Quantum Shorts is a competition calling for science fiction alternating annually with science films since 2012. The festival is organized by the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore, with media partners Nature and Scientific American and an international network of scientific partners and screening partners including IQIM. This year’s competition featured short films, and now it’s time for you to vote for your favorite.

Vote for the film you think should receive the People’s Choice Award. All films are less than five minutes, you can view the films and cast your vote on the Quantum Shorts Website Votes must be entered by March 14 to count toward the People’s Choice Award.

The ten finalists were selected from 176 submitted films. The finalists are from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The shortlisted filmmakers received a $250 prize, a subscription to Scientific American, and will be viewed at local screenings and online.

Noemi Gunea, from the film Knock Knock described the contest  – It’s a bit surreal to think that the great minds of physics and mathematics are looking into our living room. We’re excited about the prize too, as we have made all of our films on no budget so any little bit helps towards the making of our next extravaganza!

Weirdly compelling, was one judge’s comment. A very adventurous concept, said another. Creative and funny, came a third verdict. Now you can judge the entries in the 2018 Quantum Shorts Film festival. View the ten shortlisted films and cast your vote on Quantum Shorts Website

Here’s a brief introduction to the ten shortlisted films, in alphabetical order:

  • 10-57 In this short by Daniel Baig, a police officer responds to an emergency call only to find himself caught in a quantum dilemma.
  • Atoms searching for immateriality Anne-Marie Bouchard’s film shines a spotlight on photoluminescent nanoparticles, displaying their starlike nature.
  • Gluon Free Chris Willoughby directed, wrote and produced this absurdist exploration of the multiverse.
  • Heads or Tails A noir-ish take on a Schrödinger’s cat situation, by director Lin Tianyun and screenwriter Chen Peishan.
  • If the World Spinned Backwards Writers Leonardo Martinelli and Arthur Valverde imagine how quantum theory’s independence of time would change the human experience.
  • Knock Knock Grace Lambert and Noemi Gunea share the writing, producing, acting and directing credits on this comedic take on the threat of black holes.
  • LEGIO VIII QUANTAE. “The quantum resurgence after the fall of Silicon Valley”A sci-fi vision of quantum technology’s legacy, directed by Andrea Rodriguez Blanco.
  • QED A Nobel prize-winning theory inspired Chetan V. Kotabage’s film about a lost opportunity.
  • Slide!A detective, a serial killer and a parallel universe provide the framework for Tay Li Guo’s quantum thriller.
  • Under My Bed Paco Freire wrote and directed this pithy horror-style take on quantum superposition.