Much as past generations of scientists may have idealized a "pure" science, free of political or social implication, it is increasingly clear that such a thing is a myth. In the past, as much today. No information is free from political valence, and any discovery can be manipulated or seized to to advance some ideology, for better or for worse. Realizing this, then, should scientists acknowledge their roles as potential activists? In these days of climate denial and big business control of information and national narratives, it seems increasingly difficult to keep to the sidelines of socio-political discourse. In many of these films, that discourse, as much as the science or science fiction that may inform it, is central.
After 21 years of continuous failure in UN climate change negotiations 195 nations, 20.000 worldwide negotiators meet at a private airport shielded by the military in the north of Paris for a last attempt to save our planet.
The small medusa 'Turritopsis dohrnii' constitutes the central figure of the video. This enigmatic entity is considered as theoretically immortal, capable of regenerating itself in full in order to indefinitely reinitiate its cycles of life, in the manner of reverse metamorphoses. The film proposes
Near the end of the Cold War, the US government received numerous reports from Southeast Asia of chemical weapons being used against the democratic insurgents. After investigating, they accused the Soviets of supplying the weapons to the communist governments in the area. Matthew Meselson, a Harvard
Using animation, heat sensitive camera footage from US border patrol screens, military bombing drone monitors, and other collected footage, Maelstroms is a mediation on the dehumanizing use of image technology to control borders by land, air and sea.
Dr. Diaz was expelled from his country because of is involvement in the defence of human and environmental rights. He now lives in Canada and works at the General Hospital. In addition to the hours spent in the hospital, he practiced medicine at home helping illegal immigrants. Aware of the dangers
Tracing the movements of the New Silk Road, AAA Cargo follows distribution networks which are expanding across vast regions between China and Europe. Government efforts to speed up the movement of trade collide with more-than-human choreographies of sand, people and goods. Through a disorientation o
Located in the department of Santander, El Peñon is a place that, thanks to its geological conditions offers one of the most particular bio diversities of the country. A foreign scientist who devoted his life to the study of its caves, which are the oldest and largest in the country, and a gr
"Frack" is an art-science project that builds on my previous work , which involves time-lapse macro-photography of photographic media being chemically destroyed. This project involves a kind of "virtual fracking", where I am using chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing to destroy photographs of sedi
We are now witnessing the beginning of the second Green Revolution in India. The Punjab in the north-west of India was an experiment to test an oil-based, chemically dependent, corporately controlled model. The land, the water and its inhabitants are now a testament to a failed system. A system is d
When Yusef discovers his beloved wife Ayana is a Sleeper, a living android bomb left over from a past war, he has only one choice: flee with her to the border of the Machine homeland in the desert, and pray they can make it before time runs out.
Water Warriors is the story of a community's successful fight to protect their water from the oil and natural gas industry. In 2013, Texas-based SWN Resources arrived in New Brunswick, Canada to explore for natural gas. The region is known for its forestry, farming and fishing industries, which are
In the twentieth century, 5 inventions were dismissed or not be generalized: the durable nylon stocking, the 'Aerotrain', the 'safe cigarette', the water engine and the 'bio-resonance'.
This Is Cosmos draws on the thinking of the early 20th Century Russian philosophical movement "cosmism." The "Cosmo-Immortalists" combined elements of theology and ethics, linking the Western Enlightenment with Russian Orthodoxy and Eastern philosophical traditions, as well as Marxism, to create an
The Dust Channel is a cultural exquisite corpse: an operetta with a libretto in Russian about a British home appliance set in an Israeli reality of private perversion and socio-political phobias. The libretto tries to animate a DC07 Vacuum Cleaner by telling it about itself and the history of its ma
A dialogue between two utopian thinkers sharing visions and recipes for a 'better' tomorrow to reflect upon the complexity of our universe.
The second film of Anton Vidokle's trilogy on Russian cosmism looks at the poetic dimension of solar cosmology of Soviet biophysicist, Alexander Chizhevsky. Shot in Kazakhstan, where Chizhevsky was imprisoned and later exiled, the film introduces Сhizhevsky's research into the impact of solar emissi
Sigismond Langlois is submitted to a psychiatric evaluation on account of his violent behavior. He just turned 18, and pretends he was born with no image. Throughout the questionnaire, he recounts the peculiar existence of a young man who never saw himself, neither in reflection nor on photo, to the
"In Afghanistan, I saw a couple making love on a roof": we know very little of the day-to-day work of the pilots carrying out "targeted assassinations" with military drones. Four Americans agreed to testify in voiceover about their experience, which is paradoxically one of intimacy and cruelty, over
A body-jumping soldier confronts the morality of her missions in this emotionally-charged sci-fi thriller.
I miss nature, earth, the feeling that summer will last forever, the feeling that everything is possible and that life and the world is before my feet and knowing that everything will be ok.
The last film in Vidokle's trilogy on Cosmism is a meditation on a museum as the site of resurrection — a central idea for many Cosmist thinkers, scientists and avant-garde artists. Filmed at the State Tretiyakov Gallery, Moscow Zoological Museum, The Lenin Library and The Museum of Revolution
In his new film, Oscar-nominated director Josh Fox (GASLAND) continues in his deeply personal style, investigating climate change - the greatest threat our world has ever known. Traveling to 12 countries on 6 continents, the film acknowledges that it may be too late to stop some of the worst consequ
During West Virginia's 2014 Elk River chemical spill, a first-generation college student charged with the care of her rebellious younger sister instead becomes consumed by an issue with their water supply. A Columbia MFA Thesis & Alfred P. Sloan Short Production Grant Film Columbia University Film F
Pure Difference asks us "What is a number?" It is the debut episode in Anti-Racist Mathematics and Other Stories, a series of learning tools towards a post-capitalist education system. Using the visual tropes of a tech-conference presentation, trashy YouTube video and film essay, Peters sifts the fo
The Shiite dominated neighborhood Haret Hreik in Beirut houses the headquarters of the Hezbollah Party, invisible to the outside. In 2006, the Israeli Army bombarded the neighborhood, which Hezbollah then quickly rebuilt. This rebuilding project is part of a military conflict and a geopolitical netw
In 2028 a molecular biologist unveils a hidden layer of the genome, proving that all human life and choices are pre-designed. Years after receiving his own genetic prediction, 28-year-old Joseph struggles to come to terms with his expected death. Seven days before the end, a surprising encounter wit
In the near future, nanotechnology administered into the bloodstream can sync with computer apps to augment the human genome. A new law mandating and regulating this once elective procedure meets resistance from hacktivists who are conspiring to thwart the impending roll-out of "Nano version 2.0."
This documentary feature presents the scientific facts behind the issue of peat haze as well as points of view and opinions from local and regional stakeholders. The burning of the peat forests throughout tropical Southeast Asia creates pollution, and this posed significant challenges to human healt
Marwa Arsanios's new film examines the structures of self-governance and knowledge production fostered by the Kurdish autonomous women's movement. She asks: what kinds of democracies are enabled without a state, and what kind of ecology is produced under the conditions of war? A propositional portra
Patrick and Sara live a love story. But they are also fighting together for refugee rights in Berlin. When harmless advance turns into a sexual assault, the group is forced to rethink their aims and the private story grows to an unwanted public dimension.