‘Science on Screen’ bringing educational faire to Iowa City’s FilmScene

IOWA CITY - Real science, real great films, real news.

FilmScene, Iowa City's nonprofit cinema, has received the competitive Science on Screen grant. A Coolidge Corner Theatre initiative, with major support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Science on Screen supports efforts to present films that directly or indirectly are connected to science.

Science on Screen has enhanced scientific literacy through the power of film for over a decade. FilmScene is joining 36 groups nationwide to present a five-film program exploring the science from outer space to beneath the waves, from psychology to technological invention, and people who are encourage to become scientists. Each film is paired with a post-screening dialogue or activity.

'We're thrilled to welcome this amazing program to Iowa City and FilmScene,” FilmScene Executive Director Joseph Tiefenthaler said in a prepared statement. 'Film is the perfect artistic match for the wonder and curiosity of scientific exploration, and the Science on Screen grant allows us to continue that pursuit of understanding our world even after the credits roll. This is going to be fun.”

FilmScene's series opens with a splash at 7 p.m. Monday (2/26) with a free public screening of the 2017 hit documentary 'Chasing Coral.” Film subject and guide Zackery Rago will lead a post-screening Q&A.

Directed by Jeff Orlowski ('Chasing Ice”) and produced by Iowa graduate Kevin Gruenich (producer of the Oscar nominated 'Icarus”), 'Chasing Coral” examines why coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. It follows a team of divers, photographers and scientists as they set out on an ocean adventure to discover why.

Co-sponsored by the University of Iowa's Spring 2018 Climate For Change Theme Semester, 'Chasing Coral” will be presented at The University of Iowa School of Music's Voxman Building, 93 E. Burlington St., Iowa City.

Other presentations include:

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March 27: 'Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story,” 7 p.m. at FilmScene, 118 E. College St., Suite 101, Iowa City. Directed by Alexandra Dean, 'Bombshell” tells the remarkable, little-known story of Hedy Lamarr, the glamorous actress of the 1930s and '40s, a technological trailblazer who perfected a radio system to throw Nazi torpedoes off course during World War II - which is the basis of cellphone and Bluetooth technology.

The film, also presented as part of FilmScene's Women's March programming, will feature a post-screen discussion. Titled 'Breaking Down the Boys Club: Women in STEM,” is features female voices from Iowa City's engineering and mathematics community, including the University of Iowa's Ananya Sen Gupta, assistant professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering; and Sarah Vigmostad, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

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April 22: 'E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,” 1 p.m. at FilmScene. An interactive presentation on alien life, presented by a Des Moines Science Center representative, follows the family friendly screening of the 1980s classic.

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May 22: 2014 fright-fest 'The Babadook,” 7 p.m. at FilmScene. Turning to the psychological side, the post-screening discussion, 'Fear and Loathing: What Happens to Our Brains When We are Scared,” will include a 'fear experiment” where audiences will be encouraged to get the willies and learn what is happening to them, from their heads to their toes.

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June 10: 'Real Genius,” 8 p.m. open-air screening on FilmScene's rooftop. If all goes well, the evening might include lasers, and lasers popping popcorn.

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Details: Icfilmscene.org/series/science-on-screen/