PODIUM DISCUSSION

MAKING SCIENCE ACCESSIBLE TO THE BROAD PUBLIC

 

Switzerland, Basel

Einstein Co-Hosts: Kathrin Hönegger & Tobias Müller

Moderator: Vincenzo Ribi (Bernet Relations AG)

Japan, Osaka

Expert: Prof. Dr. Shin Sugiyama (Hokkaido University)

China, Shanghai

Expert: Prof. Dr. Shugui Hou (Shanghai Jiao Tong University)

Expert: Yang YANG (Documentary Filmmaker and Producer)

India, New Delhi

Expert: Subhra Priyadarshini (Nature India & Science Journalists Association of India)

India, Mumbai

Expert: Prof. Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

India, Bangalore

Expert: Prof. Dr. Anil V. Kulkarni (Divecha Center for Climate Change)

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STORY

The glaciers in the Swiss Alps are melting due to global warming. As a consequence, melting water from the “Plaine Morte” glacier has turned into a threat for the mountain village “Lenk” in the Bernese Alps. This is why scientists explore the water channels inside the glacier. Presenter Tobias Müller delves into this climatic hotspot – on a daring expedition into the middle of the glacier.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Basel: THE FUTURE OF MICROBIOME

Filmmaker: Sarah Schenck (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Adrian Egli (University of Zurich)

           Dr. Frank Petersen (Novartis)

           Prof. Dr. Pascale Vonaesch (University of Lausanne)

Moderator: Dr. Marc Creus (University of Basel) 

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Zurich: THE FUTURE OF MICROBIOME

Filmmaker: Sarah Schenck (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Dr. Tomas de Wouters (CEO, PharmaBiome)

           Dr. Anton Lavrinienko (ETH Zurich)

Moderator: Julia Ecker (ETH Zurich) 

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STORY

The Invisible Extinction spotlights the extraordinary work and charismatic personalities of renowned scientists Dr. Martin Blaser author of best-selling Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics Is Fuelling Our Modern Plagues, and his partner in the lab and in life, Dr. Gloria Dominguez-Bello, as they endeavor to save our vanishing  microbes that are essential for our survival.

The film explores promising treatments in the US, Israel and China as well as diving into the gut-brain axis. As the Covid-19 pandemic hits, Blaser pivots to focus on how our microbes may help protect us from the virus and future pandemics, while Dominguez-Bello spearheads the creation of an international microbe vault to safeguard precious bugs that may help cure chronic illnesses.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Basel: IS IT POSSIBLE TO PUT HAPPINESS IN A PILL?

Filmmaker: Paolo Woods (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Jens Gaab (University of Basel)

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Undine Lang (University of Basel)

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Zurich: IS IT POSSIBLE TO PUT HAPPINESS IN A PILL?

Filmmaker: Paolo Woods (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Dr. Michael Pfaff (Director Clinica Holistica) 

Moderator: Dr. Gwendolin Claire Schönfeld (NZZ) 

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Lugano: IS IT POSSIBLE TO PUT HAPPINESS IN A PILL?

Filmmaker: Paolo Woods (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Dr. Serena Petrocchi (University of Lugano)

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Samuel Martin-Barbero ​(President Franklin University Switzerland) 

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STORY

A journey through six different countries and characters into a world where chemistry is the ultimate response to human pursuits of well-being. From antidepressants to opioid pain or stimulant medication, the film questions our consumer society and the so called Eldorado of prescribed happiness.

It is not an investigative documentary but rather a modern fable. What is there in common between a farmer in Niger who takes painkillers to keep on ploughing and a teenage girl in Massachusetts to whom the parents administer her dose of ADHD drug so that she can concentrate in class? The universal obsession with performance, the irrepressible desire to continue to function socially and, therefore, faith in molecules.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Zurich: CLIMATE CHANGE INDICATORS

Filmmaker: Lars Ostenfeld (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Daniel Farinotti (ETH Zurich) 

Moderator: Dr. Sahar El Khoury (Scientist and Public Speaking Coach)

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STORY

On the frozen borders of Greenland, three scientists probe the core of the ice. They are renowned glaciologists, pioneers in field investigations of our ice sheet. These daring and passionate adventurers are trying to answer some of the most pressing questions of our times: exactly how fast is the ice sheet melting, and what will be the consequences for the rising sea levels? The filmmaker accompanies the three scientists into the heart of the glacier “mills” - these sprawling ice wells hollowed out by the water and sometimes up to 200 metres deep - even in the midst of polar storms. Yet while the data gathered shows evidence of an alarming scenario, are the powers that be ready to act? Into the Ice sets off to discover these ice masses which, when studied, can reveal to us the secrets of the not-so distant future, when the face of the Earth will be decidedly different.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Zurich: BIODIVERSITY OR EXTINCTION?

Filmmaker: Lourdes Picareta (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Eva Knop (University of Zurich) 

           Dr. Pascal Marty (Zoo Zurich) 

Moderator: Isabella Sedivy (Plan Biodivers).

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STORY

“Biodiversity or Extinction. Mankind’s Greatest Challenge” delves deep into the devastating impact of human civilization on the planet's biodiversity. From the destruction of the Amazon rainforest to the poaching of Africa's rhinoceros, we bear witness to the tragic consequences of our actions. But amidst the despair, there is also hope. From the valiant efforts of work of SebastiãoSalgado's Instituto terra to replant the Mata Atlantica to the pioneering work of conservationists working to save the pink dolphin in the Amazon and researchers reforesting the seabed with coral fragments, we see that it's not too late to take action. Join us on a journey of discovery as we explore the urgent need to protect the planet's fragile ecosystems, before it's too late.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Zurich: Anthropological perspectives on a divided society

Filmmaker: Orit Fouks Rotem (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Sibylle Lustenberger (University of Fribourg) 

Moderator: Judith Hochstrasser (Horizons SNSF)

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Lugano: FILMMAKING AS A TOOL FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES

Filmmaker: Orit Fouks Rotem (Director and Writer) 

Moderator & Expert: Prof. Dr. Caroline Wiedmer (Franklin University Switzerland)

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STORY

A group of Arab and Jewish women attend a video workshop at a small town community centre run by Rona, a young filmmaker from Tel Aviv, who teaches them to document their lives. As each student shares footage from her home life with the others, their beliefs and preconceptions are challenged and barriers are broken down. The group comes together as mothers, daughters, wives, and women living in a world designed to keep them apart, forming an empowering and lasting bond as they learn more about each other... and themselves. Inspired by writer/director Orit Fouks Rotem's own experiences as a teacher, Cinema Sabaya presents a deft and heartfelt portrait of art's capacity to unite disparate communities, moving effortlessly between the gravity of their conversations and the genuine joy generated by this unlikely group of friends. Winner of five Ophir Awards including Best Picture and Best Director and Israel's Official Submission to the 95th Academy Awards.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Zurich: SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF GMO

Film protagonist: Vandana Shiva (Film protagonist) Online 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Angelika Hilbeck (ETH Zurich)

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Christoph Kueffer (Franklin University Switzerland)

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Lugano: SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS OF GMO

Film protagonist: Vandana Shiva (Film protagonist) Online

Expert: Prof. Dr. Marcus Hall (University of Zurich)

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STORY

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva tells the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist Dr. Vandana Shiva, how she stood up to the corporate Goliaths of industrial agriculture, rose to prominence in the seed saving and organic food movements, and is inspiring an international crusade for change. Vandana Shiva brought her scientific expertise and Gandhian principles of nonviolent resistance to the struggles of Indian villagers whose livelihoods were being crushed by corporate capitalism. She has become a formidable opponent to those corporations whose drive for privatization and profit are destroying the environment and changing the climate. Their predations in the name of a ‘green revolution’ with its promises of wealth and freedom and ‘feeding the world’ through patented and chemically-dependent GMO seeds are reducing traditional farmers and entire communities to inescapable servitude. In India, the fruits of the Green Revolution have been an epidemic of rural suicides.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Zurich: CARBON: OUR LIFE AROUND HER

Filmmaker: Daniella Ortega (Director and Writer) 

Expert: Prof. Dr. Gruber Nicolas Patrick (ETH Zurich)

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Daniel Ch. Kiper (Life Science Zurich)

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STORY

With Carbon in the news every day, you might think you know everything about her. But you’d be wrong. This spectacular and surprisingly unorthodox documentary reveals the paradoxical story of the element that builds all life, and yet may end it all. Narrated in first person by Sarah Snook (Succession), Carbon tells of her birth in the violent core of an exploding star and of turbulent sagas through the fabric of our evolving Earth. Accompanied by celebrated scientists, unique animations and a stunning orchestral score, Carbon reminds us of our humble participation in the most extraordinary story in the universe.

PODIUM DISCUSSION

Zurich: ECOSYSTEM INTERCONNECTEDNESS

Film protagonist: Nadeem Shehzad (Film protagonist)

Expert: Thomas Vellacott (CEO WWF, Switzerland)

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Susan Thieme (University of Bern)

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Lugano: ECOSYSTEM INTERCONNECTEDNESS

Film protagonist: Saud Mohammad (Film protagonist)

Expert: Prof. Rakhi Mehra (Franklin University Switzerland)

Moderator: ​Prof. Elettra Fiumi (Franklin University Switzerland)

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STORY

In one of the world's most populated cities, cows, rats, monkeys, frogs, and hogs jostle cheek-by-jowl with people. Here, two brothers fall in love with a bird - the black kite. From their makeshift bird hospital in their tiny basement, the "kite brothers" care for thousands of these mesmeric creatures that drop daily from New Delhi's smog-choked skies. As environmental toxicity and civil unrest escalate, the relationship between this Muslim family and the neglected kite forms a poetic chronicle of the city's collapsing ecology and rising social tensions.

All That Breathes is the first film to win the Best Documentary prizes at both Sundance and Cannes, and it is nominated for 95thAcademy Awards (Oscar).