News

February 11, 2018

Frank's Weekend Faves, Feb. 11, 2018

"For a sci-fi fan like me, this is cooler than a Swiss Army knife equipped with a lightsaber. This brilliant idea for a film series is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation..."

The News-Gazette
February 11, 2018

The Insect Fear Film Festival isn't until later this month, Roger Ebert's Film Festival doesn't arrive until April and even the next showing in The News-Gazette Film Series isn't until next month. What's a cinephile to do?

Check out the 'Science on Screen' film series at 7:30 p.m. Mondays through March 12 at the Art Theater, that's what.

For a sci-fi fan like me, this is cooler than a Swiss Army knife equipped with a lightsaber. This brilliant idea for a film series is an initiative of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and features a post-screening discussion led by an expert in each movie's theme science. The lineup of movies and speakers scheduled include:

Feb. 12: "Gattaca" (1997), featuring Gene Robinson, director of the Institute for Genomic Biology (sponsored by the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology).

Feb. 19: "Ex Machina" (2014), featuring Rhanor Gillette, emeritus professor of molecular and integrative physiology (sponsored by the Beckman Institute).

Feb. 26: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), featuring Dave Leake, director of the Staerkel Planetarium.

March 5: "Empire of the Ants" (1977), featuring May Berenbaum, professor and head at the University of Illinois Department of Entomology and founder and organizer of the Insect Fear Film Festival.

March 12: "Robot & Frank" (2012), featuring Amy LaViers, assistant professor of mechanical science and engineering at the UI.


Read the article at news-gazette.com