Sci Fi Short Theater: Apocalypse Now Now, Anthem, The Cycle, and More

Apocalypse Now Now

Description: Baxter Zevcenko might be a serial killer. His girlfriend, Esme, is missing, and he’s the prime suspect. To clear his name, he’ll turn to Cape Town’s grizzliest, drunkest bounty hunter, Jackson ‘Jackie’ Ronin. Little does he know that Ronin is a supernatural bounty-hunter, and that he’s about to be dragged headlong into a deep, dark Cape Town underbelly full of monsters and myth, shadowy government forces, bloodthirsty crow-men and a conspiracy across time and space. (More about the film at this link: www.bephatmotel.com/projects#/apocalypse-now-now/

Credits: Michael Matthews (Director), Sean Drummond (Writer)

Starring: Garion Dowds, Louw Venter, Faniswa Yisa

Comments: This is a proof of concept short based on the Charlie Human novel of the same name and I certainly hope they expand this one into a full film. It's Quentin Tarantino does the supernatural apocalypse and it has all the right pieces to make a decent movie.

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Anthem

Description: Aliens sift through the contents of a time capsule as flashbacks show the last few minutes of the people who left behind the mementos shortly before the world ends.

Credits: Jarrett lee Conway (Director / Writer)

Starring: Ossie Beck, Sam Feuer, Christina Robinson, Thomas Phillips

Comments: This is a poignant short film that uses its premise quite well, though I would have liked to have seen it expanded a bit further (not necessarily feature length). I notice in the comments on YouTube that some assume that the film has a particular political point of view, but I think they are missing the point.

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The Cycle

Description: An apprentice of magic finds out, that she herself is her greatest enemy. This video is a student short film, made in Berlin.

Credits: David Schuster (Director / Writer)

Starring: Marie Bebber, Steven M. Gilbert, Lucas Wija

Comments: This is an enjoyable fantasy short that could be fleshed out into a full film. The CGI is not the greatest, about video game quality, but it is still pretty decent considering this is a student film.

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Pets

Description: The future is clean and easy, with the intelligent spheres guiding you through. This video is a student movie, made in Berlin.

Credits: David Wunderlich (Director / Writer)

Starring: Steven Preisner, Almuth Jabs, Frank Rungwald, Carole Lunt

Comments: This is an interesting little sci fi film that might just make you wonder who is really in control next time you look at one of the your smart devices.

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Embers and Dust

Description: For a curious young boy, The War of the Worlds is just the beginning. On the evening of October 30th, 1938 Orson Welles’ voice traveled far across the radio waves, bringing word of an invading alien army from Mars. The theatricality and delivery of the performance, along with recent memories of the Hindenburg disaster (one year prior), sent many listeners into a panic. Unfortunate coincidence would fall upon the town of Concrete WA where, at the height of the invading alien attack, a power transformer blew out sending the entire town and surrounding areas into darkness.

Credits: Patrick Biesemans (Writer / Director)

Starring: Joel Nagel, Virginia Logan, Henry Gagliardi

Comments: A nice piece of retro-sci fi with a very cinematic feel to it. Seems almost like it could have been part of a larger Spielberg-type film and I'd like to see this one expanded to feature length.