New edition of Cervello&Cinema:
Jokes of the mind - a window on the brain
In this fourth edition of Cervello&Cinema we talk about those apparently “bizarre” behaviors which in reality can be a prelude to even serious pathologies, and constitute a window into the functioning of the brain and psyche for neuroscientists and psychiatrists.
Seven cult films commented by nine brilliant experts for an unforgettable journey into the depths of the mind.
FROM 27 FEBRUARY TO 5 MARCH – ANTEO PALAZZO DEL CINEMA
Free entry while seats last
With the patronage of the Municipality of Milan and the DANA Foundation – Brain Awareness Week
A project by Viviana Kasam with the collaboration of Fabio Meliciani and the unconditional contribution of Lundbeck Italia.
After the long break dictated by Covid, Cervello&Cinema returns, this year in its fourth edition: a firework of films acclaimed by audiences and critics, chosen with the advice of film critic Roberto Escobar.
Nine speakers of international prestige will speak to explain the “Tricks of the Mind“, those apparently “bizarre” behaviors which in reality can be a prelude to even serious pathologies that neuroscience studies because they are a real window on the functioning of the brain. Various topics will be addressed, we will talk about depression, schizophrenia, stalking, hallucinations, near-death experiences, identities in the balance, youth mental distress and an illness that is difficult to recognize as such: migraines. The latter is in fact often considered a simple headache, considered a psychosomatic disorder, when in reality it represents the third most widespread pathology and the second most disabling of the human race according to the WHO.
The Festival, which received the patronage of the DANA Foundation and is present on the international calendar of events for the Brain Awareness Week, was conceived by BrainCircle Italia and created in collaboration with Anteo thanks to the unconditional contribution of Lundbeck Italia.
MONDAY 27 FEBRUARY 7.30pm – TRISTESSE BONJOUR
With Claudio Mencacci, Emeritus Director of Neuroscience Mental Health Asst FBF-Sacco Milano, Co-President of the Italian Society of NeuroPsychoPharmacology (SINPF).
Followed by the film BLUE JASMINE, by Woody Allen (USA 2013 – 98′) with Alec Baldwin and Cate Blanchett.
Depression, which particularly affects women, is the theme of Blu Jasmine, which in 2014 won all the most prestigious international awards, including the Oscar, the Golden Globe, the César and the Bafta. Cate Blanchett’s performance is masterful as a woman trying to rebuild her life after the financial crash and her husband’s death by suicide.
TUESDAY 28 FEBRUARY 7.30pm – INTERNAL METAVERSES
With Paolo Brambilla, full professor of Psychiatry, University of Milan – University of Texas, Houston, Director S.C. Psychiatry, IRCCS Cà Granda Foundation Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan.
Moderated by Maria Pia Abbracchio, deputy vice-rector, State University of Milan. Followed by the film TAKE SHELTER, by Jeff Nichols (USA 2011 -120′) with Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. Critics’ Grand Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, it tells the story of a quiet man who begins to have terrifying visions.
It is an extraordinary representation of the onset of schizophrenia and the thin line between reality and imagination. People with schizophrenia live a parallel reality and are unable to distinguish sensations that come from the outside with those created by their imagination. But is there an objective reality? Our perception of the outside is always mediated by the brain and the boundary can be labile.
WEDNESDAY 1 MARCH 7.30pm – ON THE EDGE OF REALITY
With Marcello Massimini, full professor of Neurophysiology, University of Milan and Don Gnocchi Foundation and Martin Monti (in video), full professor of Psychology, UCLA, Psychology Department.
Moderated by Fabio Meliciani, scientific communicator, Swiss Radio and Television.
Followed by the film HEREAFTER, by Clint Eastwood (USA 2010 – 129′) with Matt Damon and Cécile de France.
Some experiences, until recently dismissed as psychic phenomena, are today starting to be analyzed for how they are generated in our brain. Hallucinations, visions of one’s passage from life to death, premonitory dreams, intangible presences. Like in the film Hereafter, the dramatic story of three people looking for answers beyond death. The film won the David di Donatello Award, the National Board of Review Award, and an Oscar nomination in 2011. Two world-renowned experts will explain the most recent theories on the genesis of these phenomena and the relationships between waking life, dreams and hallucinations.
THURSDAY 2 MARCH 7.30pm – YOUTH BURNED?
With Paola Morosini, Director of the UOC NPIA ASST Lodi, Teacher of the Mara Selvini Palazzoli School of Psychotherapy. Moderated by Letizia Leocani, associate of Neurology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University.
Followed by the film THE FREEDOM WRITERS, by Richard LaGravenese (USA, Germany 2007 – 123′) with Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey.
Introduced by the short film I see you? by Lundbeck Italia, created with Havas Life and in collaboration with Giffoni Innovation Hub, the very current theme of the difficulties that children encounter in their growth path. Intercepting their mental distress and preventing it from degenerating into dangerous behaviors at an individual and social level requires attention and solutions. Like the one inspired by the story of Erin Gruwell, a young teacher dealing with a class of difficult kids, considered irrecoverable, and how she manages to transform them. A strong and moving film, which has never been released in cinemas in Italy.
FRIDAY 3 MARCH 7.30pm – THE HALF HEAD
With Maria Teresa Ferretti, neuroscientist, co-founder and scientific director of the Women’s Brain Project and Alessandro Padovani, full professor, University of Brescia, President-elect SIN.
Followed by the film VANILLA SKY, by Cameron Crowe (USA 2001 – 136′) with Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz.
Is it just a simple headache? Why is it more common in women? Why does it increasingly affect children too? Migraine, the mechanisms of which have not yet been completely clarified, can strongly affect the lives of people who are afflicted by it. Despite this, however, it is not yet recognized as a real disabling disease. The protagonist of the film suffers from it after a terrible car accident in which he is disfigured. A three-way love story poised between reality and hallucination, nominated for all the awards and adored by the public.
SATURDAY 4 MARCH 11:00 – BITTER LOVE
With Liliana Dell’Osso, full professor of Psychiatry, Director of the School of Specialization in Psychiatry at the University of Pisa, President-elect of the Italian Society of Psychiatry.
Followed by the film SHRINK IN THE NIGHT, by Clint Eastwood (USA 1971 – 102′) with Clint Eastwood, John Larch, Jessica Walter and Donna Mills.
The dramatic plague of feminicides has brought into focus a very serious problem, but underestimated until a few years ago: that of stalking, the persecution by rejected suitors – men or women. At the basis of these obsessive behaviors there are serious personality disorders, unfortunately very difficult to deal with, also because the persecutors create a parallel reality for themselves and therefore refuse to undertake therapies. Clint Eastwood, in his first directorial effort, masterfully addresses this very current theme in an all too truthful story.
SUNDAY 5 MARCH 11:00 – I AM NOT ME
With Michela Matteoli, professor of Pharmacology, Humanitas University, Director of the Neuroscience Institute, CNR.
Moderated by Daniela Perani, professor of neuroscience, San Raffaele University.
Followed by the film THE DANISH GIRL, by Tom Hooper (Great Britain, USA 2015 – 120′) with Eddie Redmayne, Ben Whishaw, Sebastian Koch.
The review concludes with a highly topical theme, that of sexual identity and how to deal with it when discomfort towards their gender image manifests itself in very young people. The theme is masterfully and delicately treated in Tom Hooper’s masterpiece, which won the 2016 Academy Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award and numerous other international awards. It is the true story of Einar Wegener, a Danish painter of the early 1900s, who lived two lives, the first as a male in Copenhagen, the second in Paris as a woman with the name of Lili Elbe. She was the first person to attempt sex change surgery.