InScience Film Festival

Dig Deeper: Amazing Discoveries Day 2 Talks Program

On November 4 and 5 InScience Amazing Discoveries will take place, with eight of the most striking and memorable films in the history of InScience. From mind-expanding voyages into interstellar space, to animated explorations of philosophy – we’ve collected a line-up of films that’s truly all killer, no filler. We always want to go deeper at InScience, and that’s why we’ve also curated a program of talks from leading thinkers and scientists to add depth to every film we show.  

One of the things that makes every edition of InScience unique is that it’s not just about simply watching a movie. We want every screening to be an immersive experience into society, science and culture,  so every film we show is always accompanied by a specially curated Talk by scientists, philosophers, astronomists and more.  

For Amazing Discoveries this November 4 and 5, it’s no different! We’re excited to present to you the Talks program for day 2 of our special edition, jam-packed with innovations and insights into the world around us and beyond. Read more about our day 1 program HERE.
 

 

Solving What Seems Unsolvable

Our first film of day 2 at Amazing Discoveries, The Peacemaker, follows renowned international peacemaker Padraig O’Malley visiting crisis zones around the world. He helps to create peace for others, but struggles to find it for himself. After the screening Erik Jansen, professor of Capabilities in Care and Welfare at HAN, will use O’Malley’s ideas about resolving conflict to lead a fascinating discussion on the energy transition in the Netherlands.  

With so many different opinions and stakeholders involved with the issue of energy in the Netherlands, it’s more than likely that you’ve experienced or witnessed a conflict between opposing voices. Citizens, governments and companies clash together in a cacophony of division on a regular basis, and it seems like conflict resolution is nearly impossible. Erik Jansen will conduct a roleplay with the audience to see what we can do to resolve this conflict, and how we can grow closer together as a society.  

 

The Ideal Artificial Intelligence…

In Absolute Denial, filmmaker Ryan Braund takes on a singular vision of machine intelligence and obsession. The film takes us on the destructive journey of a young computer programmer, as he perfects a supercomputer  smarter than himself. We explore the maddening inner thoughts of a scientist who’s isolated himself from the outside world, and his only company is a brilliant, all-knowing artificial intelligence. 

 ‘I could make the world a better place’, says the Artificial Intelligence in Absolute Denial. This statement can feel chilling, coming from the disembodied voice of an artificial intelligence. However, it is the primary goal of many  programmers to create AI that can make the world better in some way. If we are to chase this lofty goal, then it raises the question: what is the ideal artificial intelligence? How can AI be built to make the world a better place? In the field of AI, where preconceptions of world-dominating robots and the demise of human civilisation is often present in pop-culture, we turn to researchers from Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour to provide us with a concrete look at what our future can hold, and what AI can do to help.  

The Origin of our Human Language.

In Is the Man Who is Tall Happy?, acclaimed director Michel Gondry animates his in-depth conversations with one of the most renowned and beloved philosophers of our time, Noam Chomsky. This playful film elaborates on many of the ideas of Chomsky surrounding society, politics and human language. Peter Hagoort, professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and director of the Max Planck Institute, does not agree with Chomsky’s assertions. After the screening, he will debate with Roberta D’Allesandro, Professor of Syntax and Language Variation at Utrecht University and supporter of Chomsky’s school of thought.

Come and listen to the search for the origin of our human language ability. 

 

Life after death…

Our closing film of Amazing Discoveries, Hope Frozen, is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration into the world of cryogenics and grief. The film gives us a deeply personal look into the lives of a Buddhist family in Thailand, who attempt to give their recently-deceased infant daughter a second chance at life through the miracle of cryogenic science.  

Engrossing and emotional, this film touches upon a familiar feeling of grief that we have all experienced at some point in our life. Yvonne Engels, professor in Meaningful Healthcare at Radboudumc, is an expert in grief, and examines the film and its many themes in our final Talks program of the festival. 

… And an extra special podcast event!

Finally, in addition to our film program, we are very excited to have the wonderfully talented and always compelling film journalist Ruud Vos from the podcast Duimpjeworstelen to join us in LUX Nijmegen for a live recording. He will be joined by Laura Bergshoef of NRC to discuss Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, deconstructing its themes and arguments, and debating whether or not the film is worth the hype. Definitely not one to miss! 

Amazing Discoveries will take place on November 4 and 5 at LUX Nijmegen, and you can check out the program HERE, and get discounted passe-partout tickets for the whole festival HERE. 

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