English
Films can warn us about the future. They can show us what might one day be a reality. Because from past experience we know that what one human is capable of imagining the human race is often able to achieve sooner or later. Leonardo Da Vinci imagined the helicopter in 1493 and eventually it was made real. In his books Jules Verne predicted many modern inventions and discoveries: from videoconferencing and electric submarines to the moon landings. Today, cinema has taken the place of novels as the main provider of science fiction.
Fantasy has been with us from the beginning of time, when myths were our foundation for understanding the world and the origin of things. Myths helped us understood the creation of the world, and they also explored how its destruction might come about. It is through myth that man came to understand his environment; and it is myth that gave a higher meaning to human existence, transcending the inevitable physical death of the body.
Consider a film like The Matrix for example, which clearly refers to the universe of social networks and Internet navigation as a means of knowledge and liberation. It is unlikely that machines rule the world now, although it might be possible one day. Artificial intelligence continues to evolve while ours has come to a standstill. There is still plenty of time for our computers to rebel against us. However, The Matrix plays with levels of fiction regarding the network and its uses and users, and thus the purpose of the story is not fantasizing about Zion or the end of the universe but rather the possible fictions that the Internet generates in real time. These uses of fiction are applied in basic operations like chat, photography or layout of a profile.
The visual reasoning of social networks directs us to a kind of parallel reality in which we can see, at times, that something is slipping through our fingers and that what is closest or seems most certain is not necessarily real. Fantasy films not only entertain but also explore and expand the barriers of reality and begin discussions that go beyond narrative and take us into the realms of philosophy, morality and ethics.
For more information about this festival, visit the following website: http://sitgesfilmfestival.com/
Alexa Ray
Get apartments in Barcelona and travel to Sitges, just a short train ride away from the Catalan capital, to attend one of the most important fantasy film festivals in Europe.
Translated by: Ben Palmer
