By Brent McKnight | 8 years ago

For the past eight years, Seattle’s EMP—the science fiction and rock and roll museum—has teamed up with the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) to provide a platform for young genre filmmakers. The result is the Science Fiction + Fantasy Short Film Festival. The 2013 installment will take place Saturday, January 19th at Seattle’s Cinerama Theater, with an encore presentation Sunday, January 20th, and the SIFF Cinemas Uptown Theater.

The program is split into two sessions, each of which features 10 short films no longer than 15 minutes in length. Within these films there are two subdivisions: science fiction (defined as futuristic stories, space adventure, technological speculation, social experiments, utopia, and dystopia) and fantasy (sword and sorcery, folklore, urban fantasy, magic, and mythic adventure).

A panel of award-winning writers, filmmakers, and industry insiders judge the entries. There is also an audience award voted on by festival attendees.

SFFSFF is usually a total blast, and if you happen to be in the Emerald City on that particular weekend, it’s definitely worth your time to check out. It gives you an opportunity to get a look at films that you likely won’t see anywhere else, and there’s always a strong mix of solid sci-fi, with just enough weirdness to keep things interesting.

Below are the complete programs for both sessions.

Session One:

88:88 : When rendered powerless by an outside force, a young woman must find a way to fight back.

Evelyn : Charlie is an old-school technician at one of the last independent suicide firms. He and his apprentice visit a former child-star named Evelyn, a charming recluse with a dark secret.

Frankie Rulez!! : A narcissistic space alien attempts to claim a series of planets through the dogged use of flags.

Giant Monster Playset : A young boy receives a mysterious package. Upon opening it, he innocently plays with its toy monster contents. Simultaneously a gigantic beast appears, bent on the destruction of the boy’s small town. His older brother discovers their connection and realizes that only he can stop it.

The Narrative of Victor Karloch : Victor Karloch receives a journal from a colleague involved in a salvage operation for missing sea freighters in the North Sea. In this journal, Karloch’s friend describes his descent into the abysmal deep with the use of a diving bell, and his encounters with the ghosts of a lost Templar Knights’ ship.

OowieWanna : While doing laundry, a misfit seven-year-old girl tumbles into an alluring other-world where she must decide the fate of her birthmark.

Small Time : Mankind now has the godlike power of time travel. Unfortunately it’s been discovered by a cocky, young student. When his college professor takes credit for the idea, both men begin using the invention for a small time rivalry.

The Wheel : This whimsical, visually imaginative tale concerns a dutiful young man, fated to maintain a large wheel that balances the entire world, and a rebellious sister determined to mischievously tempt that fate.

Zing : Day in, day out, Mr. Grimm is busy with his job as The Reaper, harvesting people’s lives. One day, his monotonous existence is interrupted by the doorbell. It’s a little girl. She wants her cat back. Little does she know that she’s the next life on Mr. Grimm’s list.

Session Two: