kevin Sorbo. d: Anne K Black
Blessid
February 8th, 2015
5:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Rob Fitz
Runtime: 97 Minutes
(World Premiere) From the director of “God of Vampires”: A pregnant woman, questioning life, befriends an older, odd man who claims immortality, but seems to offer some answers. Made in Massachusetts.
Shadows on the Wall
February 8th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Benjamin Carland
Runtime: 110 Minutes
(US) World Premiere. Palmer Marshall, an engineering student with anxiety issues, builds a miraculous device capable of reaching far beyond our understanding of known space. But in breaking this new boundary Palmer and his friends have opened a Pandora’s Box with far-reaching and unforeseen consequences. ‘The Social Network’ meets the ‘X-Files’ in this stark and snappy sci-fi suspense. d: Ben Carland (Sol)
Alien Outpost
February 8th, 2015
9:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Jabbar Raisani (Game of Thrones)
Runtime: 90 Minutes
(US) Boston Premiere. A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion. The world thinks the invasion has been thwarted. The outpost knows differently. Think Zulu with some very anti-social aliens. Starring Adrian Paul (Highlander The Source).
Boy 7
February 9th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Lourens Blok
Runtime: 90 Minutes
Netherlands. (World Premiere) Sam regains consciousness in the middle of a crowded subway. He doesn’t know how he got there, where he came from nor his own name, but there’s an uneasy feeling. Searching frantically for a clue, any clue, he slowly realizes his that feeling is one of great danger. He’s right.
Chrysalis
February 9th, 2015
9:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): John Klein
Runtime: 100 Minutes
(US) New England Premiere. In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by a biological agent, Joshua and Penelope continue to survive nature and the beasts roaming their world. They meet Abira, a fellow survivor, but with a difference.
Fantasticherie di un Passeggiatore Solitario
February 10th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Paolo Gaudio
Runtime: 87 Minutes
(Italy) US Premiere. Winner, Best Film, Nice. Three characters in three different ages are united by a dream of freedom and a small masterpiece of literature. A journey through the mysterious and timeless aspirations, sufferings and ‘Reveries’ of a poet, of a young student and a child lost in the woods.
Parallel
February 10th, 2015
9:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): John Turk
Runtime: 91 Minutes
(US) World Premiere. Despondent over losing his pregnant wife in a car crash, a mathematician searches for a the key to time traveling. His obsession leads to an unexpected place. What he discovers is losing may offer something better.
Genesis Ring
February 11th, 2015
4:45pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Deigh Kelin
Runtime: 92 Minutes
(US) World Premiere. Living in the last standing post-apocalyptic city, a fringe dweller is hired for a dangerous job – delivering an unusual, and much sought after, tech device. Made in New Hampshire.
DOUBLE FEATURE: Dr. Who And The Daleks / DALEKS’ INVASION EARTH: 2150 A.D.
February 11th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Gordon Flemyng
Runtime: 163 Minutes
CLASSIC DOUBLE FEATURE — Dr. Who And The Daleks at 7:00PM and DALEKS’ INVASION EARTH: 2150 A.D. at 9:00PM
Both are digitally remastered from original negatives with Peter Cushing playing the good doctor.
The Sighting
February 12th, 2015
5:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Douglas Dezzani
Runtime: 81 Minutes
(US) World Premiere. On Feb 11th 2013, Mia Hollingworth and her boyfriend went searching for the truth behind her mother’s alien abduction. After three days of searching, they were never heard from again. This is the document of their journey.
The Noah
February 12th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Daniel Bourla
Runtime: 107 Minutes
“It is one of the most obscure movies ever made, it is also one of the most devastating.” Film Threat
(US, 1968) A ‘lost’ gem showing in the ONLY 35mm in existence. Shown for two midnight shows in 1975, this discovery is an eye opener. Set in a post-nuclear world, a sole survivor faces loneliness and other demons. Starring Oscar nominee Robert Strauss with Georffrey Holder & Sally Strickland. For this rare screening, director Daniel Bourla in attendance for a Q&A after the screening.
Dark Summer
February 13th, 2015
5:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Paul Solet
Runtime: 81 Minutes
SCI-FRIGHT FRIDAY!
“Creepy and intelligent” – Film Journal I’ntl (US, 2015)
Boston Premiere. A 17-year-old is under house arrest for the summer. His mother is away on business. He does what he’s not supposed to do, internet trolling. He thought he knew everything there was about computers and being sneaky. He was wrong. d: Paul Solet (Emerson grad) w/Grace Phipps (Vampire Diaries) & Peter Stormare (Fargo, er, the movie)
EL CIRUCLO DE RAYNARD
February 13th, 2015
7:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Maria Valle
Runtime: 92 m.
SCI-FRIGHT FRIDAY!
(Spain, 2014) World Premiere. While making a documentary about an infamous Nazi criminal, the crew finds his diary replete with arcane rituals, one of which they will need to survive.
d; Maria Valle
Wyrmwood
February 13th, 2015
9:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Kiah Roache-Turner
Runtime: 92 Minutes
SCI-FRIGHT FRIDAY!
“Violent, fast-paced, frequently silly, occasionally hilarious and unapologetically Aussie” – Filmlink
(Australia, 2014) Boston Premiere. In a zombie filled post-apocalyptic world, a loner takes his souped up car out for a blood soaked revenge trip. It’s Outback Zombies meeting Mad Max with tons of cool hardware. How could it go wrong?
I Was a Teenage Superhero Sidekick
February 14th, 2015
3:30pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): J. Hanna
Runtime: 77 Minutes
(World Premiere) In a world where superheroes do exist, sidekick Kid Dynamic has some serious issues. What he needs is someone to save him.
Fade to White
February 14th, 2015
5:00pm
Somerville Theatre
Director(s): Elizabeth Lucas
Runtime: 90 Minutes
Valentine’s Day Special!
(US, 2015) World Premiere. “Unforeseen consequences of lost love echo tragically across generations…”
Three love stories echo across time, but anchored in the same location. Starring: Santino Fontana (FROZEN, Hans) and Liz Holtan (NCIS).
Tickets for individual films and shorts programs are $12.50.
This year’s closing marathon, “The ‘Thon”, features the following lineup in order of screening: 2001: A Space Odyssey (with Douglas Trumbull in person), The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari, Big Trouble In Little China, The Day The Earth Stood Still (original), Moonraker, Snowpiercer, This Island Earth, Them, The Iron Giant, Edge Of Tomorrow, Ragnarok
For complete info on the entire festival, check out http://bostonscifi.com. We hope to see you there!