Science Reimagined

During October 14th-21st, 2011, New York played host to the Imagine Science Film Festival’s fourth year, bringing animation, documentary and drama to a range of people and locations spread throughout the striking geometry of the city. Within minutes of arriving at the festival I’d met the ridiculously charismatic founder, Alexis Gambis, who guided me towards the first of an array of fascinating sessions and screenings: stories. During the festival, I attended a screening of Until, my film about ageing and the quest for immortality, produced for Wellcome Trust, the global charitable foundation for whom I work as the Science Multimedia Producer. The ‘heroes journey’ is the foundation of almost every story ever told, an ancient, classic sequence of events befalling a protagonist as they embark upon a quest in the hope of returning wiser and, in some way, changed. Think Rocky, The Matrix, District 9 – we are hardwired to enjoy these mini epics. The human brain simply can’t resist such stories; we become the hero, empathising with their plight as our brain’s architecture assembles a narrative from the sequence of events. At the festival it rapidly became clear that ‘science’ in all its guises – and those who pursue it – were the real heroes here. Stories were used to explore, marvel, amaze and amuse the hip, laid back audiences with a range of strikingly different and imaginative films – at the core of which nestled pure, undiluted science. As a former neuroscientist, I was completely seduced by this approach to science filmmaking. The organisers had chosen to close the festival with Until, a wonderful honour in itself and a fantastic way to end an exceptional few days. The cinema was practically full (a spectacular feeling for any filmmaker) and people laughed and responded with encouraging ripples of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. After the screening, I found myself improvising on stage during a shotgun Q&A session with Alexis, the audience and several of the other filmmakers who had screened – a conversation that continued into the bar… Around two hours later, when the crucial networking was in full flow, one of the single most incredible moments of my life happened. I became the rather dumbstruck recipient of the Nature People’s Choice Award for Until – a beautiful moment, firmly crystallising my long held belief that good films about science are not about the cold facts and figures. They’re about the ideas, determination, poetry, joyousness and laughter in a world populated by heroes. Over the course of the festival, it became apparent that another story was unfolding between screenings. Finding Irish people in New York isn’t unusual, but the folk I met had travelled from Dublin, purely for the festival. Being a Scotsman myself, it’s impossible to fight the allure of a fellow Celt and so I found myself chatting to Professor Desmond Fitzgerald of University College Dublin, a man with an infectious smile and Ali Curran, a warm, enthusiastic expert from the realm of television and filmmaking. Over the course of the evening it became apparent Des shared my own feelings when it came to films containing science, that it’s not about the old fashioned approach of, ‘hey, look at this! It’s loud/explosive/whizzy science – amazing, right?’ Rather, we agreed that above all, story is the most important element of any film and the science is simply an aspect of that story. We should aim to inspire, rather than educate, to inflame curiosity, rather than bombard with facts. This ethos also feels deeply rooted in the DNA of the Imagine Science Film Festival, so it made perfect sense when Des revealed his ambitions to host the festival’s first satellite event in Dublin, whilst holding the title of ‘City of Science 2012’ – a perfect opportunity to host an independent film festival created by scientists, for everyone, to explore science and technology through film. The significance of film for communicating science is growing rapidly – the abundance and variety of science-influenced cartoons, feature films or documentaries shows no sign of relenting. Mobile devices, the web and affordable technology are lowering the bar considerably when it comes to content creation and consumption. Scientists are increasingly able to share their stories and passions with the public at festivals, in schools, online and on-the-move. So it was with more than a little trepidation that I submitted my latest film made for Wellcome Trust to the festival: abNormal. Whilst reasonably confident I’d done my best to make abNormal as good as it could be, there was no guarantee others would ‘get it’. On the face of it, the film has a very simple premise, a journey exploring society’s notions of what makes us normal. But the ambition of the film reaches much higher. The Wellcome Trust extends far and deep into the scientific community, funding around £600 million of biomedical research each year. As such, I approached the Trust’s Communication team with an idea to make a film inspired by one of their large strategic Challenge Areas, ‘Understanding the Brain’. Having written The Rough Guide to the Brain, I was in no doubt as to the overall complexity of the subject matter. The problem was, how to take a scientific subject so monstrously big and turn it into an entertaining experience for the film going public? For me, the key was to start with a question that’s universal, immediately understandable and that everyone has an opinion on – the notion of normality. Once I’d nailed the general theme, this highly structured film then needed several key ‘players’, very specific, exceptional, individuals with whom I could explore our need to construct behaviour around conformity, our largely negative response to abnormality and whether the very architecture of modern living was somehow endangering our sanity. abNormal, clocking in at thirty minutes, is not typical of the Wellcome Trust’s usual short film output but the approach I take is usually the same. In each film I make, which can stretch to around forty, five-minute films a year, I tend to ask myself two key questions: what is the central idea, or metaphor, that will drive this film’s story forward and how do I make that story as engaging and beautiful as possible. Film is the most wonderful medium for conveying ideas – painting with light, as David Lynch describes it – and there’s no reason science can’t be made as beautiful as any ‘art film’. Irrespective of the subject matter, my audience is always the ‘interested public’; people who, like my parents, may have no scientific training but possess a healthy curiosity for ‘life’. Creating abNormal was an extremely difficult, yet highly rewarding experience. There’s no fly-on-the-wall antics to follow whilst ‘Neil sets out to prove his worth as a solo pianist in the face of adversity…’ Instead, it’s the journey of an idea rather than any one individual, an investigation of how we see ourselves and each other; a journey that, I hope, leads the viewer to a satisfying conclusion. Without giving too much away, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts… Discovering the film had been accepted for the UCD Imagine Science Film Festival was a fantastic moment. Being a part of Irelands inaugural science film festival, to contribute towards the strong scientific heritage Imagine Science New York is developing means a great deal. The film will be screened at 19:30 on Saturday 7th July at the Lighthouse Cinema, opening an evening entitled, Imagine Consciousness, a premier selection of films addressing the vast subjects of consciousness and imagination (both particular favourites of mine). Featuring films from a range of international filmmakers, this spellbinding selection looks at what it is that makes us human and the role of imagination in propelling conscious thought. The short films on the night, including the extraordinary Eagleman Stag, will examine our perpetual struggle to define human consciousness, from Aristotle and Plato to Einstein and modern philosophers. After abNormal, there will be an opportunity to ask (probably difficult) questions during a post screening discussion, hosted by Alexis Gambis. Later in the week, the second installment of the Imagine Consciousness programme launches on Saturday 14th, a fascinating session in the Lighthouse Cinema from 16:30, dealing with two absorbing and deeply relevant subjects: empathy and mirror neurons. Aside from sociopaths, by virtue of their near or total absence of empathy, we all possess the ability to relate to other human beings, to sense and interpret the mental state of another. Without this ability, we’d find successful communication and social interactions painfully difficult. In this session, Professor Christian Keysers, author of The Empathic Brain, will be present alongside a screening of Irish filmmaker, Conor Horgan’s One Hundred Mornings, an exploration of how people cope in the absence of technology. The second part of this session features one of my favourite neurons (a statement you get used to when socialising with geeks), the mirror neuron. These special cells in the brain have evolved specifically to help us respond to the actions of others, a key component of learning and empathy. Love Hate and Everything In-between from Director, Alex Gabbay will explore the discovery of mirror neurons and their profound implications for science, society and individuals. Science is ablaze with stories; researchers agonizing over hypotheses, investing their lives in the pursuit of truths, sacrificing relationships and sky-high incomes for the smallest glimpse of life’s secrets. Alexis Gambis, founder and Executive Director of the festival, as well as a former scientist, clearly realized this five years ago and with the vision of Des Fitzgerald and UCD has created for Dublin City of Science a vital and refreshing amalgam of screenings and events designed to expose science for the wealth of stories contained within. I hope to see you there. Dr Barry James Gibb is scientist, filmmaker and author, currently working for the Wellcome Trust, as their Science Multimedia Producer. To see more of his work, please visit: www.barryjamesgibb.com or follow him on Twitter: @barryjamesgibb