The 14th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival will take place from Oct 15-22, 2021. The festival will be hosted online and all of our films will be hosted on our partnering platform Labocine.com. Imagine Science 2021will include more than 20 film programs spread out over 8 days.

We will have two in-person special events including the Science New Wave networking event on October 16 co-presented by OneFifty | WarnerMedia and the Symbiosis Closing Night supported by Science Sandbox on October 22.

The festival theme is "RESISTANCE"

We're currently living in a time where resistance seems to be part of our everyday life. The act of swimming against the current - not for futile reasons but to spark change and awareness. For our 14th annual festival, we will be exploring the act of resisting from both a micro and macro perspective. How does one withstand opposing forces that sometimes feel overwhelming? How does resistance measure a material's ability to resist the flow of electrons through it? How do organisms resist harmful influences such as disease, toxic agents or infection? How do we all express our resistance, either internally or externally?

Though this subject is the special focus of this year's festival, we'll be featuring films, installations, and hybrid works of any and all other genres, methodologies, and subjects, as always that push the boundaries of the science narrative and embrace the spirit of the Science New Wave.

Over the course of the festival, the Symbiosis competition will be in full swing. Six pairs of scientists and filmmakers will be making films on the theme of RESISTANCE. More info on competition on our Symbiosis page.

The 14th Imagine Science Film Festival will take place from October 15-22, 2021. Our programs will be online and only viewable in the United States thru the festival and extending through the weekend until Oct 24.

We have two in-person events - Science New Wave Evening, presented by Warner Media 150 and Symbiosis Closing Night presented by Science Sandbox.

After the closing night, you can also watch the Symbiosis films made this year over the course of 1-week during the festival on the Labocine.com portal.

This is all subject to changes based on health and sanitary guidelines. Conditions will be announced closer to festival and indicated in the program descriptions.

The 14th Imagine Science Film Festival will be online this year but, nostalgic of the earlier times, will follow a traditional screening schedule.

We will have premieres, international panels, workshops, and many more surprises for our 14th edition.

Where do I watch films and programs?

All of our films and programs are hosted on our partnering platform LABOCINE.

Features, short programs, panels, and conversations will have set premiere times. While the events will be free, we will require everyone to sign up with their email and will encourage you to RSVP.

There is a view cap for each program (ex: 500 views) When the number of views left is critically low (< 50), we will let you know.

Q&A's with directors will happen either in parallel with or immediately after the screenings. The conversations post-screenings will be simultaneously posted online. To view a program after it has screened, you will need to purchase a REPLAY Pass.

Each program will each be presented with partnering venues and sponsors listed on the schedule.

When can I buy tickets?

Registration for LIVE events and a limited amount of REPLAY Passes will be available on the Imagine Science Films & Labocine sites in early October, approximately two weeks before the start of the festival. We may run out of passes due to view cap on film programs so make sure to get your pass as soon as possible.

What happens if miss a virtual screening?

The Imagine Science REPLAY Pass allows you to watch films and conversations after the LIVE events and only for the duration of the festival through October 24.

Note that some of our films may be SOLD OUT during the festival week and this will be indicated before you buy your pass.

We're slowly coming out of a 2-year pandemic but our lives will be permanently changed. It has never been more important to find ways to communicate science through visual storytelling and to spark conversations. We need to keep experimenting with new ways to bridge the worlds of science and cinema. We also need to prevent false or sensationalized information from reaching the public. Lastly, it is important to understand that science affects all of us in different ways, whether it is as individuals, a society, or the world at-large.

The festival celebrates the idea of fluidity in form in how we tell science stories. It embodies the spirit of New York City by inviting filmmakers, scientists, and audiences to take part in this grand experiment. We will keep the spirit of a borderless festival by partnering with different institutions worldwide.

Yes! All of our films are eligible for several awards and cash prizes.

Our features will be eligible for the Science New Wave Award provided by WarnerMedia and honorable mentions will be given out.

For short films, there are three awards: In Vivo, Theme-Sensitive and Avant-Garde. Each year, the Symbiosis Award is presented to the science/filmmaker pair that wins the Symbiosis Competition (learn more here).

Awards are selected by a jury and sponsored by like-minded science and art organizations.