Not just science flicktion

Discussing science in the cinema

Bridging science and the arts does not always have to be a spectacular affair, as science often goes unnoticed in popular culture. sciSCREEN, a new series of events from the British Science Association Branches, has been conceived to forge links between science and the arts through the medium of film, with the aim to explore new ways to enhance dialogue and interest in science.

Its not necessarily a sci-fi film club, infact, its far from it. The aim is to deliver a simple concept – a film screening, followed by a facilitated discussion about how the science represented in the film can affect our everyday lives.

Piloted by one of our Scottish Branches working with the Edinburgh Filmhouse, sciSCREEN showed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, followed by Snow Cake and The Constant Gardener. All these are films with a science theme running through them, and help to illustrate lively discussion on issues like memory loss, autism and drug testing with a local expert.

In the South, we launched last month in London with an evening focussing on Human Endeavour at STK International Airport in Stoke Newington. The provoking mixture of science, film and debate was followed by comedy, music and even dance, thanks to resident artists and Transition Towns; featuring Who Killed the Electric Car, In the Shadow of the Moon, space expert Dr Kevin Fong (UCL) and comedian Nick Mohammed with his show Apollo 21.  

Our next stop is Reading, launching this weekend at the RISC Global Café the theme is Global Warming. We’ll be showing An Inconvenient Truth and The Great Global Warming Swindle, with discussions facilitated by Reading University Climate expert Dr Thomas Toniazzzo. And plans are afoot for a bi-monthly sciSCREEN event, with even one forming part of the programme for the British Science Festival this September. www.britishscienceassociation.org/thamesvalley