The Symbiosis program brings together researchers at the Simons Foundation’s Flatiron Institute and New York–based filmmakers and moving-image artists to co-create original, research-driven short films. The program encourages bold experimentation, interdisciplinary storytelling and the exploration of ideas and experiences.

For the 2026 edition, Symbiosis joins the Simons Foundation’s Infinite Sums national math initiative, which celebrates the beauty of mathematics. Over the course of two weeks this April, five researcher-filmmaker duos will dive into the math underlying scientific phenomena — from the hidden symmetries of galaxies down to the emergent patterns of systems of many quantum particles. Their collaborations will reveal how math is both a fundamental element of the universe’s beauty and a key driver of scientific knowledge and discovery.