Great festival, I am honored to have been included in this festival. My film ended up winning best Sci-Fi movie award! The audience feed back they provide is very helpful.
I won best short sci-fi film, and I was taken good care of by staff. They really focus on the heart of what drives filmmakers. It’s how festivals used to be, and still should be.
I was so honored to have several projects selected for this awesome festival! Looking forward to sharing more in the future. 🎬
Thank you for selecting ‘Spirit Traveler: Looking into the Past for a Better Future’ and awarding the film Best Documentary! It was a pleasure to work with Fantasy/Sci-Fi Film Festival! You made 2023 the best!
Excellent festival. Receiving the audience feedback video was so valuable.
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QUOTES:
I can’t do Los Angeles. I’ve always been the anti-Barbie. I don’t want to be in a place where almost every woman walks around with puffy lips, little noses and breasts large enough to nourish a small country. As a kid I wanted attention, so I started praying for glasses because everyone had ace vision in my family. Then one day my eyes started going bad and never stopped.
It’s terrifying to be the lead. There’s a moment of excitement, and then pure terror.
I really don’t feel a need to be famous. But I do feel a need to make a difference, to shed light on human emotion through acting.
There are some times when I think acting can be a noble profession.
I’m not in this for the achievement. I’m in it for the illumination. That’s how I choose my roles, that’s how I attract roles — it’s a very spiritual process for me. And it’s the only way I can continue, and stay interested. The acting…it’s really a vocation.
The reason why I decided to wait two years after the Bond movie, and to work with Ang Lee in a martial arts movie, is because I really believe that this genre deserves more respect and dignity than it’s ever been given. Before, people saw it as a fairy tale; they felt they could take it easy. But it shouldn’t be about that. It’s so steeped in our culture, it should have more depth to it. It’s never easy to find that balance, when it’s such a magical type of film, to make you accept our soaring to the skies . . . it was a risk, but when we did this movie, it was for a Western audience.
Learning how to walk in a kimono was an art form in itself – if you didn’t learn to do it properly it was like dragging a dead cat across the floor! We had to walk with a piece of paper between your knees and a tea tray balanced on your head.
In Asia, we constantly play Koreans, Malay, Chinese. We do not question that, as you do not question an Englishman playing an American or a German.
I prefer to be kicked four or five times well, you know, hard, than twenty or twenty five times not so good…
The great thing about film is you start and finish. It’s a journey that lasts so long, TV lasts a long time.
The part I enjoy about acting is just having that imagination, taking your mind to a place that you wouldn’t normally necessarily go to.
[on her film Sugar & Spice (2001)] Huge party, from the day we started until we wrapped in Minneapolis. We’d all go to coffee in the morning and we became best friends. We were so excited to be in an all-girl film. It was one big shopping spree. They put us in this hotel across from a shopping mall, and we were often late for work!
No matter what the character is, I just say to myself “If I, Melissa George, was in that situation, how would I react?” and once you do that you can just go for it, and hopefully the performance comes through.
DIMENSIONS: The Interrogation, 8min., USA Directed by Robert James Harden Jr. During an interrogation for the murder of his mother, a man pleads for his release in fear of his life. Two special detectives grill him in order to solve their case. In the shadows of these men’s dimension, the answers to all their mysteries live.
Aeolus 15, 11min., USA Directed by Diego Ugalde Haunted by his past, an old man waits for a cosmic phenomenon that could let him communicate with a young astronaut from the past – that astronaut is himself.
Three S3conds, 16min., USA Directed by Diana Shield Arlo, a 17 year old boy struggles to open up and express himself to his counselor. He is haunted by his past actions due to his inability to control his rage and anger issues.
My husband and I enjoy going on walks, driving long distances and we noticed people’s lack of patience at a Stop sign or red light. We talked about three seconds waiting for an individual to cross the road. This is all it takes to cease all movement from a vehicle. So we noticed a growing trend of people not coming to a complete stop or taking a red light. And it happens across a lot of major cities. But one day two young men were crossing and the driver clipped one of them. They both began shouting at the driver of the vehicle who did not stop. Luckily the young man was not hurt, his backpack was struck with the vehicle.
From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
I would say about three months. However once we got our DP, everything moved quickly.
How would you describe your film in two words!?
Intense, provoking.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
Nothing, we were lucky enough to have it completed. We had great support and were surrounded by talented individuals.
What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
They said wonderful things about the film and the message got across clearly. I appreciate the feedback with sound, pacing, cinematography and acting. These were all elements we concentrated on and worked extensively. It makes one feel heard and seen. Stories are important and impactful, I want people to leave thinking about the story, I want it to resonate.
Question & answer session after the festival screening with filmmakers from the July 31, 2025 festival at the Carlton Cinemas, in downtown Toronto, Canada.
Conversation with directors:
Sohil Chhabra (OBSIDIAN)
Malcolm Jack (THE CALLBACK)
THE CALLBACK, 10min., Canada Directed Malcolm Jack ISAAC is one of several actors auditioning for the lead in the globally renowned action franchise: MAX STORM. Every actor has been invited into the audition room, which is empty aside from a table with a black covering. Suddenly, they’re greeted by the voice of director DEAN WEST over the intercom. “Do whatever it takes to secure the role.” The tablecloth comes off, revealing a massive collection of deadly melee weapons. Everyone is skeptical, but distrust is already growing. When one of the actors sets his sights on Isaac, snatches an imposing knife off the table, and begins to close in, Isaac is forced to fight to survive.
OBSIDIAN, 18min., Canada Directed by Sohil Chhabra David Smith, a deeply troubled detective grappling with a brutal murder case and the collapse of his personal life, finds himself spiraling into darkness—only to uncover a path to unexpected self-discovery.
AWARD WINNERS: Best Film: BAD BLOOD Best Story: HWANDO Best Direction: OBSIDIAN Best Performances: THE CALLBACK Best Cinematography: THE DROWNING POOL Best Sound & Music: DESIRE
EE THE LINEUP OF FILMS:
OBSIDIAN, 18min., Canada Directed by Sohil Chhabra David Smith, a deeply troubled detective grappling with a brutal murder case and the collapse of his personal life, finds himself spiraling into darkness—only to uncover a path to unexpected self-discovery.
HWANDO, 25min., South Korea Directed by Will LeForestier An assassin enhanced with a brain-to-computer interface and controlled by a dark organization must turn against her creators to protect her family and destroy the AI-driven system that enslaves her.
Bad Blood, 19min., Argentina Directed by Guillermo Ronco Abandoned by the state and with his daughter’s life at stake, police officer Rafael chooses to break his deepest convictions and commit a crime to resolve his situation. But when what was supposed to be a robbery turns into a kidnapping, he discovers that there are limits he cannot cross.
THE CALLBACK, 10min., Canada Directed Malcolm Jack ISAAC is one of several actors auditioning for the lead in the globally renowned action franchise: MAX STORM. Every actor has been invited into the audition room, which is empty aside from a table with a black covering. Suddenly, they’re greeted by the voice of director DEAN WEST over the intercom. “Do whatever it takes to secure the role.” The tablecloth comes off, revealing a massive collection of deadly melee weapons. Everyone is skeptical, but distrust is already growing. When one of the actors sets his sights on Isaac, snatches an imposing knife off the table, and begins to close in, Isaac is forced to fight to survive.
The drowning pool, 12min., Spain Directed by Enrique Novials Ariadna, a former police officer, is now a detective shocked by the recent death of her mother due to Covid. In the midst of this, she must find a child who has been kidnapped after school.
DESIRE, 7min., USA Directed by Jason Chu When a suave socialite lures a beauty back to his yacht for drinks, his hidden, darker passions stir, forcing him to choose whether romance is on the menu or something far more sinister.
Dystopian stories are a type of speculative fiction that explore the darker aspects of human nature and the human mind. They often serve as a warning about what could happen to modern society if certain aspects grow out of control.
SAVE $40 off the regular submission for full novel submissions. Get FULL FEEDBACK on your novel by our committee of industry professionals. Get a transcript of your novel performed by professional actors at the Festival.
This festival has a guaranteed 4-tier set up for each accepted script. (No matter what, all screenplays submitted receive FULL FEEDBACK on their work.) 1) Full Feedback on your script 2) Actors performance video reading of your script 3) Blog interview promotion. 4) Podcast interview on the Film Festival ITunes show.
