CPH:Dox 2022: Science Programme (March 23 – April 3)

<p>With Carbon in the news every day, you might think you know everything about her. But you&rsquo;d be wrong. This spectacular and surprisingly unorthodox documentary reveals the paradoxical story of the element that builds all life, and yet may end it all. Narrated in first person by Sarah Snook (Succession), Carbon tells of her birth in the violent core of an exploding star and of turbulent sagas through the fabric of our evolving Earth. Accompanied by celebrated scientists, unique animations and a stunning orchestral score, Carbon reminds us of our humble participation in the most extraordinary story in the universe.</p>

<p>Contemporary artist Trevor Paglen is known for his political and mind-blowing art pieces on global mass surveillance, data collection, and artificial intelligence. This visually stunning and immersive film follows Paglen as he travels through the desolate Nevada desert while discussing the motivation for his latest and most audacious project: launching a satellite into orbit. Stunning cinematography, trippy computer graphics, and a percussive score imbue this compelling documentary with an ethereal tone that perfectly captures the provocative and breathtaking beauty of Paglen&rsquo;s work.</p>

<p>Constructed during a three-year-long research period that involved visits to more than 20 centers and laboratories dedicated to the advanced research of outer space,&nbsp;<em>The Quintessence</em>&nbsp;considers the scientific study of outer space as a narrative, and analyses the hidden dreams and expectations of those shaping contemporary research about the universe. Audio interviews with scientists provide an intimate insight into astrophysicists&rsquo; ideas and creative intuitions, moving beyond the traditional academic representation of scientists as individuals possessing an unquestionable knowledge of the universe, while the visuals generate a sensorial representation of highly-secluded scientific laboratories, often situated in remote locations and usually not accessible to the general public. Looking into the nature of scientific progress, and our role as investigators of the universe, this film provides a unique angle on the act of looking at the stars.</p>

<p>A German beer bottle, washed ashore on one of Norway&rsquo;s remotest islands on the Lofoten archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. How did it get here? Did it really come from Germany? Or did a thirsty tourist down the beer and dispose of the bottle in the sea? Passionate about Norway&rsquo;s unique scenery, film-maker Steffen Krones is keen to get to the bottom of the matter. Are rivers in Central Europe connected to the Arctic Sea? Can waste really travel so far? His personal curiosity turns into a scientific research project. Together with engineers and well-known scientists, Steffen wants to trace the journey of plastic waste from his home city of Dresden. They build GPS buoys which they launch on the river Elbe. Steffen&rsquo;s friend Kris follows the experiment from Norway. Will the buoys really wash ashore somewhere in the Arctic? Will GPS data confirm suspicions that there are links between German rivers and the Arctic Circle? The film takes us on a scientific adventure down the river Elbe across the North Sea to Norway and shows us that we are part of a cycle in which every one of us has the power to make changes.</p>

<p>Seeking no one&rsquo;s help and asking nobody&rsquo;s permission, Russian geophysicist Sergey Zimov and his son Nikita are gathering any large wooly beast they can get their hands on, and transporting them, by whatever low budget means they can contrive, to the most remote corner of Siberia. They call their project Pleistocene Park. The goal: restore the Ice Age &ldquo;mammoth steppe&rdquo; ecosystem and avoid a catastrophic feedback loop leading to runaway global warming. Sergey would know: fifteen years ago he published in the journal Science showing that frozen arctic soils contain twice as much carbon as the earth&rsquo;s atmosphere. These soils are now starting to melt.</p> <p>While Zimov&rsquo;s brilliance and charisma have won him friends and supporters, his oversized ego, lack of diplomacy, and cranky iconoclasm make him a challenge to work with. &nbsp;Nikita, Sergey&rsquo;s son, is the last man standing to deal with his father&rsquo;s idiosyncrasies and carry forward his vision.</p> <p>Nature doesn&rsquo;t cooperate, equipment breaks, bureaucrats meddle, animals run away, there is never enough money, and constant media coverage nets them unsolicited advice from around the globe, but no concrete support. After years of backbreaking labor and risking their lives on shoestring expeditions to bring animals to Pleistocene Park, it remains an extremely funky operation, dominated by swarming mosquitoes and mud pits rather than vast thundering herds.</p> <p>The clock is ticking.&nbsp; Impacts of climate change &ndash; hurricanes, wildfires, heat waves and floods &ndash; are being felt sooner than anticipated.&nbsp; Sergey and Nikita find alarming evidence that permafrost is reaching its tipping point now, rather than in thirty years as they predicted.&nbsp;On a global scale, progress addressing the root cause of climate change &ndash; anthropogenic carbon emissions &ndash; is as elusive as ever.</p> <p>Can two Russian scientists stave off a worst case scenario of global environmental catastrophe and reshape humanity&rsquo;s relationship with the natural world?</p>

<p>In A.I. AT WAR, Florent Marcie has a companion named Zota, which is a small and complicated robot that he acquired in Malaysia. Zota&rsquo;s program uses a sophisticated algorithm to allow it to learn. The interaction between Marcie and Zota is almost unbelievable, because the latter&rsquo;s learning (she has a woman&rsquo;s voice) capacity is verified and because her eyes are also a camera. The reverse shots of Marcie are literally the robot&rsquo;s subjective POV. CELE DOUA compares the documentary recording of firing squad execution of Marshal Ion Antonescu&rsquo;s execution by firing squad on June 1, 1946, the dictator who ruled the country from 1940 to 1944, to a later fictionalized reconstruction of the same event in the 1990s.</p>

<p>HOW TO SURVIVE A PANDEMIC is a feature length documentary that will be the dispositive chronicle of the global race to research, develop, manufacture and distribute COVID-19 vaccines in the most enormous coordinated public health effort ever undertaken. In this unprecedented moment in history, the film will celebrate the herculean efforts of the scientific, research and immunization community during a complex time of mistrust, vaccine hesitancy, and political complications - where trust in science itself has come under fire.</p>

<p>Dr. Hildbrand is about to retire as other young doctors take over. At the intersection of generations and practices, Les gu&eacute;risseurs questions the vocation and profound meaning of caring for others.</p> <p>A thought-provoking film about the relationship between doctors and their patients that also takes a peek at the latest trends in alternative medicine. Dr. Hildbrand, the director&rsquo;s own father, is approaching retirement, while a group of medical students are making their own experiences.</p>

<p>Going Circular dares to imagine a future where humankind not only survives, but flourishes, by rethinking global paradigms and respecting the limits of our planetary resources. Meet four groundbreaking thinkers who navigate environmental, economic, and social crises of the modern age. They each discover that the solutions for creating a circular economy and planet have already been perfected in nature itself.</p> <p>An Off the Fence production for Curiosity Studios in coproduction with ZDF Enterprises, ZDF and Arte. Executive Producers Robert-Jan van-Ogtrop, Thomas Anthony and Allison Bean. Produced by Ellen Windemuth and Sam Barton- Humphreys, Directed By Nigel Walk and Richard Dale.</p>

<p>Superstar scientists Gloria Dominguez-Bello and Marty Blaser confront an international public health emergency - the loss of our ancestral microbes &ndash; while three patients with life-threatening diseases triggered by this disruption explore experimental treatments to save their lives.</p> <p>Most people think germs (another word for microbes) are bad for us, but what if they&rsquo;re mostly good and wiping out the ones inside us is creating a health crisis that threatens humanity&rsquo;s future?</p> <p>That&rsquo;s the driving question behind &quot;The Invisible Extinction,&quot; a documentary film that follows globetrotting microbiologists Gloria Dominguez-Bello and Marty Blaser on their urgent quest to protect and restore our microbes before it&rsquo;s too late. Microbes are critical to our development and well-being. The microbiome is all the microbes (bacteria! and fungi! and viruses!) in our bodies that usually keep us healthy. In the last 50 years, we humans have lost 50% of our ancestral microbes with devastating consequences. Gloria and Marty believe this loss has triggered a surge in life-threatening illnesses that barely existed fifty years ago, including obesity, asthma, autism, severe food allergies, and diabetes - and that what&#39;s driving this loss is overuse of antibiotics; highly processed foods; a hyper-hygienic lifestyle sealing humans away from animals and plant life; and elective C-sections. The Invisible Extinction follows Gloria and Marty - who are partners in life and the lab - on their urgent quest to reverse this trend, as they conduct groundbreaking research and work with collaborators in Venezuela, China, Israel, Switzerland, and the USA.</p>

<p>When 700 helpful Finnish tourists arrive in Benin to assist in a tropical disease vaccine study that could save the lives of millions of children, a unique cultural exchange reveals how humans can help and harm with the best of intentions.</p>