Past years
10th Anniversary of Future Gate Sci-Fi Film Festival
The 10th anniversary edition of the festival presented a total of 32 films, 3 exhibitions, 8 lectures and discussions, 2 concerts of film music, and another rich accompanying program with a total of 20 guests from the Czech Republic and abroad.
Dear science fiction fans, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Future Gate Science Fiction Film Festival in 2023, taking you on a proper tour across the galaxy! The theme of space colonisation resonated across the film and accompanying programme. Throughout the festival, you had the opportunity to enjoy films that make us the desire to explore new territories and test the limits of human possibility. In addition to the six three legends, five documentaries, two children's films, two special screenings and short films. Of course, there was also an accompanying programme in the form of talks, lectures and and much more. We would also like to thank our main partners, because without them the festival would not have been possible: Smarty, ESA Bic Prague, Zážitky.cz, Big Shock!, Figures.cz, MindMaze Prague, Institut français de Prague, Canon, SupremeXP, and last but not least Prusa Research. The Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, Cities Prague, Brno, Plzeň, Hradec Králové and the Municipal District of Prague 1.
Festival Jury
The international jury of three members selected the best film from six films of different genres: MARS EXPRESS, ASTRONAUT, GENERATION F, IMMORTAL, SOMETHING'S IN THE FLOOR and WHITE PLASTIC SKY. The jury also decided on the best student science fiction films. The jury members were writer Leoš Kyša, who goes by the pseudonym František Kotleta, screenwriter, director, dramaturge Lucia Kajánková and Czech actress Jana Plodková. The audience voted for the winner of the Audience Award. The awards are thematically produced by 3D printing company Prusa Research. The winning films of the main competition: Best Film: Mars Express (dir. Jérémie Périn) Audience Award: Astronaut (dir. Nicolas Giraud) Student Film Competition: 1. Behind the Border (dir. Dominik Zbořil) 2. Metro (dir. Petr Vlček, Mikuláš Hrdlička) 3. The Fourth Place (dir. Matyáš Vivodík, Adam Kús)
JANA PLODKOVÁ
She has been acting, singing and dancing since the age of 12. After her studies at the JAMU, she gained engagements in the Polárka and Na Fidlovačce theatres, as well as in HaDivadlo, where she was noticed by casting director Kateřina Oujezdská. Her first feature film was the Danish drama Prag, where she starred alongside Mads Mikkelsen. This was followed by the comedy Vratné lahve by Jan Svěrák and the period film Protektor, for which she won the Czech Lion in the Best Actress category. Her film career then took off and Jana became one of the most frequently cast Czech actresses.
LEOŠ KYŠA
alias František Kotleta, is a writer and former journalist. His alter ego, František Kotleta, regularly tops the best-selling book charts and is among the absolute top in domestic fiction. He is also currently the host of the podcast Nuclear Science, which is aimed at popularizing serious scientific topics with guests from the ranks of scientists and publicists.
LUCIA KAJÁNKOVÁ
is a screenwriter, director, dramaturg, festival programmer and university lecturer at FAMU. Her webseries TBH on Czech Television was praised as "the first real teen & queer series" in the Czech Republic and won awards at domestic and international festivals (Serial Killer, Finale Plzeň, Main Jury Prize in Marseille). He is currently working on his feature debut, the pre-apocalyptic queer road movie Porcelina. She likes swimming pools and pictures of owls in the wilderness. She lives in Prague with her dachshund Leoš.
Foreigner guests
MICHAEL IRONSIDE
Michael Ironside has made a strong and indelible impression over the years with his often incredibly intense and explosive portrayals of villains. He was born Frederick Reginald Ironside on February 12, 1950, in Toronto, Canada. Ironside first began acting in films in the late 1970s. He gained recognition for his role as Darryl Revok in director David Cronenberg's Scanners (1981). Subsequently, another charismatic role followed another. Among the most famous ones are V (1983), Top Gun (1986) and Highlander 2 (1991). Collaboration with director Paul Verhoeven was also a success and Ironside appeared in two of his entertaining science fiction feature films. As the villainous Richter in Total Recall (1990) and as the tough Lieutenant Jean Rasczak in Starship Troopers (1997). Ironside showed his softer and more suggestive side with his moving performance as a convict who befriends a disabled man in the drama Chaindance (1990); he also co-wrote the screenplay and executive produced the film. He has starred in a large number of TV series, including SeaQuest DSV (1993), Walker, Texas Ranger (1993), ER (1995), The Outer Limits (1997), Andromeda (2000), Desperate Housewives (2004), Stargate (2006), Patient Seven (2018) and Barry (2022). Ironside's most recent film is a Canadian drama about the creation of the BlackBerry mobile phone (2023). In addition to his significant film and television work, Ironside has lent his distinctive deep voice to television commercials and video games.
NICOLAS GIRAUD
The talented and versatile Nicolas Giraud (born 1978) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. As an actor, he has played roles in the blockbuster 96 Hours (2008, directed by Pierre Morel), the romantic drama What the Day Owes the Night (2012, directed by Alexandre Arcady) and the drama Letters from the Front (2017, directed by Xavier Beauvois). Nicolas is also a director; Astronaut is his second feature film. His short film Weaknesses was awarded at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
ALEŠ SVOBODA
Aleš Svoboda (born 1986) is a Czech fighter pilot, Major of the Czech Army. He serves at the 21st Tactical Air Force Base in Čáslav, where he flies the JAS-39 Gripen aircraft. In November 2022, he succeeded in the European Space Agency selection process and became a member of the astronaut reserve team. He succeeded among more than 22 500 applicants. He is the first astronaut of the independent Czech Republic.
YEMI A.D.
Yemi Akinyemi Dele (born 1981) is a world-renowned Czech choreographer, actor, visual artist, art director, performer, influencer and entrepreneur. He was selected out of 1 million candidates to be a member of the crew of dearMoon – the first civilian space journey around the moon, organized by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa with SpaceX. Yemi will undergo special training for the newly developed Starship, which is the most powerful spacecraft ever built and is currently still under development.