Learn the Scientific Truths Behind Movie Magic

Learn the scientific truths behind movie magic in the Science on Screen film series at Bryn Mawr Film Institute. The four-film series pairs beloved new, classic, and international films with engaging talks by experts in the sciences and technology.

Dig into the iconic adventure Raiders of the Lost Ark on Wednesday, April 17, with a presentation by a real-life Indiana Jones, archaeologist Harrison Eiteljorg II, Ph.D. Computer game designer Halsted Larsson will decode Wreck-It Ralph on Tuesday, May 7 and food anthropologist Solomon Katz, Ph.D., will discuss the Oscar-winning Danish drama Babette’s Feast on Tuesday, May 14. The series concludes with the locally made, environmentally conscious coming-of-age story Future Weather, which will be introduced by climate change specialist Raluca Ellis, Ph.D. and feature a Q&A with producer Kristin Fairweather on Thursday, May 16. 

Details

Raiders of the Lost Ark with Introductory Talk by Harrison Eiteljorg II

Indiana Jones took the world by storm in his first outing, 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark. The brainchild of George Lucas, everyone’s favorite archaeologist was brought to thrilling life thanks to Lucas’s collaboration with director Steven Spielberg and a charismatic lead performance by Harrison Ford.

Raiders of the Lost Ark will be shown on the big screen with an introductory talk by archaeologist Harrison Eiteljorg II on Wednesday, April 17 at 7:00 pm.

Archaeologist Harrison Eiteljorg II received his Ph.D. in classical archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania and has excavated at Pompeii, the Acropolis of Athens, and in Turkey. He is the founder of the Center for the Study of Architecture located in Bryn Mawr, which is devoted to advancing the use of digital information technologies in the service of architectural history, archaeology, and related disciplines. A past president of the Philadelphia Society of the Archaeological Institute of America, he was also a board member for the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the Archaeological Institute of America.

Wreck-It Ralph with Introductory Talk by Halsted Larsson

It’s not easy being the bad guy. After decades spent reviled as the loser villain of the arcade game Fix-It Felix, Jr., Wreck-It Ralph embarks on an adventure to become a hero in the CGI hit Wreck-It Ralph. This hilarious and touching look at the secret lives of video game characters was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and stars the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch.

Wreck-It Ralph will be shown on the big screen with an introductory talk by independent computer game designer Halsted Larsson on Tuesday, May 7 at 7:00 pm.

Halsted Larsson is an independent computer game designer and developer who co-founded Final Form Games in 2006 after getting his start at LeapFrog. Final Form’s first release, Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony, a top-down shooter set on British Colonial Mars in the 1600s, was recognized at the 2011 Independent Games Festival. A graduate of Haverford College, Larsson earned his M.A. in Learning, Design, and Technology from Stanford University.

Babette’s Feast with Introductory Talk by Solomon Katz, Ph.D.

When two elderly, pious sisters in a remote Danish coastal town accept a French political refugee as their housekeeper, little do they suspect how her warm presence and one sumptuous banquet will change their lives and open their hearts. Based on a story by Out of Africa scribe Isak Dinesen, Babette’s Feast won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The 1987 classic from writer/director Gabriel Axel will be shown on 35 mm with English subtitles.

Babette’s Feast will be shown on the big screen with an introductory talk by anthropologist Solomon Katz, Ph.D. on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00 pm.

Solomon Katz, Ph.D., is director of the W.M. Krogman Center for Childhood Growth and Development at the University of Pennsylvania. A leading expert on the anthropology of food, Dr. Katz is the editor of the three-volume work, The Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, which won six major international awards and prizes upon its 2003 publication, including the American Library Association’s top prize for a reference resource. The founder and Chairman of the Task Force on the African Famine for the American Anthropological Association (AAA), he currently serves as Chair of the Task Force on World Food Problems, which addresses contemporary global food resources and security. He has presented at the American Public Health Association, the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy Research, and the CPC National Immunization Conference, among others. Also an expert on the intersection of science, religion, and ethics, he was the Founding President of Metanexus Institute, the past President of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science, an elected member of the International Society of Science and Religion, and an elected Trustee of the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. Dr. Katz is also an officer and fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a professor of Physical Anthropology and a senior fellow at the Wharton School Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics within the University of Pennsylvania

Future Weather with Introductory Talk by Raluca Ellis, Ph.D.

When thirteen-year-old environmentalist Lauduree (up-and-comer Perla Haney-Jardine) is abandoned by her single mother, she and her grandmother (Amy Madigan, Field of Dreams, Gone Baby Gone) must build a new life together. Lili Taylor (Say Anything, TV’s Six Feet Under) co-stars as Lauduree’s science teacher. Future Weather was shot locally by writer-director Jenny Deller. The coming-of-age drama features an environmentally conscious message and was filmed using sustainable production techniques.

Future Weather will be shown on the big screen with an introductory talk by climate change expert Raluca Ellis, Ph.D. on Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 pm. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with producer Kristin Fairweather.

Raluca Ellis is The Franklin Institute’s chief Environmental Scientist and Senior Program Manager of the Climate and Urban Systems Partnership. Previously, Dr. Ellis was a post-doctoral research scientist at Harvard University, where she investigated the current and future deposition of reactive nitrogen to U.S. National Parks and was a member of the NASA Air Quality Applied Sciences Team, which aims to use earth science tools such as satellites and models to address air quality issues. She holds a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry from the University of Toronto, where she was honored with the David H. Farrar Graduate Scholarship in Chemistry, the Chemistry Teaching Fellows Award, and the Centre for Global Change Science Graduate Award.

Tickets

These screenings are $10.50 general admission, $8 for seniors (age 65 and up), $7 for students with ID, and $5 for Bryn Mawr Film Institute members. Tickets can be purchased online at BrynMawrFilm.org or MovieTickets.com and in person at the Box Office during operating hours.

This information was provided by the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.