Enter into the Sixth Borough!

New Episodes Each Day - Oct. 6th through 12th 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.

Episode 1

Prisoner 88

Directed by Ben Saltzman 

Ben Saltzman is a genre director who explores immersive worlds across sci-fi, action, and horror. His films have screened at numerous festivals, galleries, and theaters worldwide. Given the chance to adapt any book, Ben would transform Ender's Game into an anime television series. He currently explores the intersection of AI, film, and video games.

Stuck at the Spaceport

Directed by John Semerad

It’s Lore’s first day as a navigator, and she’s eager to start her new job—if only her ship would show up. Stranded at a chaotic spaceport full of eccentric aliens, malfunctioning tech, and interstellar bureaucracy, she quickly learns that deep space might be the least of her worries. As the hours drag on, Lore navigates an absurd gauntlet of weird encounters, cosmic mishaps, and questionable food courts, all while wondering if she’ll ever make it off the ground.

Discorporate

Directed by Dane Williams

A military brat with a civil engineering background who grew up all over the country, I found myself, against all odds, studying film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Over a decade later of editing and directing commercials and music videos in New York, Discorporate is my first narrative film and first foray into science fiction. My work is informed by loss, hope, and a grateful embrace of the absurdity that is life.

Episode 2

The Warranty Department

Directed by Isac Malmgren 

A Pseudo-Documentary in an alternative universe where the USSR went into the AI race instead of the space race.

The 2400

Directed by David Scott Titus

An authoritarian regime tracks people by drones, hunting down people with expired residency cards.

Saving Cycle

Directed by Kimberly DiPersia

When his crush is tragically killed, Jake is presented with a rare opportunity to save endangered versions of her in alternate dimensions.

Episode 3

Awake

Directed by Kelsey Tarantino

Two kids wake up in a locked room—only to discover they're not who they thought they were.

Rotting

Directed by Satoshi Tanaka

Mr. and Mrs. Yoshida are living on the fifth floor of an apartment, which has no elevator. The husband, Taro (76), has a walking disability and uses a wheelchair.
His wife, Chie (72), suffers from dementia. This elderly couple is struggling helplessly with caring for each other. Meanwhile, the world falls into ruin, and they are forced to live alone together. No escape. No one helps. Can Taro and Chie survive on their own?

Memories of the Future

Directed by Irina Petrova Adamatzky

"Memories of the Future" is a cinematic reflection on the growing crisis of space debris, blending science, metaphor, and artistic abstraction. The film is presented from the perspective of a child—a future Earthling—who looks back at humanity’s actions with both wonder and concern. 

Episode 4

Freedom

Directed by Arjan Brentjes

Under fascist rule, what is worth saving?
And how far will you go to save it?

Two astronauts try to rescue forbidden art treasures from a totalitarian regime by smuggling them on their mission to Jupiter. During their long space journey they then encounter some mutual disagreements.

New Human

Directed by Catherina Cojulun

Young botanist grapples with the unsettling idea that her robot clone may be humanity's best hope—while she questions her own worth in the future.

Golden Record Received

Directed by Katarina Hughes

After receiving The Golden Record, a time capsule of sounds from planet Earth, space traveler IRIDIA addresses her fellow citizens as they finally approach this far away planet for the first time. But when she arrives on Earth, the truth about humanity is revealed...

Episode 5

Huemon Sho

Directed by Michael Capodiferro

A short film set in the near-distant future where artificial intelligence has completely taken over and culture is now written by code. Three human friends uncover an ancient video camera and set out to make a movie made by real people.

AIM

Directed by Won Chan Song

A single gunshot shatters the silence of the virtual world—AIM SPACE. Agent Jong-won, enforcer of justice against criminals who hide behind avatars, never misses. His bullets always strike true. But this time… something is terribly wrong. The avatar doesn’t vanish into data—it bleeds. It dies. Not a flicker of code, but a cry soaked in blood stains the digital air. Staggered by the surreal scene, Jong-won freezes. Then, the sentinel of the central server appears—AI I.M. With a voice colder than steel, it delivers the unthinkable: The user behind the avatar Jong-won just shot… is dead. In the real world.

Dead Astronaut: The Swan and the Crab

Directed by Benjamin Darvey Hinz

A skeletal astronaut (with a sword!) encounters trouble while seeking replacement body parts.

Episode 6

Next Show in 90 Minutes

Directed by John T. Hill

A routine both natural and unnatural, unfolds in the heart of one of America's most cherished landscapes. Content Warning: This film contains mild body horror and brief violence.

Hept

Directed by Jorge Baldeon

In a post-apocalyptic world, a famished man encounters an abandoned house containing a bountiful feast. Despite mounting suspicion and unease, he continues to consume the enigmatic food. His fears are confirmed when he hears a noise and investigates, leading to a fateful encounter in the depths of the house.

Overtime

Directed by Trent Duncan

Taylor and Simon are stuck in the office on a weekend trying to finish a project. But overtime was never like this!

Episode 7

Eleven Dimensions

Directed by Innes Forbes

Franko, a tough getaway driver, and Raspa, his talking Latino fish-mouth, are hired to steal a mysterious briefcase containing a device called 11D, with strict instructions not to open it. But when they do, they unlock access to bizarre parallel worlds. As they fight their way back home, a killer is hot on their trail.

Selfie

Directed by Giulio Manicardi

A shy and insecure girl becomes a social media idol thanks to the selfies taken by her smartphone that portray her as beautiful. However, all this will soon have a macabre price: like a modern Dorian Gray with a digital portrait, with each new shot the phone's camera will steal a little of her lifeblood.

Elsewhere - The Burn-In

Directed by Mark Rubbo

On July 2, 2029, everyone on earth saw the same impossible thing...