Theme – 1984 Re:Imagined

Seize control of the future through the lens of the past. 

‘Who controls the past controls the future’. 40 years after 1984, Orwell’s vision still sounds terrifyingly familiar. Help us imagine how to turn it into a cautionary tale of the past. 

‘I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing.’― George Orwell

Forty years after the iconic Orwellian year 1984, which happened to coincide with the start of Imagine Fantastic Film Festival, we honour the legacy of George Orwell not just as a dystopian author but as a sharp analyst of societal compliance. 

Orwell’s fierce, insightful writing, infused with a deep political understanding of language as a tool of governance, highlighted mechanisms of control and ethical dilemmas, fostering awareness necessary for individual empowerment. 

‘Re:Imagining’ 1984 in 2024, we want to continue Orwell’s mission of drawing attention to and getting hearings for what is going on in reality today, but also give the stage to contemporary makers who apply the speculative power of fantastic fiction to explore the possible range of responses to dystopian scenarios. 

Featuring a multitude of fantastic storytelling voices representing different artistic, cultural, and geopolitical perspectives, we wish to create a forum for reimagining our future together with our audience, encouraging a dialogue transgressing our limited individual perspectives. 

List of titles and specials in the programme

• 1984 – Michael Radford – UK 1984
• Artificial Justice – Simón Casal – Spain 2024
• The Conversation – Francis Ford Coppola – USA 1974
• Decoder – Muscha – West Germany 1984
• Fahrenheit 451 – François Truffaut – UK 1966
• Algol: Tragedy of Power – Hans Werckmeister – DE 1920 (film concert)
• Dystopia in Denial – A Video Essay by Peet Gelderblom (special)
• In Conversation with Felwine Sarr (talk)
• Live 1984 Re:Imagined Podcast Show (podcast recording)