SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival spent 18 years promoting strange, challenging, unusual films and it's about time we embrace our inner monster. Mary Shelly started writing Frankenstein at the age of 18, and this year's festival is paying a tribute to her work and its legacy.

Frankenstein was based on scientific developments at the time, and we followed the tradition by inviting Dr. Charlotte Mykura (microbiologist and geneticist) to shed some light on how real is the possibility of editing our genes. Our opening night film Chimera, while very different from Mary Shelly's work, also asks how far would you go for a chance to live forever. Both Victor Frankenstein and Quint (main character in Chimera) can teach us about the dangers of obsession. Frankenstein must have shocked the audiences of the time. Chimera left the audience speechless.

Many of this year's films explore the monster within on some level. Yesterday we dreamt of immortality, partied with the Sith and made some mad science. Tonight we reach into space with a signal from Cygnus. Join us in our ongoing exploration of "what if", culminating in a Frankenstein alldayer on the 7th of May.