Renowned Canadian actor Michael Ironside, known for his roles in sci-fi classics like David Cronenberg‘s Scanners and Paul Verhoeven‘s Total Recall and Starship Troopers, will be in attendance at this year’s Future Gate sci-fi film festival in Prague. The actor will receive a special award for his contribution to science fiction filmmaking at the festival.
This year marks the 10th edition of Future Gate, which bills itself as the largest festival of science fiction film and culture in Central Europe. The 2023 edition will run from September 26 through October 2 at Prague’s Kino Lucerna before moving to Brno, Plzeň, Šumperk, Hradec Králové, and Košice during October.
The 2023 Future Gate festival will debut with an opening ceremony at Kino Lucerna in Prague on September 26. Michael Ironside will be presented with the festival’s award during the opening ceremony, which will be followed by screenings of both Scanners and Starship Troopers later during the festival.
“We are honored to have such a legend as Michael Ironside join us for the 10th edition of Future Gate,” festival organizer Filip Schauer states in a press release.
“His remarkable career as an actor and voice actor spans numerous world-famous and cult films, and his collaborations with esteemed directors and actors have left an indelible mark on the sci-fi genre.”
Six new sci-fi features will compete for prizes at this year’s Future Gate, and have their Prague premieres during the fest. They include The Astronaut, which will personally be brought to the festival by its director and star Nicolas Giraud, and The Pod Generation, a romantic sci-fi comedy starring Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor that will open wide in Czech cinemas from October 19.
Also competing at this year’s Future Gate festival are Divinity, starring Stephen Dorff and Bella Thorne, Mars Express, from French animator Jérémie Périn, Something in the Dirt, from filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (The Endless), and the Hungarian animated film White Plastic Sky, which was awarded earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Additional films screened during this year’s Future Gate festival will include the new Czech sci-fi feature Restore Point, which premieres in local cinemas next week, the 2005 adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, starring Martin Freeman, Sam Rockwell, the new William Shatner documentary They Call Me Bill, and much more.
In Prague, this year’s Future Gate film festival will also include a special panel discussion titled Czechia in Space. Special guests at the discussion will include Czech fighter pilot Aleš Svoboda, a backup pilot for the European Space Agency, and Czech choreographer Yemi AD, who was selected to participate in the dearMoon mission organized by Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa in collaboration with SpaceX.
The festival’s accompanying program will include additional panel discussions as well as exhibitions and art installations, including a showcase of graphic works by American futurologist Roy Scarf, known for his visionary depictions of human life in space.
This year’s 10th edition of the Future Gate festival will also include a cosplay parade in central Prague on Thursday, September 28, featuring fans dressed as characters from Star Wars, Star Trek, and other iconic sci-fi franchises.
For additional information and a full program of films playing at this year’s Future Gate festival of science fiction films, visit the official Future Gate website and follow the festival on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
