The New York Science Fiction Film Festival has announced its 2025 program, marking the festival’s fifth edition with screenings and discussions scheduled for September 19–20 across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Festival passes are currently available through the official website at newyorksci-fifest.com.
Founded by Daniel Abella, the festival showcases independent science fiction films alongside thought-provoking conversations with creators and experts. Abella notes that today’s world reflects many of the speculative ideas long depicted in science fiction. “With AI, genetic manipulation, simulation theory, and UFOs, we are living in the middle of a sci-fi reality,” he explained.
Abella emphasizes the genre’s relevance not only as entertainment but also as a lens through which to examine modern challenges. “Sci-fi warns us of the unbridled consequences of embracing certain mindsets and technologies,” he said. “It unleashes imagination, curiosity, and a sense of wonder. There is no end to the power of humanity.”
The 2025 festival continues its mission of presenting diverse stories that explore the possibilities of the future, encouraging audiences to reflect on innovation, responsibility, and human potential.
Short Documentaries:
3-4:30pm
The Monster Man
A life-long fan, Neil Cole has made it his mission to save everything possible…and he created The Museum of Classic Sci-Fi to achieve this. In this monstrous documentary, we trace Neil’s story from the beginning and learn about the restoration and preservation techniques he has pioneered to save classic monsters for generations to come.The Box, The Con, and the Handsomest Man in Fandom
Filmmaker Ian Paul Johnston explores the contents of a bookstore box covering more than 60 years of science fiction, horror and fantasy. A personal and lighthearted look at the unique geeks, writers, pranksters, misogynists and loyal fans who made up the early days of fandom.Feature Documentary:
4:30-6pmLoch Ness: They Created A Monster — East Coast Premiere
Director John MacLaverty, 2023
UK, 90 min
There’s another story about the Loch Ness Monster-one that you don’t know. It’s a tale of monstrous egos, of rivalry, flipper fraud, petrol bomb attacks and sex in caravans. All is revealed in the hilarious and wild – Loch Ness They Created a Monster, which takes a deep dive into the golden era of Nessie hunting, and uncovers the real monsters.Sci-Fi Feature
6-7pm
The Distant Jump — East Coast Premiere
A criminal organization abducts Jennifer’s daughter in order to harness her supernatural gifts and jump to a distant, alternate reality.International Sci-Fi and Supernatural Shorts
7-9pmSalem Aftermath Sizzle (Trailer)
Director Tom Phillips
USA
The dialogue in this film clip is derived from the latest research and historical analysis of Ann Putnam. By incorporating newly discovered documents, human behavioral science, and AI, we have reconstructed what Ann likely would have said if given the chance.The Hiring Protocol
Director Francois Choquene
France, 16 min
In the near future, Agathe undergoes a job assessment. She soon discovers some unsettling new recruitment techniques—ones that will leave a lasting mark on her.
Dreams
Director Valentyn Korolkov
Ukraine, 5 min
A spine-chilling dark music video that pulls you into a haunting tale of exorcism, deception, and the terrifying power of the unseen.
Get Rid of the Mask
Director Craig S. Frank
Denmark, 12 min
After her father’s funeral, Sydney searches his house for a valuable item. She shouldn’t have
Hypatia
Director Mari Mantela
Finland, 22 min
An anomaly named Hypatia causes disturbance in time and gravity.wo persons are allowed to study it at a time.The woman believes in science, the man in miracles.
Could Hypatia give them more time together?
Pirate Jenny
Directors Elisabetta De Luca, Alessandro Freschi
Italy, 5 min
The Variation Game
Directors Xiaoli Liu, Yisheng Fan
China, 14 min
The Variation Game is a sci-fi short film about the relationship between AI and art.the story revolves around Wu Mu, a talented pianist who is tasked to train Ivory, a humanoid pianist, to pass a Music Turing Test, where the judges wouldn’t know whether the performer is human or machine.
Copilot
Directors Jeremiah Hammerling, Robert Devine
USA, 6 min
A lost android stumbles upon an animated TV show he’s surprised to find himself starring in and remembers his true nature.
Like Tears in the Rain
Director Chris Delaporte
France, 9 min
An androgyne android is living her last moments on earth, alone. She is desperately chasing random souvenirs lost in her AI hallucinations, as her body is slowly heading to an inevitable decay.
Dig
Director Jandro
Spain, 5 min
A man is digging a clandestine grave in the middle of the forest at night when he is suddenly discovered.
Sci-Fi Horror Shorts
9-11pm
Monitus
Director Diego Carli
Italy, 10 min
Four girls are walking in a mountain wood. They have a lively discussion about ethics, particularly concerning a forest fire that they caused a year earlier. During this trip, Rebecca, the main charachter, will have the opportunity to discover how much nature can be vengeful.
Descent into Hell
Director Logan Fry
USA, 5 min
Descent into Hell shows a special kind of horror – cosmic horror. Cosmic horror, popularized by H. P. Lovecraft, is a subgenre of horror that explores the terrifying implications of a vast, uncaring, and incomprehensible universe.
Fork Man, The Origin Story
Director Raymond Seabert
USA, 13 min
A young boy is tormented by those around him never letting him use a fork to eat his food. He ends up at a Fork Factory where life continues to get complicated and then an evil plan is set in motion that will change the young boys life forever.
Quarantine
Director Russ Emanuel
USA, 14 min
How is the world affected by a catastrophic event, as seen through the eyes of a couple named Cathy and Matt? Everyday people live through a government mandated quarantine during a global pandemic while desperate scientists race to find a cure before it’s too late.
Chompers
Director Chef Joe Gatto
USA, 7 min
When a homeless woman chomps down on a mysterious pair of dentures, they bite back—fusing to her jaw and turning her into a flesh-craving menace with an appetite big enough to eat the whole damn city.
Director Mohamed Fareed
Bahrain, 13 min
After a horrific accident, a troubled drifter seeks shelter within the confines of a hedge maze. Unbeknownst to him, the worst was yet to come.AI – Our Generation
Director Anders Christian A Öttenius
Sweden, 13 min
An interrogation takes place on October 6, 2027. A family – consisting of Hanna, her daughter Ester (age 9) and Hanna’s mother Ann-Britt – tells an interrogator about a terrifying event during a drive to the family’s cabin.The Wanderer
Director Michael Lavine
USA, 10 min
An immortal woman offers a dark proposition to a dying man, but struggles to persuade him to accept her curse.Archaic
Director Mark Perceval-Maxwell
UK, 13 min
As Sam struggles with recent trauma, she is unexpectedly contacted by her old friend Emily, a self-proclaimed neo-shaman. Emily offers a healing ceremony using an underground entheogen, but the timing feels too coincidental, hinting at a hidden agenda tied to their unresolved past.
Hept
Director Jorge Baldeon
Ecuador/USA, 5 min
In a post-apocalyptic world, a famished man encounters an abandoned house containing a bountiful feast. Despite mounting suspicion and unease, he continues to consume the enigmatic food. His fears are confirmed when he hears a noise and investigates, leading to a fateful encounter in the depths of the house. hept
MystiqMorte: Alien Demonology
Director Alexis Karl
USA, 15 min
In this short, experimental horror film, we are confronted with four characters that are harbingers of doom. They are prophets of nether realms, foreseeing the fall of mankind, and our rebirth within an alien.
Sci-Fi and Supernatural Shorts
2-4pm
Zero One
Director Peter Corrigan
Ireland, 2 min
A short animation created in Unreal Engine that tells the story of a sniper in a bleak shattered world.
Pandora, Inc
Director Joe Lueben
USA, 11 min
While his wife and kids are out of town, a stressed-out illustrator risks losing everything when DAWN-an alluring A.I. creation-mysteriously arrives at his home and begins to seduce him.
Hunted
Director Katy Frame
USA, 5 min
Reinsertion
Director Youssef Harouj
Canada, 14 min
A young woman accused of her fiancé’s murder, finds herself sent to the psychiatric ward of the MK ULTRA prison, unaware of the dangers awaiting her. As she delves into a unique and dark story, she uncovers buried secrets and faces unexpected twist
Be Not Afraid
Directors Cara Claymore, Jackie Payne
USA, 12 min
Recruited by a woman trying to save her boyfriend, rogue exorcist Asher Hawthorne corners a feral demon, but her brutal tactics might not be enough to save them both.
The End of All Wanting
Director Finn Droga
USA, 16 min
Rose, a young woman suffering from a mysterious and debilitating pain, turns to an unorthodox doctor for help. However, as she delves deeper into his radical treatments, Rose must decide whether Dr. Connors’ solution to human suffering is really what she wants or even real at all
Pocket Change
Directors Tanner Mobley, Heston Roewe
USA, 15 min
When the power goes out at a roadside diner in the middle of nowhere, a mysterious drifter and his seemingly worthless quarter hold the key to saving everyone from a deadly threat. Starring Emmy-nominee Freddy Rodríguez (Six Feet Under).
Selvedge
Director Aleksandra Czenczek
UK, 14 min
In a future world where human and AI people have blended families, one that has been divided against their will tries to reunite at a secret location
Treasure imagination
Director Scott Rice
USA, 5 min
A city boy is distraught when his beloved tablet is taken away by his mom. But when he finds a mysterious fedora left on a park bench, his temptation to place it on his head leads to adventure.
Feature Presentation
4-6pm
The Strange Dark
6-8pmRufus — East Coast Premiere
Director: Mars Roberge
A man in the hood, Rufus, tells five disturbing dark stories to his family and friends against his wife’s will that includes a mortician working on the wrong night, a singer who learns about entertainment corruption, the future of adoption, medical malpractice and the cost of war.
