HSE screens 5 films as part of the 360° 4th Contemporary Science Film Festival

Scene from the film Tim’s Vermeer, which will be shown during the 360° 4th Contemporary Science Film Festival

From October 9-14, the HSE will become one of the screening venues for the 360° 4^th Contemporary Science Film Festival. The festival offers a platform for films that talk about scientific and academic research in an accessible way – comprehensible for a general audience. After each screening, there will be a discussion with specialists. This is our guide to the HSE screenings and talks.

Screenings will take place in the HSE building at Shabolokvka 26. Films will be shown in the original language with Russian subtitles. All screenings are free of charge, but prior registration (registration form in Russian) is required due to the venue size.

 

Film: Tim's Vermeer

Audience: For people with an interest in art

Screening: October 9, 7.30 pm

Inventor Tim Jenison seeks to understand one of the most complicated mysteries of history of art: how could Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter, create paintings so realistic? His research and the discovery he makes are astonishing. In order to find answers to his questions, Jenison travels through Holland, where Vermeer was creating his masterpieces, wonders around the Northern Coast of Yorkshire, meets painter David Hockney and comes to Buckingham Palace to see the works of the master. The results are surprising.

Discussion with: HSE School of Cultural Studies Professor Jan Levchenko, who studies the theory and history of art.

Registration (in Russian)

 

Film: Basement Satellite

Audience: For people who want to be convinced that the impossible is possible

Screening: October 10, 7.30 pm

South Korean artist Hyoungju Kim is interested in science and decides to build and launch his own satellite. It’s a difficult journey, but he finally makes it to Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

Discussion with: Film director Hyoungju Kim, HSE MIEM Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Engineering Deputy Dean for Research Eduard Klyshinskii and Assistant Lecturer at the HSE Department of Mechanics and Mathematical Simulation Olga Erokhina.

Registration (in Russian)

 

Film: The Revolution

Audience: For all who care about the future of life on Earth

Screening: October 11, 5 pm

In an effort to uncover the secret to saving endangered ecosystems, film director Rob Stewart embarks on an adventure to places under threat, from the coral reefs in Papua New Guinea and deforestation in Madagascar. He finds that it is not just individual environments that are under threat – it is humanity itself. That is why the film is also dubbed ‘Save humankind’.

Discussion with:  Associate Professor Dmitry Savkin from HSE Graduate School of Urban Studies and Planning and Ksenia Mokrushina, also from the HSE Graduate School of Urban Studies.

Registration (in Russian)

 

Film: The Immortalists

Audience: For anyone who wonders whether eternal life would be a blessing or a curse.

Screening:October 13, 7.30 pm

The Immortalists is the story of two eccentric scientists struggling to create eternal youth with medical breakthroughs in a world they call “blind to the tragedy of old age.” Bill Andrews is a lab biologist and famed long-distance runner racing against the ultimate clock. Aubrey de Grey is a genius theoretical biologist who conducts his research with a beer in hand. They differ in style and substance, but are united in their common crusade: cure aging or die trying. They publicly brawl with the old guard of biology who argue that curing aging is neither possible nor desirable. As Andrews and de Grey battle their own aging and suffer the losses of loved ones, their journeys toward life without end ultimately become personal.

Discussion with: Filmmaker David Alvadaro and Associate Professor at the HSE Philosophy Faculty Ivan Karpenko.

Registration (in Russian)

 

Film: Alive Inside

Audience: For people who wonder what old age has in store.

Screening: October 14, 7.30 pm

The Russian translation of the title may not conjure up the right associations, but this film is not, in fact, about terrifying creatures that live inside people – it is about a truly uplifting initiative. Alive Inside studies music’s influence on consciousness and its ability to prompt memories. Filmmaker and social worker in a home for seniors, Dan Cohen wanted to carry out an experiment, so took his iPod, loaded with songs from different eras, into a hospital. Surprisingly, many patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders, started to recall forgotten events from their lives when listening to music. Neurobiologists took up work from this breakthrough, research is ongoing.

Discussion with: Director Michael Rossato-Bennett and HSE Faculty of Psychology Associate Professor Natalia Varako, whose research looks at neuro-psychological rehabilitation of people with brain damage.

Registration (in Russian)