30/09/2026
Closing out the Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival on Sun 11 Oct is Sean Bell's ELECTRIC FEEL shot all around Marrickville and the Inner West of Sydney! Tix on sale now..
MEET THE FILMMAKERS: SEAN BELL, Director: ELECTRIC FEEL (Australia / 100 mins / WORLD PREMIERE)
Part 1 of 2026 Sydney Science Fiction Film Festival IN CONVERSATION Series. Six key questions for the directors whose films highlight the 2025 program.
TICKETS: ELECTRIC FEEL | A Sean Bell Film
SSFFF: What have been the science-fiction works – books, films, art of any kind – that have inspired your work and forged
your love for the genre?
SEAN: My love affair with sci-fi began with films like Alien, The Thing, The Fly and Back to the Future Trilogy. Electric Feel (Aussie sci-fi feature film) was inspired particularly by the sub-genre of speculative fiction, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Stalker, Mad Max, Primer, shows like Black Mirror, and psychological elements of Philip K. Dick's books like A Scanner Darkly.
SSFFF: How did the original concept for your film take shape? What aspects of your film’s narrative and your
protagonist’s journey were most important to you?
SEA: Electric Feel was born from my struggles with mental illness, my mum's su***de, and my frustration with the mental health system. It was important for me not to romanticise mental illness through the protagonist, to make it ugly when it's ugly, but also to provide hope. It felt inevitable to me that a new technology would fill a gap for people frustrated with waiting for systematic help. It's a concept I wrote ten years ago, and now something we're starting to see in real life. It's very topical.
SSFFF: Does the ‘science-fiction’ genre have deep roots in the art and cultural history of your homeland?
SEAN: Australia has always presented a wildly unique take on sci-fi, and that's something I like to continue. The Mad Max saga, Dark City, Upgrade and These Final Hours are great examples of our sci-fi flicks that are bold takes on the genre. I think we do sci-fi with gravity.
SSFFF: Were the resources, facilities and talent pool required to bring your film to life easily sourced?
SEAN: As a first time Aussie feature director, funding was a major challenge. But the story was important to me, so I produced it myself as a microbudget indie. I was inundated with many wonderful actors during casting, we have such a wonderful talent pool of performers here. I was able to source various crew through my 20+ years making shorts and working in TV/video production. Locations were places I'd come to know around my area, and locals were generous offering their help. The EDM soundtrack is comprised of my Sydney musician friends - our city is really punching above its weight for musical talent.
SSFFF: Describe for us the very best day you had in the life cycle of your film...
SEAN: I held a screening for cast and crew on completion, and it was a magic moment to get such an overwhelmingly positive response from that audience. I had a clear vision throughout production but as a first-time feature director I think you can feel like you need to prove to everyone involved that you'll see it through. It was such a validating moment to hear the audience reacting during all the right parts, and expressing their pride afterward with how the movie turned out.
SSFFF: Having guided your film from idea to completion, what lessons and advice would you offer a young science-fiction filmmaker about to embark on a similar journey?
SEAN: My advice for young sci-fi filmmakers would be to put your writing first. The script is sacred to me. There are going to be many resource challenges, especially with a genre like sci-fi, but you can compensate for many things with a compelling story. It's the foundation of everything you do, so start with a solid script. When challenges arise, write your way out of them. Have the script with you on set, and a script supervisor. Refer to the script during the edit. It's your roadmap from start to finish.
