Cinema and Science V - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
Filmoteca

Cinema and Science V

In search of knowledge

In its search for knowledge, science has been, and still is, key for our society’s progress: it has made our lives better, longer and less painful, despite not always supplying us with immediate and absolute certainties, as astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell warned us. Over the last almost two years of pandemic, a minority have been distrustful, but the tremendous and early development of the vaccines, with essential international collaboration, has shown precisely how necessary science is for humanity today. The fifth edition of this season organised by the Basque Film Archive, Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) and the San Sebastián Film Festival will continue its determined quest for the transmission of cinematographic and scientific culture. Screenings, presentations and debates are the DNA of this season forged from reasoned and firm defence of cinema and science, with the noteworthy presence of prestigious scientists. This year’s harvest is once again deliberately eclectic: we will screen The Prize (Mark Robson, 1963) to reflect upon the stimulus of awards in the world of science. Moby Dick (John Huston, 1956) and Gorillas in the Mist (Michael Apted, 1988) will submerge us in knowledge of the animal kingdom, in the same way that Quest for Fire (J. J. Annaud, 1981) will take us on a trip to prehistory to get to know human beings better. Hope (Maria Sødahl, 2019), which has won major international prizes, gives us a close look at the world of the battle against cancer. Space research is a constant feature of our season and this edition will host two films about the subject: Ikarie XB 1 (Jindrich Polák, 1963), a Czech classic that is a precursor of other key science fiction titles; and Contact (Robert Zemeckis, 1997), starring the great Jodie Foster. Neuroscience will be featured in Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010), a noteworthy cinematic exercise for debate. Echoes of Demon Seed (Donald Cammell, 1977) can be felt in the recent Titane (Julie Ducournau, 2021) and will also serve as an example of 1970s cinema that warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence. The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick, 1951) is a magnificent classic which focusses on research in the physics and chemistry of materials faced with the society that receives its results. TTo end with, it is worth highlighting that Cinema and Science season is expanding for its fifth anniversary. As well as the usual homes of the Basque Film Archive (Artium, Tabakalera and the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum), it will travel to two privately-run cinemas that have taken an interest in this project: Golem Baiona in Pamplona and Cinéma Le Sélect in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Five years, five cities, about fifty screenings and the same number of presentations and debates. Let’s hope this scientific gaze at the history of cinema is of equal interest to both film buffs and people who are passionate about science. Fortunately, many people are both.

Admission Fees (per session)

General: 3,5 € Friends of the Museum: 2 € Younger than 25: Free

Place and Time

Auditorium. The use of a mask is obligatory, even if the appropriate interpersonal safety distance of 1.5 metres is maintained.

Abreviations

OV = Original Version OVSS = Original Version with Spanish Subtitles OVES = Original Version with Euskera Subtitles OVENS = Original Version with English Subtitles

Hand Programme

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15 | 01 | 2022

The Prize

USA, 1963 | 136′ OVSS

Director: Mark Robson, Producer: Roxbury Productions, Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman (Writer: Irving Wallace), Cinematography: William H. Daniels, Music: Jerry Goldsmith, Cast : Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson, Elke Sommer, Anna Lee, Kevin McCarthy, Micheline Presle, Don Dubbins, Sergio Fantoni, Leo G. Carroll, Diane Baker, Virginia Christine, John Qualen

Language: English, Subtitles: Spanish

El Premio

Synopsis
The Prize takes place in Stockholm, where several laureates gather to accept their Nobel Prizes. At first, the film concentrates on iconoclastic novelist interpreted by Paul Newman, but he is temporarily shunted to the background when physics expert played by Edward G. Robinson is kidnaped and replaced by his wicked twin brother.

Presentation: Pedro Miguel Etxenike

22 | 01 | 2022

Kimuak 2021

Azaletik azalera
Mel Arranz,7′
Berak baleki
Aitor Gametxo, 17′, OVSS
Heltzear
Mikel Gurrea,18′, OVSS
Resonancias
Iñigo Aranburu, 4′, OVES
Trumoiak
Iker Maguregi, 12′, OVSS
Uu azpian lore
Aitor Oñederra, 14′, OVES
Zerua blu
Lur Olaizola, 14′, OVSS

Presentation: Esther Cabero

Kimuak

29 | 01 | 2022

Moby Dick

United Kingdom, USA, 1956 | 116′ OVES

Director: John Huston, Screenwriter:Ray Bradbury, John Huston (Writer: Herman Melville), Producer: Moulin Productions, Cinematography: Oswald Morris, Music: Philip Sainton, Cast: Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, James Robertson Justice, Harry Andrews, Friedrich von Ledebur, Bernard Miles, Noel Purcell, Edric Connor, Orson Welles

Language: English, Subtitles: Euskera (Basque language)

Moby Dick

Synopsis
Captain Ahab has a vendetta against Moby Dick, the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He sets out on a treacherous sea voyage aboard The Pequod, to hunt down the elusive beast. With reckless abandon, Ahab leads the crew on his obsessive and suicidal quest, anxious for a final showdown with the legendary white whale.

Presentation: Juan Ignacio Pérez Iglesias

05 | 02 | 2022

Hope (Håp)

Norway, 2019 | 126′ OVSS

Director, Screenwriter: Maria Sødahl, Producer: Film I Väst, Motlys, Oslo Pictures, Zentropa Productions, Zentropa International Sweden, Cinematography: Manuel Alberto Claro, Cast: Andrea Bræin Hovig, Stellan Skarsgård, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne, Eirik Hallert, Steinar Klouman Hallert, Johannes Joner, Gjertrud L. Jynge, Alexander Mørk Eidem, Dina Enoksen Elvehaug, Knut Magne Uv, Thomas Tetens Moe, Einar Økland, Ingrid Bugge

Language: Norwegian; Subtitles: Spanish

Hope

Synopsis
What about love when you have three months left to live? A couple with a large, blended family has grown apart. When the wife is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, their life breaks down and exposes neglected love.

Presentation: Maria A. Blasco

12 | 02 | 2022

Gorillas in the Mist

USA, 1988 | 113′ OVSS

Director: Michael Apted, Producer:Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, Screenwriter: Anna Hamilton Phelan, John Seale; Music: Maurice Jarre; Cast: Sigourney Weaver, John Omirah Miluwi, Bryan Brown, Julie Harris, Iain Cuthbertson, Iain Glen, Constantin Alexandrov, John Alexander

Language: English, Subtitles: Spanish

Gorilas en la niebla

Synopsis
The story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them. Based on her true story, the film portrays her struggle to stop the annihilation of these endangered apes.

Presentation: Arantza Acha + Joana Vitorica Onaindia

19 | 02 | 2022

Demon Seed

USA, 1977 | 95′ OVES

Director: Donald Cammell, Producer:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Screenwriter: Robert Jaffe, Roger O. Hirson (Writer: Dean Koontz); Fotografía: Bill Butler, Music: Jerry Fielding

Language: English, Subtitles: Euskera (Basque language)

La semilla del diablo

Synopsis
Susan Harris lives with her husband, Alan. When Alan invents Proteus IV, an artificial intelligence system capable of advanced thought, Alan’s obsession with technology strains his relationship with Susan. But Susan sees the true power of this invention when Proteus IV takes her hostage in her own home and plans to impregnate her to take on a human form.

Presentation: Olatz Arbelaitz Gallego

26 | 02 | 2022

The Man In The White Suit

United Kingdom, 1951 | 84′ OVES

Director: Alexander Mackendrick, Screenwriter: MRoger MacDougall, John Dighton, Alexander Mackendricky, Producer: Ealing Studios, Photography: Douglas Slocombe, Music: Benjamin Frankel, Cast: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Patric Doonan, Vida Hope, Howard Marion-Crawford, Michael Gough, Ernest Thesiger, Henry Mollison

Language: English, Subtitles: Euskera (Basque language)

El hombre del traje blanco

Synopsis
Chemist Sidney Stratton is at a crossroads in his career. He’s been trying to invent a long-lasting clothing fibre, but his unreasonable demands for high-end equipment have gotten him fired. Finally, Sidney creates a white suit that is impervious to the elements – it cannot stain or wrinkle. At first, he is celebrated as a hero but, soon enough, the clothing manufacturers realize that the perfect suit is actually very bad for business.

Presentation: Jon Mattin Matxain

05 | 03 | 2022

IKARIE XB 1

Czechoslovakia, 1963 | 88′ OVSS

Director: Jindrich Polák, Producer: Filmové Studio Barrandov, Screenwriter: Jindrich Polák, Pave Jurácek (Writer: Stanislaw Lem), Photography: Jan Kalis, Saša Rašilov, Music: Zdenek Liska, Cast: Zdenek Stepánek, Frantisek Smolík, Dana Medrická, Irena Kacírková, Radovan Lukavský, Otto Lackovic, Miroslav Machácek, Jirí Vrstála, Rudolf Deyl

Language: Czech; Subtitles: Spanish

Ikarie XB 1

Synopsis
The year is 2163. Star ship Ikaria XB 1 embarks on a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity.

Presentation: Fernando Cossío

12 | 03 | 2022

Inception

United Kingdom, USA, 2010 | 148′ OVSS

Director, Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan, Producer: Warner Bros, Syncopy Production , Photography: Wally Pfister, Music: Hans Zimmer, Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Michael Caine, Dileep Rao, Lukas Haas, Pete Postlethwaite, Talulah Riley, Miranda Nolan

Language: English, Subtitles: Spanish

Origen

Synopsis
Dom Cobb is a thief with the rare ability to enter people’s dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious. His skill has made him a hot commodity in the world of corporate espionage but has also cost him everything he loves. Cobb gets a chance at redemption when he is offered a seemingly impossible task: Plant an idea in someone’s mind. If he succeeds, it will be the perfect crime, but a dangerous enemy anticipates Cobb’s every move.

Presentation: Aitzol García Etxarri

19 | 03 | 2022

Contact

USA, 1997 | 150‘ OVSS

Director: Robert Zemeckis, Producer: Warner Bros., South Side Amusement Company, Screenwriter: James V. Hart, Michael Goldenberg (Autor: Carl Sagan) Photography: Don Burgess, Music: Alan Silvestri, Cast: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, William Fichtner, David Morse, Angela Bassett, Rob Lowe, Jena Malone, Max Martini, Jake Busey, Geoffrey Blake

Language: English, Subtitles: Spanish

Contact

Synopsis
Dr. Ellie Arroway races to interpret a possible message originating from the Vega star system. Once first contact with an extra-terrestrial intelligence is proven, Arroway contends with restrictive National Security Advisor Kitz and religious fanatics bent on containing the implications of such an event. An incredible message is found hidden in the signal, but will Arroway be the one to answer its call?

Presentation: Marcos Pellejero Ibáñez

26 | 03 | 2022

La guerre du feu

Canada, France, USA, 1981 | 106′

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Producer: Belstar Productions, Ciné Trail, Stéphan Films, International Cinema Corporation, Screenwriter: Gérard Brach (Writer: J. H. Rosny, Sr) Photography: Claude Agostini, Music: Philippe Sarde, Cast: Everett McGill, Rae Dawn Chong, Ron Perlman, Nicholas Kadi, Gary Schwartz, Matt Birman, Kurt Schiegl, George Buza, Franck-Olivier Bonnet

Language: French, Subtitles: Spanish

En busca del fuego

Synopsis
A Cro-Magnon tribe depends on an ever-burning source of fire, which eventually extinguishes. Lacking the knowledge to start a new fire, the tribe sends three warriors on a quest for more. With the tribe’s future at stake, the warriors make their way across a treacherous landscape full of hostile tribes and monstrous beasts. On their journey, they encounter Ika, a woman who has the knowledge they seek.

Presentation: María Martinón-Torres