press release
Vanessa Ly's 'Memories of the Future' Awarded Best PKD Feature
Brian Avenet-Bradley and Laurence Avenet-Bradley's
'The Protos Experiment' Named Best Supernatural Horror
(NYC) April 9, 2025 — The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners for its 12th annual event, which presented films, panels, writing competitions, and immersive experiences. Live screenings were held from April 4-6 in Manhattan and Brooklyn, with an online edition as well. Exploring the influence of novelist Philip K. Dick and the sci-fi community, the event recognized 24 official selections for outstanding filmmaking and storytelling. For more information on this year’s lineup, visit https://www.thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com.
Congratulations to the award winners of The 2025 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
Best Philip K. Dick Feature
Memories of the Future, 2024 — World Premiere
Director Vanessa Ly
United States, 116 min
In a near future, a genius scientist recounts how he created the first androids, exact replicas of deceased children. In a very distant future, a small community of children-androids lives on a remote island. The arrival of a female teenager, the only human, changes the pace of their life. Two androids embark on their last journey to find the Truth. Starring William Fichtner and Aurora Quattrocchi.
Best Supernatural Horror Feature
The Protos Experiment, 2024 — East Coast Premiere
Directors Brian Avenet-Bradley, Laurence Avenet-Bradley
United States, 88 min
Kyra and John wake in a strange prison...they’re not alone. They discover they are chained and are utterly vulnerable in the presence of nightmarish, prowling figures controlled by unseen captors.
Best Animation Feature
Who Said Death Is Beautiful?, 2023
Director Ryo Nakajima
Japan, 70 minutes
In a zombie-infested Japan, Rika, an infected intern, cares for genius Rei and sister Yuna. Yuna turns into a zombie; Rika and Rei flee. Rika suggests escaping abroad with Takashiba for hope; Rei wants to return home. At Rei's, they face a transformed Yuna's confession. Amid despair, is hope alive?
Best Student Feature
The Last Night in the Life of Death, 2024 — NY Premiere
Director Isaiah Brody
United States, 79 min
Every night, Death comes to take care of people who move on from here to forever. But this night - tonight - something has changed, and Death is confronted with the possibility that there is no longer any use for his kind. Through seven encounters, Death begins to understand his true fate.
Best Feature Documentary
Sex Robot Madness, 2025 — U.S. Premiere
Director Jimmy Mehiel
United States, 94 min
As Big Tech shifts its focus from the attention economy to the emerging “intimacy economy,” the question arises: Are we ready for customizable lovebots designed to push our most primal buttons? Sex Robot Madness is a fast-paced, unapologetic dive into human-machine intimacy, where the line between connection and commodification blurs.
Best Philip K. Dick Short
First Sight, 2024 — NY Premiere
Director Andrew McGee
United Kingdom, 19 min
Luna's dating life takes a dark turn in this gripping story about love, loss, and augmented reality. The future is in sight. Starring Ellise Chappell Poldark and Young Wallander, and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd.
Best Sci-Fi Short
Anwar, 2024
Director Fawaz Al-Matrouk
Canada, 19 min
Anwar is a personal sci-fi about a mother who chose to live forever, and a son who longs for heaven. We see Anwar age from 8 to 18 to 80, while Mona remains eternal throughout, until he has a final moment of doubt, and she has a final moment of hope.
Best Supernatural Short
Rebecca, 2024 — U.S. Premiere
Director Gerard Corporon
France, 18 min
After visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, a couple who witnessed something that deeply upset them search for an explanation for what they experienced.
Best Isolation in Sci-Fi Short
Interference, 2024
Director Lila Woodbridge
United States, 25 min
The story of one teenage boy’s struggle with paranoia and identity amidst the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s.
Best Experimental Sci-Fi Short
Creature, 2024
Director Georg Koszulinski
United States, 12 min
In a future world ravaged by war and ecological collapse, an extraterrestrial entity appears in the form of a glacier.
Best Singularity, Eschaton and Beyond Infinity Short
De Profvndis, 2024
Director Nina McNeely
United States, 4 min
Directed by acclaimed choreographer Nina McNeely, featuring CLI Conservatory, “De Profvndis” captures the essence of iconic religious artworks, with dancers embodying the spirit of ascension, the vibrancy of life, the solemnity of death, the passion of love, the purity of innocence, and the sanctity of ritual.
Best Animation Short
Do Bangladroids Dream Of Electric Tagore?, 2024
Director Aleem Hossain
United States, 3 min
In the year 2065, a Bangladeshi-American documentary explores what the Bangladroids recall of their homeland.
Best Student Short
Lillo, 2023
Director Andrea Figueroa
Mexico, 8min
After the death of his father, a little boy has to do the cornfield harvest on his own, overcoming his loss with the help of his imagination.
Best Short Documentary
The Shaver Mystery, 2024
Director Dean Bertram
United States, 14 min
Was sci-fi writer Richard Shaver really abducted and tormented by a malevolent underground race of hideous humanoids, known as the “Dero”? Regardless, his “true” stories – known collectively as “The Shaver Mystery” and sometimes ghost written by editor Raymond A. Palmer.
Best Web Series
Salamander: A Mystery
Director Gabe Sentlinger
Canada, 10 min
Erik Fisher is living in his van down by the river. Without much going for him, besides his 2-4 listeners on his streaming radio show, NightShades, his life is turned upside down when a mysterious stranger delivers a package containing a toy Salamander with a note signed “Mom."
Best AI Short
Bad Seed, 2024
Director Karan Sridharan
India, 6 minutes
A man meets his maker and doesn't like what he sees.
Best Music Video
Greed, 2024
Director Mike Hay
United Kingdom, 6 min
A lone battle-scarred woman navigates the streets of a city in the future, where the populace is enslaved by the tyrannical GovCorp. As she moves further into the heart of darkness, Vita is determined to break the cycle of greed and repression.
Best Graphic Novel
Hemlock Ave: Book One: Hopes & Nightmares
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay
The Boy Who Found Infinity
Writer Richard Fenwick
UK
Best Sci-Fi World Building Screenplay
Buddy/Joe
Writer Cameron Young
United States
Best Supernatural Screenplay
The Bog
Writer Jan Buttram
United States
Best Short Screenplay
Digital Support Group #75,000B
Writer Linda Pallotta
United States
Honorable Mention
Bloom, 2024
Directors Rachel Morgan, Paul Del Gesso
United States, 15 min
Struggling to make it as a model in New York City, Flora Piper gets an unexpected offer from a fashion photographer to care-take his plant-filled studio. This mysterious and mystical opportunity may change her life forever. Starring Grainger Hines and Emily Bennett.
Honorable Mention
Universe 25, 2023
Director David Tappan
United States, 20 min
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 existence.
Contact:
For interview requests and press accreditation, contact Jonathan Carsten at [email protected].
About The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, which launched in 2012 as New York City's first and only festival of its kind, honors the enduring legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick. His enormously effective works composed of fictional universes, virtual realities, dystopian worlds, and human mutation served as a significant observation into the current state of society. Organized by individuals and filmmakers who understand the difficulties and challenges of presenting unique narratives in a corporate environment, the festival embraces original concepts and alternative approaches to storytelling. Since 2013, the festival has held additional gatherings in France, Germany, Poland, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles. The event was named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2022.
Connect with us:
Website: https://www.thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePhilipKDickFilmFestival
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/philipkdickfest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipkdickfest
Congratulations to the award winners of The 2025 Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
Best Philip K. Dick Feature
Memories of the Future, 2024 — World Premiere
Director Vanessa Ly
United States, 116 min
In a near future, a genius scientist recounts how he created the first androids, exact replicas of deceased children. In a very distant future, a small community of children-androids lives on a remote island. The arrival of a female teenager, the only human, changes the pace of their life. Two androids embark on their last journey to find the Truth. Starring William Fichtner and Aurora Quattrocchi.
Best Supernatural Horror Feature
The Protos Experiment, 2024 — East Coast Premiere
Directors Brian Avenet-Bradley, Laurence Avenet-Bradley
United States, 88 min
Kyra and John wake in a strange prison...they’re not alone. They discover they are chained and are utterly vulnerable in the presence of nightmarish, prowling figures controlled by unseen captors.
Best Animation Feature
Who Said Death Is Beautiful?, 2023
Director Ryo Nakajima
Japan, 70 minutes
In a zombie-infested Japan, Rika, an infected intern, cares for genius Rei and sister Yuna. Yuna turns into a zombie; Rika and Rei flee. Rika suggests escaping abroad with Takashiba for hope; Rei wants to return home. At Rei's, they face a transformed Yuna's confession. Amid despair, is hope alive?
Best Student Feature
The Last Night in the Life of Death, 2024 — NY Premiere
Director Isaiah Brody
United States, 79 min
Every night, Death comes to take care of people who move on from here to forever. But this night - tonight - something has changed, and Death is confronted with the possibility that there is no longer any use for his kind. Through seven encounters, Death begins to understand his true fate.
Best Feature Documentary
Sex Robot Madness, 2025 — U.S. Premiere
Director Jimmy Mehiel
United States, 94 min
As Big Tech shifts its focus from the attention economy to the emerging “intimacy economy,” the question arises: Are we ready for customizable lovebots designed to push our most primal buttons? Sex Robot Madness is a fast-paced, unapologetic dive into human-machine intimacy, where the line between connection and commodification blurs.
Best Philip K. Dick Short
First Sight, 2024 — NY Premiere
Director Andrew McGee
United Kingdom, 19 min
Luna's dating life takes a dark turn in this gripping story about love, loss, and augmented reality. The future is in sight. Starring Ellise Chappell Poldark and Young Wallander, and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd.
Best Sci-Fi Short
Anwar, 2024
Director Fawaz Al-Matrouk
Canada, 19 min
Anwar is a personal sci-fi about a mother who chose to live forever, and a son who longs for heaven. We see Anwar age from 8 to 18 to 80, while Mona remains eternal throughout, until he has a final moment of doubt, and she has a final moment of hope.
Best Supernatural Short
Rebecca, 2024 — U.S. Premiere
Director Gerard Corporon
France, 18 min
After visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, a couple who witnessed something that deeply upset them search for an explanation for what they experienced.
Best Isolation in Sci-Fi Short
Interference, 2024
Director Lila Woodbridge
United States, 25 min
The story of one teenage boy’s struggle with paranoia and identity amidst the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s.
Best Experimental Sci-Fi Short
Creature, 2024
Director Georg Koszulinski
United States, 12 min
In a future world ravaged by war and ecological collapse, an extraterrestrial entity appears in the form of a glacier.
Best Singularity, Eschaton and Beyond Infinity Short
De Profvndis, 2024
Director Nina McNeely
United States, 4 min
Directed by acclaimed choreographer Nina McNeely, featuring CLI Conservatory, “De Profvndis” captures the essence of iconic religious artworks, with dancers embodying the spirit of ascension, the vibrancy of life, the solemnity of death, the passion of love, the purity of innocence, and the sanctity of ritual.
Best Animation Short
Do Bangladroids Dream Of Electric Tagore?, 2024
Director Aleem Hossain
United States, 3 min
In the year 2065, a Bangladeshi-American documentary explores what the Bangladroids recall of their homeland.
Best Student Short
Lillo, 2023
Director Andrea Figueroa
Mexico, 8min
After the death of his father, a little boy has to do the cornfield harvest on his own, overcoming his loss with the help of his imagination.
Best Short Documentary
The Shaver Mystery, 2024
Director Dean Bertram
United States, 14 min
Was sci-fi writer Richard Shaver really abducted and tormented by a malevolent underground race of hideous humanoids, known as the “Dero”? Regardless, his “true” stories – known collectively as “The Shaver Mystery” and sometimes ghost written by editor Raymond A. Palmer.
Best Web Series
Salamander: A Mystery
Director Gabe Sentlinger
Canada, 10 min
Erik Fisher is living in his van down by the river. Without much going for him, besides his 2-4 listeners on his streaming radio show, NightShades, his life is turned upside down when a mysterious stranger delivers a package containing a toy Salamander with a note signed “Mom."
Best AI Short
Bad Seed, 2024
Director Karan Sridharan
India, 6 minutes
A man meets his maker and doesn't like what he sees.
Best Music Video
Greed, 2024
Director Mike Hay
United Kingdom, 6 min
A lone battle-scarred woman navigates the streets of a city in the future, where the populace is enslaved by the tyrannical GovCorp. As she moves further into the heart of darkness, Vita is determined to break the cycle of greed and repression.
Best Graphic Novel
Hemlock Ave: Book One: Hopes & Nightmares
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay
The Boy Who Found Infinity
Writer Richard Fenwick
UK
Best Sci-Fi World Building Screenplay
Buddy/Joe
Writer Cameron Young
United States
Best Supernatural Screenplay
The Bog
Writer Jan Buttram
United States
Best Short Screenplay
Digital Support Group #75,000B
Writer Linda Pallotta
United States
Honorable Mention
Bloom, 2024
Directors Rachel Morgan, Paul Del Gesso
United States, 15 min
Struggling to make it as a model in New York City, Flora Piper gets an unexpected offer from a fashion photographer to care-take his plant-filled studio. This mysterious and mystical opportunity may change her life forever. Starring Grainger Hines and Emily Bennett.
Honorable Mention
Universe 25, 2023
Director David Tappan
United States, 20 min
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 existence.
Contact:
For interview requests and press accreditation, contact Jonathan Carsten at [email protected].
About The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival:
The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, which launched in 2012 as New York City's first and only festival of its kind, honors the enduring legacy of novelist Philip K. Dick. His enormously effective works composed of fictional universes, virtual realities, dystopian worlds, and human mutation served as a significant observation into the current state of society. Organized by individuals and filmmakers who understand the difficulties and challenges of presenting unique narratives in a corporate environment, the festival embraces original concepts and alternative approaches to storytelling. Since 2013, the festival has held additional gatherings in France, Germany, Poland, Rotterdam, and Los Angeles. The event was named one of the “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” by MovieMaker Magazine in 2022.
Connect with us:
Website: https://www.thephilipkdickfilmfestival.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePhilipKDickFilmFestival
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/philipkdickfest
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipkdickfest
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