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International Online Film FestivalVirtual Theatre on XEB.TVxerb.tv/channel/berlinscififilmfest/virtual-events

ONLINEPROGRAM

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5th - 14thNovember

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INTRODUCTION Greetings and welcome to 5TH season of Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest. This year, in addition to our virtual cinema, we will go LIVE again! Berlin Sci-fi will once again take place at the Babylon Cinema on 5th & 6th November 2021! We can already smell the popcorn! We had great success last year with our online partner XERB.TV. And, as a result, we will continue with them again in 2021. This opens up the festival to a wider world audience unable to attend the Sci-fi feast. The international virtual festival will run from Friday, 5th to Sunday, 14th November. Again, we have a mouth-watering program on offer, with a fabulous selection of independent short and feature films from around the world. We are featuring nearly 80 films from 27 countries. So stop bothering about what’s new on Netflix! Instead, join us and enjoy new works from young, exciting and talented filmmakers. Why not see if you can spot the future of filmmaking? For the 5th year, our winners will receive the beautifully crafted 3D award courtesy of the outstanding talent of Chris Westby of Wolfie’s Studio. We will announce the winners, runner-ups and finalists before Saturday 13th November, and a special awards program will be screened on XERB.TV. Regards, Anthony, Isabella and Alex The Berlin Sci-fi Team

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TABLE OF CONTENT Page Sponsors Information 1 Introduction 2 Festival at a Glance – Table of Contents 3 Session 01 MADE IN GERMANY – Short Films 4 Session 02 Short Films 5 Session 03 Short Films 6 Session 04 Short Films 7 Session 05 Documentary – Tune Into the Future plus support 8 Session 06 Feature Film – Tales of Tomorrow 8 Session 07 Feature Film – t=E/x² plus support 9 Session 08 Feature Film – MIRROR HUMANTRANSCENDENT 9 Session 09 Fan Films 10 Session 10 Short Films 11 Session 11 Short Films 12 Session 12 Short Films 13 Session 13 Documentary – The Pyramid of the Sun plus support 14 Session 14 Feature Film – The Alternate 14 Session 15 Feature Film – You Might Get Lost 15 Session 16 Feature Film – Between Waves 15 Session 17 Short Films 16 Session 18 Short Films 17 Festival Crew and Acknowledgements 18 Please Note: Films not in English will be accompanied by English subtitles. Film Information: TITLE (Genre/Style) Country and Year, Length – Director

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01 MADE IN GERMANY – RUNNING TIME: 01:32:02 01 The Sacrifice by the Allegorist (Music/Animation) Germany 2021, 4:38mins – Pawel Mielnik For us to reach the highs, through dark holes we must crawl. For the vision in the deep, we need. We sacrifice and bleed, to make the leap. 02 Real Time (Thriller/Time Travel) Germany 2021, 15:00mins – Clive Barrett Germany & Europe Premiere In the PAST an untraceable assassin hiding out in our PRESENT to protect an unimaginable FUTURE executes an extremist terrorist organization. 03 In-Finite (Drama/Romance) Germany 2021, 3:27mins – Alican Eren Kuzu Long after mankind left Earth, two astronauts are rediscovering their ruins and reflecting on their own fate with those who abandoned it. 04 BABYLON (Animation/Dystopian) Germany 2021, 10:02mins – Christophe Wirtz In a future where water has become scarce, a city lies on the dried-out seabed; the gloomy everyday life of its inhabitants is geared towards being allowed to ascend to Eden. 05 Hotel Utopia (Drama) Germany 2021, 15:55min – Alexandra Mischker WORLD Premiere In the Hotel Utopia every wish will be fulfilled. But what is more important, that it’s perfect or real? 06 Seduced (Comedy) Germany 2019, 3:00mins – Keren Chernizon Samantha is having a difficult day until she receives a surprising call. 07 Cyberpunk 2077 - Phoenix Program (Fantasy/Action) Germany 2020, 40:00mins – Vi-Dan Tran Johnny was murdered years ago, so the question is how is he able to help a rookie criminal to rescue his associate from some mobsters.

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02 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:27:19 01 FLUX (Experimental/Dance) UK 2021, 6:46mins – DFTCNT 'Flux' delves into a human mind drowning in external chaos and inner crisis. 02 The 13th Member (Drama/Apocalyptic) France 2019, 27:24mins – Lotfaï Bouri The 1st Nuclear War - The destiny of a 'doomed', Eric, still living on the surface of a devastated world, is about to change.

03 Adarnia (Animation/Fantasy) Japan 2021,10:47mins – Clemhyn Morales Escosora Overthrown by a ruthless military leader, the now totalitarian state and its army of android soldiers find themselves interrupted by the sudden appearance of a mysterious intruder 04 UPDATED (Drama/Social Comment) Greenland 2020, 16:56mins – Nivi Pedersen A couple to be married discusses if it is too risky to bring his mother with dementia to their wedding and if updating her surveillance equipment will improve everyone's lives. 05 Space Dust (Comedy/Stoner) USA 2021, 4:59mins – Jon Mancinetti German Premiere Two stoners discover a meteor that grants them ultimate powers and answers the deepest secrets of the universe. 06 The World Is Ours For The Taking (Drama/Dance) UK 2021, 5:00mins – Milda Baginskaite In the world where communication and physical contact is a threat, people still aim to form a community. Creativity becomes a means for survival and allows them to form relationships. But is survival more important than love? 07 Diversion (Action/Thriller) France 2018, 15:00mins – Mathieu Mégemont Joël, a small town journalist, goes to cover a case in the French countryside. When he stops after running over a dog on the road, he finds himself trapped in the stories he usually writes.

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03 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:29:26 01 Hypernova (Drama/Social Issues) Canada 2020, 13:15mins – Tate Young German Premiere A businesswoman struggles to navigate her increasingly alienated work and home life. Can she find a connection in this modern-day interstellar romance? 02 Hollow (Action/Adventure) USA 2021, 07:08mins – Jackson Roberts German Premiere Hollow is a sci-fi action-adventure set 8,000 years after the nuclear apocalypse, on a ravaged, hollow earth with no sun. 03 Space Rocks! (Micro Documentary) Ireland 2020, 2:53mins – Damien Donnelly Join Morgan Space Dude as he introduces us to the importance of music and space. We all need our Space! 04 CONTAINER (Thriller) Australia 2020, 24:42mins – Clifton Schulke German & European Premiere The creator of a time machine becomes trapped inside his own creation where he must figure out the timing of his mistakes. 05 FACES (Drama) Spain 2020, 9:00mins – Iván Sáinz-Pardo German Premiere A love story in the times of programmed obsolescence. 06 Geneva Jacuzzi's Casket (Experimental) USA 2021, 6:06mins – Chris Friend German Premiere Los Angeles 2066AD: The Pleasure-U BioDrone, Kate Shaw's only assistant, has contracted an undiagnosed mental-disease. The BioDrone’s head, inside a reprogramming bag, continuously calls to Kate’s brain with strange visions. 07 DOUBLE HELIX (Drama) China 2021, 26:00mins – QIU Sheng German Premiere KONG and her brother escape from their family house and run to an abandoned school. When memories are awakened things take a turn for the worse and the situation starts to heat up.

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04 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:32:39 01 ARPU (Dystopian/Alternative Reality) UK 2021, 25:54mins – Phil Spencer German Premiere In a world where data is our only currency, a career-driven young mother is forced to fight for her way of life when a global tech giant comes to claim a debt. 02 Alienated (Animation/Space) USA 2021, 6:50mins –Luke Angus A lonely alien goes to extreme lengths to find company and fill the void of a lost loved one. 03 Acéré (Action/Dystopian) UK 2021, 5:26mins – Ross Peacock Following a man on the run hiding from a gang of trained killers, he comes to increasingly bloody blows against the Terminator-like antagonist. We follow this dramatic fight to the death, witnessing the carnage they wreak upon each other, toward a bloody climax. 04 ANOMALY (Drama) France 2021, 25:47mins – Michael Jeanpert. Adam is crazy in love with Liv who has just lost her husband and refuses to commit to a new relationship. Without explanation she sends him to the strange and mysterious Zieggler Corporation where everybody seems to know what Adam hasn’t figured out about his own life. 05 The Hurl (Environmental/Disaster/Action) Lebanon 2021, 4:15mins – Samir Kawas German Premiere The Hurl, an environmental film with a sci-fi twist, showcases Mother Nature’s vengeful plan to ruin whoever has ruined her Earth. 06 Hamelin (Black Comedy) Spain 2021, 9:47mins – Silvia Conesa In a not too distant future a well-off couple acquire the services of “YouCare”, a company to educate their son in the comfort of their own home… What could go wrong? 07 Merv (Dystopian/Action) New Zealand 2014, 13:56mins – Matt Inns German Premiere After the end of the world, Merv's life in the lonely wastes is comfortably boring until an unexpected signal heralds the coming of a stranger.

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05 FEATURE FILM – DOCU-FICTION Plus Support

Tune Into The Future (Documentary/Portrait) Luxembourg 2020, 72:00mins – Eric Schockmel One hundred years before the Internet, a self-declared tech guru started preaching the future to his flock of outsiders. PLUS SUPPORT

All eyes on you (Run 'n Gun, Technology) Germany 2020, 30:00mins – Michaela Kobsa-Mark In Mannheim, Germany, 77 AI surveillance cameras have been installed to detect suspicious movements. What is a suspicious movement and how do Mannheimers’ feel about this new technology? How is this technology linked with preexisting forms of

surveillance, such as police profiling?

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06 FEATURE FILM - FICTION

Tales of Tomorrow (Contos do Amanhã) (Time Travel/Thriller) Brazil 2020, 85:00mins – Pedro de Lima Marques In 2165, the kidnapping of a young girl puts the last stronghold of human civilization at war! The problem is that, in order to save humanity, it will be necessary to rely on the help of an adolescent who lives in 1999.

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07 FEATURE FILM - FICTION plus Support

t=E/x² (Time Travel/Mystery) Germany 2019, 82mins – Andreas Z. Simon German Premiere Merlin works as an editor and is just finishing a documentary when he realizes that he is stuck in a time loop. The conflict with one's own timeline becomes a fight between past and future not only in a figurative sense.

PLUS SUPPORT

Il Pedone (Dystopian Drama) Italy 2021, 3:51mins – Cristiana Pecci A story from the past, yet about a future that feels frighteningly similar to ours, where even a simple walk at night can become abnormal.

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8 FEATURE FILM - FICTION

BETWEEN WAVES (Drama/ Thriller) Canada 2020 108mins – Virginia Abramovich European Premiere A woman pursues her missing lover through parallel dimensions until she collides with a shattering revelation.

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09 FAN FILMS – RUNNING TIME: 01:32:48

01 Rogue Seven: A Star Wars Fan Film (Action/Comedy) USA 2020, 15:25mins – James Martinez A young thief must save Rebel fighter pilots from an Imperial armada and an overconfident bounty hunter. 02 Stalled Trek: The City On the Edge of Foreclosure (Animation) USA 2021, 18:14mins – Mark R Largent When Captain Krok and Mr. Spott hop through a stone donut to travel back to 1930 New York City, Krok finds he can't have his fate and Edith, too! 03 Harley Quinn - Blazing Shadows (Drama/Romance) Germany 2020, 35:00mins – Thomas Bernecker German Premiere Harley faces one of her toughest decisions: She has to choose between her new life with Poison Ivy and her old life with Joker. 04 Balance of the Force (Star Wars/Action) USA 2020, 14:35mins – Steven LaMorte When a Bounty Hunter and a Jedi Knight get stranded on an uninhabited planet, they find themselves pitted against each other while trying to retrieve a mysterious Imperial cargo. 05 FORSAKEN MANDALORIAN AND THE DRUNKEN JEDI MASTER (Action) USA 2021, 9:58mins – Anthony Ferraro A Forsaken Mandalorian hunts down a Hutt Courier to recover an asset that unexpectedly leads him to team up with an outcast Drunken Jedi Master to fulfil his sworn duty.

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10 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:27:29

01 Solar Sailor (Animation/Drama) UK 2020, 10:03mins – Philip Reinking In the future, a girl returns to the abandoned earth but finds that humans aren't particularly welcome anymore. 02 ANGEL (Thriller) Taiwan 2021, 17:00mins – Dicky Chalmers When a girl goes back to a guy’s house, she becomes suspicious after discovering his obsession with cooking ramen, and a digital assistant called Angel. 03 SWIPED (DE) (Comedy/Romantic/AI) Canada/Germany 2021, 3:43mins – Edward Douglas European & German Premiere When Melody decides to swipe a few hot guys on her augmented reality dating app, she meets her match in a man who may be more or less than meets the eye. 04 Terminal Happiness (Dystopian Drama) Estonia 2020, 16:44mins – Eric Romero German Premiere In a world where positivity is compulsory, cancer patients need to endure Happy Therapy. When a sarcastic rebel appears in the facility, an impressionable girl must choose between following the rules and embracing how she really feels. 05 Hekademia (Drama/AI) Canada 2020, 16:00mins – Gloria Mercer In the near future, Marion enrolls in a virtual reality high school, But as she spends more time at school, she starts to wonder how much is real and how much is simulation. 06 Are You In Heaven (Thriller/Experimental) Taiwan 2021, 12:00mins – Adam Hayes A man goes for a lucrative position at a global corporation. He is challenged to go against his principles by the other candidates. 07 Vi (Alternative Reality) Bulgaria 2021, 10:41mins – Deyan Tsvyatkov Vi is a computer system that enables people to work while asleep. Victor, its creator, is entirely dedicated to it, until one day he accidentally meets Laura in an artificial nightmare.

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11 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:27:30

01 Hebe Tien-One after another (Experimental Music) Taiwan 2020, 5:35mins – Muh Chen The story of "One, after another" describes the little people in Taiwanese society who have tried their best to survive but still fall into despair. 02 Hiraeth (Space Drama) UK 2021, 11:00mins – Ryan Andrews Hiraeth is a heart-breaking film that explores one woman's grief at the edge of the solar system. 03 Red String of Fate (AI Romance) Canada 2021, 10:00mins – Lovina Yavari & Lance Fernandes German Premiere In the year 2090, during a civil war between humans and androids, a robotics engineer tries to bring her fallen lover back to life. 04 SWIPED USA (Experimental/ Surreal/ Alternate Reality/Thriller) USA 2020 13:41mins Billy Kay European Premiere As two wi-fi-crossed strangers try to make an online love connection, one unwittingly becomes leading man in the other’s bizarre digital daydream. 05 Alien Hunters (Comedy/Action) UK 202, 19:08mins – Isaac Williams Northamptonshire local Justine has to save earth with the only person who believes aliens have landed in her field, Egon, her conspiracy theorist ex-boyfriend. 06 Remembrance (Drama) Australia 2021, 15:00mins – Shane Joseph Willis. German Premiere A thief downloads memories and information to sell to the highest bidder. When a mysterious woman who wants information, they find out, corners them she is not all she appears. 07 Transfert (Thriller/Time Travel) France 2019, 13:15mins – Pedro de Lima Marques Isaac is transported into the middle of the Second World War to recover a strange mechanism. During his quest, he faces his worst nightmare.

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12 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:27:51 01 The Gazer (Alien Conspiracy Drama) USA 2021, 9:42mins – Spencer Drees WORLD Premiere A man whose life has fallen into a rut over his determination to prove the existence of aliens finally catches a break. 02 Toonocalypse (Action/Comedy/Animation) Scotland 2015, 18:02mins – Owen Rixon Two students adjust to the world after a race of cartoon aliens arrive on Earth but are these visitors as sweet as they look... 03 Florence (Drama/AI) UK 2020, 13:00mins – Florian Thess A prototype AI therapy robot cracks under the pressure of meeting her inventor’s expectations and needs to decide to either save millions… or herself! 04 Moorriiss the Robot (Comedy/Animation) USA 2021, 4:16mins – Wade Chitwood Claiming to be the "first" robot in motion picture history, Gordon P. Lipshitz, aka Moorriiss the Robot, discusses his career and vents his frustrations. 05 Echo Pines (Crime/Drama) Australia 2020, 12:00mins – Stephanie Jean Marjorie European Premiere When ten-year-old goes missing overnight a Detective suspects a textbook kidnapping. A tip-off takes her deep into the mysterious forests surrounding the town, where strange events defy easy explanation. She is called to defend her report and actions. 06 Immune (Drama/Pandemic) UK 2020, 14:59mins – Robert Macfarlane In a world scourged by a terrible disease, a healthy mother-to-be must escape the clutches of an authoritarian government or risk losing her life and that of her unborn child. 07 Moore's Void (Psychological/Noir) Canada 2020, 15:53mins - Brad Bangsboll German and European Premiere A grieving mother attempts to speak with her deceased son.

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13 FEATURE FILM – DOCUMENTARY plus Support The Pyramid Of The Sun (Docufiction/Alternative Reality) Germany 2018, 60:00mins Director: Damian Weber Join an expedition into the so-called "Valley of the Bosnian Pyramids" where the excavation of the oldest and largest pyramid of the world takes place. PLUS SUPPORT

Paint & Plastic (Documentary) South Africa 2020, 29:14mins – Duran Barnett German Premiere Paint & Plastic [a mini documentary] explores the big world of miniature painting and the impact it’s had on the lives of those in it.

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14 FEATURE FILM - FICTION

The Alternate (Thriller/Drama) USA 2021 87:30mins, Alrik Bursell German Premiere The Alternate follows Jake, a videographer who discovers a portal to another dimension in which he has everything he has always wanted… The perfect version of his wife Kris, the filmmaking career of his dreams, and the daughter he never had. What could go wrong?

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15 FEATURE FILM - FICTION You Might Get Lost (Thriller) UK 2021 90mins – Jim Eaves European Premiere Featuring: Corrinne Wicks (Coronation Street) & Colin Baker (Dr Who) A grieving mother goes to incredible lengths to bring back her son. She’s unprepared for the price she must pay for saving him.

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16 FEATURE FILM - FICTION

MIRROR HUMAN: TRANSCENDENT (Drama) China 2021, 119mins – ZHANG Linzi German Premiere Finding companionship, bidding farewell, living one’s life -- in the face of a cruel fate, these youths are not willing to give in, and instead choose to rebel in the pursuit of their futures.

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17 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:32:16 01 Soup (Animation/Docufiction) Germany 2021, 7:33mins – Karolin Twiddy Soup takes us into the microcosm – a parallel world with its own beings, laws and possibilities. 02 Voices from the Void (Space Drama) USA 202, 10:00mins – Theo Burtis Two shipwrecked astronauts fight over how to get rescued from an alien desert. 03 Postcard (Time Enigma Drama) USA 2021, 11:00mins – Stan Freeman European and German Premiere A rare set of vintage postcards - A seller who doesn't know its value - A buyer who does - A reality that isn't what it seems. 04 The Second Hearing (Thriller/Dark Comedy/Alternate Reality) UK 2019, 11:53mins – Stuart Black & Nick Mather German premiere The cold-hearted AI that runs a futuristic prison summons a prisoner to face his second parole hearing. Can he re-enact his crime without offending again? 05 The Dark Odyssey (Stop Motion Animation/Altered Reality) USA 2020, 8:31mins – Michael Lavine German premiere A brave captain and his faithful mate transport a captive warrior, who holds The Inventory of The Mind… Their mission is in jeopardy as they navigate an asteroid. 06 Weapon Of Thought (Inter-dimensional Drama) South Africa 2021, 29:59mins – Brendan Wassermann WORLD premiere A depressed physicist uses self-made technology to project his sister’s thoughts in three-dimensional space to find their parents killer. 07 Two to Look, One to See (Fantasy/Drama) Canada 2021, 13:19mins – Bea Santos German Premiere Unsatisfied and anxious about the state of her career, an actress finds solace in a recurring dream that promises otherworldly salvation.

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18 SHORT FILM SESSION – RUNNING TIME: 01:32:29 01 Photoluminescence (Drama) USA 2020, 10:36mins – Eddie Lebron It's probably the apocalypse, so Tricia and Claire have arranged a ride. "Photoluminescence." A film about friendship whilst keeping a grip on normalcy as a fire burns in the world around us. 02 The Call (DEIA) (Psychological Horror) Basque Country 2021, 12:22mins – Khuruts Begoña German Premiere A new planet has been discovered and it is habitable, if not for its unbreathable atmosphere. This planet is called Divoc. 03 The Pursuit (Space Animation) Ireland 2021, 5:30mins – Iobhar Stokes Rodriguez With only a spacesuit for protection on an alien planet, an astronaut must fight for her life when it contracts a computer virus. This is science fiction love letter, with a new take on the idea of man versus machine. 04 Venus (CyberPunk Drama) UK 2021, 14:12mins – Andrew McGee Iris, torn out of her idyllic digital world and uploaded into a stolen synthetic body by her grieving mother, must face her body's objectification and violent potential in a dark future. 05 The Moon and the Hummingbird (Dystopian Drama) USA 2019, 14:23mins – Luis Fernando Puente Alex lives in a bunker surrounded by an uninhabitable world, but in order to reunite with Beto, the love of her life, she will have to come face to face with the dangers of the outside. 06 Penury (Drama/Pandemic) France 2021, 14:30mins – Quentin Sur In 2048, when precariousness has become the norm, a virus is decimating billions of cattle, resulting in a skyrocketing price of meat. 07 Today (Fantasy/Social Issues) Australia 2021, 20:03mins – Andrew Jaksch German Premiere Today is November 19th, 1969, and this young successful couple find themselves in a vicious cycle, trapped within an impenetrable void.

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Each year we develop and progress, learn and rely on some really great people. Without their hard work, wisdom and insight, we’d be lost. Thank you all that are named and those who are not. Chris Westby – Awards Designer and 3D creator Timothy Grossman & Roberta Bianchini plus team at the Babylon Cinema Our Jury: Patricia von Papstein Wenzel Mehnert Marcus Hanisch Judith Mercer Iwan Romanow Brian Quandt at autoDCP Eric Sauer at autoDCP Eric Streeper at Xerb.TV Our Awards Sponsors: NewBlue FX software (newbluefx.com) Arc Studio Pro (arcstudiopro.com) Red Giant Software (redgiant.com) EagleMoss Collectable Memorabilia (eaglemoss.com) And, last but not least, a hearty thanks to our volunteers over the years and of course the wonderful filmmakers who make the festival what it is. We salute every one of you.

Anthony Straeger – Alex Pfander – Dr Isabella Hermann Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest Directors

Full details about all things science fiction can be found on the website @ www.berlinscifi.com Social Media Facebook: @berlinscifi Instagram: @berlin.scifi.filmfest Twitter: @BScifi

International Online Film Festival

2021

5th - 14thNovember