February 3, 2022 – Santa Fe College (SF) will host the 3rd annual SCIFI Gainesville Short Film Festival Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17-18, 2023. The festival will be held in person with two different film blocks showing 7-9 p.m. each night in the Lyceum Concert Hall. The films may also be viewed online, starting with the festival Friday, Feb. 17 at 7 p.m and running throughout the weekend.
The festival is free, but tickets are required for in-person attendance since space in the Lyceum Concert Hall is limited. To get tickets, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181 or visit showpass.com/sci-fi-gainesville/. To watch online beginning at 7 p.m. Feb. 17, visit https://SCIFI.sparqfest.live/en/index.html.
“These are short films, up to 20 minutes long,” explained SF Professor of Digital Media Technology Marc Shahboz, who organizes the festival and will introduce the programs on Friday and Saturday nights. “The festival includes about 24 films that have been submitted from all over the world, including from people in the Gainesville area. The audience can expect to see some dystopian films and some films with dark themes that reflect light at the end of the tunnel.”
Stories about Florida, traditional science fiction, environmental sci-fi, films by women and underrepresented groups, and student films are included. Awards in the various categories will be presented at the Saturday night film block.
Shahboz is the lead instructor in the Video and Multimedia Bachelor of Applied Science degree program at Santa Fe College. An animator and filmmaker who played a key role in creating SF’s new virtual video and motion picture production studio, he is a long-time fan of science fiction.
“Science fiction is a genre that is accessible to everyone and includes levels of speculation and exploration that go beyond traditional drama,” Shahboz said. “Sci-fi is thought-provoking; it encourages us to stop and consider the consequences of the actions we take here and now.”
The SCIFI Gainesville Short Film Festival is organized by Shahboz and sponsored by the Santa Fe College Fine and Performing Arts and Entertainment Technology Department.
For more information about the festival, call Shahboz at 352-395-5347. For more information about tickets, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181.