The 2023 New York Science Fiction Film Festival is back for its third annual event, showcasing an innovative lineup of science fiction films, discussions, and screenplay and graphic novel competitions. With over 40 official selections, this year’s festival is set to be bigger and better than ever before.

The festival will take place in-person on Saturday, March 25th at the Producers Club Theaters, with a virtual encore on Sunday, March 26th. Passes for both in-person and virtual events are now available on the official website.

The visionary behind the festival, Daniel Abella, established the festival to provide a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work as part of New York City’s diverse filmmaking community. As a lifelong admirer of science fiction, he is proud to showcase the festival’s commitment to equality and excellence in their lineup.

This year’s festival consists of 31 shorts, two features, eight screenplay and graphic novel entries, and spans nine countries. According to Abella, the foreboding nature of the films serves as a visual premonition of the future. “Think of this as a sneak preview of what’s to come,” he says. “As the boundaries of science and science fiction continue to blur, our festival offers the opportunity to take charge of the world we live in and help us prepare for a better future.”

The festival’s sci-fi and supernatural screenplay and graphic novel competitions were introduced last year and will once again be featured. Abella believes these categories will inspire many up-and-coming writers. “Carefully constructed screenplays and graphic novels are the results of imaginations allowed to roam free,” he says.

By offering a wide range of science fiction entertainment, the festival hopes to provide attendees with the full effect of the innovative genre. “Indie sci-fi films are a labor of love,” Abella notes. “They are more passionate and original than the tentpole productions that come out of Hollywood because these filmmakers are not afraid to take chances and reinvent the medium.”

In conclusion, the 2023 New York Science Fiction Film Festival promises to be an unforgettable event that celebrates the innovative genre of science fiction. With a diverse lineup of films, discussions, and competitions, the festival provides a platform for both established and up-and-coming filmmakers to showcase their work to a wider audience. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to witness the future of science fiction.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2023:

Producers Club Theaters (358 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036)

Block 1: Experimental Sci-Fi Shorts

Time: 10:30am – 1:00pm EST

Cosmic Virtuoso (2022)

Submitter: Scienshell Studio

Run Time/Country: 20 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Showcasing alien mega constructions around the universe.

Ulalume (2022)

Director: Gary D. Rhodes

Run Time/Country: 7 minutes, Ireland

Synopsis: Dreamlike animation brings Poe’s unforgettable poem to life, with desolate, macabre, and volcanic imagery.

Stoneman (2022)

Director: Rupert Barker

Run Time/Country: 38 minutes, UK

Synopsis: The last man on Earth must escape the British Isles before the country’s unmanned nuclear power stations go into meltdown.

Agatha (2022)

Director: Roland Becerra, Kelly Bigelow Becerra

Run Time/Country: 60 minutes, USA

Synopsis: The film follows “The Professor,” a man suffering from a terminal disease, who by a twist of fate, witnesses an incredible event involving his mysterious neighbor Agatha.

Block 2: International Sci-Fi Shorts

Time: 1:00pm – 3:30pm EST

The Signal (2022)

Director: Daniel Lasker

Run Time/Country: 18 minutes, Zimbabwe

Synopsis: A deadly sound transmitted from space known as “The Signal,” corrupts the minds of all who hear it, turning them into soulless demons under its control.

Gliese (2022)

Director: Jorge Guimerá

Run Time/Country: 20 minutes, Spain

Synopsis: Nacho wakes up on the advanced planet Gliese, where he discovers by mistake that death does not exist. He lives a confrontational trip in which he has to decide whether to accept it or return to Earth and reveal the secret forever.

The Operator (2022)

Director: Matt Riley

Run Time/Country: 20 minutes, UK

Synopsis: The Operator follows Michael, a client contact associate as he starts another dull day of business as usual. Connecting long distance intergalactic calls from a remote satellite (not as exciting as it sounds); a bleary eyed and coffee fueled Michael receives a distress call. No one ever receives a distress call. They barely touch on distress calls during the induction day.

Eden (2022)

Director: Olivier Perrier

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, France

Synopsis: Antoine is moving with his mother and little brother in a modern tower with green walls and a sustainable, self-sufficient architecture. In great psychological distress, he feels like a stranger to this new environment.

Eosphere (2022)

Director: Kolton Alexander Nowaczynski

Run Time/Country: 16 minutes, Canada

Synopsis: A grieving scientist struggles to accept help from his robotic creation; which is trying to address the cause of his guilt.

Pox (2022)

Director: Simon Young

Run Time/Country: 4 minutes, Austria

Synopsis: In a burned out shack in the great American dust bowl, a pox rages through a pioneer family.

Noctuidae (2021)

Director: Alexandra Mauritz

Run Time/Country: 23 minutes, Germany

Synopsis: A lonely seamstress receives a strange request: to sew a cloak made only from the wings of moths.

The Split (2022)

Director: Dario Vero

Run Time/Country: 11 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Something dark and mysterious happened on January 10th 1982 in Nevada. And it happened again 20 years later.

Double Trouble (2022)

Director: Levi Smith and Brett Helms

Run Time/Country: 15 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Two teenagers stay overnight in an arcade and happen upon a spooky, haunted arcade machine.

Block 3: Documentary Presentation

Time: 3:15pm – 5:00pm EST

Black Knight Satellite: Beyond the Signal (2022)

Director: Melissa Tittl

Run Time/Country: 78 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Billy Carson as he uncovers the truth coming from an unknown signal. Carson has spent most of his life studying the unseen to uncover why humanity is here and where we came from. When he discovers a NASA image depicting an unknown object, Carson knows this could be the answer to his questions. Known as The Black Knight Satellite. He interviews leading thinkers in the field.

Block 4: Horror Shorts

Time: 5:00pm – 7:00pm EST

Staycation – Trailer (2023)

Director: Russell Emanuel

Run Time/Country: 2 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Teaser Trailer for the upcoming film “Staycation” starring Olivia d’Abo, Sean Kenney, Tracee Cocco, Laurene Landon, Kelli Maroney, and Eileen Dietz.

Finger (2022)

Director: Joe Lueben

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A mysterious woman appears at a young father’s home seeking recompense for a long-buried transgression. But she doesn’t want money—she wants one of his fingers.

Storage (2022)

Director: Colin Francis Costello

Run Time/Country: 17 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Things spin out of control very quickly after a doctor awakens in a storage room with no idea how she got there, who put her there or who she even is.

Dilemma (2022)

Director: Arik Bauriedl

Run Time/Country: 8 minutes, USA

Synopsis: In this short horror comedy set during Christmas time, the two best friends Amber and Emma discover something shocking in their bathroom. They have to find a way to protect themselves and the future of their start-up. A bloody mess is inevitable.

Creepers (2021)

Director: Kimberly Divad

Run Time/Country: 9 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Alone in her room, the pressures of life consumes Amy. At her breaking point she is confronted with the reality she unknowingly created.

The Hangman (2022)

Director: Cameron Sun

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A woman returning home is stalked by a mysterious upside down figure.

Echo’s Voice Box (2022)

Director: Alex Sultoon

Run Time/Country: 4 minutes, UK

Synopsis: A singer is terrified of losing her voice and thinks someone is out to steal it.

Birthday Boy (2021)

Director: Dan Sellers

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, USA

Synopsis: An abusive dad gets his just desserts on his birthday.

The Pit and the Pendulum (2021)

Director: Danny Ashkenasi

Run Time/Country: 29 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Musical short film adaptation of the classic Poe story. A desperate composer imagines himself both the victim and the Inquisition in Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Reality and fantasy converge with frightening consequences.

Block 5: Supernatural and Sci-Fi Shorts

Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm EST

Launch at Paradise (2021)

Director: Carrie Ann Quinn

Run Time/Country: 15 minutes, USA

Synopsis: The lines between life and death become blurred for John as he takes the risk to live forever.

The Marinn Company (2022)

Director: Emma Swider

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A damaged rental sex robot learns to defy her programming against her sadistic patron.

Runaway (2022)

Director: Harrison Heller, Tommy Kraft

Run Time/Country: 20 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Maria is an android on the run–falsely accused of murdering her master. Pursued through the woods by ruthless bounty hunters, Maria struggles to reach the Free States and maybe discover her humanity along the way.

Ring of Light (2022)

Director: Maxfield Cooper Smith

Run Time/Country: 17 minutes, Canada

Synopsis: In an authoritarian world, a young worker is promoted to distributing the most valuable item in existence when a mysterious woman offers an escape.

Robot (2021)

Director: Tom Ryan

Run Time/Country: 22 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A young boy retrieves a special debris from a spacecraft.

New Air (2022)

Director: Leo Lee

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, Canada

Synopsis: A story of a mother A story of a mother and daughter on a brutal, resource-scarce planet galaxies away.and daughter on a brutal, resource-scarce planet galaxies away.

What Is Your Raison D’être!? (2022)

Director: Freddie Gardner

Run Time/Country: 6 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A young woman is held captive in a secluded lab as she goes through a series of experiments to test her supernatural abilities.

Chatsworth (2022)

Director: Joseph Junod

Run Time/Country: 11 minutes, USA

Synopsis: In 2004, a New Jersey park ranger, trying to cope with the recent disappearance of his wife, searches the vast Pine Barrens for his co-worker after failing to check in at the end of the day.

Remy (2022)

Director: Shallah Jones

Run Time/Country: 5 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A telekinetic little boy, named Remi, tries to emotionally bond with his negligent, addict father and ends up following him to a dangerous underhanded drug deal.

Block 6: Feature Horror Presentation

Time: 9:15pm – 11:30pm EST

The Monster Mash (2022)

Director: Richard Terrasi, Kevin Losani

Run Time/Country: 120 minutes, USA

Synopsis: An anthology of three gruesome tales that will take you back to the days of creature features.

Best Sci-Fi Screenplay Competition:

Official Selections

Death Memory

Writer: Jenny Popovich

Synopsis: An eager scientist develops and performs an experimental cure for Alzheimer’s on her mother, who begins having disturbing memories of crimes she committed.

Harpyr

Writer: Michael Natoli

Synopsis: In a dystopian future, a quirky anarchist and a mild-mannered journalist break out of quarantine to road-trip through the ruins of society. As they rebuild settlements and reinvent themselves,they uncover a vicious secret that could change the wasteland forever.

Best Supernatural Screenplay Competition:

Official Selections

An American Afterlife

Writer: Michael Natoli

Synopsis: After a shady life and a suspicious death on a job gone wrong, loudmouth mercenary Gee Zulamina finds herself conscripted onto a team of afterlife assassins, made up of misfit souls from different eras of American history.

Black Sunshine

Writer: Kirk Allen Muesse

Synopsis: Death is just the beginning of the fun when a miserable, newborn vampire hits the road. Making friends and enemies in his wake of carnage, he is called home by unfinished business.

Pussy

Writer: Payton McCarty-Simas

Synopsis: Over the course of a debauched long weekend at her friend’s beach house, Carter, a young butch lesbian, navigates her bro-ey friends hazing, getting closer to a new crush –– and demonic possession.

Best Short Screenplay Competition:

Official Selections

E.Nygma – A Batman Story

Writer: Rob Ayling

Synopsis: A psychological dive into the narcissistic mind of Edward Nygma,who is struggling to answer one of his most personal riddles.

Butterfly

Writer: Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel

Synopsis: After the rising tides turn New England into New Island, teens Macky and Ket are about to be taken away to the mining camps, when the arrival of an ancient species brings hope that only Ket understands.

Best Graphic Novel Competition:

Official Selections

Gorilla My Dreams – Team-Up #1

Writer: Tim Stiles, Kieran Jack

Synopsis: Knockaround-Guy (KG) and Cthulhu Williams don’t always see eye-to-eye. KG is a D-List superhero (and talking gorilla) who solves the weird and bizarre, street-level cases the A-List ignore. Williams is a paranormal investigator/monster hunter who takes his job VERY seriously.