Patrick Biesemans’ Creep Box Awarded Top Prize For Best PKD Feature
Gerrit Van Woudenberg’s Quantum Suicide Named Best Sci-Fi Feature
William Kresch’s Alone Together Wins Best Supernatural Feature
The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners for its eleventh annual event, which presented films, panels, screenplay and graphic novel competitions, and virtual reality demonstrations. Screenings were held from April 4-7, 2024 in Queens and Manhattan. Exploring the influence of novelist Philip K. Dick and the sci-fi community, the event recognized 19 official selections for outstanding filmmaking and storytelling. For more information on this year’s lineup, visit https://www.thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com.
Congratulations to the award winners of The 2024 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
BEST PKD FEATURE
Creep Box
Director Patrick Biesemans
United States, 95 min
A scientist uses groundbreaking technology to communicate with the deceased but once he is through the looking glass, there is no turning back.
BEST SCI-FI FEATURE
Quantum Suicide
Director Gerrit Van Woudenberg
Canada, 87 min
A lone physicist builds a particle accelerator in his garage and embarks on a quest to understand the nature of reality. In the process of his experiments he suffers radiation poisoning, loses his vision and alienates his partner, who eventually leaves him. But in his obsession, he finds clarity and the key to understanding our reality. There is one final test he must perform.
BEST SUPERNATURAL FEATURE
Alone Together
Director William Kresch
United States, 94 min
After fleeing their pandemic-ravaged city for the safety of a remote family cabin, a physically and emotionally abused woman and her volatile boyfriend are forced to face the vengeful spirit that haunts it—and each other.
BEST CULTURE IN SCI-FI FILM
Distant Thunder
Director Takayuki Ohashi
Japan, 140 min
The end of the world is just months away. A comet collision is about to destroy the human race in a few months. The three sisters, Ayane, Kanon, and Oto, who have been living separately for a long time, come to live together in Setouchi, their birthplace, after the death of their father. Oto, the youngest sister, feels uncomfortable living.
BEST PKD SHORT
Buffering…Please Wait
Director Samantha Cheryl Lai
Canada, 14 min
A nameless woman confronts the memory device embedded inside her brain, in search of a lost identity. The truth, however, bears too much weight. Whatever she uncovers, continues to weigh her down, time and time again.
BEST SHORT FILM
Purgy’s
Director Robbie Bryan
United States, 17 min
At a magical bar, spirits from the other side can take the form of another human and interact with those in their past who need closure and re-connection.
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
Homologies
Director Bryerly Long
Writer/Co-Producer Tatiana Blackington James
United States,12 min
Anna, a lonely computer coder, has been nurturing an illegal romance with an AI in a computer simulation for the past six months. When her company uncovers the affair, she’s forced into a desperate battle to save her precious relationship.
BEST SUPERNATURAL SHORT
The Gorge
Director Ryan Neil Butler
Australia, 15 min
A grieving woman and her friends must survive a night in the woods when an unseen force begins to hunt them. But not is all as it seems.
BEST SINGULARITY, ESCHATON AND BEYOND FILM
Algodreams
Director Vladimir Todorovic
Australia, 11 min
Algodreams are made by prompting AI systems to imagine the future of life on planet Earth. They dreamt of time machines, memory machines, flamingos that can save the oceans, the AI civilization that destroys humans to protect the planet, and they dreamt of self-driving bicycles that fall in love.
BEST VIRTUAL REALITY
Broken Specter
by Evan Jones
Canada, 120 min
BEST ISOLATION IN SCI-FI
Dandelion
Director Gillian Simpson
United Kingdom, 12 min
Alice lives alone in the middle of a field of wind turbines, the constant thump thump her only companion. She is haunted by the memories of the day her daughter Grace and her partner, Jamie died, a tragedy that she can’t seem to recover from.
BEST ANIME/ANIMATION
Feast of Amrita
Director Saku Sakamoto
Japan, 47 min
Xiao Kai, a young man from a small town, starts to live-stream his sensory experience through “Butterfly Dreaming Live Show,” and goes step by step into a deep abyss under all kinds of temptations.
BEST SCI-FI MUSIC VIDEO
Lift Me Up
Director Daniel Corey
United States, 2 min
Set in a futuristic Blade Runner Universe, “Lift Me Up” is a music video that gives the listener a feel that blends the aura of Paul Simon with the rustic Americana of Bruce Hornsby and the raise-the-roof anthems of U2.
BEST WEB SERIES
Strange Days at Blake Holsey High: Echoes — Episode ‘Hanna Part 3’
Director Paul Hart-Wilden
United States, 12 min
The NBC sci-fi series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High returns as an original web series, Strange Days at Blake Holsey High: Echoes. Set in the present-day, Echoes takes place 16 years after “the Science Club” graduated from Blake Holsey High and the school closed forever.
BEST TRAILER
Burner’s Face
Director: John Gaunt
United States, 2 min
Composed by a team of 3 creatives + Midjourney AI, this trailer tells a story in less than 2 minutes. It is not a tech demo but a taste of what’s possible when Culture & Code come together.
BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL
Halloween Girl Book One: Promises to Keep
Writer Richard T. Wilson
United States
BEST SCI-FI SCREENPLAY
The Nether
Writer Jannik Ohlendieck
Ireland
BEST SUPERNATURAL SCREENPLAY
Passage
Writer Firdaus F. Bilimoria
Canada
BEST SHORT FORM SCREENPLAY
Solipsism
Writer Duncan B Putney
United States
About The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, which launched in 2012 as New York City’s first and only festival of its kind, honors the enduring legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick. His enormously effective works composed of fictional universes, virtual realities, dystopian worlds, and human mutation served as a significant observation into the current state of society. Organized by individuals and filmmakers who understand the difficulties and challenges of presenting unique narratives in a corporate environment, the festival embraces original concepts and alternative approaches to storytelling. Since 2013, the festival has held additional gatherings in France, Germany, Poland, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles. The event was named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2022.
Connect with The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
Website: https://www.thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com
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