Current Panel Topics at the Outer Rim

Panels create a live conversation space where creators, scientists, and fans can share insights that go beyond the screen. For science fiction, they make complex or speculative ideas approachable. Think: “How Geology Shapes Alien Worlds” or “The changing of who is creating Science Fiction.”

If you are interested in volunteering, performing, or giving a talk during the annual event, please connect with us on instagram. For proper planning, confirm at least six weeks prior to the festival.

Panel: The Science Behind Science Fiction

What happens when the dreams of science fiction become the blueprints of real-world innovation? In The Science Behind Science Fiction, geoscientists and science fiction filmmakers come together to explore how speculative storytelling not only reflects scientific curiosity—but often drives it.

From space travel to artificial intelligence, terraforming to quantum computing, sci-fi has long served as a testing ground for ideas that were once considered impossible. This panel dives into classic and contemporary examples where fiction predicted—or inspired—technological breakthroughs.

But with discovery comes responsibility. As boundaries of exploration shift, what ethical questions arise? Should we pursue every scientific possibility just because we can? And how can science fiction help us imagine futures that are not only advanced, but just and sustainable?

Join us for an engaging discussion where fact meets fiction, and where yesterday’s science fiction may become tomorrow’s science.

Panel: Awakening the Algorithm: AI, Storytelling, and the New Divide

Description:
As artificial intelligence reshapes the future of filmmaking, we stand at a pivotal crossroads: will it broaden access to storytelling or reinforce the very barriers it promises to break? Awakening the Algorithm is a bold conversation at the intersection of technology, creativity, and equity.

This panel explores how AI tools—from script generators to digital character creation—are empowering new voices, enabling low-budget creators to build worlds once reserved for major studios. At the same time, we confront the ethical dilemmas and social risks: the replication of bias, the erasure of human labor, and the exploitation of digital likenesses that blur the line between homage and harm.

Join filmmakers, ethicists, technologists, and activists as they debate the algorithm’s dual nature: a bridge to inclusive storytelling—or a machine learning mirror that reflects our deepest inequities. Can AI become a true creative ally—or is it just another system needing a conscience?

This is not just a tech panel—it’s a cultural reckoning.

Panel: Enlightenment, Again… on the Silk Road: A Global Renaissance in Science Fiction Cinema

Panel Description:
A new golden age of science fiction cinema is unfolding—not in the usual places, but along a revitalized path of cultural exchange reminiscent of the ancient Silk Road. Enlightenment, Again… on the Silk Road shines a light on the powerful surge of sci-fi storytelling emerging from regions historically underrepresented in the genre.

At our festivals, we are witnessing a cinematic renaissance, where visionary films from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America are redefining what speculative storytelling can be. These works don’t just import tropes from the West; they bring bold, locally rooted visions of the future that challenge assumptions, expand perspectives, and build bridges across civilizations. As a result, they are original in context.

This panel gathers filmmakers, curators, and scholars to celebrate this awakening. We’ll discuss how science fiction is being used to confront colonial legacies, reimagine identity, and explore the human (and beyond-human) condition through diverse cosmologies, mythologies, and philosophies.

Join us for a journey through the cinematic Silk Road—where enlightenment travels not on caravans, but on reels, pixels, and imagination.

Panel: It’s All About the Geology: Bedrock of Sci-Fi Worlds

Panel Description:
From galactic mining operations to crystals that power weapons of legend, geology is the unsung foundation beneath some of the most iconic science fiction stories ever told. This panel digs deep “literally” into the mineral-rich subplots and geological world-building found in your favorite franchises.

Why was the crew in Alien hauling ore? What makes dilithium so essential to Star Trek? How do kyber crystals in Star Wars shape the destiny of Jedi and fuel the might of the Death Star? We’ll explore how real-world geological principles and mineral resources have inspired futuristic technologies, political power struggles, and ecological dilemmas across science fiction.

Join geologists, sci-fi writers, and filmmakers as they excavate the narrative layers where rock meets rocket fuel. Discover how terrain, tectonics, and rare elements aren’t just background—they’re often the spark that sets entire galaxies in motion.

Spoiler alert: Without geology, there might not even be a story.

VFX Lecture by Samuel Rosseau

Originally from Rivière-du-Loup, Québec, Canada, Samuel Rousseau honed his cinematic sense through 10 years of experience in the field of special effects.
He worked on major Hollywood productions such as Alien: Covenant, Guardian of the Galaxy vol2, The Mandalorian, Andor and Blade Runner 2049, which won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 2018. His Experience and his artistic eyes lead him to create high Cinematic level industry Standard imagery with only small materials and creativity.

His passion, discipline, and curiosity have led him to shape his art as a First time filmmaker. With the only help of his friends, Samuel created his first independent short film, The theory of Infinity, with little budget and only one goal in mind, to make people experience something new.  Was incredible. A+

Panels create a live conversation space where creators, scientists, and fans can share insights that go beyond the screen. For science fiction, they make complex or speculative ideas approachable. Think: “How Geology Shapes Alien Worlds” or “The changing of who is creating Science Fiction.”

If you are interested in volunteering, performing, or giving a talk during the annual event, please connect with us on instagram. For proper planning, confirm at least six weeks prior to the festival.