Contact

Contact

Release Date

1997

Director

  • Robert Zemeckis

Cast

  • Jodie Foster
  • Matthew McConaughey
  • Tom Skerritt

Dr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of intelligent aliens, who send plans for a mysterious machine.

In this Robert Zemeckis-directed adaptation of the Carl Sagan novel, Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) is a headstrong scientist who races to interpret a signal originating from the Vega star system. An incredible message is found hidden in the signal, containing the plans for a mysterious machine. But once first contact with an extraterrestrial intelligence is proven, Arroway must contend with inflexible National Security Advisor Michael Kitz (James Woods) and religious fanatics bent on containing the implications of such an event.

Past Programs

2008

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA

2013

Searching for Alien Life

The State Theatre, Modesto, CA

2014

How do we say "hello" to extraterrestrials?

The Dairy Arts Center, Boulder, CO

2017

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN

2018

The search for extraterrestrial life: fact vs. science fiction

Indiana University Cinema, Bloomington, IN

2020

Science vs. faith

California Film Institute, San Rafael, CA

2022

Are we alone, and does it matter?

The Colonial Theatre, Bethlehem, NH

2024