The Melbourne Science Fiction Film Festival returns to Cinema Nova from February 23-25 with 10 sessions of what it considers to be the best sci-fi/fantasy films.
This year’s Melbourne line-up will include 16 Australian premieres from independent visionaries whose features hail from France, Canada, Macedonia, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. The short-film roster of 12 titles includes groundbreaking works from the Chinese visual effects sector.

Opening Night honours go to French director Damien Faure’s PYRAMIDEN, a stark, visually stunning odyssey starring David D’Ingéo as the lone survivor of a mass extinction event, who settles in an abandoned city only to experience new and strange phenomena. The feature will screen with the Australian short EARTHRISE, from director Shane Joseph Willis.

Having its International Premiere at the festival will be SHADOWS IN THE DESERT: HIGH STRANGENESS IN THE BARREGO TRIANGLE, the acclaimed documentary from paranormal podcast duo Derek Hayes of Monsters Among Us, and David Flores of Blurry Photos. The pair explore unique stories of weird phenomena in California’s Anza-Borrego State Park, including sightings of legendary cryptids, ghostly apparitions and some of America’s most compelling UFO encounters.

Other feature films to make their first sojourn to Australian shores are:
the dystopian action/thriller CORA, from Swedish directing duo Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund;
the scifi/horror romp HOW TO KILL MONSTERS (pictured, above), from English filmmaker Stewart Sparke, a gory thrill-ride best describe as ‘Evil Dead 2-meets-Hot Fuzz’;
the alien invasion drama THE BEEHIVE, from Canadian indie auteur Alexander Lasheras;
Vardan Tozija’s coming-of-age survival drama M, a striking work that was Macedonia’s Official Entry in the 2023 Foreign Film Oscar category.
In recognition of the remarkable work being done by founder Ryan Ward and his production entity Memory Pill Films, the festival will screen two films from the Manitoba-based filmmakers – DAUGHTER OF THE SUN, an evocative road-movie/supernatural drama featuring a star-making turn from teen actress Nyah Perkin (pictured, below), and their latest, the La Jetée-inspired short film TIME TRAVELLING THROUGH TIME.

In a Special Presentation held in conjunction with Utopia Fest Tel Aviv, a selection of short films from the region will screen that highlight the contemporary themes and vivid imaginations being explored by Israel’s young filmmakers. Says Utopia’s Festival Director Uri Aviv, “Our mission is to celebrate science fiction, support and promote speculative thought and ignite imagination. By speculating, we find ourselves critically thinking, questioning and contesting the basic structures of society and reality.”

Other must-see short films include LIMIT (边界), a dazzling deep-space adventure from Chinese effects house, Helium Flash; a heartwarming animation journey called LIGHTS (Svetla) from Polish director Jitka Nemikinsová; the hilariously monstrous romance, A KAIJU LOVE STORY, from AFTRS graduate Leo O’Donoghue; and, local filmmaker Harrison Ewart-Dart’s moving fantasy, 10 SECONDS TIL MIDNIGHT.