A series of curated science fiction entries brought to you from our BSFFF automotons.

Enter into the Sixth Borough!

New Episodes Each Day - Oct. 14th through 20th at 7:00 PM ET

 

Each episode of The Sixth Borough features three short festival films of note. The films are selected by the BSFFF’s producers and curators, and bring additional attention to the dynamic work of filmmakers from all over the world. In The Sixth Borough, you’ll meet lonely robots, mysterious mutants, out-of-this-world renegades, and many more compelling characters. You don’t need a passport, a driver’s license, a MetroCard, or a landspeeder. Just hit click and you’ll enter The Sixth Borough.

Chimera

Directed by Neil West

A woman receives experimental therapy for trauma and begins to suspect that she’s been a patient a lot longer than she’s being told.

 


Alone

Directed by Zasha Makabenta

404, a lonely robot beaten by the weather, wanders through a barren desert as its battery slowly depletes, longing for contact with other robot life. Upon finding the ruins of a city, 404 eagerly follows signs that could lead to possible companions.

 

Ivara -case of extra-

Directed by Yuki Kurosu

A woman happens to be in a town where a giant monster suddenly appears from underground. In the midst of chaos as buildings are destroyed and many people run for their lives, she musters up all her courage to help those stranded at the feet of her monster.

Botching

Directed by Brian Williams

Hacking a Robot for fun, or malicious intent, is dangerous, illegal, and banned globally. It has a name: Botching. This is a story from one such 'Botch' job.

 


Universe 25

Directed by David Tappan

A mysterious entity. A bizarre psychological experiment. Imprisoned in “The Room,” a woman can’t know anyone longer than 30 days. It’s difficult to say what’s worse: knowing that anyone she cares about will disappear, or that they might be replaced by someone worse. With no hope of escape, she must confront the absurdity of her new existencea lonely robot beaten by the weather, wanders through a barren desert as its battery slowly depletes, longing for contact with other robot life. Upon finding the ruins of a city, 404 eagerly follows signs that could lead to possible companions.

 

Please Don't Send Help

Directed by Grigory Lukin

We've finally heard back from our deep-space outpost on Proxima Centauri B, but there's something odd about their message...

Recall

Directed by Vyky Saiz

A sci-fi anthology short about a room where guests memorialize the last phone calls before their loved one died.

 


Buddy Love

Directed by Kiefer O'Reilly

A match making robot helps a widowed husband re-find love, in more then one way.

 

Luciferin

Directed by Jake Roberts

A scientist is confronted by the horror of his creation.

Don't Forget

Directed by Jeremy Stuart Thompson

A Story about a fella and his wife about to drive to an event. Well, Just as long as he remembered everything of course.

 


The Circle

Directed by David J. Schultz

A game of transference occurs during a nocturnal odyssey when an aging teacher finds himself drawn to a student with an uncanny resemblance to his younger self.

 

The Usual

Directed by Rachel Brewster

When a solar storm interrupts Skye's daily coffee routine, hilarity and chaos ensues. Will she get her cup of joe? Created for Creators Jam 2024 1-month short film challenge.

Sincopat

Directed by Pol Diggler

Ona, a creative executive of a large company, is about to launch the latest technological revolution into the market: a device that allows listening to music directly inside the brain.

 


Low Down Larry Versus the Giant Reptile

Directed by Sammy Verni

In their latest adventure together, Larry and Spike set out in a time machine to be the first to bring a living dinosaur back with them to present day. They've already been to the Moon and back, but this time have they gone too far?

 

Terrestrial

Directed by Lauren Bailey

A moody, dystopian take on the integrated convenience AI represents in the lives of Bella and Scott, a couple grappling with the technology they cannot live without.

AstroNots

Directed by Andrew Seaton

Astronots is a short comedy about two astronauts about to take off on a vital mission to Mars. We open with a montage
showing just how serious, how crucial this mission to Mars is. As the two astronauts sit in the cockpit awaiting launch,
Major Tom Collins realises his co-pilot, Abe, is nowhere near as qualified as he should be. Abe has inextricably
fumbled his way through training and ended up in the most important seat in the universe. The two grapple with the
consequences of taking off anyway, or delaying their crucial mission
.

 


Uncanny Boulevard

Directed by Marco Maldera

When Olivia falls ill with a life-threatening illness, Kristine is desperate to save her daughter. An AI neurotechnology company proposes an experimental procedure, and Kristine must decide how far she will go to keep her daughter close. In a world where AI is redefining the way we live, the choices we make today will shape the future of humanity.

 

The Battle of Grovers Mill

Directed by Nolen Sternkopf

An aspiring journalist faces the unimaginable when news of a nearby crash site comes over the radio.  Based on “The War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells and the Orson Welles / Mercury Theatre on the Air radio play of the same name.

Dopamining

Directed by Jyot Bhalla

Dopamining is a sci-fi drama about depressed Marge who, in a last ditch effort to find happiness, goes for a brain massage but soon finds herself trapped in a bizarre political scandal.

 


Memory Card

Directed by Taras Lashchak, Stanislav Puzdriak

Memory Card is a short film that chronicles the adventures of two friends competing in a championship after the enigmatic blogger Mr. Monkey reveals that hidden coordinates in several PlayStation One games lead to a coveted memory card. To uncover these coordinates, our heroes dive into a thrilling journey across beloved retro games.

 

Data Ghost

Directed by Erica Shires

Cyano-botanists are experimenting with historical photographic processes and artificial intelligence trained in natural history archives to encode, reanimate, and virtually recreate the biodiversity of species that have gone extinct due to climate change.