“It’s the same as in all of your other cells. You know, double helix and all that,” I said.

“Oh, I thought it would be different in my eye as it has to do more.”

“No,” I chortled, internalizing my frustration as best I could. “Have you seen Vicky Cristina Barcelona yet?” I said, quickly deflecting the conversation.

Why is it that science seems so elusive and untouchable to the “average” person? Of course all of the usual arguments can apply: lack of formal education, ivory tower stigmatisms, and fear. Above all, however, it may just be due to the fact that most of the public is not exposed to it, or at least, exposed to it in a way that suits their taste or even educates them on the realities of science at all.

Whilst my friend speaks three languages, has traveled the world, gone to some of the best universities, and has made a couple of moderately successful films, it seems science was a boat he missed altogether. But should one need a Ph.D. to know and appreciate some basics?

What are the general perceptions of scientists? Close your eyes. Even as a scientist yourself, how do you see a scientist?

We could be a little to blame here. When you think about it, and as much as I hate to say it, scientists have no real vested interest or incentive in making themselves that accessible. We only really need to convince our professional peers and reviewers of the merits of our work, and—when times are tough—occasionally the odd political lobbyist or wealthy donor. As we all know, scientists have enough to do just to keep ourselves afloat. Journalists, writers, filmmakers—certainly they can improve the current approach to science reporting and story telling, but can real science be “sexy” enough to sell magazines and newspapers?

Film as a medium certainly hasn’t done much to improve the perception of science or what a scientist does. Think of science fiction films like Metropolis (1926), Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972), Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Terminator, and Back to the Future (I, II and III). Almost without exception, scientists in these films are trying to play God, or technology eventually runs amok, with deadly consequences.

Famous science characters include the “mad scientist,” such as Peter Sellers’ performance in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb that has become iconic to the genre. Dr. Frankenstein, the mad scientist who posed a dire threat to society and perhaps even civilization, is another. Scientists in movies are almost always mad, evil, antisocial, clumsy, or eccentric. Do any of these characters remind you of yourself? Well, maybe we don’t answer that.

In television dramas, scientists barely appear at all, unless one counts The X Files. Okay, so maybe there are some (really good looking ones) on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, which is in its ninth season and has single-handedly enhanced enrollment in forensic science programs at some colleges by nearly tenfold. According to a survey out of Temple University, however, only two percent of the characters in prime-time dramas in the 1990s were scientists, well behind businessmen, entertainers, police officers, doctors, and lawyers. Are we really that unappealing?

There probably isn’t an immediate solution to the public image of science, but it makes a great excuse for starting a film festival in New York City. It is time to lift the veil and bring science to the forefront in the most un-intimidating and relaxing atmosphere possible. Many of you may have attended the Rockefeller Film Series here on campus. Following the success of the series and filled with a burning desire to make science somewhat cool and alluring, we decided to start the first science film festival in New York City—the Imagine Science Film Festival, which will be held October 16-25. We sincerely hope that this will become a recognized annual event with special screenings all year round.

Nothing like the Imagine Science Film Festival (ISFF) currently exists in New York City. It is an innovative film festival based on our own desire not only to effectively communicate science, but also to transform scientific ideas into something accessible and creative. ISFF was born not only to bridge the gap, but to promote the important relationship between science and the arts, to encourage those from both sides to explore the potential of science as the subject of films—both fiction and non-fiction, as well as to encourage the public to become more engaged with science. We hope it will also give scientists the opportunity to learn about the world of filmmaking as well as realize the creative potential and accessibility of their work. I think, as scientists, we can do better in these aspects. How well can you describe what you do to the average person without falling into some cliché about curing cancer or the nearing apocalypse?

The success of public events like Brooklyn’s Secret Science Club (the free monthly science lecture series in Park Slope, Brooklyn) and several “science cafés” in Manhattan suggests that New Yorkers are curious about and interested in science if it is presented in a creative, fun, and un-intimidating environment—look at the popularity of NPR’s Science Friday, WNYC’s Radio Lab, and the New York Times science blogs, not to mention more popular magazines such as New Scientist and Seed.

Film festivals such as Rooftop Films, the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival, and larger festivals such as the Tribeca Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and the Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History prove again and again that New Yorkers love their films and are ready and willing to get out to see them. These important film festivals enjoy their own merit, but what will set ISFF apart is that unlike New York’s established film festivals, the ISFF will focus on the importance of science, film, and the powerful relationship between these two fields.

ISFF will create an environment where filmmakers, scientists, and the public can meet. It will be a place where science is exciting and accessible to everyone regardless of his or her background. At ISFF, the public will join scientists in learning, imagining, and seeing science and importantly, scientists in a new light through visual storytelling.

The Imagine Science Film Festival will accomplish its goals during a week of film screening events accompanied by discussion panels with venues in the five boroughs of New York City. Two prizes of $2,500 each, thankfully provided by our official sponsor, Nature Publishing Group, will be awarded: The Nature Scientific Merit Award and The Nature People’s Choice Award. ISFF currently has more than twenty short films and four feature films that will be presented during the festival. Keep a look out for an article about the festival in September’s Nature.

So who started this whole thing?

Alexis Gambis: Artistic Director and Founder.

Alexis Gambis is a French-Venezuelan, but has lived in New York for half of his life. He is a fourth year graduate student at The Rockefeller University. His scientific work focuses on using fluorescent imagery to study the role of cancer and neurodegeneration in fruit flies. During his graduate studies, Alexis has been actively involved in film and filmmaking both in France and the USA. He is also the coordinator of the Rockefeller Film Series and the Science and Media Lecture Series that encourage scientists to become more aware of the interrelation between science and film. As part of the Film Series, Gambis has produced the Portrait of A Scientist series, where scientists talk on camera about their lives in and outside the lab, including President Sir Paul Nurse. The Film Series also hosts lectures about science and the media and organizes monthly film screenings and discussions on campus. Finally, off-campus, Mr. Gambis produces video montages for the Secret Science Club, and has completed a short documentary called A Fruit Fly in New York at the New York Film Academy, a short fiction Dr. Funque and His Petri Dish, and is a science communications intern at TalkingScience, a non-profit company.

Kate Jeffrey: Producer/Program Manager.

A postdoctoral fellow at Rockefeller University, Kate Jeffrey, a native Australian, has a Ph.D. in immunology, and is currently investigating how the innate immune system fights viruses. Her research is funded by a fellowship from the Australian government. Besides New York, Jeffrey has worked in Melbourne, Sydney, and Geneva. In 2007, she worked as the immunology editor for Nature Medicine at the Nature Publishing Group headquarters in New York. She also was chosen as a candidate for Fresh Science, an Australian government initiative that promoted select scientists in the media. She is currently the chair of the Life Sciences committee of Advance (a Global Australian Professionals network for Australians working overseas) where she organizes speakers and scientific events around New York City. Jeffrey has a strong interest in film and the arts. She has participated in international film festivals such as Tropfest, and has communicated science on Australian radio and television, including 2SER, RRR and the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) in Sydney and Melbourne.

So what can you expect?

Opening Night Panel Discussion:

On October 16, NPR’s Ira Flatow moderates this kick-off celebration entitled Science in Fiction, a discussion of the relationship between science and fiction in the cinema, followed by a reception. It will be held at the New York Academy of Sciences and you can register on their website: http://www.nyas.org/filmfest.

Panelists include: Sidney Perkowitz, physicist at Emory University and author of Hollywood Science.

Billy Shebar, Screenwriter, Dark Matter.

Darcy Kelley, Professor of Neuroscience, Columbia University, and Scientific Advisor, Tribeca Film Festival.

Juan Carlos Lopez, Editor in Chief, Nature Medicine.

The Films:

The vast majority of the films shown throughout the week are premiering at our festival and will definitely be a first time screening for scientific audiences. Venues include the Rockefeller University, CUNY Graduate Center, NYU Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, Brooklyn’s Union Hall, and The New School Tishman Auditorium. A few screenings will be held in collaboration with the Pariscience Film Festival and the Museum of Moving Image (MMI).

We sincerely look forward to your attendance in October and the submission of your films for the festival both for this year and the following years. After all, a scientist depends on a creative process to push research forward, to break existing paradigms, and to make novel discoveries as much as anyone else. Go on, use your imagination and turn your day-to-day research into something creative, captivating, and exciting for the eager audiences of New York, and start to improve your own image as a scientist.

By the way, my friend who asked about DNA in the eye does in fact have a film entry in this year’s festival. Maybe sometimes imagination can be more important than knowledge.

October 17: ‘DISEASES, DISCOVERIES, AND DEVOTION’
A collection of Sloan-awarded short films held in Partnership with the Museum of Moving Image (MMI)
Rockefeller University, 7:00PM

Jornada Del Muerto (Journey of the Dead Man) (Matthaeus Szumanski)
A scientist faces doubt and his demons before the first atomic bomb drop

Muerto Canyon (Jen Peel)
Based on actual events in 1993, modern medicine takes a cue from the ancient wisdom of the medicine man of the local Indian tribe.

The First Vampire (Jason Todd Ipson)
The age-old struggle between science and faith plays out in this film about a mysterious plague afflicting villagers in 1349 Sweden

in vivid detail (Dara Bratt)
Justin has Prosopagnosia, a disorder that prevents him from recognizing faces. Can he still fall in love?

October 18: PARIS-NEW-YORK / NEW YORK-PARIS
Premiere at ISFF of science film selected by the Pariscience Film Festival in Paris. Held in partnership with Pariscience

October 19: ‘THE DIVERSITY OF FILM AND SCIENCE’
NYU Kanbar Institute of Film and Television, Room 006, 7:00PM

The Visionary * (Joel Shapiro)
*(Tesla)
The tragic tale of Nikola Tesla. How greed, money and power made the creator of alternating current electricity barely a footnote in history books.

Teslamania (Joel Schlemowitz)
A coil, 16 mm film and special effects. A creative take on the life and eccentricities of Nikola Tesla.

Semmelweis (Jim Berry)
A tragic story, pitting common sense against the entrenched ignorance that drove physician Ignaz Semmelweis to a nervous breakdown.

13 Ways to Die at Home (Lee Lanier)
Poison Toads. Missing Socks. Carpet Leeches? 13 ways we could meet our maker around the house.

Launch (Brian Doyle)
A hauntingly Kubrickian look at the end of human’s inhabitation of Earth from the view of America’s space program.

California King (Eli Akira Kaufman)
A handsome mattress salesman and the physics of love.

October 20: ‘DISAPPEARING ACTS’
Rockefeller University, Caspary Auditorium, 8:00PM

The Un-Gone (Simon Bovey)
Teleportation – the less the passengers know, the better

Fermat’s Room (Luis Piedrahita & Rodrigo Sopena)
A plot that would set Edgar Allen Poe aflutter. The walls are closing in-literally-on four brainiac mathematicians with shadowy pasts in this übertense debut feature.

October 21 – ‘ANIMATION CREATION’
Pratt Institute

Chip Kick (Volker Hahn)
A friendly robot introduces the audience to the phenomena known as the “Mexican Wave”

Paprika (Kati Anguelov)
A cute animated story of Hungarian scientist Albert Szent-Gyorgi who, in 1937, received the Nobel Prize for isolating Vitamin C

October 22 – ‘OTHERWORLDLY CLASSROOMS’
Union Hall Bar, New York, 7:30PM
Evening held in partnership with the Secret Science Club at Union Hall

The Wormhole (Jessica Sharzer)
A touching story about a family broken by tragedy. Can Wally bring his brother back through wormholes in outer space?

Seance Of Maths (Andrew Gori & Jackie Goss)
Contact your spiritual guide before watching this man and woman teleport into and out of the same hotel room a half step ahead of each other to find out what they’re looking for.

Apollo 10.5 (Lance Gambis)
Teratoma (Rupert Glasson)
An extravagant, morbid fantasy of death-by-cancer, niftily blending live-action and animation by this “one to watch” Australian director

October 23: ‘GOING FORWARD IN REVERSE’
CUNY Graduate Center, 7:00PM

Transgressions (Valerie Weiss)
A Clockwork Orange meets Pleasantville in this award-winning sci-fi short

BLAST! (Paul Devlin)
A team of ultra-adventurous astrophysicists aim to unlock the mysteries of the universe in this feature by launching a multi-million dollar telescope attached to a NASA high-altitude balloon.

October 24
Held in partnership with TalkingScience
Bronx High School of Science, 7:00PM

Hospital San Carlos (Cappi Lay)
A first hand account of an American medical student studying in a clinic in Chiapas, Mexico, where the patient population is incredibly poor and neglected, and where Zapatista rebels have taken refuge.

October 25: ISFF CLOSING AWARD CEREMONY hosted by Nature