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So Unreal @ SIFF 2024
Amanda Kramer (Please Baby Please, Give Me Pity!) directs this hypnotic and giddily philosophical documentary on the history of late-20th century science fiction/cyberspace cinema, what it got right, and how pop culture reflects and influences technology. Narrated by Debbie Harry.
So Unreal is an entertainingly philosophical examination of cyberspace and computer-generated reality portrayed in the often low-budget science fiction films of the last 40 years, narrated by Debbie Harry (Videodrome). B-movies have always made monsters out of things we barely understand, from the giant monsters of the atomic age to the body snatchers during the Cold War, and now the artificially intelligent gods and monsters of the computer age. Movies like The Matrix, Tron, The Terminator, and Hackers all get extended sequences here, but it’s the lesser known and barely remembered films that steal the show. Remember Electric Dreams (1984), the movie about a love triangle between a man, a woman, and a computer? Remember how it predicted what’s good and what’s dangerous about interactive smart homes? Along the way, filmmaker Amanda Kramer (Please Baby Please, Give Me Pity) connects an amazingly eclectic collection of clips to societal fears and concerns. By the end, you’ll want to head to Scarecrow Video to find all the films shown here that have never made it to streaming.
—Andy Spletzer
Event Links
Tickets: https://go.evvnt.com/2390519-0
