Year: 2004
Classification: PG
Distribution : Ronin Films
Runtime: 52 min
Produced In: Australia
Directed By: Mark Atkin
Produced By: Charlotte Seymour, Mark Atkin
Language: English

Peter Nicholls was a non-conformist who led an extraordinary life. As an anthologist, critic, author, filmmaker, collector and speaker, he was personally and professionally devoted to science fiction for nearly 30 years. He is recognised by his peers as a world authority in the field.
Following the path of one man's life-long obsession, THE WHAT IF MAN scrutinises the meaning of science fiction as a unique cultural phenomenon. This documentary explores the complexity of science fiction and the misunderstood nuances of a genre that goes far beyond tales of aliens and intergalactic battles.

"Reality and science fiction are on a collision course at the moment and science fiction is permeating everyday life. It's no longer a thing in its own ghetto world: science fiction has spilled over into the mainstream." - Peter Nicholls

Peter Nicholls’ Encyclopedia of Science Fiction remains the definitive reference work for the genre. It won the Hugo award, the highest honour in the science fiction world, in the then newly-created Best Non-Fiction category. The second edition of the Encyclopedia in 1994 brought the word count up to a million and a half, and garnered another Hugo for Peter and co-editor John Clute. Peter served as editor emeritus for the third edition of the Encyclopedia, now an internet-based resource with over 18,000 articles. Peter's theme entries and structural decisions remain at the core of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and as part of the editorial team he won a third Hugo in 2012.


"Science fiction is so entertaining and so silly on the one hand, and so deeply serious on the other, and you cannot separate the two." - Peter Nicholls in The What-If Man: The Science Fictional Life of Peter Nicholls