June 3, 2014

Dispatch from Mission Control: OTHER WORLDS AUSTIN Lifts Off

Science fiction comes in all shapes and sizes—horror, drama, comedy, shorts, and full-length films. Other World Austin will bring the best of all that is SciFi to Austin. The three-day festival will feature films from all over the world, December 4-6, 2014, and all films will be eligible for a cash prize Audience Award.

“With a team of programmers who love SciFi, write SciFi, or make SciFi films, we are in this for one reason only—to put on a great festival,” said Bears Fonté, OWA Founder and Director of Programming.

“We are looking for great stories that aren’t afraid to push the boundaries of the audience, thrilling them both visually and intellectually,” continued Fonté.

As Director of Programming for Austin Film Festival for the last two years, Fonté saw many SciFi films that were submitted, but could not be included in the final selection. Also, Fonté loves the programming at Fantastic Fest, but by representing so many genres, he knows they can’t focus on science fiction. “There are a ton of SciFi films out there, maybe they’ve played another festival, maybe they are a bit more indie, but right now those films have nowhere to play in Austin,” Fonté believes. “I want to create an outlet for those films. Other Worlds Austin is firmly committed to supporting these filmmakers by giving them exhibition opportunities that might not otherwise be available.”

Read the press release →

The OWA SciFi Checklist

Here at Other Worlds Austin, we have a very broad definition of SciFi, but since you don’t know us, and right now you are asking yourself ‘Is My Film SciFi?’ we’d like to help you make that determination.

First of all, let’s look at some definitions of Science Fiction:

Deadlines and Details

SciFi Submissions

Features (41 minutes or longer)

prior to August 2nd - $40

prior to September 2nd - $45

September 2 to October 1 - $50

Shorts (40 minutes or shorter)

prior to August 2nd - $30

prior to September 2nd - $35

September 2 to October 1 - $40

How to Submit →

Wristbands

On Sale in July

10 Screenings: $35

Limited Quanities Available

Get on the Presales List→

Festival 411

Dates: December 4-6, 2014
Venue: Galaxy Highland 10 of I-35
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 204295, Austin TX 78720

The Team

Bears Fonté

Founder and Director of Programming

Don Elfant

Director of Marketing and Development

Jordan Brown

Programmer and Dir. of Submissions

Courtney Hazlett

Programmer and Hospitality Director

Reid Lansford

Programmer and Registration Director

Brian Losoya

Programmer and Social Media Director

Dan Repp

Programmer and Events Coordinator

Does your film have...

◻Robots

◻Aliens

◻Space Travel

◻Molecular Travel

◻Time Travel

◻Parallel Universes/Alternate Realities

◻A Historical Setting in an Alternate Past That Contradicts Historical Record

◻Geo-Political Allegory through alternate society examples

◻Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic Settings

◻Cyberpunk, Steampunk and Dieselpunk Settings

◻Invented Technology with Unexpected Consequences

◻Paranormal Abilities

Want examples? →

Arthur C. Clarke

Science fiction is something that could happen - but you usually wouldn't want it to. Fantasy is something that couldn't happen - though you often only wish that it could.

Rod Serling

Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science Fiction is the improbable made possible.

Philip K. Dick

I will define science fiction, first, by saying what science fiction is not. It cannot be defined as 'a story set in the future,' [nor does it require] ultra-advanced technology. It must have a fictitious world, a society that does not in fact exist, but is predicated on our known society... that comes out of our world, the one we know: This world must be different from the given one in at least one way, and this one way must be sufficient to give rise to events that could not occur in our society…

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