Second edition of the Cervello&Cinema Festival
NEUROFICTION: a plausible future? How cinema imagines the future of the brain. A utopian or probable reality?
5 films propose science fiction scenarios on transhumanism and enliven debates between neuroscientists, magistrates and philosophers, moderated by Viviana Kasam and Giancarlo Comi.
Cinema Spazio Oberdan in Milan,
from Monday 9th to Friday 13th April, at 8pm with free admission.
Cinema has often tried to imagine future scenarios on the evolution of Artificial Intelligence, on the relationship between man and robot, on the possibility of manipulating thought and will, predicting crime and strengthening the brain through interfaces with computers, up to the disturbing possibility of a head transplant, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say “body transplant”.
Is it just fiction or are they representations of a tomorrow that is much more likely than one might think? This is the question around which the second edition of the Brain & Cinema Festival revolves which, following the thread of neurofiction, this year involves important neuroscientists, criminologists and virtual reality experts.
Following the informative tradition of BrainCircle Italia’s BrainForums, the event is organized together with IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Fondazione Cineteca Italiana and Hebrew University of Jerusalem – ELSC (the prestigious brain research center of the HUJ) and with the support of Roche.
5 days of screenings to introduce an audience of non-experts and young people to scientific research and “provoke” reflection on research in the field of neuroscience, addressing highly topical issues through famous films.
Each evening included an introduction to the theme followed by the screening of one of the films of the event.
Frankenstein Junior by Mel Brooks which will be accompanied by a debate on the scientific and medical possibilities of carrying out a head transplant and on the profound ethical implications of an operation of this type.
Ex machina by Alex Garland which will explore the universe of Artificial Intelligence, and the consequences that too intelligent robots could entail.
The Manchurian Candidate by Jonathan Demme which will address the theme of mind manipulation.
Minority report by Steven Spielberg which will serve as a starting point for the reflections of a magistrate and a criminologist on the possibility of predicting crime.
Finally, virtual reality, and its connections with the real world and implications on the brain, will be the protagonist of a debate that will follow the screening of The Congress di Ari Folman.
Before each film, speeches by internationally renowned scientists: Giorgio Metta, Alberto Priori, Fabio Babiloni, Andrea Lavazza, Amedeo Santosuosso, Roberto Cavallaro, Alberto Carrara, Antonio Carnevale. Furthermore, a famous and controversial guest, prof. Sergio Canavero. Maria Grazia Mattei, Director of Meet the Media Guru in Milan, will talk about the latest frontiers of digital technologies, which will make Milan a cutting-edge hub, thanks to the new international center established by the Cariplo Foundation and which will be directed by her.
Cervello&Cinema is a project born from the now ten-year collaboration between Viviana Kasam, president of BrainCircle Italia, and Professor Giancarlo Comi, director of the Institute of Experimental Neurology – INSpe and of the Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology and Neurorehabilitation Unit of the IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele. The event is organized in collaboration with the Fondazione Cineteca Italiana, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – ELSC and made possible by the partnership with Roche which also supported the first edition in 2017.
