West LA Times

The UCLA Film & Television Archive, in collaboration with the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s cinema and media studies program, will present its “Science Fiction Against the Margins” series from October 4 to December 14. This event is part of Getty’s “PST ART: Art & Science Collide” initiative.

Over 12 nights, the series will feature nearly 40 independent science fiction narrative features, documentaries, shorts, and television productions from 21 countries. It will include discussions with filmmakers who challenge and redefine the sci-fi genre such as Alex Rivera, Larissa Sansour, Cauleen Smith, Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams, among others.

“‘Science Fiction Against the Margins’ presents provocative works by genre-defying artists,” said May Hong HaDuong, director of the Archive and associate university librarian. “The brilliant storytelling shared in the series is a reminder that another world is not only possible — it is necessary.”

The curatorial team — Paul Malcolm, Chon Noriega, Maya Montañez Smukler and Nicole Ucedo — emphasized: “Speculative fiction has the power to expose inequality. We are honored to bring attention to the divergent ways in which media artists represent social identity, cultural context and material relations.”

The series begins on October 4 with an “Afrofuturism” program featuring screenings of “The Last Angel of History” (Germany/U.K., 1996) and “Space Is the Place” (U.S., 1974), starring jazz legend Sun Ra. The evening includes a conversation with artist and UCLA professor Cauleen Smith.

On October 5, the “Moon Landings: The Science of Fictions” program will explore cinematic history from Georges Méliès’ “A Trip to the Moon” (France, 1902) to Nuotama Bodomo’s “Afronauts” (Ghana, 2014) and Yosep Anggi Noen’s “A Science of Fictions” (Indonesia, 2019).

October 12 features the “Post-Apocalyptic Love Triangles” program with films like "The World, the Flesh and the Devil" (1959) and "The Quiet Earth" (New Zealand, 1985). On October 18, there will be a premiere restoration screening of "The Sticky Fingers of Time" (U.S., 1997), followed by a discussion with filmmaker Hilary Brougher.

Other notable programs include "Contested Space(s): Cathode-Ray Tube Afrofuturism" on October 27 featuring works addressing issues such as poverty and racism through African American perspectives in sci-fi television.

Throughout November films like Eliseo Subiela’s "Man Facing Southeast" (Argentina, 1986) on November 9; Alex Rivera's "Sleep Dealer" (Mexico/U.S., 2008) on November 3; Danis Goulet's "Night Raiders" (Canada/New Zealand, 2021); Wanuri Kahiu's "Pumzi" (Kenya, 2009) on November 22; and Saul Williams' "Neptune Frost" (U.S./Rwanda) on October 19 will be shown. These films offer speculative visions tackling themes like dictatorship survival or environmental collapse.

On November 15th audiences can watch unique takes on future civilizations with "Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America" (U.S.,1991) alongside South Korea's "Save The Green Planet!"(2003). December brings more diverse offerings including Vietnamese film ‘The Tree House’ set in Mars at year2045 scheduled for December6th .

Concluding on December14th ,a showcase of Larissa Sansour’s short films trilogy ending with her latest work titled ‘Familiar Phantoms’. Post-screening Q&A session included .

Accompanying this event series ,the anthology book titled ‘Science Fiction Against The Margins:Cinematic Futures Global Imaginaries’ edited by Chon Noriega ,Maya Montanez Smukler&Nicole Ucedo is available .

All screenings at Billy Wilder Theater are free until June2025 thanks to anonymous donor contribution . For detailed program schedule&admission info visit cinema.ucla.edu