The original analog viral media is the virus. Spanish flu, smallpox, ebola, HIV. Throughout history they have co-evolved with humanity with often disastrous consequences. But viruses are not to be outdone by bacteria: cholera and plague have also reached pandemic status. Vaccines, antibiotics, and other medical advances have provided treatment, but the rapid and unpredictable mutation of these highly adaptable organisms makes perfect prevention nearly impossible. As we are now in the unfortunate midst of being reminded. But microfauna can also serve many useful purposes: the bacteria of our microbiome play a key role in our immune defenses against viruses while viruses themselves are deployed by scientists to target genetic interventions. In this issue we'll take a broad look at microbes and parasites, diseases and therapies.
In 1562, Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder completed a painting called The Triumph Of Death. In this panoramic landscape the sky is blotted out by black smoke; ships and dead fish litter the ocean shore; and an army of skeletons experiment with myriad death techniques. The living are badly out
They say that when you're hit by the polar bug, you never leave. Don't say we didn't warn you. Nobody dies in Longyearbyen, or so goes the rumor. We went to the northernmost city in the world to find out why, and stumbled into the first act of a science fiction flick about something deadly, long bur
Macro, micro, natural, artificial, inside, outside. Invasion is an investigation into the lives of pathogens, bacteria, parasites and other creatures, but not in the way you'd expect. From the air to the lab, we are brought into a world that is claustrophobic and at times frightening. Who is being l
We live with bacteria, but some of them can make us sick. To eliminate the ones causing diseases, we use antibiotics. But what happens if we use antibiotics when they're not required?
Two grieving friends pass a long subway ride to a funeral by exchanging haunting visions of an impending outbreak - in which a mandatory skin suit uploads every bodily sensation to a government cloud.
The AIDS epidemic has become silent, but it is not yet over. Our best chance to solve it, after prevention, is through ongoing research aimed at finding new therapeutics and possibly a vaccine against the causative agent, HIV. The short video shows the initial events of infection, when a healthy whi
Athens was covered by a strange yellow dust at first everyone thought it was sulfur but a few hours later Yellow Fieber erupted no one expected what was about to happen no one could tell that the city would turn into a forest of palms Yellow Fieber is a story of the loss of a city
Music video accompanying Artist Pyschs' song 'Spreadin' (Coronavirus)', raising awareness around the current global pandemic that is Coronavirus (Covid-19), from the perspective of an 18 year old South Londoner.
Fast forward. A camera rushes across Argentina´s stone desert toward a cactus and crashes headfirst through an opening into the plant´s interior. There, a view opens up of an eerie universe. Vibrating insect wings beat, swishing against one another, glistening with a toxic beauty, and wi
This is a visual exploration of the coronavirus outbreak, with data and videos mixed with animations of the virus and abstract visual interpretations of the virus mutating.
Set in a dystopian future where the world is dying from a crippling disease, a mysterious figure visits an illegal drug den in the hope of sourcing a rumoured cure, but unwittingly gets caught up in a robbery that could threaten his chances of making it back out alive…
Every snowflake needs a snowflake starter, a tiny solid particle less colloquially known as an ice nucleator. It can be a spec of dust, soot or ash, a piece of pollen or a fungal spore, anything onto which water vapor in a cloud can collect and freeze. Oftentimes, snowflake starters are alive&hellip
In the near future a brain deteriorating disease known as the Hebedus virus has swept across the nation, rendering vast swathes of the population into an incurable vegetative state. In order to combat the growing food shortages it has become the norm to slaughter the infected and sell their meat to
A journey into the social staging of threat and reassurance. Fragmentary archive footage from the USA of the 1940s/50s and associative images of Hamburg, Germany today are woven together to create an enigmatic narration. We meet silkworms recording memories, family history found on the Internet, pol
The Story of Ebola is an animated narrative that was made for "at risk" communities in Africa, especially those populations in West Africa that were affected by the Ebola epidemic. The film makes visible the invisible Ebola germs to help people see and understand how Ebola spreads and how to protect
Under the imminent threat of Lebanon's 2015 garbage crisis, Hala, a wild child inside of a woman, is the only one to refuse evacuation, clinging to whatever remains of home. Mounia Akl is a director and writer from Lebanon based in New York with an MFA in Directing from Columbia. Apart from directin
Jiro feels sick. His father takes him to see the doctor. Her diagnosis is harmless, but it shakes the boy's identity.
Gloucestershire, England, 1796. A poor day labourer is offered work but must first let his son be used in a medical experiment for a smallpox vaccine.
After a global nuclear and chemical war a disciplined military captain Thomas is tasked with toughening up a young and kind soldier Landon, who is unable to shoot innocent people, only to find out the truth about himself and the system he lives in.
1% Human is about coming to terms biologically and psychologically with what it means to be human. Filmmaker and subject Sasha Doppelt searches for solutions to her long-term depression in a human microbiome study. We learn about the bacteria that live on us, and impact our lives in huge ways. We wi
Are we our diseases? Is the world a petri dish incubating the source of its ultimate destruction? Screened For is an algorithm-based video that displays fear of the viral, of the microbial and of impending pandemics in a new light. The artist is depicted wearing protective mouth and nose masks paint
This is the story of how mushrooms can save the world! Renowned mycologist and mushroom pioneer Paul Stamets harnesses the power of infamous fungi to fight the planet's leading problems, from developing cures for cancer to destroying toxic radioactive waste.
In a fumigation centre in Havana, Mayelín has the thankless task of doling out fines to citizens who have the dengue mosquito in their homes. With a demanding boss and conflictive workers, Mayelín will have to impose her authority to gain respect.
Josiah Zayner, a former NASA scientist turned bio-hacker, seeks to rid himself of ongoing physical ailments by replacing all the bacteria living inside of him with that of a donor's. This method involves, among other things, swallowing pills made of the donor's poop, and scrubbing himself "clean" wi
The Snugglefug takes us to an alternate dimension, where a blue bear faces the consequences of her late night drunken internet purchase, from the MysteryOoo company. Littered with references to 80's and 90's creature features and kids TV, it's Jim Henson's puppet-nightmare. Described by some as "lik
In the heart of Detroit city. As the economic crisis continues to bite, two former employees of a car plant decide to rob the Motorcity Bank, but find themselves trapped by the police. Negotiations will take an unexpected turn.
In the wake of a feminist bacterial apocalypse, three women fight to secure domination over man once and for all. Imagine a world in which bacteria kill all males in a species, turn any remaining males into females, and make it possible for virgin females to give birth. That world exists, right bene
A detective is hired to find the original copy of a lost ancient book. The book recounts the tale of a plague. A form of radiation, unknown at the present time, activates a virus. The virus affects the sexual and fears centers in the brain and nervous system, fear is converted into sexual frenzies w
Adopting the form of a video game trailer, Immunecraft presents a fictional game which gives users agency over a real life cell culture to compete against opponent players. It explores the parallels between popular gameplay mechanics and some of the most important principles of the human immune syst
Lively Material follows a thought from the mind of artist, Louise Mackenzie, into the body of a genetically modified organism, the laboratory workhorse E. coli. The thought is translated by the artist from a spoken phrase, voiced by Mackenzie into a code that becomes represented as physical material
Watch at the molecular level how soap breaks up the outer layer coronavirus by using series of hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions.
A bizzaire dancing pandemic has afflicted the people of a small beachtown. When one man stumbles upon a cure, he intends on keeping it secret, hoarding the cure for himself and his wife. However, he quickly realizes that keeping it hush-hush will be easier said than done.
The artificial flavor of banana is based on a fruit that no longer exists. Gross Michelle was, until 1960, America's most popular strand of bananas. Its obituary is bleak, gooey, and speaks about the past, present and future global food politics. Director | Ana Pérez López Sound | Laur
Using Legos and toy soldiers, UT-Austin biologist Chris Sullivan explains the concept of viral latency, which is a mechanism that certain viruses, including herpes and HIV, have evolved to hide from the host immune response. It's this ability to hide away in a "latent reservoir" that makes it imposs