26/03/2007

Can the planet be saved from the effects of climate change? Is infidelity imprinted in our genes? Answers to these and many more questions will be provided at the 2nd International Science Film Festival which will take place in Athens, from the 17th to the 22nd of April 2007. The Festival is organised by the Centre of Applied Industrial Design (CAID) in cooperation with the Hellenic American Union, under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Culture.

The goal of the festival is to promote and popularize scientific knowledge, through the use of modern audio-visual systems. Each film is based on real and documented data, presents problems, and even offers solutions on scientific topics from the fields of, among others, medicine, genetics, biology, anthropology, biomimetics, cosmology, and the new technologies.

During the 6 days of the festival 36 films from Greece, the UK, France, Belgium, Austria, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, the USA, Brazil, Canada, Senegal, Japan, New Zealand and Australia will be screened. These were selected from a total of 80 films from 18 countries and feature titles such as "The Cosmology of Democritus and Modern Physics", "Nuclear Energy's Big Comeback", "The Cycle Of Life", "The Dali Dimension", "Beethoven's Lead Poisoning", "The Fireball of Tutankhamun" and "Iceland's Glaciers are Melting".

Prizes will be awarded to the seven best films by an Awards Jury that consists of nine members - from Greece and abroad - who are all significant personalities active in the areas of science, journalism and cinema. In addition, lectures and speeches will be given by distinguished scientists, dealing with the issue of how science communicates.

It is important to point out that the institution was initially founded in Portugal in 1999, when the TELEciencia Festival was inaugurated with the goal of disseminating scientific knowledge. The TELEciencia Festival, which takes place in 35 Portuguese cities as well as in other European countries, was the precursor of the International Science Film Festival.

The CAID is a non-profit organization which organizes activities including educational programs on new technologies and multi-media festivals (such as the International Mobius Awards).

The films will be shown in the late afternoon or early evening at the Hellenic-American Union Amphitheatre in Athens (22 Massalias st.). Admission is free of charge. For more information contact CAID at (tel.: +30 210 7251893, e-mail: Contact Form).

Source: CAID