#reconnoiter

verb | re·con·noi·ter | \ ˌrē-kə-ˈnȯi-tər , ˌre-kə- \

@reconnoiiter

Harding,

It has come to my attention that individuals who may have information regarding the whereabouts of Solas, have been spotted in the city of Kirkwall. We cannot afford to let them slip through our fingers, so I am sending you to deal with the matter.

The informants are said to frequent The Hanged Man in Lowtown. But any information beyond this, including physical descriptions, has so far proved illusive. 

You have been furnished with enough coin to buy the incentives necessary to attain the information we require. I trust that you will be able to handle yourself in this delicate situation?

I await your report,

Designed by tattoo and graphics artist David Poe

After last years successful first offering, the Other Worlds Austin scifi film festival returns thisThursday, December 3 at the Galaxy Highland Theater. The three day event has grown to include 13 full length films, a secret Star Wars-related screening, and a variety of shorts. Not terribly surprising to anyone who regularly follows my writings, I’m covering the festival.

Over the next three days, I will preview the 13 features.

  Boy 7

Özgür Yildirim | Germany | 110 min

Writers: Philip Delmaar, Marco van Geffen, Özgür Yildirim based on the novel by Mirjam Mous Cast: David Kross, Emilia Schüle, Ben Münchow, Jens Harzer, Jörg Hartmann, Liv Lisa Fries

Sam wakes up in the middle of the tracks of a subway tunnel. He can’t remember his name or how he got there. When he sees himself on a wanted picture, he realizes that his life is in extreme danger and his pursuers are hot on his heels. Unexpectedly, he finds a diary written in his own handwriting, and it seems to be the key to everything. When a young woman appears, who has the same burn as him on her left hand, a dangerous journey into thepast begins. BOY 7 is a SciFi RUN LOLA RUN, an adrenaline dash through a dystopian society where juvenile delinquents are recruited by the government for their particular ‘skills.’ An adaptation of a best-selling young adult novel that made its World Premiere at Fantasia in Montreal.

(Thursday, 7:42/8:00)

  Curtain

  Jaron Henrie-McCrea | USA | 73 min

Writers: Carys Edwards, Jaron Henrie-McCrea Cast: Danni Smith, Tim Lueke, Martin Monahan, Gregory Konow, Lacy Marie Meyer, Rick Zahn

Danni leaves nursing for a simpler life. But when her shower curtain keeps disappearing through a mysterious portal in her bathroom, she cannot let the investigation go. Enlisting the help of her Save-the-Whales co-worker, she dives into the unknown in an unsettling horror comedy that will flush the SciFi fan out with equal parts laughter and screams.

(Thursday, 10:15)

  Reconnoiter

Neil Rowe | USA | 80 min

Writer: Neil Rowe Cast: Ian Rowe

Scientists have perfected a way to send a vessel across the galaxy quickly, teleporting a spaceship essentially to the nearest habitable planet. When the mission goes awry and the pilot crashes on the planet, he finds a world mysteriously devoid of life… but filled with dangerous robots ready to eliminate the alien interloper. Can he survive long enough to get a message back home?

(Friday, 5:30)

  No Men Beyond This Point

Mark Sawers | Canada | 80 min

Writer: Mark Sawers Cast: Patrick Gilmore, Kristine Cofsky, Tara Pratt, Cameron McDonald, Rekha Sharma, Morgan Taylor Campbell

An alternate history deadpan mockumentary following 37-year-old Andrew Myers, the youngest man still alive. With women able to reproduce without men since 1953, they’ve stopped giving birth to male babies entirely. Working as a housekeeper for a family of women, Andrew finds himself at the center of a battle to prevent men from going extinct. Men have gathered onto reservations, and the idea of a romantic relationship with one would be laughable. is brilliant, politically-charged lm that just made its North American premiere at TIFF asks: what would the world be like if women were in charge?

(Friday 7:45/8:15 with Mark Sawers Q&A after both screenings)

/ ˌrēkəˈnoidər,ˌrekəˈnoidər/

verb

verb: reconnoitre

make a military observation of (a region).

noun

noun: reconnoitre

Pagru sat on the docks, his eyes squinting against the setting sunset. His city, the place he’d spent the last several dozen centuries, shone off in the distance. But he hadn’t come here to sight see, especially not that damnable place. Turning his back on his home, he craned his neck to stare up at the sky skrapers and buildings that loomed before him. 

“Well, at least the smell isn’t so different.” He sighed. One of the other Originals, a mainlander, had found him clothes that would mimic the fashion of the ‘outside’ world. He suspected they’d had to use childrens clothes, but at least they didn’t have any ridiculous symbols on them, like that garish yellow face he’d seen.