• Session 1: Kid's Films | 2:30 to 3:30pm

  Once Upon… My Story!
  Canada 22 minutes | dir. Francis Gélinas

  

  Once upon a time… children were invited to let their imagination run free and tell stories using their own words. These charming, humorous adventures combine reality and fantasy, and immerse us in the unbridled imagination of children. Once Upon... My Story! celebrates the wit, spontaneity, and boundless imagination of young children. Everything is possible: frogs can fly, cookies grow on trees and one can sail a bunk bed like a ship. A real treat!

  Little Major Tom – Into the Unknown
  Germany 26 minutes | dir. Peter Popp

  

  Little Major Tom brings the beloved characters of Tom and Stella exclusively to fulldome theatres in an exciting tale set in the year 2053. Teenaged friends Tom and Stella live, laugh, and train at Space Base 1, honing their astronaut skills as they float above Earth. Stella is ready to dive into any challenge, while Tom is panicking at the thought of completing his first-ever spacewalk. But a massive hurricane is forming on Earth, and Tom must put aside his fears and accept a difficult space mission. If Tom and Stella fail, the consequences could be devastating for them – and for Earth.

• Session 2: Astronomy | 3:45 to 5:15pm

  Black Holes: Unknown Horizons

  Columbia 31 minutes | dir. Cesar Gonzalez Arranz, Rodrigo Gonzalez Peinado &
  Telmo Fernando Castro

  

  Black Holes forces us to wonder about space, time and gravity, not very intuitive concepts, difficult to explain, but whose nature and behaviour have played a fundamental role in the future of the cosmos. Where does the need for black holes come from? What secrets do they keep inside? Black holes are at the edge or our knowledge. Unravelling its mysteries is one of the most exciting challenges in human history it will require all our capacities as a species, and that will help us in our mission to understand the past, present, and future of this exciting place we call the cosmos.

  Asteroid Quest
  USA 41 minutes |  dir. Bertrand Loyer

  

  Recently, major space agencies around the world have sent unmanned missions to asteroids. The most daring missions are collecting samples and bringing them back to Earth. These expeditions hold a host of surprises for researchers and shake up our understanding of these celestial bodies. At first glance, it appears unlikely that asteroids can be a threat to us. However, while some circle the sun like planets, others cross paths with Earth’s orbit. What seemed like science fiction, has now become reality: to avoid a cataclysmic collision, we are currently learning how to deflect asteroids from their celestial path!

   

• Session 3: Music to Melt your Brain | 6:15 to 8pm

  Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
  United Kingdom 45 minutes | dir. Max Crow

  

  Pink Floyd’s iconic album The Dark Side of the Moon, originally released in March 1973, turns 50, and what more fitting a place to celebrate it and experience it than in a Planetarium, through the music set to visuals. With the help of modern technology, the idea of a show combining breathtaking views of the solar system and beyond, played out to 42 minutes of The Dark Side of the Moon in surround sound, has been embraced by the band. NSC Creative have led the visual production efforts, working closely with Pink Floyd’s long time creative collaborator Aubrey Powell from Hipgnosis.

  Recombination, The Fulldome Journey
  Netherlands 47 minutes | dir. Julius Horsthuis

  

  The most recent project by visionary fractal artist Julius Horsthuis is an abstract journey through space, time, music, and mathematics.

  Recombination, The Fulldome Journey is a spectacular full-dome experience on themes from physics, mathematics, and biology. The film takes the viewer on a journey through realities that only exist in the digital space, but which look like distant planets and the inner world of organic beings. Julius Horsthuis uses fractals, which are the result of mathematical formulas. By visualizing these fractals, we see landscapes that seem to come straight out of science fiction. The original music, which further enhances the film's images, was composed by Michael Stearns, David Levy, Max Cooper, Desert Dwellers, Ben Lukas Boysen, Temple Invisible and Ott.

   

• Session 4: Mind Blowing Art | 8:15 to 9:45pm

  This video may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

  Mirrored Madness

  Germany 6 minutes |  dir. Patrick Doan

  

  In Mirrored Madness, an ecosystem of cyber organisms unfurl their forms, pulsing to life with hyper complexity, revealing the sinuous contours of their intricate, biomorphic designs.

  The dynamic visual aesthetic proposes a positive futurism, like a new digital bioarchitecture to frame the depth of sounds established in the concept behind SØS Gunver Ryberg’s track from her album SPINE released on her label ARTERIAL.

  Undetermined Outcome
  Germany 10 minutes | dir. Rocco Helmchen

  

  An experimental audio-visual piece attempting to imagine something which cannot in fact be pictured. By stripping away layers of the real world it tries to visualize the strange cosmos of quantum mechanics and deconstructs reality into the indeterminable realm of fundamental particles. Focussed on emotion, confusion, and fascination, the film opens an interpretative gateway to a world which seems incomprehensible by everyday experience.

  Exo-Cortex 3.0
  France 8 minutes | dir. Jérémy Oury

  

  Exo-Cortex 3.0 is an invitation to relax and succumb, guided by a voice that plunges us into a dreamlike and hypnotic introspection in a waking dream state. This offers a journey through a poetic, spellbinding composition of space. Each stage transforms the site into a different digital visualization, becoming a new object of contemplation in 360° motion.

  Dancing with Dead Animals
  Germany 11 minutes | dir. Maarten Isaäk de Heer

  

  Animation artist Maarten Isaäk de Heer was astonished by the huge number of animal deaths in his direct environment: from masses of fruit flies all dying together, to mice brought in by his own cat. He decided to make a record of all the dead creatures he encountered over the course of a single spring and summer. Making 3D photograms of their sometimes semi-decomposed bodies enabled him to bring them back to life, so they can dance with a contemporary Adam and Eve in a paradisiacal landscape of twigs, leaves, bark, and other dead organic material. The dome projection draws the viewer into this celebration of life after death. It goes beyond good and evil, simply illustrating the same biology that governs us all.

  Asfixia
  Germany 3 minutes | dir. Brian Rolón

  

  Asfixia focuses attention on a distressing yet reflective environment at the same time through a fluid and minimalist setting of space, characters, and sounds.

  The film seeks to create a feeling of intense breathing in the audience. The inspiration for this piece comes from experiences with meditation and deep breathing exercises, where passing thoughts disturb the attempt for concentration and peace. It refers to the balance between two parts of the same being and the search for inner tranquillity, chaos, and harmony.

  Eón
  Mexico 5 minutes | dir. Alejandro Casales Navarrete

  

  After surviving the long quarantine caused by the COVID19 virus, Alejandro began to create a visual music piece for planetariums. The film uses colourful high-contrast imagery, movement, music, rhythm, and poetry to express the desire to survive confinement that lasted more than a year.

  XYZZY
  New Zealand 41 minutes | dir. Jess Johnson and Simon Ward

  

  XYZZY will lead you on a psychedelic musical odyssey through the complex fictional world the artists have been evolving over a decade-long collaborative practice. Video director Simon Ward created XYZZY by translating Jess’s hand-drawn compositions into animated webs of flesh mandalas, self-replicating architecture, undulating worms, hallucinogenic pattern, and messianic alien deities. The dynamic visual atmosphere is charged with 90s-inspired electronic synthesiser tracks from musicians Andrew Clarke, Luke Rowell, Stef Animal and Lachlan Anderson.

   

Sunday 4 February program

• Session 5: World Stories | 2:30 to 4pm

  Faoladh

  Republic of Ireland 8 minutes | dir. Declan Dowling

  

  Faoladh is a stereoscopic 360° film that follows the perilous journey of a ninth century Irish child whose village is attacked by Viking raiders. In the film you take on the role of a wolf-like guardian spirit and protector of the children from the woods of ancient Ireland

  THE EARTH ABOVE: A deep time view of Australia’s epic history
  Australia 28 minutes | dir. The Ruwe Collective

  

  A feature-length full-dome planetarium show from the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) produced by the Deakin MotionLab in collaboration with First Nations communities and UOW Science Space. The show explores Australia’s past 140,000 years, incorporating traditional and scientific knowledges to tell Australia’s epic story and Transport viewers to four locations: Girraween Lagoon on Larrakia and Wulna Country outside Darwin in the NT; Cloggs Cave on GunaiKurnai Country in Victoria’s East Gippsland region; Lake Mungo in NSW on the land of the Barkandji/Paakantyi, Ngiyampaa and Mutthi people; and Jiigurru (Lizard Island) on the Great Barrier Reef, which is sacred to many, including the Dingaal community.

  The Voyage of Arka Kinari
  Wales 39 minutes | dir. Janire Najera and Matt Wright

  

  This documentary film about the extraordinary journey aboard the 70-ton sailing ship, Arka Kinari, ingeniously transformed into a cultural platform to amplify the urgent call for action on the climate crisis. Delve into the inspiring voyage across oceans of musicians Filastine & Nova, connecting distant shores through the unifying language of music and art to raise awareness about climate resilience on a global scale. The Voyage of Arka Kinari presents a vision of a nomadic lifestyle in a porous and borderless future, exploring life after the carbon economy, resilience to climate change, and re-engagement with the sea.

   

• Session 6: Future Visions | 4:15 to 5:30pm

  This video may potentially trigger seizures for people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

  4096AD

  United Kingdom 4 minutes | dir. NSC Creative

  

  It is 4096AD and the human race has managed to pierce the walls of our universe allowing us to travel through infinite worlds. We have crafted hardy specialist robots to gather information on what lies beyond. In our tale, we follow "RD" the drone explorer on its journey fraught with danger.

  Urban Mindscape
  Germany 5 minutes | dir. Sergey Prokofyev and Prateep Beed

  

  Urban Mindscape explores how humans perceive and navigate through space in urban environments. By combining neuroscience and architecture research study with cutting-edge technology, Urban Mindscape offers a glimpse into the future of designing human-centric cities that offer exceptional standards of living.

  Interrupted trajectories and other transient disequilibrium models
  Canada 4 minutes | dir. Lydia Yakonowsky

  

  In her second short film, Lydia Yakonowsky explores sudden and involuntary shifts in projected trajectories. A succession of scattered data point grids are intertwined with unnerving spirals, and mathematical objects whose meaning change depending on the light source.

  A striking commentary, both on economic forecasting models and on periods of major changes.

  Moonbase – The Next Step 
  United Kingdom 20 minutes | Creative Director Graham Watts and Executive Creative Director Simon Clarke 

  

  Moonbase – The Next Step is the story of this human endeavor, pushing scientific and technological advances to the limit. Travelling the 250,000 miles and surviving the hostile and alien conditions of reduced gravity, extreme temperatures, and toxic lunar dust, we explain the science and technology for this brave mission to happen. Follow our story filled with awe, danger, trepidation and share the wonder of the lunar environment made for 360 Fulldome format. Prepare for a hostile and breath-taking lunar experience...

  EROS
  United Kingdom 4 minutes | Dir. Daniel Hambly

  

  EROS is a story about friendship and loss, explored through one man's journey of catharsis. We follow a helmet-clad deep space miner, in a perilous pilgrimage to honour the passing of a fallen comrade. Aeons may pass, but a friendship is eternal.

  Destin
  France 4 minutes | Dir. Jérémy Oury & Ludovic Finck

  

  Destin is an invitation to travel into the future of our universe by building the most beautiful and breathtaking set with 360° projection: our imagination.

  Let us envisage for a moment that we can travel into space. A small group of people, here in the planetarium, are chosen to leave Earth and discover the destiny of our universe by embarking on a journey through nebulae and other celestial objects.

  Like the Voyager 1 and 2 probes, Destin evokes the hope and excitement of space exploration beyond our solar system.

  Local Dystopias in the Global Utopia
  Germany 22 minutes | Dir. Sergey Prokofyev

  

  In a sprawling desert, a unique immersive experience unfolds through multiple dome screens, each depicting a distinct architectural tale.

  Journeying through three dystopian worlds, we first explore ‘High Rise Cult’, a forsaken village where wooden skyscraper replicas are buoyed by balloons. Next, ‘The Doomed City’ draws us into a city birthed in no man’s land, influenced by a painting by Nicholas Roerich. Concluding ‘Phygital Limbo’, a perplexing digital environment is continuously stimulated by synthetic engine based on human emotions. Being here is akin to experiencing a conscious collective dream.

   

   

• Session 7: Art of Science | 6:30 to 8:15pm

  Entrez dans le danse

  Canada 18 minutes | dir. Julie Desmet Weaver

  

  Entrez dans la danse is a unique experience inspired by a infamous event: the Dancing Plague epidemic of 1518. Inside a dome, the public is invited to discover the story of Enneline, the first woman to be swept away by this pandemic. Combining theatre and dance, this sensory experience invites us to follow the momentum of the bodies, bearing witness to the distress of a population in the grip of extreme poverty and rigid authorities. Borrowing from live performance and cinema, the experience becomes a veritable playground for spectators, who are invited to enter the dance, thanks to an immersive, interactive device. This resolutely modern story offers audiences a different way of looking at movement, one in which they can gradually become part of a collective dance experience.

  The Chemistry of Life
  Sweden 32 minutes | dir. Anna Öst

  

  What do all living things have in common? How tiny are molecules? What happens inside our cells after we eat? Chemistry of Life makes the biomolecular world more concrete and accessible through cutting edge molecular visualizations. The production focuses on connecting the processes associated with being alive - breathing, eating, and thinking, with biochemical processes in the body's cells. Together with Australian biomedical animator Drew Berry, the Visualization Center has created a journey that allows visitors to experience these processes in a completely new way. With the help of dynamic animations based on research data, we can not only show what the research has discovered, but we can travel into the data and get a deeper understanding of the invisible world that exists inside all of us.

  2024 Dome Under Film Festival Awards Ceremony

  

  The Dome Under Festival Jury will present five awards for Best Astronomy Film, Best Children’s Film, Best Narrative Film, Best Art Film and Best Short Film (Approximately 15 mins)

  Spark: The Universe in Us
  USA 27 minutes | dir. Ryan Wyatt

  

  Where did the building blocks of life come from? The answer lies far from home. Travel inside a giant star nearing the end of its life, witness stellar corpses colliding, and experience the quiet demise of a Sun-like star. From the oxygen we breathe to the iron in our blood, the silicon in Earth’s mantle to the uranium that warms our planet, we owe it all to the stars. Narrated by Diego Luna, Spark: The Universe in Us explores how hundreds of millions of celestial events have forged the elements that make up the Solar System, Earth – and us!

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