The Oxford Dictionary defines escapism as "The tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy." The genre of science fiction is one form of escapism.  As a genre for film, it entangles the audience into the imagination of a team of people from behind and in front of the camera. The science-fiction movie is born from the painted words of an author's written vision alongside a director's interpretation. The vision is shared amongst the amazing talents of movie poster artists, cinematographers, costume designers and out of this world musical composers. We swathe ourselves into the folds of escapism and lay before its artistic representation limited by area, time, and space upon a screen. 

It was in April 2018 that the Martigues Science-Fiction Film Festival (MSFFF) premiered, the first of its kind in Martigues, France. The event showcased the strong presence of France in the science-fiction genre of comics, novels, film and across social media platforms. The beautiful location was friendly and welcoming, the small shops decorated their storefront windows with movie themes whilst providing shade to visitors and locals who came for the festival.

Countless movies were screened across several theatres in Martigues of which we were able to attend three screenings: Small Soldiers (1998), 2010 (1984) the sequel to Space Odyssey 2001 and Soylent Green (1973). The impact of viewing these classic science-fiction films on the big screen advanced the meaning of cinemas during this experience. Cinemas are a stage of action, where the imagination of others is projected and made accessible to many. Cinemas offer a place and opportunity to relive or enjoy films of all ages. The theatrical experience enables you to get as close to the art as possible in an atmosphere that can be unifying where you sit side by side with fellow attendees sharing experience and emotion through art.  

The guest of honour, director Joe Dante was a daily presence at the MSFFF. Having directed movies such as Gremlins, Small Soldiers and Inner Space, Joe Dante’s creative work touchesupon the comedic aspect held within the realm of science-fiction whilst addressing the hidden possibilities of natural and human invention and evolution. Getting the chance to see Small Soldiers on the big screen enabled an audience, nearly a quarter of century later after its initial release, to relive the 90s escapism where you and the screen filter out the world around you and supplant you within the atmosphere of an earlier time period. Watching a former release in a renewed cinema experience enables you to travel for a moment into a captured visual field of time and space. Joe Dante’s films have presented us with his vision of cinematic expression where an audience can experience evolved states of existence and invention, its expression of dangers, challenges and overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles. Science-fiction enables our mind to think farther away and ahead into an infinite realm of possibilities. That is what cinema offers us, escapism. We cheer for the positive outcomes and are heavily rewarded when they are won at last, and we grieve when the greater outcome is lost. 

As the months move forward with the possibility of once again attending a local cinema we look toward another moment of escapism.  It is here where we can share experiences of artistic expression and interpret the screen's story through the lens of our own experience, desires, inner conflict, and hopeful resolution. It is in this that we might be able to renegotiate the world around us as we recover from so much change, and in this former familiarity we can sit together and return to a source of cinematic comfort and inspiration.