5 August 2003
Science and art combine forces in Canberra for an international festival of science film, including four Australian premieres, later this month.
The free Scinema film festival, presented by the CSIRO and the National Museum of Australia, runs from 16-24 August as part of National Science Week.
Scinema opens with the world premiere of Silent Storm. Director Peter Butt will outline the dramatic story of CSIRO biochemist Headley Marston, who blew the whistle on radioactive contamination from atomic testing at Maralinga.
Films on the science of cricket, bio-piracy and the Great Barrier Reef will be shown alongside the first Australian screening of the Making of Travelling Birds and the director's cut of David Attenborough's State of the Planet.
'Scinema helps make the world of science more accessible to everyone,' says festival director Cris Kennedy. 'The festival is a great opportunity to showcase past and present Australian film successes, alongside films from across the globe.'
Now in its third year, Scinema was conceived by the CSIRO's Rebecca Scott after she was part of the jury at the prestigious annual Telescience festival in Montreal.
This year's Scinema festival includes introductions by film writers and directors and a free lecture by Klaus Toft from the ABC's Natural History Unit, about his work on The Navigators.
'Australian scientific developments since the 19th century have shaped the cultural fabric of our nation in ways that are not often recognised,' says National Museum public programs manager Louise Douglas. 'Scinema is a particularly effective way of increasing awareness of Australia's innovative achievements.'
Scinema is being held in the SAS Visions Theatre at the National Museum of Australia from 1-3pm daily. Admission is free to all sessions.
For more details and a full program see the Scinema website at: http://www.csiro.au/scinema
For more information please contact Cris Kennedy at CSIRO on 02 6276 6026, 0410 627 614 or cris.kennedy@csiro.au or Leanda Coleman at the National Museum of Australia on 02 6208 5338 or l.coleman@nma.gov.au .