Robinson Film Center Shreveport, LA
Dr. Cran Lucas
Professor of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, Shreveport
Close Encounters of the Third Kind— Is There Anyone Out There?: Humankind’s Quest to Discover Extraterrestrials
Program Description
Questions include: How close are we to discovering alien life forms? Where are we looking? What do scientists believe they will be like?
Presented At
Robinson Film Center Shreveport, LA
Film Synopsis
After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.
Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) is an electrical lineman who, while sent out on emergency repairs, witnesses an unidentified flying object. Neary's wife (Teri Garr) and children are at first skeptical, then concerned, and eventually fearful, as Roy refuses to accept a "logical" explanation for what he saw and is prepared to give up his job, his home, and his family to pursue the "truth" about UFOs. Neary's obsession eventually puts him in contact with others who've had close encounters with alien spacecraft, including Jillian (Melinda Dillon), a single mother whose son disappeared during her UFO experience, and Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut), a French researcher who believes he can use a musical language to communicate with the alien visitors. Lacombe's theory is put to the test when a band of government researchers and underground UFO enthusiasts (including Neary) join for an exchange with alien visitors near Devil's Tower, Wyoming.
About the Speaker
Dr. Cran Lucas is a professor of biological sciences at Louisiana State University, Shreveport. Since joining the faculty at LSUS in 1978, his research has focused on cell and molecular biology. Dr. Lucas received his BS in biology from Lewis and Clark College and his PhD in molecular genetics from Washington State University. Between 1985 and 2002, he received an Outstanding Faculty award for Teaching three times, he is also the recipient of a Merit Faculty Award and American Studies Fellowship.