Sci-Fi-London: Genre film festival returns with new central London locations

Listen up sci-fi fans! Our favourite sci-fi film festival, Sci-Fi-London, is back this May and will be taking place at new central London locations.

Taking place from 31 May – 6 June 2023, the festival will be at four cinemas: the Prince Charles Cinema, the Picturehouse Central, the Garden Cinema and Rich Mix. Find out more about the locations here.

Sci-Fi-London has always showcased the very best of independent science fiction and this year is no different with a brilliant programme for everyone to enjoy.

Check out what’s showing at this year’s festival…

UFO SWEDEN

It’s 1996, and a group of misfits in Norrköping spend their time investigating UFO sightings in Sweden. They debunk 99 per cent of the claims, but the remaining one per cent fuels their passion.

Denise, a rebellious teenager whose father founded the group – and was supposedly abducted by aliens in the 80s – seeks their help to uncover the truth about her father’s disappearance. Discovering her father’s secret archives sheds new light on the mystery but there are forces that want to keep the information very hidden.

When: Wed 31 May at 7pm

Where: Picturehouse Central

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PHI 1.618

In a dystopian, punk future, a woman disrupts the world of a new breed of loveless, immortal men.

Krypton, engineered to embody the golden ratio, Phi 1.618, lives amidst these men but plans to escape Earth’s toxicity on a massive spaceship, and colonise the universe. Women are deemed obsolete since immortal men do not procreate, except for one Sleeping Beauty preserved as a relic of the past. As Krypton is destroying the world’s books, an outrageous creature is born, a woman called Gargara. Gargara defies explanation and leads Krypton to question the plan. Gargara challenges him to awaken Sleeping Beauty and rescue the fairytale from turning into a nightmare.

When: Thurs 1 June at 8.45pm

Where: Picturehouse Central

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CADE: THE TORTURED CROSSING

Neil Breen stars in his latest production, a story of two identical twin brothers who are the subjects of an AI experiment, giving them superpowers.

They are mysteriously associated with a former mental asylum. One brother grows in a direction causing agony and heartbreak to all whilst the other grows in a heroic direction, saving and protecting the patients.

When: Thurs 1 June at 6.45pm and Sunday 4 June at 8.45pm

Where: Prince Charles Cinema

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DEEP ASTRONOMY AND THE ROMANTIC SCIENCES

In a crowded nightclub, Grace sits alone at a table, her movements unusually mechanical. She is a robot in disguise. Rudy, a young man, decides to strike up a conversation with the unusual woman.

Grace proves to be more informative than inquisitive, drawing Rudy into a discussion about the history of the Romantic Sciences. As an expert and product of the field, she shares stories about lectures and performances given by various Romantic Scientists. Her topics range from time travel and multiple dimensions to the colonisation of other planets and human waste disposal.

When: Thurs 1 June

Where: The Garden Cinema

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ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE FUTURE: 2121

The Earth’s surface has become uninhabitable due to climate crises and famine. Family units exist in underground homes run by a strict authoritarian regime. Population numbers are closely controlled and the ‘Scarcity Laws’ state that older generations must be destroyed in exchange for new lives.

The life of a family of four composed of a wife, husband, child, and grandmother, is threatened by the impending arrival of a baby.

When: Fri 2 June at 8.30pm

Where: Picturehouse Central

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OZMA

One night after another restless sleep Jeff, an insomniac haunted by the loss of his wife, discovers an alien jellyfish-like creature in the alley by his house. The creature communicates telepathically and persuades the reluctant Jeff to help it hide from the hostile forces on its trail.

When: Fri 2 June at 5.45pm

Where: Prince Charles Cinema

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THE WARM SEASON

In 1967, 12-year-old Clive is playing in the New Mexican desert behind her family’s remote motel, when Mann suddenly appears claiming to be from a dying planet and searching for a new home for his kind. With the authorities closing in on him, Mann leaves a glowing orb with Clive, imploring her to conceal it and assuring her that he’ll return.

Fast-forward 25 years and Clive’s married, struggling to keep the now flailing motel afloat. Her husband, Mitch, urges Clive to sell the motel, restart their life and revive their love. As Clive ponders what she should do, Mann returns wanting his orb back. Problem is, Clive is not quite sure where it is.

When: Fri 2 June June at 8.30pm

Where: The Garden Cinema

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THE GREAT GLITCH / CHILDREN OF PARADISE

Summer in Copenhagen. Best friends Ronja and Serb are restless souls in their mid-twenties struggling to navigate life. As one joins a secret activist network, and the other falls in love with a mysterious girl, a series of increasingly unlikely events unfold, and the line between reality and fiction begins to erode. Timelines diverge and doppelgängers appear out of nowhere in an endless array of bright summer nights, where everyone is equally chasing euphoria and trying to find meaning.

When: Sat 3 June at 9pm

Where: Picturehouse Central

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THE ELDERLY

Manuel, an octogenarian with dementia, moves in with his son Mario and family following the sudden suicide of his wife. One evening at dinner Manuel declares that he will kill them all in their sleep.

It’s the hottest summer in history, the apartment is sweltering and claustrophobic and Lena, Mario’s wife, believes that something dreadful is bound to happen because of Manuel’s strange behaviour. But it is not just Manuel who is acting strangely, all the old people in their building are exhibiting violent tendencies as the temperature continues to rise.

When: Sat 3 June at 6.15pm

Where: The Prince Charles Cinema

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WINTERTIDE

In a remote post-apocalyptic northern city where many of the population are depressive zombie-like automatons, Beth, a volunteer watchman is tasked with reporting sightings of “strays,” who are captured and taken to a secure facility. She hopes to find her father among the Strays.

In this bleak, endless winter Beth has myriad one-night stands yet whilst everyone around her slowly seems to be getting infected, Beth discovers that by entering an alternative dimension through her post-coital dreams, she’s able to stave off the illness, but for how long?

When: Sat 3 June at 3.30pm

Where: The Prince Charles Cinema

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THE EYE AND THE WALL

A totalitarian regime, The Eye, runs the city of Gabhán. Shut off from the world by a soaring wall it has a brutal and militaristic police force.

Trapped inside, the population exists in poverty – condemned to live with starvation, ill health and constant danger. Alba is a member of an underground network that distributes food, medicine, and water to the most deprived. Desperate to get Alba to safety, Lucre lies to Alba about her safety and need to escape. Unsuspecting, Alba embarks on a journey that changes her life forever.

When: Sun 4 June at 6pm

Where: The Prince Charles Cinema

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REMOTE

In a strangely credible solar-punk world of the near future, Unoaku, an ex-pat architect lives and works in a small apartment in Kuala Lumpur – a paradise of vibrant colours, thriving plant life, and virtual screens. Every day she joins a Watch Party and meets friends also obsessed with the daily performances of the South Korean dog-groomer.

Together the women discover they are connected through mysterious portals hidden in their homes. Embarking on a quest for answers, they use the portals to bridge the distance between them, uncovering a phenomenon with universe-altering consequences.

When: Mon 5 June at 8.30pm

Where: The Prince Charles Cinema

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MONDO NIGHTS X SCI-FI-LONDON PRESENTS: M.A.D

Sci-Fi-London’s double bill of fact-fiction films (The War Game, 1966; and Crossroads, 1976) look at nuclear war, with both films dancing the line between document and fiction.

When: Monday 5 June at 6.15pm

Where: The Garden Cinema

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THE BYSTANDERS

Ever wondered why sh1t happens to you despite your best efforts?

Well, it might just be The Bystanders, screwing with your life because they are bored. Bystanders are invisible immortals supposed to act like guardian angels. Each Bystander is tasked with watching a human, but they have been recruited from the human world and are mostly bitter people with no friends; a bunch of misfits and loners.

Into this comes new recruit Pete. He is being shown the ropes by his world-weary tutor Frank, who is mostly irritated by their subjects, and for fun suggests they swap their charges.

When: Tues 6 June at 8.30pm

Where: The Rich Mix