Grimmfest presents Supernova Film Festival: Sci-fi go to square-eyed to

Jon Whiteley

Brand new sci-fi film festival Supernova is coming to Manchester – bringing The Man Who Fell To Earth and more with it.

The Supernova Film Festival comes to the Odeon Printworks this May, presenting the best in science fiction cinema. It’s a new project from the folks at Grimm Up North, who have garnered quite a following over the past few years. Building up from the niche horror festival Grimmfest, they’ve since branched out into other areas, with special cult film screenings and their regular R.A.D. nights at Gorilla.

This latest venture was motivated by a lack of science fiction coverage outside the capital; with its burgeoning science fiction scene (nerd bible Starburst have their offices here, after all), Manchester is undoubtedly the right place for this festival.

So far, the organisers have put out a first look of what’s in store at this year’s festival: highlights include a screening of the Nicholas Roeg and David Bowie masterpiece The Man Who Fell To Earth, and a rare cut of the misunderstood horror sequel Alien 3, complete with a Q&A featuring the creative team behind the film.

Motivated by a lack of science fiction coverage outside the capital

On the contemporary side, they’ll be revisiting 2014’s Interstellar and presenting the UK premiere of Moon Walkers, in which Sons of Anarchy’s Ron Perlman and Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint try to fake the moon landing. And, of course, no science fiction festival would be complete without a screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Also, entries for brand new independent shorts and features are open until 18 April, so if you think you might be sitting on the next ground-breaking film, get submitting! Even if you’ve got nothing in the bag yourself, there’ll be opportunity to see new work from the brightest up-and-coming filmmakers the genre has to offer.

Day passes and tickets for individual screenings go on sale in April, but if you’re an earlybird looking to jump in with both feet, full weekend passes are already on sale from £55.

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