Photo Flash: Inaugural Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival

Numerous submissions were lauded with awards which commended the stories and artistry of the highly conceived and entertaining films. The thrilling turnout and positive feedback brought forth a recognition of cinema's most riveting genre and has evoked plans for a second annual event and subsequent festivals around the globe including Poland next spring. Arrangements are also being made for the Blade Runner Retrospective with members of the cast and crew at the Museum of the Moving Image to commemorate the 1982 film which was based on Dick's 1968 novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Other events include a Supernatural and Science Fiction event at The Cervantes Institute in January 2013 and a full day UFO's and ET's Conference in the spring.

Award-winners from the event:

Best Science Fiction Feature
RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH
Directed by John Allen Simon

Best Science Fiction Feature in a Dramatic Competition
THE LAST PUSH
Directed Eric Hayden With its thought-provoking films and guest speakers The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival enthralled the mind and embodied an expression of devotion for all of its attendees. The main event took place from December 7-9, 2012 at Williamsburg's IndieScreen theater at 285-289 Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, along with panels and screenings at The Cervantes Institute, Singularity and Company, Spectacle Theater, The Producer's Club and the Museum of the Moving Image.

The Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival and the first of its kind to grace the screens of New York City is organized by filmmakers who understand the difficulties and challenges of telling a unique story in a corporate environment. The year 2012 marks the inauguration of the festival. The festival will be held in New York City in the fall for a total of three days. Guest speakers and writers that best represent the goals of the festival will attend the opening ceremonies. We look for original voices and visions in works submitted. Lastly, this is a festival by filmmakers for filmmakers.

Philip K. Dick (1928-1982) was one of the 20th century's most profound novelists and writers within the science fiction community. His exploration, analysis and beliefs led to the publishings of 44 novels and 121 short stories. Dick's enormous library of works led to several film developments including Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003) and most recently Radio Free Albemuth (2010), The Adjustment Bureau (2011) and the successful remake of Total Recall (2012). The film industry is also awaiting the release of King of the Elves in 2014, which will surely be yet another prosperous depiction of Dick's literary contribution to science fiction. His enormously effective views comprised of fictional universes, virtual realities and human mutation foresaw an exaggerated version of the current state of government and contemporary life. Though he is gone in the physical form his philosophies live on in the techniques applied to modern stories and films and generate large displays of appreciation and understanding.

For more information from the festival, visit the Facebook page, and the festival's website.

"Best Science Fiction Feature" RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH's Director John Alan Simon and Producer Elizabeth Karr with Festival Director Daniel Abella

Filmmaker Eric Norcross ("LIPSTICK LIES") and Actor Khary Payton ("THE LAST PUSH")

Actor Dan Shor ("TRON," "BILL AND TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE") and Filmmaker Eric Norcross ("LIPSTICK LIES")

Director Jennifer Wexler ("SLUMBER PARTY") with her boyfriend

Actor Khary Payton ("THE LAST PUSH") with his grandmother

"LIPSTICK LIES" actors Gerard Adimando with his wife and Samantha Rivers Cole

The Festival's Sold Out Opening Night For RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH at IndieScreen

INTRUDERS AMONGST US - THE ET AND UFO EXPERIENCE Richard Dolan, Peter Robbins, Posey Gilbert, Mark Brinkerhoff, James Carman and Alan Steinfeld

IS SCIENCE FICTION THE SCIENCE OF THE FUTURE? Ronald Mallet, Enrique Ricardo Miranda, Angela Posada-Swafford and Alan Steinfeld

PHILIP K. DICK, HP LOVECRAFT AND THE NEW CONSCIOUSNESS John Alan Simon, Dennis Paoli and Jim Freud