Feb 26 Black Future Month: New Voices New Visions – Sci-Fi & Horror Shorts

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Short Films – Program Length: 101 minutes
 
dangerwordDanger Word, US, 2014, 19 min
Director: Luchina Fisher
Writers:  Steven Barnes (“The Outer Limits,” “The New Twilight Zone,” “Andromeda“)
and Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep)
DANGER WORD is a short horror film directed by Luchina Fisher (Death in the Family), adapted for the screen by award-winning writers Steven Barnes (“The Outer Limits,” “The New Twilight Zone,” “Andromeda“) and Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep). This film is about a 13-year-old girl and her grandfather who have survived the zombie plague in his wooded cabin–and how her birthday goes badly awry.  It was nominated for Best Narrative Short by the Pan African Film Festival (2014) and the BronzeLens Film Festival (2013.)
touch_stillTOUCH, UK, 2013, 9min
Director: Shola Amoo

Jessica and George meet in an open field at a specific time and place everyday. George is in love – but unbeknownst to him, Jessica hides a devastating secret. As Jessica’s feelings for George grow, she must make an important decision that will change her life forever.

“Touch is as ethereal as it is arguably romantic and has numerous societal undertones”


 

robotsofbrixton
Robots of Brixton, UK 2011
 -4 min
Director: Kibwe Tavares
Brixton has degenerated into a disregarded area inhabited by London’s new robot workforce – robots built and designed to carry out all of the tasks which humans are no longer inclined to do. The mechanical population of Brixton has rocketed, resulting in unplanned, cheap and quick additions to the skyline. The film follows the trials and tribulations of young robots surviving at the sharp end of inner city life, living the predictable existence of a populous hemmed in by poverty, disillusionment and mass unemployment. When the Police invade the one space which the robots can call their own, the fierce and strained relationship between the two sides explodes into an outbreak of violence echoing that of 1981.


PUMZI
Pumzi
 Kenya, 2009-12 min
Directed by Wanuri Kahiu
Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which water scarcity has extinguished life above ground, the short follows one scientist’s quest to investigate the possibility of germinating seeds beyond the confines of her repressive subterranean Nairobi culture.[3]

Nature is extinct. The outside is dead. Asha lives and works as a museum curator in one of the indoor communities set up by the Maitu Council. When she receives a box in the mail containing soil, she plants an old seed in it and the seed immediately starts germinating. Asha appeals to the Council to grant her permission to investigate the possibility of life on the outside, but the Council denies her exit visa.


exo_movie EXO, Chicago, 2014, 5 min. by Chicago Impakt
Chicago Filmmakers Chris & Blaq aka Christopher Adams and Hana “Blaq” Mitchell premiered their Sci-Fi short film “EXO” at the 2014 Englewood international film festival “We Challenged ourselves to create something to show at this year’s festival” says Adams, owner and co-founder of Chicago based Impakt Studio.

“We wanted to push the boundaries of what you see in black indie films by including sci fi and action,” says Adams. “We are proponents of creating Afrofuturist, Sci-fi, Fantasy, action and horror films.” EXO stars Tyree Mitchell as a hunter of dangerous creatures that have started appearing after an accident at a scientific research facility .

The film was created from inception to completion in 7 days including visual effects and an antagonist created in CGI. The film is a proof of concept for a larger project they are now developing


Screen Shot 2015-01-25 at 10.50.04 AM

BAR STAR CITY Trailer , Chicago, 2015, 2:13
Director/Writer – Ytasha L. Womack
Production: Spring 2015

A charmed longtime bar owner discovers that his understated Southside Chicago watering hole is the home for galactic phenomena.

Carter’s Bar has always been a world all its own for its eccentric regulars. A bitter soldier, an aspiring actress, a secretive collector, a tech phenom, a finicky yoga instructor, a wily attorney,  a mysterious dancer, and the resident cynic all call Carter’s bar home.  But when two  very distant lovers from opposite ends of time decide to make the bar their own, the true world of the motley crew unravels and doors to new worlds come alive.


 

Screen Shot 2015-01-25 at 10.56.27 AMTelescope (2013), 10 min
The year is 2183. Earth is dead. With all evidence of organic life lost, a cosmic archaeologist travels faster than light into deep space to capture images of the once vibrant planet. When his vessel is damaged he must take matters into his own hands, risking his life to witness humanity’s lost home.


 

The AfroNauts (2014)
In 1964, immediately following Zambia’s independence, grade school science teacher Edward Makuka Nkoloso set up the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research, and Astronomical Research in an old farmhouse 7 miles outside of Lusaka. Without resources (the £7,000,000 grant he applied to from UNESCO never came through), he hoped to launch a spacegirl (17-year-old Matha) and two cats into space before America or Russia could. To prepare his astronauts, Nkoloso rolled them down hills in 44-gallon oil drums or cut the rope of a swing at its highest point to simulate weightlessness. We do not know what became of them, other than that Matha became pregnant and was taken away by her parents.

TheSim2014

The SIM (2014), Nigeria 3:56 min
A young Girl caught in a computer simulation must fight her way through to survive. However, a shocking reality awaits her. This is the first part in what we hope to be an interesting web series. Enjoy!


 theabandon
The Abandon, 2012, 16min
Sci-Fi Webseries
Writer/Director, Keith Josef Adkins
http://youtu.be/dtD-mN3sFY8
The Mayan prophecy predicts the world will transform during the Winter Soltisce 2012.  The Hopi believe the Blue Star Kachina will appear in the skies during the Winter Solstice 2012 and bring an alien nation to Earth and introduce the Age of Purification.
In the summer of 2012 five men go on an annual hiking trip. However, things change drastically when they receive news of a global alien invasion.
The Abandon follows a group of friends who must navigate and survive a global alien invasion that has changed the world forever. They have two choices:  focus on their individual survival or secure the longevity of the human race.

crossover_PBS
Futurestate Shorts:
CROSSOVER, 2012, 19min
In a future where schools are segregated by economic status, a struggling mother must decide whether to sell her own organs to give her children a better education.
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