arotrios

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/513056

The Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival returns for 2023 with 135 films selected for screening October 9 through the 15th. SciFi fans from around the world are welcomed to join this one-of-a-kind event as all films will be made available online for streaming and rating through Brooklyn SciFi's Netflix style festival platform. This year we are proud to select the best films from independent filmmakers representing 26 countries, including first-time filmmakers and industry veterans alike. Classic SciFi themes of time travel, malevolent and friendly robots, clones, space travel, and aliens are well represented along with a renewed focus on A.I. appropriately including some of the festivals first A.I. generated content. U.F.O. fans are sure to enjoy several documentaries delving into extraterrestrial visitors including Accidental Truth - UFO Revelations narrated by actor Matthew Modine (Full Metal Jacket, Stranger Things).

"When the headlines are filled with stories of A.I., dystopian climate change, and UFOs, it's hard to deny we're living in a SciFi future. Let us be your guide."
— Michael Brown, Executive Director - Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival     

Categories include Live Action Short Films, Animation, Comedy SciFi, SciFi Documentary, Feature Films, Student Films and Young Filmmakers. The complete listing of selected films is available online at the BrooklynSciFiFilmFest.com website. The Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival is kicking off its fourth season this year on October 9th and will stream online through October 15th. There will be special events each night as well as watch parties, voting, panels, and the return of the 4th season of our curated film series The Sixth Borough featuring three outrages dystopian SciFi tales each episode. Think of it as the Black Mirror or Twilight Zone of independent SciFi.
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Online and In-Person Events

Events include a Best of Brooklyn screening of 12 Brooklyn-based SciFi short films at Stuart Cinema Cafe in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on October 11th. Animation Exploration night with a panel of 10 animators followed by an evening of films available online on October 12th, a 10th Anniversary online screening of the feature film Computer Chess by director Andrew Bujalski October 13th, and the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in-theater event and after party in Brooklyn on On Saturday October 14th, where we will feature a program of select short films and announce awards in each category. Tickets are available on Eventbrite or from the Brooklyn SciFi website at brooklynscififilmfest.com.

Filmmakers will be recognized in the following categories:

Best Feature Film - Awarded to the best feature length entry selected by our committee.

Best Live Action Short Film - Awarded to the best live action (non-animated) short film (30 minutes or less) selected by our committee.

Best Animated Short Film - Awarded to the best animated (non-live action) short film (30 minutes or less) selected by our committee.

Best Comedy SciFi Short Film – Awarded to the best SciFi comedy short film across all ages and groups.
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Best Student Short Film - Awarded to filmmakers between the ages of 18 and 26, and currently attending a film program at a recognized college, university, or certificate program.

Best Young Filmmakers Award - Awarded to filmmakers under the age of 18, with recognition according to age and/or grade level (depending on number of entries).

Best In Brooklyn - Awarded to the best entry shot in Brooklyn or directed by a Brooklyn-based filmmaker.

Peoples Choice Award - Recognition to the film that receives the most viewer upvotes. Attendees of the festival cast votes for their favorite film to determine the winner.

More About the Brooklyn Scifi Film Festival

Born from a DIY spirit, the BSFFF is committed to being a place of inclusiveness. From its inception, the team behind the BSFFF knew they wanted to create an event that was open to anyone with the passion and determination to get their film made. “Unlike established festivals, which have acceptance rates that resemble the Ivy League, the Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival is a non-elitist home for indie filmmakers everywhere,” said Michael Brown, the co-founder and executive director of BSFFF. “It is, in that sense, the film festival for the people.”

Hat tip to @inkican for his post on @scifi that gave me the heads up on the festival.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/429137

Shadow libraries, sometimes called pirate libraries, consist of texts aggregated outside the legal framework of copyright.

Today's pirate libraries have their roots in the work of Russian academics to digitize texts in the 1990s. Scholars in that part of the world had long had a thriving practice of passing literature and scientific information underground, in opposition to government censorship—part of the samizdat culture, in which banned documents were copied and passed hand to hand through illicit channels. Those first digital collections were passed freely around, but when their creators started running into problems with copyright, their collections “retreated from the public view," writes Balázs Bodó, a piracy researcher based at the University of Amsterdam. "The text collections were far too valuable to simply delete," he writes, and instead migrated to "closed, membership-only FTP servers."

More recently, though, those collections have moved online, where they are available to anyone who knows where to look.

The purpose of this site, then, is to have all these libraries at our fingertips when in need of a certain text or book.

As Aaron Swartz put it:

"Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves."

We need to take information, wherever it is stored, make our copies and share them with the world. We need to take stuff that's out of copyright and add it to the archive. We need to buy secret databases and put them on the Web. We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file sharing networks. We need to fight for Guerilla Open Access.

With enough of us, around the world, we'll not just send a strong message opposing the privatization of knowledge — we'll make it a thing of the past. Will you join us?

Read the full text of the Guerilla Open Access Manifesto

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/473973

The Way that can be articulately described is not the Unchanging Way. The name that can be said out loud is not the Unchanging Name. With your mouth unopened, and things left undefined, you stand at the beginning of the universe. Make definitions, and you are the measure of all creation.

The Tao Te Ching (UK: /ˌtaʊ tiː ˈtʃɪŋ/,[1] US: /ˌdaʊ dɛ ˈdʒɪŋ/; simplified Chinese: 道德经; traditional Chinese: 道德經; pinyin: Dàodé Jīng [tâʊ tɤ̌ tɕíŋ] i) is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion dates back to the late 4th century BC, but modern scholarship dates other parts of the text as having been written—or at least compiled—later than the earliest portions of the Zhuangzi.

The Tao Te Ching, along with the Zhuangzi, is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. It also strongly influenced other schools of Chinese philosophy and religion, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Chinese Buddhism, which was largely interpreted through the use of Taoist words and concepts when it was originally introduced to China. Many artists, including poets, painters, calligraphers, and gardeners, have used the Tao Te Ching as a source of inspiration. Its influence has spread widely within the globe's artistic and academic spheres. It is one of the most translated texts in world literature.

Wikipedia

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/317329

The Blues Brothers is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by John Landis. It stars John Belushi as "Joliet" Jake Blues and Dan Aykroyd as his brother Elwood, characters developed from the recurring musical sketch "The Blues Brothers" on NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. The script is set in and around Chicago, Illinois, where it was filmed, and the screenplay was written by Aykroyd and Landis. It features musical numbers by rhythm and blues (R&B), soul, and blues singers James Brown, Cab Calloway (in his final feature film role), Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, and John Lee Hooker. It features non-musical supporting performances by Carrie Fisher, Henry Gibson, Charles Napier, Kathleen Freeman and John Candy.

More detail

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/468313

Black Orpheus (Portuguese: Orfeu Negro [ɔɾˈfew ˈneɣɾu]) is a 1959 romantic tragedy film directed by French filmmaker Marcel Camus, and starring Marpessa Dawn and Breno Mello. It is based on the play Orfeu da Conceição by Vinicius de Moraes, which set the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice in a contemporary favela in Rio de Janeiro during Carnaval. The film was an international co-production among companies in Brazil, France and Italy.

The film is particularly noted for its soundtrack by two Brazilian composers: Antônio Carlos Jobim, whose song "A felicidade" opens the film; and Luiz Bonfá, whose "Manhã de Carnaval" and "Samba de Orfeu" have become classics of bossa nova. The songs performed by Orfeu were dubbed by singer Agostinho dos Santos.[6] Lengthy passages of filming took place in the Morro da Babilônia, a favela in the Leme neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro.

Black Orpheus won the Palme d'Or at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, the 1960 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the 1960 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film and was nominated for the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film.

Important to note, there's some controversy over the film in Brazil:

While the 1959 adaptation has been celebrated internationally, it has been criticized by Brazilians and scholars for exoticizing Brazil for an international audience and reinforcing harmful stereotypes.

and...

The Palme d'Or and Oscar-winning film was celebrated internationally and criticized in Brazil; Vinicius de Moraes, author of the play Orfeu da Conceição upon which the film was based, was outraged by the film and left the theater in the middle of the screening. Critics of the adaptation by Marcel Camus argued that it reinforced various stereotypes about Brazilian culture and society and about Afro-Brazilians specifically, portraying the characters as "simple-minded, overtly sexual, and interested only in singing and dancing." Setting out to make itself more "appealing" to foreign audiences, the film resorts to a "cheap and problematic exoticism" of Brazil.

Wikipedia

This movie is an explosion of cinematic joy de vivre, unique in the energy it brings to a classic tragedy, and a unique picture of Brazil in the late 50s, I've decided to let the audience decide where their opinions sit in the controversy above.

Captions in English available in settings -> captions on the player for those that don't speak Portuguese.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/465146

Why are you such a derelict? Such a piece of human junk? The answer's simple. You're a scanner, which you don't realize. And that has been the source of all your agony. But I will show you now that it can be a source of great power.

CW: Exploding head. David Cronenberg. Genetic manipulation. Homeless escalator acrobatics. Involuntary suicide. Thinly veiled Thalidomide allegory. Did I say exploding head? Exploding head.

Wikipedia

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/460362

The Songhai Empire (also transliterated as Songhay) was a state located in the western part of the Sahel during the 15th and 16th centuries. At its peak, it was one of the largest African empires in history. The state is known by its historiographical name, derived from its largest ethnic group and ruling elite, the Songhai people. Sonni Ali established Gao as the empire's capital, although a Songhai state had existed in and around Gao since the 11th century. Other important cities in the kingdom were Timbuktu and Djenné, where urban-centred trade flourished; they were conquered in 1468 and 1475, respectively. The Akan state of Bonoman was located to the south of the empire.[3] Initially, the Songhai Empire was ruled by the Sonni dynasty (c. 1464–1493), but it was later replaced by the Askia dynasty (1493–1901).

During the second half of the 13th century, Gao and the surrounding region had grown into an important trading centre and attracted the interest of the expanding Mali Empire. Mali conquered Gao near the end of the 13th century. Gao remained under Malian command until the late 14th century. As the Mali Empire started disintegrating, the Songhai reasserted control of Gao. Songhai rulers subsequently took advantage of the weakened Mali Empire to expand Songhai rule.

Under the rule of Sonni Ali, the Songhai surpassed the Malian Empire in area, wealth, and power, absorbing vast regions of the Mali Empire. His son and successor, Sonni Bāru, was overthrown by Muhammad Ture, one of his father's generals. Ture instituted political and economic reforms throughout the empire.

A series of plots and coups by Askia's successors forced the empire into a period of decline and instability. Askia's relatives attempted to govern the kingdom, but political chaos and several civil wars within the empire ensured the empire's continued decline, particularly during the rule of Askia Ishaq I. The empire experienced a period of stability and a string of military successes during the reign of Askia Daoud.

Askia Ishaq II, the last ruler of the Songhai Empire, ascended to power in a long dynastic struggle following the death of Daoud. In 1590, al-Mansur took advantage of the recent civil conflict in the empire and sent an army under the command of Judar Pasha to conquer the Songhai and gain control of the trans-Saharan trade routes. Following a defeat at the Battle of Tondibi in 1591, the Songhai Empire collapsed.

Wikipedia

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/457507

"The feeling is definitely there. It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits."

"Outside the limit of our sight, feeding off us, perched on top of us, from birth to death, are our owners! Our owners! They have us. They control us! They are our masters! Wake up! They're all about you! All around you!"

One of the best everyman's survival guide to dealing with alien infiltration. The Electroids love to use these kind of tactics.

They Live is a 1988 American science fiction action horror film written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster, the film follows an unnamed drifter who discovers through special sunglasses that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to consume, breed, and conform to the status quo via subliminal messages in mass media.

Wikipedia

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/403415

The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), who arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime (Welles), only to learn that Lime has died. Viewing his death as suspicious, Martins elects to stay in Vienna and investigate the matter.

The atmospheric use of black-and-white expressionist cinematography by Robert Krasker, with harsh lighting and largely subtle "Dutch angle" camera technique, is a major feature of The Third Man. Combined with the iconic theme music by zither player Anton Karas, seedy locations and acclaimed performances from the cast, the style evokes the atmosphere of an exhausted, cynical post-war Vienna at the start of the Cold War.

Greene wrote the novella of the same name as preparation for the screenplay. Karas's title composition "The Third Man Theme" topped the international music charts in 1950, bringing the previously unknown performer international fame; the theme would also inspire Nino Rota's principal melody in La Dolce Vita (1960).[citation needed] The Third Man is considered one of the greatest films of all time, celebrated for its acting, musical score and atmospheric cinematography.[5]

In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Third Man the greatest British film of all time. In 2011, a poll of 150 actors, directors, writers, producers and critics for Time Out ranked it the second best British film ever.

Wikipedia

cross-posted from: https://kglitch.social/m/13thFloor@kbin.social/t/51248

Alright chumps, here's the skinny. You download a comic book reader - the Cdisplayex one linked above is free, but use whatever you'd like - something that reads .cbr files is most useful. Then you head on over to Anna's Comic Cantina here and set your search like so:

• Marvel

• DC

• Darkhorse

...and you've got access to 2mil free comics, give or take a thousand or so.

Here's what Cdisplayex has to say about itself:

Free, Light, Efficient CBR Reader. It is the most popular comic book reader. It is able to read all comic book formats (.cbr file, .cbz, .pdf, etc..) and Manga. Everything is designed to give you the best reading experience, it load comic books immediately, reading is fluid and comfortable.

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/449210

You break my back. You won't break me.
All is black
But I still see
Shut me down
Save me from myself
Shoot me up
Let me burn in hell
Trapped under ice
Comfortably cold
I've gone as low as you can go
Feel no remorse
No sense of shame
Time's gonna wash away all pain
I made a god
Out of blood
Not superiority
I killed the king
Of deceit
Now I sleep in anarchy
Sacrifice to the cause
Turn your code into law
Compensate to validate the loss
Take a thief, nail him to a cross
Gospel of rage
Faction of hate
Deviate from the absolute
Born of revenge
Raised on cement
Chaos created government
I made a god out of blood
Not superiority
I killed the king
Of deceit
Now I sleep in anarchy
I made a god out of blood
Not superiority
I killed the king
Of deceit
Wake me up in anarchy

cross-posted from: https://kbin.social/m/13thFloor/t/444651

The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 American film noir written and directed by John Huston in his directorial debut, based on the 1930 novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and indebted to the 1931 movie of the same name. It stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade and Mary Astor as his femme fatale client. Gladys George, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet co-star, with the last appearing in his film debut. The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette.

The film premiered in New York City on October 3, 1941, and was nominated for three Academy Awards. Considered one of the greatest films of all time, it was one of the first 25 films selected by the Library of Congress to be included in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is a part of Roger Ebert's series The Great Movies and was cited by Panorama du Film Noir Américain as the first major film noir.

Wikipedia on the film

Free .pdf of the novel by Dashiell Hammet