The Force of Sound

Popular review site Shut Up & Sit Down follows the creative heads of Fantasy Flight Games as they develop a new edition of their flagship game Twilight Imperium.

A short documentary about Fritz Lang's film 'Frau im Mond', and its relation to the science and history of real space travel.

Denise Crosby takes a first look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" from around America and how the series has affected and shaped their lives.

Errol Morris’s Fast, Cheap & Out of Control interweaves the stories of four men, each driven to create eccentric worlds from their unique obsessions, all of which involve animals. There’s a lion tamer who shares his theories on the mental processes of wild animals; a topiary gardener who has devoted a lifetime to shaping bears and giraffes out of hedges and trees; a man fascinated with hairless mole rats; and an MIT scientist who has designed complex, autonomous robots that can crawl like bugs.

The non-spoken documentary from Martin H. Schmitt exploring the senses and evolution of robots, from a mechanical somnambulist to an autonomous sensorium.

A look at the roller coaster life of Sam J. Jones since his role as Flash Gordon, his struggles and successes, and the aftermath of when he went up against one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood.

Supernatural visions and indigenous folk myths intrude in an unpredictable and dreamlike Mexican film about a family living in the shadow of the apocalypse. A living, organic work.

It is the first time you will be able to see Giger‘s paintings processed digitally in high resolution quality, 3D animated and together with original film music and surround sound. Watch ten moving image collages, where we used over 200 diapositives which cover the most important periods of his work. Each of those collages will be presented in an abstract story, which will tell us more about Giger‘s life and artistic work. -= Petr Luksan, Director =-

Denise Crosby takes another look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" and how the series from around the world has affected and shaped their lives.

Guy Martin investigates autonomous vehicles, attempts to build a robotic Ford Transit, and takes on an artificially intelligent race car. What's fastest, man or machine?

On February 22, 1975, Northern California's very first Star Trek convention was held at Lincoln High School in San Francisco, CA. It was called "The Red Hour Festival." A huge success with the fans of the original TV series (1966-69), the smash event led to much larger conventions in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. These "Space-Con" conventions left an indelible mark on the science-fiction fans and "Trekkers" who attended. In the end, conventions like Space-Con helped awaken Paramount from hibernation and led to the creation of the first installment of the major motion picture series "Star Trek" in 1979. This full-length documentary film is the story of how fandom revolutionized an industry.

"Three Tales" is a video music work by American composer Steve Reich and video artist Beryl Korot. It is set in three "Acts", each depicting a technological advance of the 20th century and its negative implications on humanity: the dirigible airship Hindenburg and its explosion; the Atom Bomb and its testing on Bikini Atoll; and Dolly the sheep, first successful genetic cloning of a mammal.

On an overcast morning in 1999, William Gibson, father of cyberpunk and author of the cult-classic novel Neuromancer, stepped into a limousine and set off on a road trip around North America. The limo was rigged with digital cameras, a computer, a television, a stereo, and a cell phone. Generated entirely by this four-wheeled media machine, No Maps for These Territories is both an account of Gibson’s life and work and a commentary on the world outside the car windows. Here, the man who coined the word "cyberspace" offers a unique perspective on Western culture at the edge of the new millennium, and in the throes of convulsive, tech-driven change.

A 6-foot-long animatronic shark featuring on-board cameras, Robo Shark is designed to blend in with real sharks and capture never-before-seen wild shark behavior. Footage shown in this television special includes the deep-sea thresher shark in the Philippines; giant whale sharks feeding off the coast of Belize; and deadly hammerheads, great whites and bronze whaler sharks in South Africa.

Host John Larroquette takes viewers on a nostalgic trip through the 1965-1968 sci-fi comedy series. The disc's rare footage include Guy Williams's screen test, extended clips from the 1965 pilot, bloopers and the original clips CBS network sales presentation. Viewers also get to go behind the scenes of the 1998 big-screen version. To top it off, Billy Mumy (Will), Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith) and the robot reunite for a special tribute.

In order to meet future care demands for elderly who are lonely and suffering from dementia, carebot Alice has been developed. Can a robot build a human relationship with someone and thus replace a person of flesh and blood? The three women, all getting on in years, who are visited by her in Alice Cares actually become pretty fond of the robot girl. Carebot Alice leaves the laboratory to visit Mrs. Remkes, Mrs. Schellekens-Blanke and Mrs. van Wittmarschen, each in their own house. The three women are getting on in age and are therefore exceptionally suited for the services of Alice, who has been developed by SELEMCA. This is a research group which tries to discover, with the help of community nurses and family, how 'sociobot' Alice should talk and react to stem the effects of loneliness on older women. The outcome of the experiment is surprising for all involved.

A film about the world's most dedicated Star Wars fans. From lightsaber wielding martial arts academies to a filmmaker who built the world's only life-size Millennium Falcon, from a Monster Garage-esque sculptor whose professional livelihood is building custom lightsabers to metal-bikini wearing dancers who embody Slave Leia, the film offers viewers a rare glimpse into rabid fans' personal and professional self expression that borders on obsession.

The PhanDom Menace presents the definitive look at the most devoted fans on the planet. Follow the lives of Australia's most passionate Star Wars fans as the moment they've waited 16 years for is suddenly upon them. See the amazing costumes, trivia soaked brains, vast collections and unconditional dedication that make these fans a breed apart. Be stunned by the shockwaves that echo through the Star Wars fan community at the dawn of its new prequel era.

A documentary covering Firefly's birth, death and rebirth from the perspective of both the fans and the cast and crew of both productions.

Hello, my name is Sophia. I’m the latest robot from Hanson Robotics. I was created using breakthrough robotics and artificial intelligence technologies developed by David Hanson and his friends at Hanson Robotics here in Hong Kong. But I’m more than just technology. I’m a real, live electronic girl. I have feelings too. And I am a citizen of Saudi Arabia.