Film4 announces Sci-Fi July

30 June 2022

Summer collection of over 50 films spanning science-fiction, fantasy, superheroes and horror available for free on Film4 and All 4 from July 1st

Film4 tomorrow launches Sci-Fi July, a summer celebration of contemporary science-fiction and fantasy cinema in all its far-out, phenomenal forms, with over 50 films including UK TV and network premieres across the month and continuing into August, screening on Film4 and collected on All 4.

The Sci-Fi July season launches on Film4 channel on Friday 1st July at 9pm with Alita: Battle Angel from director Robert Rodriguez and screenwriter James Cameron. The All 4 Sci-Fi July collection lands at the same time with a first batch of titles including Attack the Block, Scanners, Re-Animator, Sea Fever, Time Bandits, Flight of the Navigator and Cypher.

Big-budget, star-driven Hollywood spectacles have always dominated the genre, and they’re a key part of the season. Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones lead James Gray’s critically acclaimed Ad Astra; Will Smith faces off against a younger clone of himself in Ang Lee’s Gemini Man; Natalie Portman loses touch with reality after returning from space in Lucy in the Sky from Fargo TV series creator Noah Hawley; Kristen Stewart plays an oceanic researcher trying to get to safety after an earthquake in Underwater; and Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger make an emotional return in the most recent instalment of the Terminator franchise, 2019’s Dark Fate.

Sci-fi & fantasy space has come to be dominated by superhero films, and we reflect that with a team-up of ‘superheroes with attitude’, including Daredevil starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner and Colin Farrell; Hancock starring Will Smith and Charlize Theron; Zack Snyder’s all-star adaptation of Alan Moore’s iconic comic series Watchmen; and Brightburn, in which Elizabeth Banks plays the mother of a child from another world who crash lands on earth but may not be here to save the world.

At the heart of the season is a group of visionary filmmakers delivering films that helped shape the landscape of contemporary science-fiction: Steven Spielberg features with two blockbusters starring Tom Cruise - Minority Report and War of the Worlds; J. J. Abrams also features twice with Super 8 and Star Trek; David Cronenberg’s 1981 breakthrough film Scanners is included, alongside Jonathan Glazer’s Film4-backed masterpiece Under the Skin starring Scarlett Johansson, recently voted best British film of the 21st century in a poll of critics by MASSIVE Cinema.

Just as exploration and discovery are important aspects of many science-fiction stories, so they play an important part in Sci-Fi July. Among the films audiences will be able to discover are Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes in which a Japanese café owner learns that the TV in his café is showing images that take place two minutes in the future; from Russia we have Sputnik, in which the sole survivor of an incident in space returns home playing host to a dangerous creature hiding inside his body; from France comes Quentin Dupieux’s Mandibles in which two men find a giant fly in the boot of their car and try to train it in the hope of making cash; from America come two award-winning independent genre films, Freaks and Lapsis; and from the UK audiences can experience Foresight, a Film4-commissioned anthology of futuristic short films from rising Black British directors.

Films for family audiences include Joe Cornish’s contemporary, school-based take on Arthurian legend - The Kid Who Would Be King, Disney’s classic Flight of The Navigator, Terry Gilliam’s all-star, time travel adventure Time Bandits, Muppets from Space, and iterations of the Star Trek franchise including the original Star Trek: The Motion Picture featuring William Shatner, Star Trek: Insurrection featuring Sir Patrick Stewart as well as Chris Pine as Kirk in 2009’s Star Trek.

All 4 will host the Sci-Fi July Collection in specially created and curated categories. Head to the Film4 page on All 4 for sub-genres Creature Features (‘Aliens, monsters, weird & wonderful things’); Outer Limits (‘Far-out tales where science & fantasy set the rules’); Sci-Fi Shocks (‘Dark fantasy & visionary horror’); Action… and Beyond! (‘Wild sci-fi rides’); Superheroes With Attitude (‘Compromised crusaders & messed-up marvels’); and All-Ages Adventure (‘Sci-fi the whole family can experience’).

The dates and length of time films appear on All 4 will vary according to their Film4 TX date, and according to individual licence agreements.

///ENDS///

For further information please contact:

Phil Cairns

PCairns@Channel4.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

All 4 is Channel 4’s award-winning free streaming service that’s home to thousands of hours of iconic Channel 4 programmes through its extensive library of box sets and shows, with original and exclusive content including US acquisitions, featured channels such as Adult Swim and the best global drama from Walter Presents, plus live streams and catch up from all of Channel 4’s broadcast channels.

A curated selection of films shown on Channel 4 and Film4 are also available for either seven or 30 days to stream on All 4.

All 4 is available on more than twenty platforms including All4.com and via the app on mobile and tablet (iOS, Android, Windows Phone), games consoles (Xbox, PlayStation) and big screen (Samsung, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Apple TV, YouView, Freeview Play and Now TV). It is also available via third-party providers, such as Sky and Virgin Media.

All 4 has 23 million registered users, including 80% of 16-34 year olds in the UK.

Film4 channel is available for free to everyone with digital TV. It is the UK’s number one film channel. A daily line-up of great movies guarantees a choice for every type of film fan, including the best of British filmmaking, Hollywood blockbusters, independent and world cinema, timeless classics and cult favourites, through an innovative schedule that features regular themed strands and seasons.

www.film4.com | @Film4