Roundtable: Ecology and Science Fiction – Malfunction Junction?

LA S’HORRORITÉ 

Since the beginning of time, Science Fiction has painted the putrid portrait of human, technological and material rifts triggered by our patriarchal and ultra-capitalistic societies. A forever loyal subject, Ecology is used almost systematically to accentuate other underlying matters, such as ecofeminism and classicism, that ensue from the weight of these ineradicable, up to now at least, iron fists. During this roundtable, we will bring those works to the table that address the Ecology question, and depending on the period and perspective, how that question has evolved.

S’horrorité is an all-female collective of genre film content designers that came into being in 2020.

It is made up of :

– Judith (Demoiselles D’Horreur)

– Éléonore (Léo Iurillo/La Bobine Hurlante)

– Mylène (Welcome to prime time Bitch !)

– Jess (La Bobine Hurlante) et Jessica (Bon Chic Bon Genre). 

LIVE show: For All Mankind, Rewriting the Conquest of Space

SPOILERS show invites Florent Favard 

And what if the Soviet Union had won the space race? This is the question that Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore is asking in his new series, For All Mankind. A mix of drama and orb-ridden stakes, For All Mankind maps out the possible consequences from its original story line, giving rise to an alternative one that, in turn, speculates on the world today. For a satellite take on the juicy details behind the latest fire ball in Sci-Fi series, the team from SPOILERS will be hosting a space-ialist by the name of Florent Favard, also a lecturer at the University of Lorraine. Their exchange will be broadcast live via Twitch thanks to the streaming platform provided by the associative project Federate Live.

A comparative look at Philosophy and Film: Alien, the Odyssey of Monstrosity  

Maude Robert et Gwendal Parmentier /MODÉRATION : Steven Pravong

Like a timeless and comforting port of call, A comparative look brings Philosophy and Film Studies face to face for a speculative session on one of cult film’s successes. Emblematic Space Horror picture, Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) is decrypted and dissected in 2022. A few years prior to the release of Blade Runner, Ridley Scott introduces Alien to us, a Science Fiction film whose cinematographic kinship features dread, metaphysics, gore and divine. What is this creature brought back to the space tug? This xenomorph, this strange and perfectly unknown form, this animal machine rooted both organically and mechanically? Be it alien or android, alterity often leads to a long hard look into identity, that which defines our very essence as human beings, as well as that which mercilessly contradicts every last bit of it, that which depicts how seldom humane Humankind is, as well as the role human beings play in the universe and over generations.

Roundtable: Space Opera on the Silver Screen 

LAURENT AKNIN, AXEL MILLIEROUX ET XAVIER DOLLO 

MODÉRATION : ANTOINE MOTTIER 

If Space Opera seems synonymous with space exploration, intergalactic interrogations and spaceships, what really is this Sci-Fi subgenre all about, and how has cinema adapted it to the likes of mortals? 

Having captured the hearts and souls of the human species from galaxies both near and far, the massive following having erupted from the sagas of Star Wars and Star Trek, not to mention Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey, has demonstrated that Space Opera in film (like in literature) has its score of stupefaction, feeding cinephiles’ imagination to infinity and beyond. The stellar weave of politics, science, mythology and metaphysics brings both innovative and impending questions to the forefront. For a more explanatory angle onto this genre, the roundtable will be welcoming three specialists from the worlds of the imaginary. 

Laurent Aknin is a film historian and critic, as well as author of several works on book-to-film adaptations, the history of B- to Z-grade cinema, Sword-and-sandal films and the myths in popular cinema. 

Xavier Dollo owns a bookshop, is an editor (Argyll Editions), writer of Science Fiction and Fantasy, and does cartoon scripting (The Cartoon History of Science Fiction). 

Axel Millieroux is a film critic (Fais pas Genre ! online magazine and Contrebande podcast). 

Encounter: An imaginary world (un)fit for all? 

NICOLAS MARTIN ET SIMON RIAUX 

MODÉRATION : ANTOINE MOTTIER 

Simon Riaux and Nicolas Martin have been working closely together for the past several years on a number of projects involving film and genre series, but some cardinal questions continue to haunt them: At a time when cinema’s imagination is overshadowed by Hollywood imagery, what needs to happen for another imaginary to take root? How may the dawning of a European industry see the day, and why are people scared stiff of cult film in France? By taking a closer look at their undertakings and bilateral research, both authors attempt to penetrate the recesses vital to the unfolding of an imaginary world fit (…or unfit) for all. 

Nicolas Martin is a producer, and hosts the Scientific Method podcast on France Culture. He is also an author, screenwriter and filmmaker. 

Simon Riaux is a film critic, and works namely with the online magazine, Écran large, the program, Le Cercle, on Canal +, and the podcast, Pardon le cinéma.  

Simon Riaux and Nicolas Martin are both members of the official jury of the 2022 Short Film Competition. 

Encounter with the filmmakers in competition

These filmmakers are, undoubtedly, the "new gen" in genre! Our excitement to have them in-person at the festival to present their short film exceeds any notion of earthly measure. Come and meet the filmmakers in competition, and you will set forth on a behind-the-scenes journey into the making-of their films and careers.