Like most conferences, this year’s HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) will be online. For their 2020 film program, they are doing something really unique and fun. Here’s the teaser:

It seems like we’re currently living in the overturned tech-saturated hyper-real world predicted by the cyberpunk literature of the 1980s and 1990s. We suddenly find ourselves in The Cyberpunk Now. This is the inspiration for The Cyberpunk Now Film Festival.

The film competition is open to the public, and the entry fee is included in the HOPE ticket price. Non-ticket holders may still enter – details are on the website.

HOPE conferences are unique events, characterized by a spirit of innovation and high awareness of both the benefits and dangers of technology in our society, which is why our new feature, The Cyberpunk Now Film Festival, is a perfect match for these HOPE themes.

On July 25th, The Cyberpunk Now Film Festival’s organizers will publish a set of top-secret Required Challenge Elements at cyberpunk.hope.net, and participants will have five days to team up, brainstorm, write, produce, edit, polish, and upload their finished films to the submission portal by the deadline on July 30th. For inspiration, be sure to tune into the many parts of the HOPE program.

More about the Cyberpunk Now festival can be found here.

And here are more details about the rules of entry. I can’t wait to see what the final films look like.

Projects will be evaluated with a primary basis in the power of their storytelling, inherent empathy for the cyberpunk genre and hacker culture, and artistic and intellectual merit relating to the categories into which they have been submitted.

For example, humor will be key to winning in the comedy category, but credit may be deducted in judging for projects which have no relation to the cyberpunk genre or demonstrate a weak narrative style. Jokes about technology and societies that have gone awry are nothing without a well-told story around them.

Additional credit may be awarded in judging for projects which demonstrate exceptional creativity and originality.

Additional credit may be awarded in judging for projects which demonstrate exceptional presentation style in the form of cinematography, lighting, editing, effects, costumes, hair, makeup, and sound design.

Additional credit may be awarded in judging for projects which feature exemplary performances by an actor or ensemble.

Additional credit may be awarded in judging for projects which illustrate realistic hacking. For the purposes of this credential, “hacking” is defined as the successful repurposing of a technology or system beyond the intent for which it was originally designed, built, or manufactured.

Additional credit may be awarded in judging for projects which expand and advance the cyberpunk genre.