FORBIDDEN WORLDS FILM FESTIVAL 28 May - 1 June 2025, Bristol Megascreen
FORBIDDEN WORLDS FILM FESTIVAL
28 May - 1 June 2025, Bristol Megascreen
"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean.”
Arthur C. Clarke
The festival’s theme this year is Forbidden Worlds of the Deep featuring a line-up of horror, sci-fi and action films based on, under and around the world’s oceans including the first UK theatrical screenings of the European extended cut of Waterworld (1995), Orca (1977), Below (2002) and The Whale God (1962), a rarely screened Japanese-take on Moby Dick
Legendary producer Gale Anne Hurd will be attending the Bristol-based genre film festival to discuss her incredible career at special Q&A screenings of Aliens (1986), Battle Beyond The Stars (1980) and Tremors (1990)
The festival will also be hosting the World Premiere of Arthur Cauty’s The Big Picture, a new feature documentary, about how the Bristol IMAX lay dormant and forgotten for over a decade until it found a new lease of life as a community cinema space!
For centuries, humanity has always been drawn to the sea. The beauty, mystery and vastness of the oceans call us like a siren’s song. But there is also an uncertainty and a sense of intrusion into an alien world where we don’t belong and are at the mercy of the water and the terrors that lie beneath its surface: welcome to Forbidden Worlds of the Deep!
Ahead of the 50th anniversary re-release of Jaws this August, Forbidden Worlds invites audiences to dive into new depths of fear and excitement with FORBIDDEN WORLDS OF THE DEEP, featuring a line-up of classic and cult films set on, around and under the water.
Events include a special 30th anniversary screening of Waterworld, which will see the extended European ‘Ulysses Cut’ shown theatrically for the first time in the UK; The Whale God (1962), a rarely screened Japanese-take on Moby Dick with stunning life-size practical effects; cult horror Blood Tide (1980) featuring the late, great James Earl Jones as a secretive treasure hunter; an in-depth look at the world of Jawsploitation films with screenings of the new 4K restorations of Orca (1977) and Alligator (1980); and Below (2002) - a WWII-horror film featuring supernatural occurrences onboard a submarine from David Twohy, director of Pitch Black (2000) - screened theatrically for the first time in the UK 23 years after it was made!
Festival co-director Timon Singh says: “It is estimated that 10% of the population have thalassophobia - a deep fear of the ocean. And why would they not? The vast emptiness, unknown monsters lying in the depths, the crushing pressure and deep and terrifying darkness - it is the stuff of nightmares. The oceans stir a very primal and primordial part of our minds and that’s why it was the perfect theme for this year’s festival - and on the 50th anniversary of Jaws, the film that made us all terrified to go into the water.”
Forbidden Worlds Legend
This year, the festival will also celebrate the career of Gale Anne Hurd, who has had unprecedented success as both a film and television producer on some of the biggest films and TV shows of all time. Initially hired as an executive assistant to the legendary Roger Corman, she rapidly rose through the ranks to become head of marketing at his independent film company, New World Pictures.
After launching her own production company in 1982, Hurd produced her first film, the science fiction classic The Terminator, setting the stage for her meteoric rise in the entertainment industry. Forbidden Worlds will be hosting special in-person Q&A screenings with Hurd for some of her most iconic and influential films - Aliens (1986), Tremors (1990) and Battle Beyond The Stars (1980).
“I am thrilled to be this year’s Forbidden Worlds honoree and share my love of film with its supporters,” said Hurd. “Genre is a powerful medium that enables us to tell powerful stories without being overly didactic. I’m truly grateful to be recognized for my body of work in science fiction, fantasy and horror.’”
“Without Gale Anne Hurd I wouldn’t have a job because I doubt video shops would exist,” says David Taylor, Forbidden Worlds co-director and owner of 20th Century Flicks, Bristol’s infamous video shop. “It’s hard to imagine a world without The Terminator or Aliens or Tremors; even harder to imagine a video shop without those iconic covers on the shelves, luring adolescent movie lovers to satisfy their curiosity and endure the subsequent nightmares. Ms Hurd started her first production company in 1982, the same year Flicks opened. I can’t wait to welcome her to Bristol so we can share the journey she’s been on since then, with an audience that holds her and the movies she’s given us in such high esteem, and a lasting deep affection.”
Premieres and anniversary screenings
On its opening night on Wednesday 28 May, the festival will also host the World Premiere of Bristolian film-maker Arthur Cauty’s new documentary film - The Big Picture - which tells the story of how the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival team gave a new lease of life to Bristol’s old IMAX screen that was left forgotten for over a decade and has now become a new community cinema space.
Pulled from the video shop archives of Bristol institution 20th Century Flicks also comes special screenings of French fantasy The City of Lost Children, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and Amblin Studios adventure Young Sherlock Holmes for which the festival will be hosting a special cast Q&A with stars Nicholas Rowe and Sophie Ward to mark the film’s 40th anniversary.
Attendees will also be able to enjoy the festival’s Genre Film-makers of the Future: Shorts Showcase on Saturday 31 May which will screen the latest action, horror and sci-fi/fantasy shorts from up-and-coming filmmakers around the world.
Launched in 2022, Forbidden Worlds Film Festival is Bristol’s leading genre film festival dedicated to screening repertory fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films from around the world, and celebrating the people that made them.
The festival has drawn a lot of attention for utilising Bristol’s former IMAX screen to put on showings of classic genre movies complete with special video intros from Hollywood icons such as James Cameron, Jamie Lee Curtis, Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson and more.
For the full line-up, visit www.forbiddenworldsfilmfestival.co.uk
You can follow Forbidden Worlds Film Festival on Facebook, BlueSky, YouTube, Letterboxd and Instagram.
Photos of previous Forbidden Worlds Film Festival events can be found here or can be downloaded in higher-res here.
For more information or interview opportunities, please contact team@forbiddenworldsfilmfestival.co.uk
For enquiries about interviewing Gale Anne Hurd, please contact Lyndsey Miller: lyndsey@b2publicity.com
Press accreditation
Forbidden Worlds Film Festival welcomes film press based in the UK currently reporting and/or reviewing, in a professional capacity, in the UK film industry and wider screen sectors to apply for press accreditation.
Editors Notes:
About Forbidden Worlds Film Festival: Forbidden Worlds Film Festival is dedicated to screening repertory fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films from around the world and celebrating the people that made them.
The festival was created by a group of Bristol-based cinephiles who wished to celebrate their mutual love of classic and obscure genre films by showing them on the big screen where they belong.
Tickets can be purchased through www.forbiddenworldsfilmfestival.co.uk