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UCD Imagine Science Film Festival announce sensational programme for Dublin City of Science

UCD Imagine Science Film Festival is an innovative project developed by UCD in collaboration with the prestigious Imagine Science Film Festival New York, taking place in Dublin from Thursday July 05 - Saturday July 14.

Dublin will be hosting some of the world’s most celebrated scientists, filmmakers and critical thinkers in a city - wide collaboration that promises to stimulate the synapses and the senses. UCD Imagine Science Film Festival presented in association with Science Foundation Ireland aims to give the public an exciting way to access current and thought-provoking scientific issues through an incredible line - up of films, shorts, animations, discussions and a pop up programme of shorts in a mobile cinema sponsored by Google. UCD Imagine Science Film Festival showcases a selection of international and Irish films that address a wide range of scientific topics, chosen to fuel debate and discussions about how science impacts our lives. Expect to be inspired across an imaginative range of scientific spectrums following a cinematic trail from The Lighthouse Cinema to The Sugar Club, Science Gallery to The Factory with a stop off at Meeting House Square for a special screening of Andrei Tarkovsky’s cult classic Solaris.

Prof Cedric Villani will launch the inaugural UCD Imagine Science Film Festival on July 05 and take part in a discussion with internationally renowned writer/director team Rodrigo Sopena and Luis Piedrahita at the Irish Premiere of the thriller Fermat’s Room. The Festival closes with the European Premiere of Planet Ocean hot on the heels of its World Premiere at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro. Directed by the multi award winning Yann Arthus –Bertrand (Home), Planet Ocean shines a breath-taking light on some of our planet’s greatest natural mysteries; both events presented with the support of the French Embassy in Ireland.

Other Festival highlights:

• Be part of an audience with Nobel Prize winner James Watson, esteemed American molecular biologist, geneticist, zoologist, author and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA in 1954 with Frances Crick. This event accompanies the Irish premiere of The Race for the Double Helix featuring Jeff Goldblum, Tim Piggot-Smith and Juliet Stephenson.

• Celebrate the transformative power of technology via Higgs, Into the Heart of Imagination by Jan and Hannie van den Bergh. Take a journey inside the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) on a quest for the Higgs particle, sometimes called “The God Particle” – the missing link in particle physics.

• Avant-Garde Science: explore the influence of pioneers in motion pictures on contemporary science films with very special guest scientist and filmmaker Prof Luis Nieto. In 2009, he co-directed an experimental protocol on animal communication in Japan and taught cinematographic language to a monkey named “Capucine”. This successful process led to Capucine getting the title of the first monkey filmmaker in the world. Nieto has something very special planned for Dublin. Expect the unexpected!

• Join film -makers Al Holmes and Al Taylor with legendary Columbia University scientist Prof Brian Greene at the Irish premiere of The Creator and post screening discussion. The Creator journeys into the surreal dream world of the visionary scientist Alan Turing, the father of the computer age and seed of Thinking Machines.

• Dive into Imagine Consciousness – an international short film selection that offers an unusual look at what makes us human; including a probing panel discussion on human empathy and the impact of mirror neurons in the social brain. Programme opens with abNormal by Wellcome Trust Film maker and Multimedia Director, Barry J. Gibb. This selection also features Prof Dr Christian Keysers, author of The Empathic Brain whose research challenges our understanding of human nature.

• Inside Out - a collection of rare short films capturing glimpses of both the microscopic and macroscopic worlds. Expect thought-provoking and entertaining insights into the rich spectrum of human existence, from the DNA level, to the expanse of the solar system.

• Art in Science / Science in Art is a cross-discipline collaboration with UCD Imagine Science Film Festival and Darklight Festival 2012 presented with the support of The Arts Council of Ireland. Discover a world where visual art, film, performance and science collide. Highlights include the Irish premiere of Semiconductor Films, the creative brainchild of UK artist duo Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt. Music and science are centre stage for Sci-Lens featuring Dan Truman, a laptop orchestra and the Yurodny Ensemble. Sci-Lens are at the cutting edge of design and new gestural interfaces, translating traditional music from around the world into contemporary language and exploring the meaning of sound in space.

• Science for Nanos: Discover a selection of child friendly science films with topics that range from a tree’s lifecycle, to the psychology of insects. These animated and educational shorts will capture the attention of the whole family and make science entertaining for even the youngest in your group.

For full Festival details please check: http://www.ucdimaginescience.ie/