Search Museum of the Moving Image

Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Science on Screen

Ongoing

Science on Screen is an ongoing film series, started in 2017, that combines special screenings and conversations with scientists and filmmakers to offer new perspectives on film and scientific subject matter. The selection spans the silent era to new releases, including shorts, documentaries, and features. The series has presented the work of such filmmakers as Isabella Rossellini, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Barbara Hammer, and Alex Rivera, who have discussed topics including marine ecosystems, reproductive biology, epidemiology, and artificial intelligence with scientists such as Fabien Cousteau, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, and Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello.  

Science on Screen also presents a selection of films at MoMI’s annual First Look Festival, which has included the North American Premiere of Sasha Litvintseva and Beny Wagner’s Constant, Jenny Perlin’s Bunker, Terra Long’s Feet in Water, Head on Fire, and more.  

Thematic seasons of Science on Screen have included “Proceed with Caution, showcasing films and speakers focused on public health; “Outer Space Speculators,” which featured films from as early as 1925 set in outer space but grounded in scientific research of their time; and “Extinction and Otherwise,” with scripted and non-scripted films that depict extinction, survival, and life as it might be. 

Science on Screen is organized by Sonia Epstein, Curator of Science & Technology and Executive Editor, Sloan Science & Film.  

Made possible with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. 

 

 

Past Events

A man in an open blue button down over a white t-shirt stands in a library in front of a bookshelf and hovers over a skeletal metal model of a canoe, which is next to a white canoe on another table
A man in a lab coat stands behind science lab equipment including test tubes, and looks off with a serious expression
A fanciful image of a mushroom with a red, white-spotted cap and a human face looks up from the ground.
A vast mountainous landscape, with people in the foreground standing amidst green trees and bushes.
A group of five people with bags over their heads and buttons for eyes in a room with white walls. One of the people stands with their arms outstretched and the others are sitting on the floor
a black and white image of a young boy standing outside cupping an object in his hands, while another boy behind him clutches a wooden post
A black and white image of a dark-skinned man, the back of his head facing the camera, with nuns in white habits in the background out of focus
A variety of computer windows showing white cats looking at camera, hovering in front of a retro desktop computer
Eight human-sized figures seen from a distance standing against a vast blue sky horizon at twilight with some stars just coming out
A vast building nestled deep in a mountainous environment, seen from a distance
A man in a space helmet reclines, with reflections of lights on the glass viser
A man wearing a VR headset and looking vacantly off screen
A black and white image of a man in a fedora sits next to a woman putting her finger to her lips in a "be quiet" expression.
A CGI animated figure with its arms stretched out and wide gaping mouth looking at camera with angry expression
A hologram of a face floats in the middle of a blue digital box
A man and woman lie on a bed apart from each other, connected by fleshy umbilical-like cords in their stomachs
two people with glowing body suits and helmets stand in a sparse virtual world
an animated image of a woman sitting in profile against a gloomy grey cityscape
A man and woman in sunglasses and wearing leather hold each other and look down.
Three women sit in a motorboat moving up a river in the sunlight
A family of four, including a man playing an android, dressed in a red shirt, stands in a backyard garden and smiles
A man in hat and sunglasses and holding a film slate sits in a space shuttle smiling at camera
black and white image of a young black woman wearing a globe-like space helmet on her head
still from an animated film that shows a pink elephant-like creature next to two other cartoonish girl characters
still from an animated film that shows a pink elephant-like creature next to two other cartoonish girl characters
still from an animated film that shows a pink elephant-like creature next to two other cartoonish girl characters
Twin brothers sit at a restaurant—one with a red tie, one with a black tie—with a woman between them, all looking at camera.
In a kitchen, an older chef reaches across a plate in front of a younger chef, whom he is instructing.
A young man in glasses sits before a chess board and an old fashioned desktop computer in a black and white image
Close-up of a hairy underwater amoeba in black and white
Close-up of a hairy underwater amoeba in black and white
A nun stands in an empty medical facility looking at salamander cages
a mountain wth a blue shawled figure in the foreground
A red light flare streaks across a green woods against a blue sky
Images from animated films, on the left a white haired female character looks around at a fantastical green world; on the right, two sad stick figures in white stand against a blank black background
Horses stand in a windswept field, the sea in the distance
A man crouches on the ground with a gun, surrounded by men in uniform
A faded photograph of an owl looking at camera, surrounded by leaves
A fantasy spiral effect of an outdoor scene of two men in a green forest
A young boy holds a butterfly on his arm
Visual representations of HAL 9000 computer from 2001, and the voice from the movie Her.
A blonde mother hugging her ponytailed daughter and both smiling
An avant-garde black and white image of a face in profile with a circle of blue x-ray covering the lower left of the face