Imagine a film festival that was entirely about science. Not only that, but also the films in that festival had credible scientific groundings. That is no longer science-fiction, but is in fact a reality in the

guise of the Imagine Science Film Festival. After a successful first run last year, ISFF returns in October and promises to be bigger and better! The aims of the festival are to enhance communication and collaboration between scientists and filmmakers to make science accessible and stimulating to a broader audience. The ISFF is the brainchild of scientist and filmmaker, Alexis Gambis. Nature Network NY managed to catch up with Alexis for a quick chat in-between his busy preparation for this year’s festival.

How did you get into making films?

My interest in filmmaking goes back to my childhood. I grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn. My mother is a filmmaker and in the 80s she was attending NYU Tisch Film School. We always had actors roaming around the house. At around 6 years old, I remember watching my mother cutting film strips on a steamback machine at home or sitting on the brownstone stoop having deep conversations with actors. I also recall my debut as an actor. I was in my mother’s friend Tia Brelis NYU student film as a baby. Also, my brother was making films at Brooklyn College and I would miss class to be in his films; I played a genius chess player and a voodoo victim human doll in a Prospect Park setting. Good times. Now, about 20 years later punctured with tough teenage-hood years in Paris and a 6-year PhD voyage, I am back in Park Slope living in a brownstone apartment a few blocks away from Prospect Park. Also, in 10 days, I begin NYU Film School. The cycle repeats itself. I couldn’t be happier; I am exactly where I want to be and there is no time to waste – I am a workaholic! I have also secured an adjunct biology professor position so I will be teaching biology to undergraduate students in a class called “Molecules of Life”. This opportunity will help reduce NYU film school expenses and help me keep a foot in the science while making films.

I started making my first films at Bard College but at the time, I didn’t have much to say on camera and I quickly turned my attention to biology. It is in the 2nd year of my PhD that I had an awakening. I remember vividly the night I decided I wanted to take my experiences in the lab to the screen; I immediately called my girlfriend to let her know. Looking back, it almost feels like it was a religious awakening. Soon after, I took a few evening film classes made my first documentary “A Fruit Fly in New York” and short 16mm silent film “Dr. Funque and his Petri Dish”. It quickly became very clear to me the human stories revolving around scientific research would be the main source of inspiration for my future film productions.

Tell us what is planned for this year’s festival

We are currently gearing up for the 2nd annual Imagine Science Film Festival. I would call last year’s festival a pilot film festival although it did have a significant impact in the city with press coverage notably in the Village Voice and Nature magazine. This year’s festival is much bigger. We have many more sponsors, film premiers, city support and a bigger following. We pride ourselves on being the first science film festival in NYC and one of the first of its kind in the world. The festival will run for 10 days from October 15 to the 24. The mission this year is to diversify the venue types and locations as to attract a diverse audience. We have screenings in universities, museums, cinemas, art spaces and bars. We want to bring science to everybody and at cheap or free rates. This year’s venues include Tribeca Cinemas in Tribeca, Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo, The Bell House Bar in Gowanus, New York Hall of Museum in Corona, The CUNY Graduate Center in midtown and the New School Tishmann Auditorium in the Lower East Side. Last year, we had about 50 submitted films and this year, we count over 200 submitted films. The festival awareness is growing exponentially. From the submitted films, we will choose approximately 30 shorts and 5 feature films. Some of the features have already been booked. These include

1) “In Search of Memory” a new documentary about Eric Kandel retracing his memories and Nobel-prized work on memory,

2)“The Clone Returns Home” (NY-premiere/Tribeca Cinemas), a sci-fi film about a cloning program which explores identity, memory and the ethical responsibilities of science,

3) Quantum Quest (World Premere/CUNY Graduate Center), an animated education sci-fil adventure film directed by Harry Kloor (known for writing for Star Trek: The Voyager) and

4) Sizzle (NY Premiere/Closing Night/New School Tishmann Auditorium) by Randy Olson, a doc/mock-umentary comedy on global warming.

We are also finalizing the short film program and should have the final ISFF program by mid-September.

Our selection of films reflects our desire to make science more “hip” and “young” + to showcase all film genres (from documentary to sci-fi) which successfully embed entertaining/credible SCIENCE credible way in storytelling. We are looking for films where science is wrapped up into human stories and intrigue.

What are your favorite science films of all time?

This is a question that often comes up. I do have a few favorites. GATTACA which deals with future facing genetic discrimination, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, an all-time favorite and landmark film, which unravels a unique view on science, humanity and technology. I also loved “A Beautiful Mind” which cracks into the personal/human aspects of “the scientist”. Other good ones include Metropolis, A Trip to the Moon and Sleep Dealer.

However, there are far too many science film duds out there which hurt the scientific message, exaggerate stereotypes and present false science leading to misconceptions and misunderstandings about many scientific issues. I really believe there is a need for more credible science into mainstream cinema. I hope to add my grain of salt to this effort with both my films and the Imagine Science Films’ efforts.

How do we make science more interesting in movies without compromising the technical accuracy?

There are many different opinions on this matter and I am believer that the more ways science is introduced on the silver screen the better. After all, not everybody likes the same types of movies. Some people prefer the dry scientific documentaries. I personally prefer when science is embedded into narrative filmmaking. I think that science “in” fiction has more potential of targeting a larger mainstream audience. Also, you need to have the right dose of science in film – not too little, not too much.

I definitely don’t think you need compromise technical/scientific accuracy to make science more interesting. But I do admit that this is a prevalent notion out there and reflects ignorance or lack of scientific awareness. The scientific process is inundated with spicy stories ranging from comedy to drama. Working in a lab for 6-years, I have collected notepads worth of stories about scientists, daily scientific breakthroughs and struggles and comedic anecdotes. Trying to rid the public from this idea that science needs to be distorted to be more exciting is part of the festival’s mission.

What advice would you give for any scientists out there wanting to get into film making?

Unfortunately, we still don’t have enough films by scientists. But, this year we have introduced “The Scientist” award for the best film made by a scientist. We will give the filmmaker who wins this award a small camera and present his film on our website and to our sponsors.

When I started the film festival, I got many emails from scientists who wanted to make films but didn’t know how. I would recommend to all scientists who love their research to keep a visual diary. Nowadays, there are small (FLIP) cameras that can fit in the lab coat pocket next to the 1ml pipette. Also, let your imagination take over and go back to the lab at night to make short quirky films. Science is as much about rigor as it is about imagination. I think that the more we get scientists to make films, the more the general public will realize how creative scientific work is and leave in the closet the images of the socially-inept nerdy scientist (often seen in Hollywood films). Scientists are artists who hypothesize, imagine, create and discover. This reminds me of a comment I once got in a bar in the Lower East Side. I told somebody that I was a scientist as I sipped on a Corona lime beer under the stroboscope lights. The response was: “wow, you definitely do not strike me as a scientist”.

As a scientist and filmmaker, what does the future hold for you?

The future is always uncertain but what I do know is that I will be at NYU Film school for the next 5 years making films about science. In school, we will constantly be cranking out films. I am planning to make a suite of short fiction films where science will be incorporated into comedic, dramatic, and fantastical realms. I have also begun to work on a feature film screenplay on the early 19th century 26-square feet Fly Room, where modern genetics was born. I have already gone up to Columbia to do some research for the film. The film will be about the double life of Calvin Bridges, one of the drosophila scientists in the Fly Room. He was an usually creative scientist who worked his way up from technician to professor and balanced his life between fruit flies and woman. The Fly Room takes on the symbol of a confined space where scientific breakthrough intermingles with human drama. From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, Calvin experiences it all. He harbors a true passion for science and women. The same obsessive nature that brings him scientific recognition and fame becomes a destructive force outside of the confines of the Fly Room taking his life away in tragic consequences.

I also hope to help other scientists find their cinematic voice by starting the Imagine Science Films Production company to help fund narrative films with a strong scientific message.