You have to give credit to the Lightbox in the middle of winter. I’ve been preaching Reitman Square as a guaranteed good night out since it opened, and finally friends who are not even particularly into film are starting to wake up and notice the packed program that TIFF delivers year-round. For the ones who dissed the Grace Kelly exhibit, or who eschew long lines at the September festival, there’s now something you can sink your teeth into. And if you’re a science nerd, I promise that the TIFF Bell Lightbox will deliver from now until June at the very least.
Beginning this evening, February 1, TIFF presents Science on Film, a new subscription which explores the presence and usage of science, or quite simply “how things work” in six popular films from various decades. Daily Planet’s Jay Ingram hosts the innovative run of presentations which will no doubt generate a level of discussion we don’t normally expect when we go to the movies. The six films rely heavily on themes of popular science, art, culture and technology, which will be teased out by dynamic panelists following each screening. You can be promised some high-level banter between Ingram and guests, who will rationalise the inclusion of both the classic and the cult in the series’ programme, culminating in an audience Q&A.
The first 100 subscribers to Science on Film will receive a signed copy of Daily Planet: The Ultimate Book of Everyday Science by Jay Ingram, courtesy of Penguin Canada. Science on Film subscriptions are on sale now and are priced at $180 for non-members or $140 for TIFF members (prices include tax).
Here are the dates, guests and films of the TIFF Bell Lightbox Science on Film series, running on occasional Wednesdays from February 1 to June 27, 2012.
February 1 – Pamela Reid on Best in Show
Internationally-renowned animal behaviourist Dr. Pamela Reid is a bestselling author, dog trainer and vice-president of the ASPCA Animal Behavior Center. Reid offers insights into the workings of the canine mind, following the screening of Christopher Guest’s hilarious mockumentary about the behind-the-scenes intrigue at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show.
February 22 – Martin Antony on Vertigo
Dr. Martin Antony, professor and chair in psychology at Toronto’s Ryerson University, offers an expert opinion on James Stewart’s obsessed detective in Hitchcock’s masterpiece. A former president of the Canadian Psychological Association, Antony has published 28 books with a focus on the nature and treatment of anxiety disorders and perfectionism.
March 28 – Elizabeth Loftus on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Distinguished psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Loftus explains the workings of memory after the screening of Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman’s dazzling, head-tripping fantasy. Loftus was included on a list published by the Review of General Psychology that identified the 100 most eminent psychologists of the 20th century, which included the likes of Freud, Skinner and Piaget.
April 25 – Robert J. Sawyer on The Day the Earth Stood Still
Bestselling science-fiction author Robert J. Sawyer (the WWW trilogy, FlashForward) discusses artificial intelligence and nanotechnology in Robert Wise’s sci-fi milestone about an extraterrestrial visitor who arrives on Earth with a message of warning.
June 6 – Robin Milhausen on Body Heat
Sexuality researcher and educator Dr. Robin Milhausen discusses Lawrence Kasdan’s steamy noir thriller. Milhausen is currently the president of the Canadian Sex Research Forum, and acts as consulting editor for the Archives of Sexual Behaviour.
June 27 – Adrien Morot on Barney’s Version
Veteran special-effects makeup artist Adrien Morot reveals the process behind the Academy Award-nominated aging effects for the screen adaptation of the classic Mordecai Richler novel.
For more information, please visit tiff.net or call 416.599.TIFF.
Top image: A scene from Vertigo. Courtesy TIFF Bell Lightbox.
