2010

This summer the BFI presents Film Science, three months of film and television themed around science and technology.

In June, Science on Film & TV will examine how science and scientists have been portrayed on the big and small screens, and throughout July and August, Future Human explores the human in science fiction film, from classic early sci-fi such as William Cameron Menzies’ THINGS TO COME, to Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and James Cameron’s genredefining THE TERMINATOR.

VAST, COLD, DARK AND SILENT: a planetarium show followed by a free movie screening.

Come to the ROYAL OBSERVATORY GREENWICH and enjoy this unique planetarium show exploring just how forbidding space really is. Find out how our descendants might overcome the challenges presented by the sheer scale of the universe, reaching cosmic destinations favoured in science fiction.

After the show there is another chance to see the festival closing night movie, CARGO. Join the crew of the Kassandra on an 8 year journey to Station 42 in the darkly atmospheric Swiss cult sci-fi movie.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger, the coeditor of boingboing.net and author of the bestselling novel LITTLE BROT HER and FOR THE WIN.

Ever wanted to have a proper chat with a writer? Want to ask them about a book of theirs you like or how they come up with ideas or their process? Well, we give you the chance to have a coffee with some leading lights in SF and Fantasy writing.

Please don’t sign up to this lightly, we have very limited space in these intimate sessions, so only sign up if you are 100% certain of being there.

SATURDAY 01 MAY

1.00PM Adrian Tchaikovsky
3.00PM Gary Gibson
5.00PM Tony Ballantyne

SUNDAY 02 MAY

Each year SCI-FI-LONDON looks at a different country and explores its contribution to the science fiction genre. This year we are delighted to screen science fiction cinema from Poland with a specific focus on Stanislaw Lem. We also present a Q&A session with the graphic novelist and film poster designer, Andrzej Klimowski.

It is a quiz, but it’s not in a pub... it’s on the big screen! Our annual sci-fi quiz is set to challenge you once again.

Put a team together or play alone and join us for 24 of the toughest questions around. Cool prizes and giveaways – and maybe a dance-off instead of a tie-breaker.

Register Here.

While the cinema seems to be obsessed with comic book adaptations in recent years, this panel looks at the more general phenomenon of the dialogue between comics and film as comic book creators help design movies and draw storyboards for moving pictures and in turn, film has started to dictate the format of modern comics.

Panellists include:

Join our panel of shady characters as they discuss the theory of conspiracy. We also get a sneak preview of PHIL LEIRNESS and DEAN HAGLUND’s new documentary on the subject. They have been around the world talking to allsorts about allsorts... of course, if we told you too much we’d have to kill you. THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE explores what it means to search for truth in a world where conspiracy and conspiracy theories are everywhere.

Panellists include:

The ideological square-off between religion and science is here to stay... or is it? Perhaps the dichotomy is a falsehood, and everyone will learn to live and let live. Or perhaps faith will become the fracture point of an energy-hungry civilization, a warring sphere of philosophies.

What will we believe in 2050? Is believing that others should act according to our beliefs the fault that unites the two sides of the argument?

Chair: Paul Graham Raven

Panellists:

While a lot of people rightly see the start of Russell T Davies’ era as the revitalising of Doctor Who for a new generation, those steps were first taken with the advent of Sylvester McCoy’s era in the late 80s, as the Doctor got his first feisty streetwise companion and tackled issues of racism and homophobia.

To examine the last 23 years of Doctor Who on TV and off, we have a double panel looking at different aspects of the franchise.

Part 1: Doctor Who on screen