Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL
Dr. Maria C. Valdes
John Caldwell Meeker Postdoctoral Fellow, Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies
Melancholia— The big one: Meteors and Melancholia
Program Description
Have you been thinking about the end of the world lately? Yeah, us too. A worldwide pandemic, global warming, the possibility of nuclear war—news about a deadly planet hurtling towards Earth might not even make the front page above the fold. Dr. Maria C. Valdes, John Caldwell Meeker Postdoctoral Fellow, Robert A. Pritzker Center for Meteoritics and Polar Studies discuss the facts behind the fear, and how what orbits above us impacts our present, and our potential future.
Presented as part of the 2022 National Evening of Science on Screen.
Presented At
Gene Siskel Film Center Chicago, IL
Film Synopsis
Two sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) celebrate their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of Justine’s sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth threatening the very existence of humankind...
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures