Read more about the films playing this week (site is in Spanish): Imagine Science Films: Quito Satellite Festival

One of the best received feature films was “Frankenstein’s Army” directed by Dutch filmmaker Richard Raaphorst: Nazi scientists repurposing corpses to build a zombie-like, indestructible army… with a generous serving of dark humor.

More soldiers, armies and violence. Now in the midst of the Cold War, a British scientist develops the ultimate soldier, half human and half machine. This richly visual and subtle British sci-fi work comes from director Caradog James and its title is “The Machine“.

And, finally, imagining The Empire Strikes Back or, better, hardcore fans reimagining it and reifying their visions thanks to short animations: “Star Wars Uncut“… don’t forget to visit their website, where you get to actually contribute to this ongoing project http://www.starwarsuncut.com/

La Bohème: A Portrait of Our Oceans in Peril

March 9 – April 28, 2013
Opening Reception with the Artist: March 9, 6pm – 8pm
Live Opera Performance at 7pm

agnès b. Galerie Boutique 50 Howard Street NYC 10013

February 28, 2013 (NEW YORK) agnès b. is pleased to announce the opening of La Bohème: A Portrait of Our Oceans in Peril an exhibition by New York-based artist Mara G. Haseltine.

Plankton plays a crucial role in regulating our planet’s atmosphere. These microscopic creatures create half of the world’s oxygen. Ms. Haseltine took the inspiration for her sculptures from the samples of plankton she had collected while she was aboard the schooner Tara Oceans between February and March 2011 off the coast of Chile. Tara Oceans completed a 3-year tour of the globe collecting plankton last March. The mission was to take a snap shot of the state or health of the worlds oceans by looking at the way in which planktonic ecosystems world-wide are being effected by atmospheric climate change.

The contents of these samples revealed an alarming truth; not only did the samples contain the delicate otherworldly forms of plankton but also shreds of sunlight- degraded plastic. This discovery inspired a series of sculptures that resemble surreal beings from an alternate universe, but are in fact depictions of oceanic plankton entwined with plastic. The conclusion is a new awareness–that our fate is intimately linked with that of our oceans.

Ms. Haseltine’s sculptures often have remnants of their manufactured past and at the same time have integrated the hand blown uranium-infused glass which represents the plankton that glows under ultra violet light that clings to them. To create the series of sculptures on display at agnès b. Galerie Boutique, the artist also collected bits of plastic debris from outside her studio in Brooklyn, which is located on the edge of the East River in New York next to the Brooklyn Bridge. Based on the incredible array of colors and types of plastic refuse she found, she created a series of five sculptures depicting microscopic pieces of sunlight-degraded plastic with plankton clinging to them.

Mara G. Haseltine is an internationally renowned artist best known for her outsized sculptural renditions of microscopic life forms. She was an early pioneer in the translation of bioinformatics into three-dimensional form. She is also an ardent environmentalist and co-founder of The Green Salon, an international think-tank devoted to environmental solutions. In 2007 Haseltine created New York City’s first Solar Powered Oyster Reef. In 2011 Ms. Haseltine was an artist-in-residence at UCD and Tara Oceans, and was awarded Flag 75 for her voyage, a three-year journey around the world studying oceans and its relationship to climate change. She is an artist-in-residence for Imagine Science Films 2012-2013.

Ms. Haseltine received her undergraduate degree in Studio Art and Art History from Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, and her master’s degree from The San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, California, with a double degree in New Genres and Sculpture. She has exhibited and worked throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and at the National Museum of Trinidad and Tobago in the Port of Spain, Trinidad. Currently a professor at The New School in NYC, she is a member of both the Sculptors Guild of NYC as well as the Explorer’s Club. She works out of Brooklyn, New York. Her work has been published in The Times, Le Metro, The Guardian, Architectural Record, etc…

agnès b. Galerie Boutique 50 Howard Street NYC 10013
Gallery Hours: Monday – Saturday 11 AM – 7 PM, Sunday 12 PM – 6 PM

www.50howardstreet.com
www.agnesb.com

agnès b. opened the Galerie Boutique at 50 Howard Street in SoHo in April 2011, the first agnès b. location to include a dedicated art space within a retail environment. Exhibitions at this location have included group and solo shows with a focus on photography, sculpture, painting and video. In 2010, agnès b. was awarded with the prestigious Légion d’Honneur by the French government. In 2012, she was made a Commandeur l’Ordre des Art et des Lettres for her support of cinema. agnès b. is
owner and designer of the brand she created in 1976. She is the principal producer of the scientific research vessel Tara which recently concluded a 3-year global expedition to study oceanic ecosystems in March 2012.

Tara Expeditions is a non-profit association based in France that has been organizing scientific missions aboard the research schooner Tara for the past 9 years. Their goal is to learn more about the impact of climate change on ecosystems and to increase environmental awareness among the general public, and particularly young people.

For press enquiries: Chris Apple – chris.apple@agnesb.net or 212 548 9730.
For sales enquiries: Monika Condrea – monika.condrea@agnesb.net or 646 226 6828.

Article posted on Scientific American // February 24, 2013

The Fly Room Project is the latest Imagine Science Filmsinitiative. It will be an ambitious Summer 2013 interactive lab and exhibit about genetics which will include film, microscopy, and video installations. It comes to life 100 years after the original Fly Room that existed in the Zoology Department at Columbia University. The early 20th century Fly Room is considered to be the birthplace of modern genetics where the basic laws that govern heritability and the passing of traits were discovered. No one ever imagined that this claustrophobic space, overflowing with mutant red-eyed fruit flies would gain so much fame.

As you enter in new Fly Room Summer 2013, you will travel back in time to Summer 1927. On the wooden tables, hundreds of milk bottles filled with “real” fruit flies and brass-knobbed microscopes will sit next to glass jars of ether and banana mush.Science/AAAS, the world’s largest scientific society and magazine, is our Presenting Sponsor for this project and will provide original research articles documenting the early discoveries in the emerging field of Genetics.

The goal of The Fly Room Project is to raise awareness about the early history of genetics, especially in an era where we are confronted with the excitement and scares of the Genomic Age. With our fruit flies in the spotlight, we will place emphasis on the importance of model research, notably fruit fly research, in our scientific advancement and the current research in understanding evolution, development and disease. The space will also have a treasure hunt twist where kids, a la Goonies, will embark on wild aventures to uncover clues. They will peer through milk bottles searching for answers from their fellow insects.

The Fly Room Project will bring back the philosophy of the original Fly Room which was to foster a democratic atmosphere open to new ideas and unconventional thinking. The exhibit will also paint a portrait of the work and the minds that gave significance to this room. We will show exclusive on-camera testimonials from the daughters of the Fly Room residents. 95-year old Betsey shares her stories about an unconventional father Calvin Bridges and her visit to the Fly Room in 1927 when she was 10 years old. Other stories and fly-charged anecdotes will be told by the daughters of Alfred Sturtevant and Hermann Muller.

The Fly Room will be recreated by a dynamite duo of Production Designers Ika Avaliani and Anna Yates. Artist and Photographer Catherine Chalmers will cover the walls with larger-than-life imagery of insect development. ‘Art Perversionist’ and Filmmaker Luis Nieto will create a Fly Circus with mutant flies. The space will be sonically charged with the old-new electroacoustic score of Daniel Wohl.

And yet, what is most unusual about The Fly Room Project is that it will also be a film set for a feature production. The film is focused on the story of 10-year old Betsey visiting her father Calvin Bridges in the Fly Room lab in 1927. Actors will enter into the skins of the Drosophila scientists and bring to life the important discoveries of the lab. 10-year old Betsey will be played by first-time actress Zoe Brooks. The film is primarily told from the perspective of little Betsey and yet flies will will occasionally have their moments to dissect human behavior.

The more that Betsey understands the world of flies and genetics, the more she enters a magical yet haunting world where flies and humans mix together. The insect world also foreshadows the evolution of Betsey’s relationship with her father Calvin Bridges and further deconstruct their interactions.

For more information, visit:
http://www.theflyroom.com ]]> http://www.imaginesciencefilms.org/2013/02/25/the-fly-room-project-a-new-isf-exhibit-and-film-project/feed/ 0 http://www.imaginesciencefilms.org/2013/02/02/my-minds-eye-series-launch-on-scientific-american/ http://www.imaginesciencefilms.org/2013/02/02/my-minds-eye-series-launch-on-scientific-american/#comments Sat, 02 Feb 2013 18:13:24 +0000 admin http://www.imaginesciencefilms.org/?p=13834

Our production sponsor Imaginal Disc launches a new Video series called My Mind’s Eye Series. Episode 1 launches today on Scientific American with a discussion on consciousness followed by brain-inspired music from The Amygdaloids.
Ned Block is a professor of philosophy, psychology and neural science and is considered a leading thinker on the subject.

What is Consciousness? Go to Video!
Scientific American | Mark Fischetti | January 28, 2013

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to learn about brain and mind from leaders in the field, and be entertained at the same time? Welcome to My Mind’s Eye, a series of interviews about topics such as the mind-body problem, free will, memory, emotion, and on and on, each themed with a song from the rock band, The Amygdaloids. My Mind’s Eye is hosted by NYU neuroscientist, Joseph LeDoux, and directed by Alexis Gambis. The first three interviews are with philosopher Ned Block, cognitive neuroscientist Mike Gazzaniga, and Nobel Prize winning neurobiologist Eric Kandel.

Screening with MorbidAnatomy
Date: Friday, February 1
Time: 8:00 PM
Admission: $5
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and Imagine Science Films

On February 1st 2013, Tonight, Imagine Science Films and Morbid Anatomy for an exclusive U.S. premiere screening of “All My Tomorrows” directed by Sonia Herman Dolz. Imagine Science Films aims to transform the way science and scientists are portrayed in mainstream media, while emphasizing the importance of storytelling, narrative structure, and visual communication.

About the film:
“One must never forget that one dies not from disease, but from life,” wrote the philosopher Michel de Montaigne. Five centuries later, cancer surgeon Casper van Eijck arrives at the same conclusion: “You get cancer because you’re alive.” This film follows Van Eijck as he goes about his daily tasks at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. We also meet a cell biologist, a night nurse, a pediatric oncologist and a pathologist. Examining a culture of rapidly multiplying cancer cells, the biologist sighs, “That you can reveal so much, but know so little about what’s going on.” We owe progress in medical science exclusively to unremitting human curiosity and attentiveness; the fundamentals have changed little since Hippocrates. Then as now, doctors relied on human techniques of looking, feeling and cutting. We also see patients and parents of sick children respond bravely to the devastating news doctors so often have to give. Perhaps mice will provide the answer to the question of why cells divide uncontrollably, because this animal shares 80% of its genes with humans.

About MorbidAnatomy
The Morbid Anatomy Library is a private research library and collection open to the interested public on Saturdays AND SUNDAYS from 12-6 pm, or by appointment. The Library and Cabinet makes available a collection of curiosities, books, artworks, photographs, ephemera, and artifacts relating to medical museums, anatomical art, collectors and collecting, cabinets of curiosity, the history of medicine, death and society, natural history, arcane media, and curiosity and curiosities broadly considered. The present Morbid Anatomy Library Scholar in Residence is Evan Michelson of Obscura Antiques and Oddities and the new television show “Oddities.”

Hours: Check Morbid Anatomy blog
On the Web: Morbid Anatomy blog
Email: morbidanatomy@gmail.com

JURY MEMBERS INCLUDED

• William Mapother: Actor & Founding Partner,Slated
• Sean B. Carroll: Scientist, Author, Vice President for Science Education, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• Ann Merchant: Deputy Executive Director for Communications, National Academies of Sciences
• Peter Galison: Professor in History of Science & Physics, Director, Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, Harvard University
• Casey Neistat: Director & Producer

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NATURE SCIENTIFIC MERIT AWARD

The Nature Scientific Merit Award is awarded to a short film that exemplifies science in narrative filmmaking in a compelling, credible and inspiring manner.

WINNER: LOVE COMPETITION Directed by Brent Hoff

HONORABLE MENTION: RESTORING SIGHT IN BANGLADESH Directed by Tatiana McCabe
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NATURE PEOPLE CHOICE AWARD

The Nature People’s Choice Award is awarded to the best short film voted by ISF Audience members.

WINNER: CENTRIFUGE BRAIN PROJECT Directed by Till Nowak

HONORABLE MENTION: SUPERLUMINAL NEUTRINOS IN 5 MINUTES Directed by Josh Heineman
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IMAGINAL DISC VISUAL SCIENCE AWARD

The Visual Science Award sponsored by Imaginal Disc is given to a short film that depicts science in a visually-engaging manner.

WINNER: AMERICA’S DEAD SEA Directed by Jim Lo Scalzo

HONORABLE MENTION: MACRO KINGDOM III Directed by Clemens Wirth
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AAAS SCIENTIST AWARD

The Scientist Award sponsored by Science/AAAS is given to a short film that depicts a scientist in an accurate and original way.

WINNER: DISCOVERING MOUNT GORGONGOSA Directed by Federico Pardo

HONORABLE MENTION: SNOW Directed by Isaac Ergas
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For more info on 2012 Awards, Jury & Sponsors, visits Film Awards Page and Jury Page.

There are many advantages to being an insomniac in the 21rst century. One of them is that you can use Netflix to find documentaries made about insomniacs by insomniacs. Or at least there is one such film that fits that description. I first watched it at 3ish in the morning about a year ago. It is by Alan Berliner and is appropriately called “Wide Awake”. For a panel discussion at the New York Academy of Sciences, Imagine Science Films invited Berliner to show clips from this same film, and then participate in a provocative discussion about sleep and dreams with some notable academics.

“Wide Awake” is honest in a way a Woody Allen film would be if Woody wasn’t hiding behind a fictional character. While we watched takes of his restless life, attempts to cure the condition, and obsession over his newborn child’s sleep patterns, people around me seemed to nearly mock him. This wasn’t surprising, as Berliners own mother was even harsher in the film itself. “He is completely crazy” was whispered by more than one person. I wasn’t one of these, for the obvious reason that to call Berliner crazy would be to admit my own craziness, as his anxieties caused by a life of more catnaps than 8 hour nights has been the story of my life. Last night was no exception to this for me. I dozed off during the start of the program which featured a 1960’s flashing light show art installation called the “Dream Machine”. I had as much REM sleep during the “Dream Machine’s” 5 minutes of fame as I likely did the remainder the night. This topic of sanity and health seemed to take up a large part of the discussion, despite the more basic and important research of the scientists present which included neuroscientist Matt Wilson, and psychiatrist Erin Wamsley.

The science of sleep is an interesting one and dreams are perhaps the most intriguing of all. Paul Roossin, in this TEDx Talk, describes the history and some interesting theories on the importance of dreaming. It has been a subject of research for a while, with new imaging and electro probing
techniques making the topic more quantitative every year. Still this was part of a film festival, which makes a fascinating metaphor into an observation of how reality is perceived. I have always been fascinated by film, not just for its artistic merits or even for the technology of movies. I have also been intrigued by a world which was pre-film and the one that is post-film. It was only after film was made that we could archive human movement. It is also a way to manipulate that movement by cutting, twisting, fading and dilating time in ways that are more dynamic and vast than other art forms. What last night made me think about was not only film content, or scientific discovery, but also the way film is inherently dreamlike in ways that I find very attractive.

When the audience responded to the “craziness” of Berliner, and the panel discussed the potential unhealthy aspects of sleep deprivation, and therefore lack of a dream life, I made the unscientifically subjective leap towards the attractiveness of filling a life of too little sleep with this art. Is it possible that those things associated with dreaming, such as memory consolidation, may occur when we watch the discordant film that at the same time emotionally moves us in ways that reminds us of ourselves and our world? It is possible that those stretches of the imagination as ignited by the movie are in fact a way to dream when dreaming isn’t accessible? I have no idea of course, but it is at least thought provoking. It is also another good reason to have a science film festival, and a way for people like me to stay up late watching and discussing the science in and of movies.

–Matthew Putman

Friday, November 16, 2012 5:00pm | » $8 (TICKETS ON SALE)

Feature: WELCOME TO THE MACHINE

NEW YORK PREMIERE
An exploration into the increasing role of technology in human civilization, especially a future in which people and machines become ever more intertwined.

Preceded by:
Humanoids

Followed by:

Avi Zev Weider

Q & A with director of Welcome to the Machine, Avi Weider.

After three years of trying to have a child, filmmaker Avi Zev Weider and his wife Alexandra tried IVF and immediately became pregnant — with triplets.

In grappling with this life-changing experience, it was evident that technology was having a real affect on Avi’s life; his babies were conceived via a technical process, born in a high-tech neo-natal intensive care unit and kept alive inside a series of machines. In short, Avi’s children came into this world and were made viable thanks to technology. But beyond that, the way in which Avi found himself relating to his newborn children — even this was colored by a relationship to technology. And so, much bigger questions, ones difficult to even formulate, loomed large as the triplets came home.

—VENUE—
School of Visual Arts Theatre | Manhattan
333 West 23rd Street New York, NY 10011
C,E to 23rd Street (at 8th Avenue) / 1 to 23rd Street (at Seventh Avenue)

IMAGINE CONSCIOUSNESS

In collaboration with Neuwrite
Friday, November 16, 2012 7:30pm | » $15 (TICKETS ON SALE)

A premier selection of short films addressing the subject of consciousness and imagination. Through these works we examine the age-old struggle to define human consciousness, from Aristotle and Plato to Einstein and modern philosophers. This unique selection from international film-makers looks at what it is that makes us human and the role of imagination in propelling conscious thought.

—SHORT FILM PROGRAM—
Amygdala
Anosmia
The Biological Advantage of Being Awestruck
How To Eat Your Own (Chocolate) Brain!
The Centrifuge Brain Project
In Dreams
Limbic
Love Competition
Motion Painting
My Mind’s Eye
Remains
Visions
Soft Sciences
Schizophrenia
I Do Not Know Who I am
The Human Factor

—PANEL —

With filmmakers, scientists and artists, we will discuss the age-old struggle to define human consciousness. What it is that makes us human and the role of imagination in propelling conscious thought and what scientific and narrative tools exist to express consciousness in scientific research, visual arts and film. This panel will the closing act of the 5th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival, celebrating our 5 years trying to bridge the divide between art and science through the film medium.

Stuart Firestein // Neuroscientist, Chair of Columbia University’s Department of Biological Sciences

Dr. Stuart Firestein studies the vertebrate olfactory receptor neuron as a model for investigating general principles and mechanisms of “signal transduction” — the ways in which chemicals, such as neurotransmitters, hormones, and peptides with membrane receptors, exert their influence in the brain and nervous system. He hypothesizes that the olfactory neuron is uniquely suited for these studies since it is designed specifically for the detection and discrimination of a wide variety of small organic molecules, i.e. odors.
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Walter Murch // Sound designer, Film Editor, Writer

Walter Murch is an American film editor and sound designer. He has won three Oscars. He has been nominated in sound and or editing categories eight times. His films include Apocalypse Now, all three Godfather films, The English Patient, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Ghost and The Talented Mr. Ripley. Murch is a man of many interests. He composes music, translates Italian poetry in his spare time and if you spend enough time with him, you’re likely to hear him quote French philosophers or string theorists. But his definition of what he does is simple. Murch is currently working on a feature documentary, Particle Fever, about CERN’s Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland.
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Joseph LeDoux // Neuroscientist, Musician

Joseph LeDoux is a Professor and Member of the Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology NYU. His work is focused on the brain mechanisms of emotion and memory. In addition to articles in scholarly journals, he is author of “The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life” and “Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are.” He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a fellow of the New York Academy of Science, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Science, and the recipient of the 2005 Fyssen International Prize in Cognitive Science. LeDoux is also a singer and songwriter in the rock band, The Amygdaloids.
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Catherine Chalmers // Photographer, Artist

Catherine Chalmers holds a B.S. in Engineering from Stanford University and an M.F.A. in Painting from the Royal College of Art in London. She has exhibited her artwork around the world, including MoMA P.S.1, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Kunsthalle Basel; Kunsthalle Vienna; MOCA Taipei; among others. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Time Out New York, ArtNews and Artforum. She has been featured on PBS, CNN, NPR, and the BBC. Two books have been published on her work: FOOD CHAIN (Aperture 2000) and AMERICAN COCKROACH (Aperture 2004). Her video “Safari” received a Jury Award (Best Experimental Short) at SXSW Film Festival in 2008. In 2010 Chalmers received at Guggenheim Fellowship. She was an Artist-in-Resident at Pilchuck Glass School in the summer of 2011 and is currently an Artist-in-Resident at Imagine Science Films, an organization focused on the intersection of science, film and art. Chalmers lives and works in New York City.
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Moderated by:

Carl Zimmer // Popular science writer and blogger

Carl Zimmer is a science writer, especially regarding the study of evolution and parasites. The New York Times Book Review calls Carl Zimmer “as fine a science essayist as we have.” In his books, essays, articles, and blog posts, Zimmer reports from the frontiers of biology, where scientists are expanding our understanding of life. He has written several books and contributes science essays to publications such as The New York Times and Discover. He is a popular speaker at universities, medical schools, museums, and festivals, and he is also a guest on radio programs such as Radio Lab and This American Life.

—VENUE—
School of Visual Arts Theatre | Manhattan
333 West 23rd Street New York, NY 10011
C,E to 23rd Street (at 8th Avenue) / 1 to 23rd Street (at Seventh Avenue)

In collaboration with New York University’s Office of Global Services
Thursday, November 15, 2012 7:30pm » $8 (TICKETS ON SALE)

—SHORT FILM PROGRAM—
Through animations, sci-fi and documentary, experience the world and hear the confessions of the outer world.
The Afronauts
Beyond Expression Bright
Beyond the Spheres
The Cosmonaut
Into Deep Space
No Gravity
Starfield

—VENUE—
NYU Cantor Film Center
36 E 8th St.(between University Place and Greene St.) Downtown Manhattan @ Greenwich
N, R, W at 8th St.-NYU; 6 at Astor Pl.