Imagine Science Films

Last year we also offered three Satellite Programs: (1) a three-day satellite festival in Kaluga, Russia, the birthplace of cosmonautics; (2) an opening-night program ("Mapping the Unseen") to kick off the AAAS conference in Chicago; and (3) a program devoted exclusively to neuroscience films as part of Columbia University's Brian Month. Our next satellite program will be our first on the West Coast, at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, just before the 2014 Imagine Science Film Festival. We will then be in Berlin on October 31, and Abu Dhabi in February of 2015.

In late 2014 we launch a series of long duration performance art pieces focused on scientific topics that will elaborate further on our Festival’s theme of “time”. Subjects to be explored include the parallels between long duration performance art and the scientific process, both of which require the same psychological discipline. Modes of inquiry will include exhibiting via live stream video participants sorting male and female fruit flies, parallel to the Abromović long duration performance technique involving sorting sesame from grains of rice.

Albert Einstein once said, “The greatest scientists are artists as well.” Regardless of their precise contributions, every artist-scientist understands that both fields are about creatively exploring and expressing a deeper understanding of the world. Imagine Science Films was responsible for producing a unique collaboration between TEDMed and nine filmmakers who dove into the depths of their imagination to create a series of short films inspired by the nine speaker sessions at TEDMed 2014. From stop motion to experimental fiction to documentary, we hoped to provoke imagination and provide a platform for viewers to begin connecting the dots conceptually between TEDMed speakers and their ideas.

Last year we began two YouTube series: (1) Experimenta and (2) Spotlight. Experimenta is a series of interviews with top scientists and science-based artists hosted as 13 Google Hangouts on Air. Subjects have included “The Art of Slime Mold” and “Bioart, Synthetic Biology, and NASA”. Similarly, Spotlight observes innovative science and art projects in labs and studios across New York and beyond. We have aired 20 episodes of Spotlight since end of 2013. In total, Experimenta and Spotlight have been viewed over 7,000 times by more than 400,000 followers.

United States youth rank 36th among industrialized nations in math and 28th in science according OECD. Our science, technology, engineering, (ART), and math [STE(+a)M] program meets the need for enriched STEM education by integrating art and science through film. In 2013-2014 we participated in Connected Classrooms, taking students into cutting edge microscopy labs, leading a DNA extraction workshop, and hosting a conversation on the neuroscience of love for Valentine's Day. This year we begin recruiting schools to participate in the program in September, and again, our Connected Classrooms: STE+aM Program will broadcast on Google Hangouts on Air. We expect to have recruited at least 100 students by January, 2015, and will launch in-class projects in March, 2015. The course will take place once weekly and will involve a four-week curriculum as follows:
1. Imaging Life Through Microscopy
2. The Science of Filmmaking
3. Producing Science Film
4. Visualizing Science Data