The 12th Future Gate Sci-Fi Film Festival took place in 8 cities and 16 cinemas in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The festival presented a total of 38 films, 96 screenings, 27 discussions and lectures, 10 educational programs for schools, art installations, exhibitions, and other accompanying programs with more than 30 guests. The festival was attended by 7,100 visitors.
The theme of this year's festival was the human body. Cybernetic enhancements, genetic modifications, and the integration of artificial intelligence, and with them the question of what it actually means to be human. If the body can be freely modified or replaced with technology, the dilemma arises as to whether we are losing part of our own identity and humanity. The theme was reflected throughout the festival program.The main guest of the festival was the director and founder of the independent film studio Troma. In Prague and Brno, he presented his 1980s classic The Toxic Avenger, and together with his daughter and director Lily-Hayes Kaufman, he presented the European premiere of her documentary film Troma Takes Cannes at Future Gate.Hollywood director Paul Verhoeven attended the festival online and was awarded a prize for his contribution to the science fiction genre. The festival also screened the legendary film Robocop.Czech creators and scientists were represented by molecular computer expert Ing. Prokop Hapala, Ph.D., leading neurosurgeon doc. MUDr. RNDr. Ondřej Bradáč, Ph.D., physicist prof. RNDr. Matej Daniel, Ph.D., astronomy popularizer Martin Cholasta, cybercrime specialist Pavel Schweiner, and many other interesting guests.We would like to thank all our partners and institutions for their support and cooperation, and we would also like to thank all the viewers who visited the festival this year. You can view photos from the festival on Facebook or Instagram, and the aftermovie from Prague and Brno on our YouTube channel.We would also like to thank our main partners, without whom the festival would not have been possible: Smarty, EXA, ESA BIC Czech Republic, Zážitky.cz, Figures.cz, MindMaze Prague, Canon, Vinohradský pivovar, Sativa Sparkle, and last but not least, Prusa Research. The festival was financially supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the City of Prague, the municipal authorities of Brno, Plzeň, Hradec Králové, Olomouc, the Olomouc Region, and the Prague 1 district.
Festival Jury
This year's festival jury consisted of Czech director Robert Hloz (Bod obnovy, 2023), Czech designer and fashion designer of futuristic models Monika Vaverová, and Robert Stone, British director and producer nominated for an Oscar for the film Radio Bikini. This year, the festival's programmers selected six of the most interesting films from hundreds of submissions. These represented the best new films made over the past year and a half. The festival opened with the Ukrainian chamber drama You Are the Universe by director Pavel Ostrikov, a film about the last living person in space. Julie Ducournau, the leading figure in contemporary body horror, shot her new film about a teenage girl named Alpha. Award-winning director Bi Gan takes viewers on a journey through the history of China and cinema itself in his visually stunning film odyssey Resurrection. Obex by director Albert Birney is a black-and-white art metaphor for loneliness that captivates not only with its likable main character. More than a decade after Edge of Tomorrow, the story based on the Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill returns. Just Kill Them is an animated film from Warner Bros. And finally, the Estonian-Finnish comedy Black Hole is guaranteed to entertain audiences. Aliens land in a shabby apartment block neighborhood, and there will be no shortage of bizarre encounters. The prizes are thematically produced by the 3D printing company Prusa Research. Vítězné filmy hlavní soutěže: Best Film: Ty jsi vesmír (režie Pavlo Ostrikov) Cena diváků: Ty jsi vesmír (režie Pavlo Ostrikov) Student festival competition: 1. place: The Beetroot (dir. David Šourek, Jáchym Štulíř) 2. place: The Photographer (dir. Petr Jedlička) 3. place: The Last dream (dir. Petr Solař)
ROBERT HLOZ
Robert Hloz studied film directing at a film school in South Korea and at FMK UTB in Zlín. In 2012, his Korean sci-fi film NUMBERS premiered at Cannes, for which he was subsequently nominated for a Czech Lion for student film, received the Visegrad Four Award for Best Short Film, the Special Jury Prize at the Dresden Film Festival, and others. In 2022, he won the Straight8 section at the Cannes Film Festival with his latest short film CRUMBS. In 2023, Robert Hloz released his feature debut, the Central European sci-fi co-production BOD OBNOVY, which won five Czech Lions.
MONIKA VAVEROVÁ
is a progressive fashion and costume designer and founder of the MIMO SPACE studio, which specializes in creating futuristic clothing and stage costumes. She has been working in the fashion and film industry for more than thirteen years, focusing on the complex design process, the development of innovative technological processes, and working with modern materials. She is the author of hundreds of original costumes for music videos, commercials, dance and acrobatic shows, TV series, and films. For example, she created the iconic blue android costume for the O2 advertising campaign, sci-fi armor for Netflix and Apple TV productions, and the main costume for the film Amerikánka, which won a Czech Lion award. In addition to her creative work, she has long been involved in education—she has been lecturing on fashion business and management at the Fashion Design Institute in Prague for several years and actively participates in professional lectures on the Czech scene.
ROBERT STONE
Robert Stone is a producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and, above all, an Oscar®-nominated director in the Best Feature Documentary category, three-time Emmy Award winner for outstanding achievement in documentary filmmaking, and winner of the 2020 Columbia duPont Award for Best Documentary, among many other awards and recognitions for his more than thirty years of work. Born in England in 1958, he grew up in both England and America. After graduating with a degree in history from the University of Wisconsin/Madison, he moved to New York in 1983 with the determination to pursue a career in filmmaking. He gained significant recognition for his first film, RADIO BIKINI (1987), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar®. He presented his new film, STARMAN, at Future Gate.
Foreigner guests
PAUL VERHOEVEN
Jen málokterý režisér si zaslouží být nazýván legendou žánru tolik jako Paul Verhoeven. Během své bohaté kariéry stál za tituly jako Starship Troopers, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Robocop atd.
LLOYD KAUFMAN
is an American director and creator of dozens of films across various genres. His studio, Troma Entertainment, gave rise to a completely unique film style in the 1980s, renowned for its originality and unrestrained entertainment value.
LILY HAYES KAUFMAN
Lily Hayes Kaufman was born on August 29, 1980, in New York, USA. She is a director and actress, known for her roles in Love Thy Neighbor (2014), Innards Part 1 (2022), and Atomic High School 2 (1991).
PAVLO OSTRIKOV
Ukrainian director, participant and winner of international film festivals such as Locarno, Toronto, FantasticFest, Palm Springs, Sitges, Cottbus, Thessaloniki, and others. Nominee and member of the European Film Academy, member and winner of the Ukrainian Film Academy.
Galerie
