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M:BRANE 2022

Getting to the heart of human nature – m:brane 2022 does science

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- Found in films of all types, science is almost always present, as demonstrated during a day of exploration, providing a successful launch for a further chapter for m:brane

Getting to the heart of human nature – m:brane 2022 does science
A still from Lynx Man by Juha Suonpää (© Wacky Tie Films)

“Our goal is not to create didactic content, and not to show people learning through film, but rather to get people inspired by the sciences,” was keynote speaker Neal Hartman’s opening statement at an elaborate and multifaceted day, built around a range of science-related topics, held at the 16th edition of the m:brane co-production forum in Malmö, Sweden (15-17 March).

“Science films are one of the least well-described categories of films on the screen,” continued Hartman, who runs Geneva’s CineGlobe festival, showcasing films of all types and shapes, inspired by science and technology. “Because science is something that works its way into every aspect of life. So sometimes, if you ask them, ‘Is this a science film?’, they will say, ‘No, this is a romance’ or ‘It’s a thriller, not a serious film...’ I think there are ways that science worms its way into all different types of genres. And we try to show films from all those genres as well.” Yes, even romances, comedies, dramas, thrillers, sci-fi, action flicks, social-issue and humanitarian films, web series and YouTube movies – all of these and more contain science, which is “at the heart of human nature”, as Hartman assertedly put it in his keynote speech.

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The programme proceeded to dive deep into various, adventurous nooks of this, the heart of our very nature, with three projects in development as distinct cases in point, all presented under the Open Resource Workshop headline.

France’s “Noire”/“Colored” project, presented by writer-actor Tania de Montaigne, takes the viewer back to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955 and the civil rights struggles, as 15-year-old Afro-American Claudette Colvin refuses to give up her bus seat, promptly gets arrested and just as promptly pleads not guilty. Presented as an immersive installation with augmented reality, the viewer is put back there and then. Noire, adapted from de Montaigne’s own biographical essay, and co-directed by Stéphane Foenkinos and Pierre-Alain Giraud, was also available as a demo version to all participants.

The tentatively titled The Gender Project aims to explore new scientific frontiers of understanding gender, and is being launched by producer Louise Rosen and writer-director Kimberly Reed, who memorably documented her own journey as a trans woman in Prodigal Sons. “Finn-ishing” off the trio were director Juha Suonpää and producer Pasi Hakkio (of Wacky Tie Films), and their documentary on the remarkable Hannu, who connects with the Eurasian lynx and documents this piece of Finnish nature with his trail cameras. Lynx Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Juha Suonpää
film profile
]
is the given title for now, with a premiere estimated in 2023.

Intriguing perspectives and keen feedback delivered by a panel of “youth experts” provided a lively, successful launch of a further chapter in the m:brane odyssey. “The reception has been great,” said senior creative advisor and m:brane co-founder Annette Brejner, credited, with good reason, as both the instigator and the designer of the project. “You always have to be a bit cautious when you change the boundaries of a tried-and-tested concept, which is what our forum has become over the years. But this item is a keeper, with depth, substance, vision – and wings. We have lift off, and I’m already getting wonderful ideas for next year.”

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