On 10 December 2010, Future Cinema and flora&faunavisions put a select 300 “recruits” – press, opinion leaders and lucky film lovers – through a very special training regime. Staged at Berlin’s former relay station near Alexander Square, this particular event asked participants to throw away all preconceptions, don protective gear and explore an elaborate set: their new home and base station for the near future.

Famous for their living, breathing productions of seminal celluloid classics, the London-based crew behind the event, Secret Cinema, asked flora&faunavisions to help recreate one of the true masterpieces of sci-fi and horror for their first Berlin event: Ridley Scott’s Alien.

In partnership with Windows Phone, the Future Cinema creative team and flora&faunavisions turned the sprawling location into a stunning, feature-rich haunted house. The ffv task: full-service back-up incl. location scouting, event coordination (catering, lighting, sound, projection), casting support, production of costumes, sets and designs, selection, support and coordination of artists and – lest we forget – concept and art direction support for the Future Cinema team. The challenge: with a mere three weeks from start to finish, and an equally restricted budget, we faced an improvisatory challenge to rival that of the original Nostromo squad.

Whipped into shape by a crew of sixty and featuring 15 different installations by artists from Berlin and the UK, the final set reflected this spirit of experimentation, great eye for detail and artistic passion. Spread out over four levels – including secret chambers, transport holds, outside excursions and evacuation corridors – the ambitious HR Giger-inspired set teemed with clever touches, ominous sounds, striking light effects and eerie installations.

Armed with makeshift biohazard suits, goggles and flashlights, the event’s lucky recruits descended into the parallel universe of Alien’s rough and ready transport spacecraft Nostromo to join Lt. Ripley and her crew in their exploration of space – and battle against the original alien. Here, they were welcomed by 25 actors and extras restaging the film’s key scenes and prompting new crew members to join the action: from impromptu surgery to exploratory missions and even a spot of “cat” wrangling with the ship’s resident extraterrestrial stowaway.

After this mad rush of red alerts, contamination threats and exploratory alien egg hunts, the night wound down with special spacecraft provisions and a more leisurely, screen-based review of this living masterpiece, introduced by Ridley Scott himself.

The unanimous verdict after film and adventure: a truly out-of-this-world experience – for crew and recruits alike!

Photos © by Mike Massaro for Future Cinema