Sebastian C. Santisteban’s All Dogs Go to Heaven, written by Gian Bonacchi, Neal Ludevig, Sergio Sanchez, and Daniel Moreno Skurve, tells the story of a dystopian, totally distant future with no connection to our own world whatsoever, ruled by the powers of a chip called Unneurolink. Totally different, completely unconnected, zero allusions. Much of the… Continue reading All Dogs Go to Heaven: Dystopian Sci-Fi About A Very Convenient Chip
Tag: Sci-Fi Short Film Review
Ensouled: A Riveting Sci-Fi That Sparks Poignant Conversations On The Emerging Technology
At 14:42-minutes, director Moe Najati’s Ensouled is a tightly-wound, deeply unsettling short that explores the themes of metaphysics, AI and humanity. In the numerous sci-fi films out there, what sets Ensouled apart is its ability to remain ambiguous and yet sharp enough to elicit questions amongst its viewers. What defines a human life? Can AI offer better solutions to… Continue reading Ensouled: A Riveting Sci-Fi That Sparks Poignant Conversations On The Emerging Technology
Missing Hearts: A Dorothy and Tin Man Sci-Fi Adventure
Kit Wilson’s Missing Hearts is a sci-fi revamping of The Wizard of Oz, or at least some elements of it. Meaning, a young woman (an astronaut) lands up in a strange land (a planet untouched for the last 200 years) after a storm (engine meltdown) and befriends a tinman (a vintage robot left to languish… Continue reading Missing Hearts: A Dorothy and Tin Man Sci-Fi Adventure
Hope Ryder: New Misadventures in Making This the Best of All Possible Worlds
Matt Gorman’s sci-fi drama Hope Ryder follows its titular character through a life-altering series of events at the centre of which is not Hope but a man named Vest Keo and his by turns lofty and vague tech-based plans for making this the best of all possible worlds. Hope is about to learn a thing… Continue reading Hope Ryder: New Misadventures in Making This the Best of All Possible Worlds
I’m Not a Robot: The Wrath and Terror of Being Made to Fit in Captivating Sci-Fi Drama
The amusing logline of Victoria Warmerdam’s 22-minute I’m Not a Robot belies a splendidly constructed drama whose emotional force has the intensity of—and we say this without a shred of irony—adolescent life. Cornered by a devastating and absolutely life-altering revelation, the threat of being frozen within a byte-sized vision of what she is made for… Continue reading I’m Not a Robot: The Wrath and Terror of Being Made to Fit in Captivating Sci-Fi Drama
Holy Filament: Dreaming Alone in the Eclipse of Humanity in AI Sci-Fi
Arkan Zakharov’s Holy Filament is a sci-fi noir following a humanoid automaton on yet another day out that has brought her very close to her superiors’ ire. But, on the cusp of coming of age, this half-corporate polite half-deadpan toned AI robot can only follow the time-honoured tradition of teenagers around the world to test… Continue reading Holy Filament: Dreaming Alone in the Eclipse of Humanity in AI Sci-Fi
Bright Forests: A First Contact Sci-Fi About Systems on Earth
Chadwick Harman’s Bright Forests is a philosophical and emotional sci-fi short about humankind’s eternal reach towards the unknown. Following a decades-long effort to make contact with extraterrestrial life, the film centres itself around Natalie Isaacs’ perspective, the latest in a line of scientists who have shared that dream. The film opens with a lofty monologue… Continue reading Bright Forests: A First Contact Sci-Fi About Systems on Earth
Anemoia: Sci-Fi Drama on Nostalgic Yearning and Imagining the Unreachable
Zachary Karem’s sci-fi Anemoia explores nostalgia for times other than these, theirs, ours. A true example of the allure of greener grass, the film illustrates just how romantic everything we do not have can look. But to think of it as finger wagging in that direction would be to miss recognizing the loneliness of being… Continue reading Anemoia: Sci-Fi Drama on Nostalgic Yearning and Imagining the Unreachable
Bad Seed: A Unique Fusion of AI and Dark Comedy
In Bad Seed, Karan Sridharan and Yashaswini Nath take viewers on an adventurous narrative journey, blending a darkly mysterious sci-fi theme with the unexpected levity of dark comedy. The film captivates from the beginning, enveloped in mystery, then skillfully transitions into surprises, propelled forward by the script’s strategic revelations. What sets Bad Seed apart is… Continue reading Bad Seed: A Unique Fusion of AI and Dark Comedy
Zerno (The Seed): A Walkabout Through Genres and Eras
Ksenia Bugrimova’s 23-minute Zerno chronicles a woman’s experiment to find lasting love within an alternate universe that came into the 21st century without quite leaving the last one behind. The best of both worlds, as they say, but here it is also the modestly weird of both worlds. The unnamed woman (a pitch-perfect Olga Grishina)… Continue reading Zerno (The Seed): A Walkabout Through Genres and Eras