Playlist
Labocine Originals is a curated selection of films we’ve championed at different stages—some conceived and developed in-house, others supported through their creative evolution or thoughtfully acquired for distribution. Each film reflects the spirit of the Science New Wave and becomes a lasting part of our growing, living collection.
<p>After the death of his grandmother, a Mexican biologist living in New York returns to his hometown nestled in the majestic monarch butterfly forests of Michoacán after many years. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his new hybrid identity, launching him on a personal and spiritual metamorphosis.</p>
<p>When a wide-eyed 10-year-old girl visits her fathers insect laboratory, she receives an unorthodox education in genetics.</p>
<p>Mosaic explores evolution in its natural and artificial forms — the deliberate and random modifications of an organism. As a mixed genre, science-driven anthology film, Mosaic is the first of its kind featuring ten visionary, international filmmakers and stories from the most influential scientists of our time.</p> <p style="text-align:center">________________</p> <p><strong>The Mask Task </strong>- Josephine Decker</p> <p>With documentary audio material and Butoh dance, the multi-age performers are invited to take shapes, organize themselves in nightmare poses and free-form improvisations and create moving tapestries that allow our audience to create its own interpretation of the mysteries of human emotion, stress and fear.</p> <p><strong>Orfeo Nel Canale Alimentare</strong> - Rachel Mayeri</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>In this animated opera, Orpheus attempts to rescue Eurydice from a bout of indigestion by crossing the river of her inner-under world. But in the alimentary canal there are no heroes, only the multitudes.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Insān</strong> - Alexis Gambis</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>A young man with a stutter shares with us the story of the first speaking Arabian Oryx "Mozaik" that changed the course of his life and for that matter the future of humankind.</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Random Legal Move - </strong>Noah Hutton</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>For years Clarice has kept her father’s work hidden, as she works a menial job at the local rec centre. But after a renowned neuroscientist makes her a tempting offer, Clarice must make a decision whether to guard his secret or give the last piece of her father’s genius away.</em></p> <p><strong>Lichen</strong> - Sally Warring</p> <p><em>The journey of the Fungus on its hunt for the perfect Algal mate punctuated by events that occur in the Lichen lifecycle.</em></p> <p><strong>The Fortress</strong> - Miryam Charles</p> <p><em>Four days after being declared dead, a young girl miraculously finds a way to communicate with her mother leading her to find a way to save her. With the help of a mad scientist, she and her husband will embark a journey to Haïti.</em></p> <p><strong>Caroni - </strong>Ian Harnarine</p> <p><em>An immigrant in New York tries to become a Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus rubber) bird so that she can travel back to the Caribbean for her child’s birthday party.</em></p> <p><strong>Mother, a fairy tale</strong> - Barry J Gibb</p> <p><em>How far would you go to get what you want? In the near future, Jill is a rare survivor in a world nature tore apart, a woman whose powerful maternal urges are thwarted by a scarcity of men. </em></p> <p><strong>Realm of An Inner Child</strong> - Jeannette Louie</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>In a tale about fetal microchimerism, a woman experiences the persistent loss of her child who died in utero many years earlier. Her sadness is eased by the knowledge of their molecular bond as the child's fetal cells were absorbed by her body and a microchimera was created. During a brief interlude, they share a discourse that reveals their enduring physiological attachment.</em></p> <p><strong>The Breeder</strong> - Demelza Kooij</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Always wanted an extra fluffy rabbit, a dog on two legs, or a legless cat? Dr Schönbacher's new app makes it easy for you to design and order your own!</em><img alt="" src="https://labocine.com/stills/spotlights/theBreeder_720p.jpg" /></p> <p><em>Animation by Maya Edelman</em></p> <p><em>Assistant Editor: Gergo Varga</em></p> <p><em>Labocine Original </em></p> <p><em>Co-produced by Imaginal Disc </em></p>
<p>Some parasitic nematodes have an endosymbiosic relationship with the bacteria Wolbachia. In <em>Nematodes</em>, we reconstruct this symbiotic relationship and break it down, finding ourselves at the model's writhing core.</p> <p>Network Reconstruction Of Nematode Symbionts<br /> By Peter Burr & Alexandra Grote</p> <p>Sound Design By John Also Bennett</p> <p>Additional Animation By Brandon Blommaert</p> <p>Produced By Labocine</p> <p>With The Support Of <br /> Imagine Science Films<br /> Science Sandbox | Simons Foundation</p> <p>Special Thanks to<br /> Tribeca Film Institute<br /> Adorama<br /> Carl Burton</p>
<p>‘In the Atom’ explores the strangeness inherent in both the human condition, and within the structure of reality. A dialogue between British Quantum physicist Sebastian, Japanese artist Hanae, and future beings. Through chimeric visuals and poetic narrative, the film examines the arcane role of observation in both our understanding of reality and our experience of mortality.</p> <p>Written and Directed by Sebastian Orbell & Hanae Utamura</p> <p>Original Music by Carlo Ladd</p> <p>Performed by Sebastian Orbell & Hanae Utamura</p> <p>Cinematography by Hanae Utamura & Victoria Kereszi</p> <p>Sound Recording by Jaehoon Choi</p> <p>Animations by Sebastian Orbell</p> <p>Visual Effects by Hanae Utamura</p> <p> </p> <p>Special Thanks to</p> <p>Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, IBM Quantum, Labocine & Science New Wave Lab (special thanks for microscope filming)</p> <p>Entangled Contributions</p> <p>Robert Phillips // whose influence transcends // the collapse of observation</p> <p>Retrocausal Contributions</p> <p>Future collaborators whose influence is already present</p> <p> Alice Marks, Allie ES Wist, George Valladares, Tod Wodicka, Branda Miller</p> <p>Produced with Support From The Simons Foundation, Science New Wave, Imagine Science Labocine</p> <p><em>This film was made as part of the 2024 Symbiosis initiative presented at the Science New Wave Festival XVII and supported by the Simons Foundation</em></p>
<p><strong>WINNER OF SYMBIOSIS 2024</strong></p> <p>Noumenon</p> <p>(noun) a “thing-in-itself” — an objective reality that will always be inaccessible to human perception.”<br />– Immanuel Kant</p> <p>Noumenon is an experimental short film reflecting on the relation between reality and perception from a neuroscience perspective, and its parallels with the Hindu concept of maya, or cosmic illusion. Neuroscientist Anil K. Seth narrates his concept of controlled hallucination – how all perceptions are active constructions, brain-based best guesses at the nature of a world that is forever obscured behind a sensory veil. Through story and classical South Indian temple dance, known as Bharatanatyam, the film weaves in the Hindu philosophy of ‘maya’ – the powerful force sustaining the cosmic illusion of the phenomenal world as real.</p> <p><br /><em>Directed by</em><br />Janna Kyllästinen & Maya Theresia Laughton</p> <p><em>Neuroscience narration by</em><br />Anil K. Seth, D.Phil. <br />Professor | Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience | University of Sussex</p> <p><em>Krishna and the Sage | Hindu parable narration by</em><br />Maya Theresia Laughton</p> <p><em>Cinematography & editing by</em><br />Janna Kyllästinen</p> <p><em>Scientists at NYU Lab</em><br />Nigel Dao<br />Maya Theresia Laughton</p> <p><em>Original choreography by</em><br />Bharathi Penneswaran | Aalokam Dance Company</p> <p><em>Dance performances by</em><br />Bharathi Penneswaran | Shwetha Ravishankar | Shreyaa Suresh</p> <p><em>Original music by</em><br />Sarah Fazendin | Violin <br />Noah Golub | Keys <br />Christopher Madison | Guitar <br />Anand Sookbir | Percussions</p> <p><em>Sound mix by</em><br />Dhruv Shiva Rao</p> <p><em>This film was made as part of the 2024 Symbiosis initiative presented at the Science New Wave Festival XVII and supported by the Simons Foundation.</em></p>
<p>Our memories make up the foundation of who we are, but they are constantly changing. Like a living organism with its own personality, memory can be loyal and reliable, sneaky and surprising, or capricious and cruel. Shot primarily in 16mm film, this creature called Memory is made from museum objects, neuroscience data, and the filmmakers’ personal memories.</p> <p>By Gavati Wad and Lauren Vetere</p> <p>Brain sounds by Chris Eldridge and Zoé Christenson Wick</p> <p>Special thanks to:</p> <p>Mono No Aware</p> <p>The American Museum of Natural History</p> <p>The friends who inspire our visions of memory:</p> <p>Chris Gaynor, Adriana Hazelton, Camila Gomez Franco, Michael Desjardins, Jairo Munoz, Kayleigh Munoz, Megan Mundo, Alexander Adler, and many other anonymous contributors.</p> <p>The Symbiosis Team: Paula Croxson , Arianna Zuanazzi, Alexis Gambis, Nate Dorr and Veronica Castillo.</p> <p><em>This film was made as part of the 2023 Symbiosis initiative presented at the Science New Wave Festival XVI (Imagine Science Films) and supported by the Simons Foundation</em></p>
<p>“Sincerely Yours” is a portrait of representation in science centered on the developmental biologist Ethel Browne Harvey and her work with sea urchins. Positioning the camera lucida–a drawing device foundational to the history of biology–as both an instrument of scientific visualization and a narrative tool, the film blurs the lines among archives, fiction, scientific data, and historical recreation.</p> <p><em>Film created as part of the Symbiosis 2022 competition during the 15th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival around the theme of the Science New Wave.</em></p>
<p dir="ltr">"<em>No two plants are exactly alike. They’re all different, and as a consequence, you have to know that difference. I start with the seedling and I don’t want to leave it. So I know every plant in the field. I know them intimately. And I find it a great pleasure to know them.</em>" - BARBARA McCLINTOCK</p> <p dir="ltr">To know every plant, even when time is of the essence. To produce careful work, even in the face of systemic, external, and internal pressures. To maintain joy, even when the future looks bleak. To know and love corn. A journey across time, space, and along the history of the maize plant, No Two Plants explores resilience and different ways of knowing.</p> <p><em>a film by: </em>Penelope Lindsay & Nora Long</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>cinematography and editing by: </em>Nora Long</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>featuring: </em>Penelope Lindsay & Emma Patton</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>original score: </em>Penelope Lindsay</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>additional vocals</em>: Kristi Gogos</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>thank you</em>: Simons Foundation, Science New Wave, Imagine Science, Labocine, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Karl-Oskar Gustaffson, Lyall Kotten</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>This film was made as part of the 2024 Symbiosis initiative presented at the Science New Wave Festival XVII and supported by the Simons Foundation.</em></p>
<p>How do we influence the world around us? A flow analysis tool ordinarily used in the laboratory offers new interpretations of human interaction and our place in the world.</p> <p><em>This film was made as part of the 2023 Symbiosis initiative presented at the Science New Wave Festival XVI (Imagine Science Films) and supported by the Simons Foundation</em></p>
<p>Female masturbation - essential experience, subject of scientific research, and a multibillion-dollar industry. “Pinky NAcc” explores the absence of faces, voices, and rodents that are at the center of the quest to understand the importance of self-pleasure in our brains, bodies, and beliefs.</p> <p>Directors: G. Anthony Svatek, Anastasia-Maria Zavitsanou, Sound Design: Kaija Siirala Illustration: Matteo Farinella</p> <p><em>This film was made as part of the 2023 Symbiosis initiative presented at the Science New Wave Festival XVI (Imagine Science Films) and supported by the Simons Foundation.</em></p> <p> </p> <p> </p>
<p>Light. Sound. Matter. Intricate landscapes emerge from multitudinous overlapping waves of film and quantum physics.</p> <p><em>Film created as part of the Symbiosis 2022 competition during the 15th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival around the theme of the Science New Wave.</em></p>
<p><em>I invite you</em> is a sensory journey that illustrates the challenges that the brain faces in our everyday conversations, where the linguistic signal is often unclear, disrupted or obstructed.</p>
<p>How many neurons do you need to recognize your mother? "A Sentimental Science" explores the limitations of our understanding of how our experience is encoded in neural activity.</p> <p><em>ISFF13 Symbiosis</em></p>
<p>Two immigrants recount the changes brought about by their journeys to the U.S., paralleling that of cells migrating in response to a wound.</p> <p><em>ISFF13 Symbiosis</em></p>
<p>A study of ants and the inner life of one who studies them.</p> <p>Recommended Read: Taylor Hart's article "<a href="http://www.rockefeller.edu/news/34185-worlds-first-transgenic-ants-reveal-how-colonies-respond-to-an-alarm">World’s first transgenic ants reveal how colonies respond to an alarm"</a></p> <p><em>This film was made as part of the Imagine Science Symbiosis competition </em></p> <p><br /> </p>
<p>A portrait film about the pollution in Brooklyn NY and beyond. Extromophiles are organisms that exist when nothing else can survive.</p>
<p>Every life form originated from the same cells billions of years ago. First there was one cell that formed colonies, which became group of colonies that evolved into all kinds of species like trees, insects, giraffes and humans. All is connected, moves together and reacts to each other. There is no individual; we are groups of groups that form groups. One cannot be seen without the acknowledgement and existence of the other.</p> <p>As a filmmaker and scientist we have so many questions about what we come from, what it means to exist, how do we form a being and what becomes of us? All these questions will mean a lifelong quest and journey, but it all starts with the fact that we as humans are 99,99999999% the same, that everything on our planet has originated from the same singular cell. Which means there is no I, but only we and we are all connected.</p>
<p>Wearing well is a collaboration between Enrico Milanese, Researcher in Computational Solid Mechanics and Markos Kay, Computational Artist. The film visually reimagines Milanese's research whereby the microscopic effects of contact and wear between materials are studied through the use of high-performance computing simulations of model systems. Kay interpreted the results of these experiments by creating conceptual simulations using 3D parametric surfaces and physical engines in combination with the original simulation output data.</p> <p> Artist and scientist worked closely together to create the narrative of the film that shows the formation of particles when two surfaces are rubbed against one other. The aim is to shed light on this area of research that has far and wide implications in virtually all engineering applications: from vehicle break pads to hip joint prostheses. The underlying physics is common to all frictional systems, among which we find earthquake faults are of particular interest, sonified recordings of which can be found in the soundtrack.</p> <p>created part of the 2019 Imagine Science Symbiosis initiative, supported by the Simons Foundation Science Sandbox.</p> <p> </p>
<p>A scientist gets absorbed in his lab work and is suddenly attacked by a plant-like symbiotic life.</p> <p>Produced by: Squib Films, Tiny Terrors</p> <p>Editor: Sydney Clara Brafman, Dan Sabatini</p> <p>Composer: AA/K/AA/R/A</p> <p>Assistant Director: Alison Irvine</p> <p>Director of Photography: Jesse Locascio</p> <p>Sound Recordist: Zach Travis, Rigo Garay</p> <p>Assistant Camera: Nick Shultz</p> <p>Makeup/SFX: Rachel Jordan Temkin, Nikki Alyssa Neenan</p> <p>Key PA: Imani Belser</p> <p>ADDL PA: Ava Rikki, Dan Sabatini</p> <p>Title Design: Tom Bennett</p> <p>Made as part of the Imagine Science Symbiosis Film Competition 2016</p>
<p>From ashes to the milky way, the identity of earth is somewhere in between, a hybrid of the two.</p> <p>What difference do you see between these ashes and the dust of the Milky Way? This film navigates between different textures that are part of nature: water, roots, tree bark. Because of the disparate scales, these things are shown in an abstract way. The movement of these elements in concert are what informs the identity of earth in progress.</p>
<p>A film about the phenomena of particle wave duality and how that translate into dance/ballet.</p>
<p dir="ltr">We all have a biological identity - a genetic hardware that can not be easily changed. About half of Drosophila's brain is dedicated to vision. What they can see, is who they are. What about us?</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>a film by</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Janne Pulkkinen</p> <p dir="ltr">Hannes Vartiainen</p> <p dir="ltr">Pekka Veikkolainen</p> <p dir="ltr">Huayi Wei</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>with</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Nefertiti Matos Olivares</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>music</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Joonatan Portaankorva</p> <p><em>produced by</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Labocine</p> <p dir="ltr">Leading Note Pictures</p>
<p>Color Condition is a glimpse into the sensory overlap experienced by someone with the neural condition, synesthesia. Synesthetics have an overlapping sensory modality in which stimulation of one sense involuntarily, and simultaneously, triggers another. However, the scientific explanation does little to describe the perceptual experience of living an existence with consistently intertwined senses. This short film captures a profound emotion, as described by a synesthetic to the viewing audience.</p> <p>Credits:</p> <p>Him - Mike Harris</p> <p>Her - Maggie Jane Tatone</p> <p>Filmmaker - Jason Chew</p> <p>Scientist - Rodrigo Valles</p> <p>Assistant Director - Azadeh Nikzadeh</p> <p>Camera Assistant - Patrick Chang</p> <p>Production Sound - Jianxi Jesse Zhang</p> <p>Sound Design & Music - Sean Shinwon Kim</p> <p>Special Thanks</p> <p>David Lara, Mike Park, Nick Clark, Goggles & Tumbleweed, Alexis Gambis, Allison Hanes, Lauren Kaye, Nate Dorr, Charlotte Salvatico, Cassandra Flores & the entire Imagine Science Team!</p> <p>This film was created for the 2016 Imagine Science Symbiosis Film Competition. </p>
<p>A cloud has a phenomenological discussion with itself.</p> <p>Where a cloud ends and "the cloud" begins is a place not for the faint hearted. A journey into the science and philosophy of the nature of our relationship to clouds today. </p> <p><em>Created for the Symbiosis competition at the 10th Annual Imagine Science Film Festival.</em></p>
<p>Childhood trauma and stress can lead to the shortening of the chromosome which eventually shortens your life span.</p>
<p>A string of amino acids attract and unite in the process of protein folding.</p>
<p>Shakhbout shares with us the story of the first speaking Arabian Oryx "Mozaik" that changed the course of his life and for that matter the future of humankind.</p>
<p>An older man meets his younger self in a timeless desert and tells him what the future holds.</p>
<p>An exploration of what animals the people of Havana want to be in another life. Inspired by <em>Nicolas Guillen</em> <a href="https://archive.org/details/elgranzoo0000guil">El Gran Zoo</a>.</p>
<p>After so many years in a dormant state, a young man sets off on a long, perilous yet healing journey from the mountain to the sea where he conducts his most ambitious symphony piece ever undertaken. This is the journey through the young man's brain waking up and recovering the ability to detect motion.</p>
<p>In silent symphony, the sun begins to wane, While Luna's gentle touch paints shadows arcane, They intertwine, in celestial embrace, In Prospect Park's serene, enchanted space. Behold! The solar eclipse, a spectacle rare, Each moment whispers secrets in the air, A choreography of shadow and light, In harmony with nature's timeless flight. The crowd in hushed reverence, eyes upturned, As the heavens unveil, and mysteries churned, In this moment, time itself seems to pause, Captured within nature's divine laws. As darkness falls, the dance reaches its peak, In the heart of Brooklyn, where dreams seek, To touch the infinite, to grasp the sublime, In the dance of the solar eclipse, frozen in time. So let us linger, in this cosmic ballet's embrace, In Prospect Park's sanctuary, in this sacred space, For in the dance of shadows, we find release, In the harmony of nature's whispered masterpiece.</p> <p>A Labocine Original by Florencia Silva Garcia</p> <p>Filmed in Prospect Park, Brooklyn</p> <p>April 8, 2024 Between 2-4pm</p>
<p>A neuroscientist and a filmmaker try to understand the human face.</p>
<p>What happens when you smell something? This whimsical look at olfaction follows the journey of a smell through the nose.</p> <p>A film by Anna Lindemann and Albana Kodra as part of the Imagine Science Symbiosis Competition</p> <p>Animation by Anna Lindemann.</p> <p>Illustration by Ziael Ponte.</p> <p>Microscopy by Albana Kodra.</p>
<p>Are hipsters becoming a subspecies of humans? What is life expectancy? How do they dress? How fast does their beard grow?</p> <p>In the spirit of Jean Rouch's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxk-fg771r8">Chronicles of a Summer,</a> anthropologist Eleanor Drew goes on an exploration into the unknown and conducts interviews with bypassers to understand the the rising population of hipsters in Brooklyn. And of course, she gathers as much hair samples as possible.</p> <p><em><a href="http://imaginesciencefilms.org">Imagine Science Film Festival </a>SYMBIOSIS Competition 2014</em></p> <p>Filmmaker- Charlotte Rabate<br /> Scientist- Sergio Botero</p> <p>Prompt: Coat Color is not an Indicator of Subspecies Identity in Colombian Woolly Monkeys</p> <p>Prop: Time Piece<br /> Line of Dialogue: “They said it would be ready at noon.”<br /> Character: Eleanor Drew, Principal Investigator</p>
<p>A whimsical take of what happens when one organism (the parasite) benefits at the expense of the other (the host). </p>
<p>After a forced visit back home in Paris to see his ailing father, a young neuroscientist is flooded with childhood memories and dissects through unresolved issues.</p>
<p>Lucien, a young researcher, who works on the genetics of courtship and mating behavior in fruit flies, decides to take a break from the microscope and his voyeuristic fruit fly-watching tendencies. A tale about love, sex, science and a young man's struggle to overcome solitude and inexperience.</p>
<p>The father of neuroscience Santiago Ramón y Cajal wakes up one day with magnified vision.</p> <p>Based on the short story "The Corrected Pessimist" by Santiago Ramon y Cajal</p> <p>Voice over : Carlos Bardem / Brain Images by Jeffrey Lichtman / Animation by Shiv Kachiwala</p>
<p>Caribbean afrofuturism has its diferences with the North American Futurism. In this full interview with science fiction writer, Erick J. Mota, we explore how science fiction has taken on another persona in the Caribbeans, merging with Orishas rituals, the history of the country and the mixed heritage. Erick J. Mota is dedicated to shaping a Caribbean-specific form of science fiction that resonates with his heritage and to a reality of his world and culture. </p> <p> </p>
<p>Searching for an immediate love connection, Zoe, the quintessential femme fatale, meets up with a robot on a blind date in a junkyard in Brooklyn. A tandem bike ride, Polaroid snapshots on abandoned railroad tracks, a carnal squeeze on the Gowanus canal overpass - all the ingredients that constitute a normal human-mechanical love recipe in this neo-alternative reality. However, Zoe wants more on this one-day affair. Can the robot satisfy her emotional needs?</p>
<p>From Rio de Janeiro’s beaches to the Amazon wildlife crossing though the urban jungle of Sao Paolo, Campo Experimental explores the state of science and art in Brazil as the World Cup takes over the country. Soccer becomes not only an obsession but also a distraction, a fear, a hope and the platform to discuss emerging technologies, advances in body and mind communication, the preservation of culture and the future of our planet. Meanwhile, Brazilians poets and artists provide the connective tissue to this personal narrative told through Brazilian voices. Meanwhile, the cacophony of fans, music and FIFA beats loudly in the background.</p>
<p>Play Is Not A Waste Of Time – Extraordinary power of play in environments you never thought would make a difference. (Imagination pays off)</p>
<p>A blissed-out squirrel rolls through a meadow of objects.</p>